iPhone case to mount on bike

[DDT Rider]

Originally Posted by TommyHolly

I took my Iphone 4s with the LIFEPROOF case to Afghanistan with me and so far I've done everything imaginable to it. I've let it sit in a glass of water to show others it's completely waterproof. I've dropped it, it's been shot at (no direct hits luckily, LOL), been up in the mountains with it, its been exposed to some incredibly cold weather and lots and lots of snow. The only drawback is that you have to carry around this extension cord for the RCA plug for headphones/speakers because a normal jack won't fit down inside to reach the phone. The case is extremely slim and it barely seems like there is a case around it!

I currently have this case as well and like it for general use with a couple of exceptions....

1. The headphone dongle is a nice idea and only a bit of a hassle to carry around...
2. The recommended Radtech extension for plugging in the power is a bigger headache and in my experience, needed for charging. Are you able to charge easily without the Radtech extension?
3. I planed to use the iPhone as weather proof case for bike GPS use...however, when using external power, the case has to be opened at the bottom, and thus not waterproof...this is a real shame. for me, I have only a couple hours of power with 3G and GPS running...

[Liza]

With the Lifeproof, I hate how you have to unscrew the headphone dongle to answer the phone (with un-mic'ed headphones or plugged into the car.)

[kitsapian]

Originally Posted by TommyHolly

I took my Iphone 4s with the LIFEPROOF case to Afghanistan with me and so far I've done everything imaginable to it. I've let it sit in a glass of water to show others it's completely waterproof. I've dropped it, it's been shot at (no direct hits luckily, LOL), been up in the mountains with it, its been exposed to some incredibly cold weather and lots and lots of snow. The only drawback is that you have to carry around this extension cord for the RCA plug for headphones/speakers because a normal jack won't fit down inside to reach the phone. The case is extremely slim and it barely seems like there is a case around it!

Thanks for the extreme review, it helped sell me on the Lifeproof, hope you and your phone stay safe out there.

Now I'm trying to decide between the Lifeproof mount and the Ram mount. The Ram mounts seems better designed for motorcycles. The Lifeproof mount looks more geared to pedal bikes and would give you fewer adjustment options. But I do like the idea of getting a mount designed specifically for the case.

Also, I'd like to mount the iFone in a way that would allow me to shoot video in the vertical position. The Lifeproof cradle looks like it has a hole for the lens, does the Ram cradle cover the lens? Hard to tell from the pics on their site. The X Grip might be a good solution.

[DDT Rider]

Originally Posted by kitsapian

Thanks for the extreme review, it helped sell me on the Lifeproof, hope you and your phone stay safe out there.

Now I'm trying to decide between the Lifeproof mount and the Ram mount. The Ram mounts seems better designed for motorcycles. The Lifeproof mount looks more geared to pedal bikes and would give you fewer adjustment options. But I do like the idea of getting a mount designed specifically for the case.

Also, I'd like to mount the iFone in a way that would allow me to shoot video in the vertical position. The Lifeproof cradle looks like it has a hole for the lens, does the Ram cradle cover the lens? Hard to tell from the pics on their site. The X Grip might be a good solution.

I went with the X-grip mounted with ram mount gear...

[TommyHolly]

Originally Posted by DDT Rider

I currently have this case as well and like it for general use with a couple of exceptions....

1. The headphone dongle is a nice idea and only a bit of a hassle to carry around...
2. The recommended Radtech extension for plugging in the power is a bigger headache and in my experience, needed for charging. Are you able to charge easily without the Radtech extension?
3. I planed to use the iPhone as weather proof case for bike GPS use...however, when using external power, the case has to be opened at the bottom, and thus not waterproof...this is a real shame. for me, I have only a couple hours of power with 3G and GPS running...

I had to look up the Radtech extension... That thing is not needed to charge/power your phone. The normal i-phone charging plug fits fine and so does some slim aftermarket plugs as well. The larger iPhone aftermarket charging plugs will not fit!! I had to send Powerlet an iPhone plug to specially make a charging cord for my BMW so that it would fit both my Biologic and Lifeproof cases.

Keep in mind the case is not waterproof when you charge like you said, but you won't be charging under water anyway? If your case is mounted upright and plugged in, you'll have no issues with water.

