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SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING
LATEST UPDATE: APRIL 26th
HOW DO WE DECIDE OUR OVERALL RATINGS FOR PRODUCTS WE REVIEW?
OXFORD CLIQR OUT FRONT HANDLEBAR MOUNT
63g (including pad and rubber shims) £29.99
The Oxford Cliqr Out Front Handlebar Mount is designed to carry a variety phones and other bits of gear mouted away from your handlebars. It’ll also find a home on pushchairs, joggers, etc. It’ll only take one bit of gear at a time, but it works effectively, and can easily be transferred. It certainly feels robust and certainly does the job.
Pros: well-thought out, robust.
Cons: a single device mount.
Spec 3.5/5
Out of the box comes a hinged mount, two adhesive pads, shims to fit. You can also get action camera mounts, separately.
The mount is made out of glass-filled nylon. This is pretty tough stuff whatever the terrain you are looking at, and offers a good degree of stiffness without being brittle. It is wider at the hinge than some accessory bar mounts. However, it isn’t too beefy, and I’ve found no problem fitting it between bar tape, bell, and light mounting. The stem is 75mm from hinge to mount centre, and is angled so as to keep the device clear of the bars and away from tangle with other bits of gear, hands, etc.
Shims for 24.5 or 31.8mm bars should allow fitting to most diameters – and, in any case, are easy enough to make.
The adhesive pads stick to the back of your phone – or other device – and click into the mount.
Fitting 4/5
Easy. I’ve put it on road-racing, chunkier all purpose, and touring bars. Just make sure you select a good spot where it won’t get in the way of your hands.
Take a little time to ensure that the back of your phone case – or other device – is clean. Oxford provide an alcohol wipe. I decided to fix mine centrally, about a third of the way up the phone. My aim was to keep the phone further away from the bars without creating to much strain on the click-in-fixing.
General cack-handed-ness meant I took a few seconds to learn get to grips with clicking the device in and out. You’ll almost certainly not find this a challenge.
Oxford say that the Cliqr is compatible with most phones, phone cases, GPS devices, and compact action cameras.
Performance 3.75/5
Having set it up, I hit the road., the gravel, and some sections of bumpy trail. The robust mount holds firm, and, all my attempts to eject the phone failed. I was also pleased to note that the display remained readable, during some fast gravel work – important when you eye-sight is not what it was thirty years ago.
Although it is easy to transfer between bikes – or the bar of a child trailer, jogging push chair, I might go so far as to buy a second Cliqr to make porting of devices even easier.
Big tech riders may prefer a mount that will carry more than one item, but, getting the phone or GPS away from the bars is
generally enough for me. Incidentally, I sometimes mount a GPS on the stem, but getting it out front is undoubtedly an advantage in my book. Mind you, some GPS systems, such as the Mio come with their own specific style of mount, so may not be compatible – or may require some ingenuity for which warranties may not be responsible. Your tech, your choice!
Using the action camera mounts has produced some decent results ( both with my aged Contour Roam (although mounting required some adaptations and ingenuity, as the Roam does not use the common action camera mount) and a cheap Go-Pro wannabe (certainly not a ‘tribute’).
Bar bags? Will, I tend to use the BTR Bar Bag at a pretty slouchy angle, even so I’ve found this handy for lifting my phone above it.
It is worth noting that, on its own, your phone will be open to the elements. A suitably sized, self-mounted, waterproof case may be the answer. However, I did manage to fashion a workable solution with an old, flat-backed waterproof phone case. Mind you, it held the device less steadily, even when bulked out with padding to try and hold it more firmly.
Value 3.25/5
To be honest, I initially thought that this price bracket might bring something in aluminium - although the materials are by no means anything other than robust. Having said that, the glass-filled nylon has proved itself rugged enough. VEL produce a CNC finished model for a couple of pounds more. There are others, too.
Oxford offer a stem mounted model, which keeps things more central.
Then, of course, you have accessory bars, such as Genetic’s Neuron. This is considerably cheaper but requires the device to have an independent bracket. Likewise, the Velo Orange Handlebar Accessory Mount. A lot will depend on how much you value the ability to fit different devices, and whether you want to go below the bar or above, or even both.
Summary
The Cliqr Out Front Handlebar Mount is simple and effective. Swapping between bike and other locations will appeal to those who like to keep an eye on their phones, whether hitting the road or pushing the pram. However, it is a one-at-a-time mount, so if you love tech paraphernalia, then you may need more than this will offer on its own.
Verdict: 3.75/5 Does what it says very well.
Steve Dyster
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PUBLISHED APRIL 2021
