Cycling Device Mounts
What?
New to the state of Massachusetts, I wanted to explore the state by bike. Cycling the ~160 mile Claire Saltonstall Bikeway seemed like the perfect way to see some of the most iconic parts of the state on a quick overnighter. To navigate while charging my phone, I designed and 3D printed mounts to attach my phone to my bike's stem and a portable battery to the top tube.
Given the importance of good navigation and a charged phone, these attachments had to be robust, reliable, and not interfere with normal riding (i.e. no banging my knee on a battery mount attached to the top tube).
How?
After taking measurements of my phone, portable battery, and bike, I designed the two mounts in SolidWorks. Given the robustness requirement, I settled on rubber bands for device constraint -- they eliminate the need for fragile moving parts, are easily replaced if lost or broken, and are dirt cheap (less than $2 for a big bag from Ace Hardware).
The battery mounts directly to a prexisting mounting location on the top tube via button head socket cap screws, and the phone mounts to the stem using a 3D printed tube clamp solution. Threaded heat-set inserts embedded into the phone mount add strength to the bolted connection for clamping.
Results
Thanks to careful measuring, the 3D printed mounts attached to the bike and held my devices well first-try.
On the ride itself, the mounts worked perfectly -- my phone and battery remained rigidly attached to the bike (even during a rough off-road section while taking an ill-advised shortcut to a campsite), didn't interfere with riding, and faced no reliability issues. Since this trip, these mounts have seen a couple hundred additional miles and climbing, and are still going strong.
