A common question that comes up from new trike riders is how to mount a phone on a trike.
This will inevitably result in dozens of answers ranging from different product recommendations to “I just toss it in the bag - I don’t want the distraction” and “smartphones are the devil’s work. Mounting them to your trike is just taking one step closer to hell.”
I might be exaggerating on that last one. Slightly. Maybe.
The reality, however, is that there are a lot of advantages to being able to mount your phone in a fashion that allows you to see and interact with it. The most obvious couple of examples are ride tracking apps and the opportunity to listen to audio entertainment. However, they also provide the ability to keep in touch with others and to be found, if needed, which can be important safety features.
The challenge, once you have decided to flaunt Lucifer and bring along your phone, is how to mount it safely to your trike. There are dozens, if not hundreds of mounting options for diamond frame bikes, but finding options that mount readily on a trike, particularly in a fashion that puts your phone close at hand, can be challenging. Plus, a keyword here is safely - smartphones are expensive bits of kit, and we rely upon them for a great many things nowadays.
My solution for this is the Rokform mounting system. Specifically, for my Expedition I use the following products:
Why a motorcycle mount? Rokform does make a couple of bicycle specific mounts. However, the better of the two is designed to be attached to the 1 1/8” steer tube on an upright bike (more on that below). The motorcycle mount takes that same mounting design but adds an articulated attachment to mount to bars. This works nicely on all sorts of bars, with adjustable sizing using rubber shims. In fact, I originally purchased this mount for my Cannondale SR400 road bike - my primary ride before I got the trike. Having been built in 1987, it didn’t have the more modern 1 1/8” steer tube. But the motorcycle mount readily hooked up to the handlebars. I’m honestly not sure why Rokform markets it only as a motorcycle mount - it works quite nicely for older bikes, and would probably be good for a variety of other applications.
The articulated nature of the mount means that it can be mounted to both horizontal and vertical bars. It was mounted horizontally on my Cannondale, of course, and I had mounted it on the horizontal accessory mount on my Pocket as well:
When I switched to the Expedition I wanted to move it closer, so I mounted it vertically to the right side mirror:
As you’ll see if you follow the link, the Rokform system is not inexpensive, and it involves purchasing both the mount and a Rokform case - it does not work with just any generic case, generally speaking (though they do sell a universal adapter for converting other cases, but you won’t have the protection of their bespoke cases). However, the system has several factors to recommend it and to justify that premium price:
Materials
The Rokform products are, in my experience, made from very high quality materials. The motorcycle mounts itself is made of aircraft grade aluminum and has a very high quality feel. I have had this mount for at least five years, on three different machines, and it still works perfectly. I did have to re-secure the magnet (more about the magnets in a bit) - I have it held in with tape, which you can see in the pictures, and I will eventually re-glue it - but it’s otherwise extremely solid.
The cases are also extremely high quality. An iPhone case was my first Rokform product. I’d purchased it because I wanted a protective case - I tend to be hard on phones otherwise, and had broken more than one - but I wanted something that didn’t have the bulk of, say, an Otterbox case. That first Rokform case was an excellent compromise, and I’ve had several since. I’m probably tempting fate by saying so, but I haven’t broken a phone since I started using them - and I drop my phone a lot.
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Roklock + Magnets = Dual Retention
“Roklock” is the term that the company uses to refer to their mounting system - the part that physically interlocks between the mount and the case. This is a strong connection in and of itself, but each case also has a powerful magnet in it, as does the motorcycle mount.
The magnetic connection is an additional connection to secure your phone against the mount - not a bad thing when you are riding at 10-20mph just inches above asphalt - and the magnets also help keep the phone upright on the mount. They also include a lanyard setup as a third level of backup.
That magnet on the phone case is useful beyond the mounts as well - you can literally stick your phone to any magnetically cooperative surface. I’ve employed it, for example, to stick the phone to the hood of the car and hang the light over the edge to see what I’m doing. And I’ve used it a lot just to put the phone up out of the way when working on things.
Ongoing Support
I said above that I’ve had the motorcycle mount for about five years. The chassis of the motorcycle mount is aluminum, but the male side of the Roklock is plastic, and they do occasionally break. Fortunately, Rokform sells replacements for these at a very reasonable price, and they are easy to replace. And since my last repair they have since moved from plastic replacements to aluminum ones.
Accessories
In addition to cycling related things, the company sells a number of other accessories to go with the cases. These run the gamut from tempered glass screen covers to belt clips to car mounts to pop sockets and the like. I do have a windshield mount in my car which lets me use the phone for gps-related tasks.
The Bike Mounts
I said above that Rokform does make bike specific mounts, and noted that the better of two they currently have available is similar to the motorcycle mount, except that it connects to the steering tube on an upright bike.
This mount can actually be used on a some trikes - or on some Catrikes, at least. The steering gear is the same configuration as the bike mount is meant to use, and so it can be screwed in there. For the first little while when I got my Pocket I used it in that way.
I actually had ordered it a few years before for my Cannondale, not realizing that it wouldn't work with the older bike. So I had to then order the motorcycle mount instead. At the time, I’d decided to keep the other one, reasoning that I’d eventually get another bike, and that the mount would work with it.
So - when I realized that it could be made to work with the Pocket, I was kind of excited, and put it in place. And it does work... after a fashion:
The problem is that the position is also right next to, and a little under, your legs. So it can work in a pinch. But for me, once it became clear that I really wasn’t going to be riding the Cannondale much any more, I moved the motorcycle mount over to the Pocket and took the bike mount off.
The other bike mount they sell is a very different product than most of what they offer. It has the Roklock mount on it, but it’s plastic and not terribly well constructed. I originally purchased one of these before I got my trike, thinking that I could use it on MLW’s mountain bike on the rare occasion I rode that instead of the Cannondale. It fell apart after a couple of uses, and I found that I just didn’t trust it. I don’t want to wrap up on a bummer, but that is the reality of the situation.
In Sum
While this system is not perfect - and no system is - I’ve found it to be the best option for both protection of my phone and versatility in application. I use it on my trike, in my car, and I use the magnetic attachment on a regular basis. I find it to be an excellent solution for the still somewhat unusual needs of a recumbent trike, where there just aren’t as many horizontal mounting surfaces as the diamond frame bike world enjoys.