Originally Posted by kitsapian

Thanks for the extreme review, it helped sell me on the Lifeproof, hope you and your phone stay safe out there.

Now I'm trying to decide between the Lifeproof mount and the Ram mount. The Ram mounts seems better designed for motorcycles. The Lifeproof mount looks more geared to pedal bikes and would give you fewer adjustment options. But I do like the idea of getting a mount designed specifically for the case.

Also, I'd like to mount the iFone in a way that would allow me to shoot video in the vertical position. The Lifeproof cradle looks like it has a hole for the lens, does the Ram cradle cover the lens? Hard to tell from the pics on their site. The X Grip might be a good solution.

Currently, I still have a Biologic case mounted on my BMW. The Biologic case has a similar mount to the Lifeproof it looks like from the pictures... When I get home I'll order the Lifeproof mount to compare. Since the Lifeproof case is much thinner than the Biologic, I'd always keep the Lifeproof case on. WIth the Biologic, I'd take it out of the case when not on the bike.

Since the Biologic case is similar, I'll give you an idea of that. It works great, easily adjustable, and its PERFECT for taking movies. That thing is absolutely secure and you can even adjust it slightly on the fly. I've seen people use them on Mountain Bikes which take way more abuse than a BMW could run into with jarring and bumps. If the Lifeproof mount is anything like the Biologic, I'd have no worries.

[mpatch]

new company making Iphone mounts for phones with cases on them and they are made in the USA
http://www.slipgripcarmounts.com/

I have one for the Iphone 4 with the Griffin Survivor case and it holds it very well. They are actually something you could make very easily if you have ever worked with kydex before (which is super easy and cheap). I am going to pick up a sheet of kydex now that I found somewhere locally that I can get it and play around a bit to try and make the perfect holder for me. You can buy a RAM ball for about $4 and a sheet of kydex for about $10 (depending on size) and make your own mount anyway you want.

[ac72]

Just took delivery of a BikeConsole case with the bike bracket from RiderMount here in the UK. Looks good and so far everything seems to work on the phone in the case and the bracket is suitably burly for the AT.

Good service from Colin at RiderMount as well - e-mailed end-of-business on Wednesday explaining that I needed a case for the weekend, he replied that evening, ordered the next morning and it arrived this morning - recommended.

[zokn]

I really like the iPhone 4 and TomTom navigation. The combination is far superior to my old Garmin, which is unreliable now, often turning itself off or freezing. But I need a shower/rain waterproof case for the iPhone: Lifeproof and Biologic are the only two I've found that meet this; the Otterbox I currently use as my every day iPhone case does not come close. (I am assuming the ibikeconsole from rider mount.com and the Biologic are the same case.)

Secondly, I need to connect earphones and maintain waterproofness: Lifeproof works here, but Biologic does not.

Third on the list is charging while underway: Lifeproof does not allow charging with their bike mount and, even using other mount options, waterproofness is lost, but Biologic does allow waterproof connection of a charger.

Mounting is also problematic: I currently use a RAM mount to hold my Garmin with a short ball-to-ball extension. This is necessary to get the unit in my line of sight yet not interfering with my view of the bike's instruments and I'll need to do something similar with the iPhone. The Lifeproof mount is not off-the-shelf compatible with a RAM ball, but the Biologic is.

If I thought I would not have to charge the iPhone while underway - which I suspect I must - then the Lifeproof would be a good choice, but it would still require a lot of messing about (re-manufacturing) to get it positioned conveniently, since there is no off the shelf RAM adaptability for its mount. The Biologic seems like the better compromise currently available. If I thought I could improve the waterproofing of the earphone connection by some simple ad hoc means, that's the way I would go. (Think: a small dob of silicone around the cable and case interface each time I put the phone in the case.) I would be interested in hearing about the earphone plug waterproofness of the Biologic unit from current owners.

It rains where I live and I often find myself riding in rain, fog, drizzle, etc. I can't risk damaging an iPhone again. (Hey, I've only been in the ocean twice with an iPhone in my pocket - from boats, not bikes, fortuneately - and neither time was I able to recover the use of the phone.)

So, in summary: Lifeproof if I can make a mount and don't need to charge and Biologic if I can seal the earphone wire conveniently and adequately.