Review – iPhone BikeConsole

2014_August_Prendas_Bannerr4

Keeping the phone close even when on a ride out on the Wirral Way thanks to the BikeConsole from Tigrasport

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Review – iPhone BikeConsole

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I don’t think I have seen an iphone (or other) attached to a bike’s handlebars in all the time I have been around racing but it is something I need on my regular rides on the Dolan CDX to try and get fit again.

Only one thing seems to be essential for ‘proper’ bike riders, a Garmin mount. But, as the Garmin 1000 I have is still something I need to learn to use as its way over complicated and the SatNav so difficult to use compared to the car’s TomTom, getting a mount for the iPhone on the bike was ahead of putting on the Garmin one.

So, quite by accident, I stumbled across the Tigrasport BikeConsole which is available for various phones including my iPhone 5s. I ordered from Amazon but it is available from various suppliers but isn’t cheap. I’m not saying it’s not worth it as time will tell how durable it is but it does the essentials:

– provides a mount for the phone
– provides a water proof (apparently) housing for the phone

I’ve only used it twice so far and am happy enough with it. The item costs around £30, mine £37 with delivery charges which seems a bit steep but then much about riding a bike can be costly these days. There are various versions as well. All quite confusing so it’s worth doing the homework. Ie, there is a powered option (BikeConsole Power Plus) which I understand provides a small battery for the iphone in the console itself.

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Phone can be placed in the console for the ride and then removed after. The phone can also be charged on the go as there is a hole for a cable to go in (tight though and can’t get cable out!)

There is also a light version which doesn’t have the waterproof housing which in US dollars (I think!) is $15 cheaper. The Powered option is $50 dollars more expensive than the one I have (waterproof but no battery). I’ve not looked for the equivalent UK prices but paying twice as much for a small battery is stupid considering how cheap batteries are.

Note: the same manufacturer makes ‘BikeCharge Dynamo’  to charge gadgets on the bike.

On arrival, I unpacked the item and there are no instructions on putting it together which considering the price is very unprofessional but it was simple enough to do.
Once on the bike, the iphone touch screen was useable despite being behind a plastic cover although the fingerprint security option didn’t and I need to look at that again to see if I can get it to work.

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The ‘case’ for the phone. I am guessing that similar one can be left on in place of it.

I did manage to feed a charging cable into the console to attach to the phone so a battery external to the console can be mounted and used (taped to the headstem)! I can’t however get the cable back out so it’s stuck in there LoL

The good points are that the mount seemed very secure even though it’s all plastic and we’ll see how it handles the Wirral Way several days a week (quite bumpy in places). On most surfaces, the phone was not vibrating and so could be seen clearly which for following a route or reading data from an app is good. The console comes with a case for the phone (see the picture above).

The phone and case can be lifted in and out of the console although it’s so tight, long fingernails or a blade of some sort is required to get a grip on it and lift it enough to get a grip on it.

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The phone sits in a rubber case in the console.

For me, in need of keeping an eye on the phone in case of calls, messages and so on, it’s very useful and the app I am using also useful for tracking the riding I am doing. I can also see it being useful next season on the motorbike when I need to use the sat nav capability of the phone.

Overall, it does what its meant to do and whilst there are things to improve on, if it manages to do the job and not break, then I’ll be happy. It does break, then I’ll make sure everyone knows! The one concern I have are the two ‘wings’ which clamp the top down either side. Time will tell if they can be used day in, day out without breaking.

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The red button for turning the phone off

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Two holes in the case for charger cable and earphones.

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The mount minus the console which clips on to the bottom of the console  …

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and then a screw done up by hand to secure it  as above

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The ‘wing’ clip on the right is used to clamp the lid down on the phone. The one on the left is already clamped down. 

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I can now use apps on the phone to keep an eye on distance and ride time etc. I had the phone on for the whole ride and the phone still had three quarters of the battery left. 

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