I have ridden the Pittsburgh to Myrtle Beach run enough times that I can tell you where the good gas stations are in Virginia without thinking too hard. Six hundred miles each way, two days on the road, one overnight stop. The one thing I will not do anymore is start that ride without a solid phone mount on the handlebars. A couple of seasons with the RAM MOUNTS X-Grip taught me what a good mount is worth.
Some riders keep the phone in a jacket pocket and pull over to check directions. Some wedge it in a tank bag and crane their neck. I tried both, and both get old fast. A handlebar mount puts the screen where a quick glance gets you the answer, and on a long day that changes everything.
The mount that stays on my bars
The RAM MOUNTS X-Grip with U-bolt base and medium arm. Spring loaded rubber caps hold the phone tight, the tether catches it if things get rough, and a lifetime warranty backs the whole thing.
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The biggest reason is the simplest one. With the phone on the bars, you check directions the same way you check your mirrors. A quick glance, then back to the road. No digging in a jacket pocket, no unzipping a tank bag, no trying to hold the phone up with one hand while you ride. On a 600 mile day, those glances add up to a lot of saved attention, and attention is the thing that keeps you safe. I noticed the difference on the first long ride I did with it, and I have not gone back to the old way since.
The X design holds without hiding the screen
The spring loaded X grip with rubber caps grabs the phone at its corners and edges. The screen stays fully visible, and the phone stays put. The holder takes phones from 1.875 to 3.25 inches wide, so it handles a big phone in a case and still leaves the whole screen open for navigation. You do not have to tilt your head or squint around a bracket. What you see is the map, and that is the whole point of a phone mount.
It fits the bars you already have
The U-bolt base clamps to rails from half an inch to 1.25 inches in diameter. That covers most touring bikes and a lot of others without you buying extra adapters or shims. I mounted mine in the driveway with basic tools and it has not moved since. The included components cover the different rail sizes, so you are not hunting for a part you do not have when the box shows up. It is the kind of fit that makes you wonder why other mounts make it so hard.
The medium arm puts the phone where you want it
The 3 inch arm is short enough to stay out of the way and long enough to clear the clutter on your bars. It is a B size double socket arm, the middle size in RAM's lineup, and it lets you angle the phone exactly where you need it for your height and reach. I set mine so the screen lines up with my line of sight when I am sitting in the saddle. Once it is set, it stays set, which is more than I can say for mounts that droop after a day of vibration.
The tether is cheap insurance
The mount includes an optional tether that wraps around the phone. I ran mine from the phone to the arm, and I have never needed it. That is the point of a tether. You do not want to find out at 70 mph that the grip let go, and the tether means a bad moment stays a bad moment instead of turning into a lost phone on the shoulder of an interstate. It takes two minutes to install and then you forget it is there, which is exactly how safety gear should work.
It will hold a heavy phone
The mount is rated for up to 2 pounds. My phone with a case is nowhere near that, but the rating tells you the springs and rubber caps are built for real holding power. A lot of mounts are designed for a phone sitting in a cupholder on a smooth road. This one is built for vibration and wind and potholes, and the 2 pound rating is the spec that tells you so. When a mount says heavy duty, this is what it means.
It is built for the long haul
RAM builds this thing heavy on purpose. The arm, the base, the springs, the rubber caps, all of it is meant to take vibration and weather day after day. The listing calls it adjustable and heavy duty, which in plain language means it does not rattle loose on a rough interstate and it does not give up when it gets rained on. Two seasons on my bars and it still feels like the day I installed it. That is the honest test, and it passes.
It works for the daily ride too
The same mount that earns its keep on the Myrtle Beach run sits on the bike for weekend rides and the trip to the hardware store. Once it is set up, you never think about it. You get on, put the phone in the grip, and go. That is what a good tool should do. It does not ask for attention, it just does its job, which is more than I can say for some of the gear I have bought over the years.
The lifetime warranty means you buy it once
RAM MOUNTS backs the X-Grip with a lifetime warranty. I have not needed to use it, but the warranty tells you something about how the company expects the product to hold up. A part that lives outside in the weather and gets pounded by vibration is exactly the kind of thing you want covered. Knowing it is covered means one less thing to worry about on a long trip, and that is worth something.
It makes the phone useful instead of just carried
With the phone on the bars, you can actually use it on the road. Music, a quick look at the weather radar, a text at a rest stop, all of it happens without pulling over and without taking a hand off the bars for long. The mount turns the phone from cargo into a tool. On a long day of riding, having the phone where you can see it and touch it makes the whole trip easier, and that is the real reason I keep it on the bike.
What I'd Skip
To be straight with you, the X-Grip is not for everyone. If you ride a dirt bike through rocky terrain or spend serious time off pavement, you might want a mount that locks the phone in with a more positive clamp. The rubber caps hold well, but they are not a locking mechanism. And if your phone is one of the biggest ones on the market, check the width range before you buy. The holder takes phones up to 3.25 inches wide, and a phone that barely fits is a phone that is harder to get in and out of the grip. For road riding, none of that has ever bothered me.
I have never needed the tether, and that is exactly why I keep it on there.
None of this is complicated. A phone mount is a simple piece of gear, but it is the kind of simple that saves you a hundred small annoyances on a long trip. If you ride with a phone at all, a good mount belongs on the list before the fancy luggage and the new exhaust.
Make the next trip easier
The RAM MOUNTS X-Grip has been on my bars for two seasons and it has not let me down. If you tour with a phone, this is the mount I would buy again.
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