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On long bike rides, my phone dies often. Is there any way I can mount my phone, a galaxy s5, and my battery pack, pictured, to my bike? I'd say that mounting to the handlebars would be ideal, but I'm open to suggestions.

enter image description here

Battery pack is a "Fremo P130"

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  • A quick google search for "bicycle phone mounts" would answer your question on how to mount the phone, and "bicycle phone chargers" would give you different battery packs for your phone. Some will have both together. – Batman Dec 15 '15 at 4:41
  • @Batman I created this question at the request of criggie. – Hellreaver Dec 15 '15 at 4:43
  • I'm sure criggie is more than capable of asking his own questions. I'm voting to close as product rec -- there are a ton of smart phone handlebar/stem mounts and phone chargers for bicycles on the market (check your bike shop or just use the search terms I stated in the last comment), and quite a few related questions in the side bar. – Batman Dec 15 '15 at 4:49
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    I also use a USB-powered bike headlight and want a battery pack conveniently in range when I need it, and out the way when I don't. Currently I stash the battery in the rear seat pack and have a 3 foot USB cable running from there up the frame to the handlebars. My setup works OK, but is not necessarily optimal. Always looking for better options! – Developer63 - GoFund Monica Dec 16 '15 at 20:18
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    It's a 10-year old Trek 7500FX sport hybrid, and the brake & shift cables are somewhat exposed on the top tube, so yes, I just tuck the USB cable under those on the top tube. Zip ties or twist ties would work but in my scenario I don't wind up needing them. – Developer63 - GoFund Monica Dec 16 '15 at 22:26
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I use a phone and a gopro, both of which have somewhat small batteries.

So to power them I use a USB battery which has two USB ports, one for each. Its a little heavy but I'd rather lug that around than have my camera go flat in 90 minutes.

9 Ah battery 9000 mAh battery

2.5 Ah battery 2500 mAh battery

USB connectors are friction fit, which is fine at home on a desk but is not overly secure in the bumpy outside world. So I use quite short USB cables to do the connection, and lay the phone on top of the battery inside a top-tube holder like this:

top tube bag

Some people ride wearing cycling tops, which generally have a couple of big pockets in the small of the back, so you could put a phone and a battery in there on a short lead and ignore it for the ride.

There are also USB power generating hubs, but they're pretty pricey.

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How about a top tube bag?

I've had a couple of handlebar mounts and they haven't lasted long in crowded bike sheds. Even mounted quite centrally they're vulnerable to knocks and aren't very strong.

A top tube bag with a clear lid works better for me. Do be sure to get one big enough though. It will take the battery pack as well and should do a decent job of keeping everything dry (even if you have a waterproof phone you probably want to keep water out of the charging socket).

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  • I use a top tube bag with a clear lid that I can use the phone through, and it holds my Nexus 6, a 20000 mAh battery, and some random bike tools quite well. It's lasted about 4000 miles so far. – Michael Hampton Apr 14 '18 at 3:51
  • I'm actually back on a handlebar mount most of the time (waterproof phone) because sun glare on the plastic cover meant I had to turn the screen brightness up all the way, and even then sometimes I couldn't read it – Chris H Apr 14 '18 at 6:30
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This one looks like it will do the job for you, if you are willing to buy a new powerbank: https://r2-bike.com/TOPEAK-Smartphone-Mount-with-Powerpack

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I find that Finn (and other silicone clones) is really great. enter image description here Very safe, also easy to use on bikes other than yours. I wouldn't use it with a too-large/too-thin smartphone though. Useless with rain.

For the charger, either use a bike bag, or get a long roll of Velcro™, and then you can easily attach anything to the bike. Put some old tube (or any other elastic material) between the charger and the bike metal parts, to minimize vibration.

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  • What stops the whole thing rotating around the bar? – Criggie♦ Oct 21 '17 at 0:46
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    @Criggie Friction: the silicone strings are also pulling the loop tight. Never has issue with rotation on surfaces of various materials (chromed steel, anodized aluminium). – kiwi Oct 23 '17 at 11:18
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Stick your phone in your back pocket. Why would you want to ride round with it mounted on your bars? Better concentrating on bike riding than phone using.

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    Charging my phone in my pocket is a recipe for a destroyed micro usb port. – Hellreaver Dec 15 '15 at 21:04
  • @Hellreaver its worked for me by using a short USB cable (10 cm), putting the oblong USB battery beside the phone in my middle back pocket, and having the cable point upward out of both. – Criggie♦ Oct 23 '17 at 18:33

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