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RAM X-Mount Warning

gixxerjasen

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Well, after something like 7-8 years of using my x-mount daily and on cross country trips without issue, it happened to me today. Lost my pixel 2 on the 635 Texpress lane. Google confirms it's been smashed to smithereens because it can't contact it at all, and I went back through morning traffic to give another run on the Texpress lane to try to find it. No luck. :giveup:

Disclaimer - This isn't my original x-mount, I lost one in Colorado, one got moved to a four wheel vehicle, so it wasn't an 8 year old x-mount.

Where I have it mounted it's very protected from wind blast, sticking my hand in front I don't feel anything at all.

Looking back at my helmet cam it seems as if one of the little rubber pegs worked it's way up to a point where the phone didn't have tension on that leg and it flipped out of the mount. That rubber peg is also missing as well.

So yea, they offer these rubber security band things that to me wasn't worth it considering the long successful history of using the X-Mount, but as of today I'd consider it worth it. Never considered that it might vibrate up like that.

So, just a warning to the x-mount users out there, you might consider getting and using one of these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017STCELI/?tag=twowhetex-20
 
I got one after the Feb trip to Guatemala because I saw D-Mux with one

He said he Gorilla Glued those rubber pegs down tight and I thought of that when I read your post.

I have one now and I think the thing to do is to pre flight it once in a while to make sure everything is tight. The only other idea is a creative tether of some kind.
 
I got one after the Feb trip to Guatemala because I saw D-Mux with one

He said he Gorilla Glued those rubber pegs down tight and I thought of that when I read your post.

I have one now and I think the thing to do is to pre flight it once in a while to make sure everything is tight. The only other idea is a creative tether of some kind.

+1 to the gorilla glue the pegs on idea. Mine pop off so often I've just gotten used to preflighting them as you mention, and using the rubber band girdle also. I use the X-Grip on the DR650 and without the girdle the phone would bounce out eventually (less an issue on the FJR.)

A nice design choice is that you can pass a charging cable through the R on the ram mount girdle, and it keeps the girdle oriented as well as the cable in convenient proximity.

RIP your Pixel 2, Jasen.
 
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Thanks for the heads up. Just got one for the AT last week. Came with the tether. It's been to me so far.
 
Tip, if you are going to use gorilla glue, please be sure you buy the non-foaming kind, or it'll be all over the place. I'm so happy to have found the non foaming kind a few months ago because the normal stuff can make a mess.
 
For six years, I've been using the same kind of little snap thingie, for my Nuvi, that I use when it's on the dashboard of my car. There's never been a hint of popping loose. Still, I should probably get one of those little string lanyards & glue it on for safety.
 
For six years, I've been using the same kind of little snap thingie, for my Nuvi, that I use when it's on the dashboard of my car. There's never been a hint of popping loose. Still, I should probably get one of those little string lanyards & glue it on for safety.

It's when you think "Man, this thing rocks, I've NEVER had any trouble with it!"

In fact this morning I was thinking of ordering another for the other bike. :giveup:
 
I just noticed a lanyard I ordered last fall. Think I'll glue it onto the GPS before I leave for AZ on Friday.
 
81RTLD-S7xL._SL1500_.jpg


I use that, a $15 Schwinn bicycle smartphone mount. I have it clamped to the left side of the handle bar behind a windshield. About once every 2 months I have to tighten it down because it likes to vibrate loose, but it gives me plenty of warning when it's time to get it a few good turns.
 
First thing I wondered when I read the original post, "wonder if he had glued the rubber feet on?"

Mine are glued and I use the rubber tether thingie. i will endeavor to make it a habit to check those rubber feet!
 
I had one of the rubber posts go missing on my last trip, I was using the tether so my phone stayed put thankfully. When I ordered replacement posts they came with super glue, so I took the hint and glued all 4 of them on.

-Tryg
 
Perfect squeeze

Ditto. Well engineered. I used it on our Continental Divide Ride last year and my phone never moved even when we took the wrong route for big bikes and bounced all over big rocks for half a day. Might have been a couple of low speed drops too.
 
That's a neat phone mount. It bothers me that they charge a price for the cradle and then if you want to actually use the cradle it is another charge for the items to mount it to the bike. A bit over $100 with the advrider code.
 
I've been using this religiously for the last couple of years. Recently update to newer design for my Honda. I ride almost exclusively in the dirt so it takes a pounding, but haven't ever dropped my big ol' Note 5...even though I drop my Honda (and my Yamaha before it) plenty.

For what it's worth...it isn't $100, for sure...but it also isn't bulletproof with a giant "S" on its chest. :) I guess it just depends on how badly you want to protect that phone. :rider:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y1X3JD3/?tag=twowhetex-20

oh - just noticed you can see the mount in my profile picture from Carson Ntl Forest in NM. Huh...
 
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I tried that RAM X-mount, and while my phone never fell out, it just never really inspired confidence.

I went with this cheapo mount:
61oZ9mjanSL._SL1200_.jpg


It has a 1/4-20 thread on the bottom where I stuck a RAM ball. As long as I keep that ball threaded in really tight, this thing works well.
 
I still think the X-mount is a secure phone mount, if the proper precautions are taken. I've been using the 2 that I have on several bikes over the past 6+yrs. The only time a phone ever popped out was because my left hand swiped it accidentally. I was at hwy speed and the phone landed on the tank/fairing. I grabbed it with my left hand before it had a chance to slide off.

The only mod I made was to add a patch of adhesive-backed foam tape on the round center. This does 3 things:

1. Provides better grip/traction/anchor to the back of the phone.
2. Gives added damping without a hard surface contact.
3. Pushes the phone out to engage the meatier portions of the rubber feet.

Every time just before I mount the phone, I push all 4 rubber feet in and continue to do so as I spread the legs out.

My phone is always encased in an Otter box Commuter, which has a rubberized skin that contact all 4 feet of the X-mount.

No doubt the X-mount is not the MOST secure phone holder, but weighed against its versatility and simplicity IMHO it's still a great tool worthy of some judicious "best practices" on the user's part.
 
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