Ram mounts for GPS
Posted: 21 May 2012, 11:53am
Does anyone else use the Ram mounting system to attach a GPS unit to their handlebars?
I invested in this system a few years ago when my Garmin Etrex Vista began to rattle in Garmin's own bar-mount for this model. I bought a couple of Ram cradles for the old Etrex, fixed one to a Ram windscreen sucker in the car and got six of Ram's Ez-On/Off bar mounts so I could move the other cradle easily between any of the four bikes I generally ride, with two spare for review bikes.
These bar mounts come with a spring-loaded fitting that bolts to the bottom of the cradle, and attaches to the bar mount with a push and twist action. The spring and all puts the GPS a lot higher above the handlebar, but when it's not fitted, the bar mount is relatively unobtrusive. And I thought the somewhat goofy appearance would be worth it for the cushioning from road shock afforded by the sprung fitting.
All was well for a few thousand miles. I say all was well, but the fitting always rattled somewhat annoyingly on rough roads. My irritation was soothed however, by the thought that this was the sound of the fitting doing its job of absorbing shock, that might otherwise damage my GPS.
Then one day I noticed that the GPS was sitting at a slightly drunken angle and wobbling about a bit more than usual on its sprung mounting. Upon removal I found that one of the four little hooks that engage with dimples inside the bar mount, had broken off. I'd always thought they looked a bit wee for the job they had to do and in comparison to the strength of the spring, which took quite a lot of force to compress when fitting the GPS to the bike. So I was always most careful to press down hard before twisting lightly.
I tried gluing the hook on again. You have to try, but as I expected, forces sufficient to fatigue solid plastic immediately broke the bond.
Since each bar mount comes with a spring-loaded fitting however, I had five spares already and simply fitted another! This lasted another few thousand miles. Then I fitted another. And so on... They all broke exactly the same, always the front-most long-axis hook. Here's a photo of one of the broken fittings.
I was down to my last two (one fitted to the GPS cradle and one spare) when I passed the old Etrex Vista on to my daughter and got myself a new Etrex 30. This fits differently to the bike in a way that looks much less likely to rattle (as well as looking neat), so I've abandoned Ram mounts (except in the car) and got a load of Garmin's own bar mounts for the new-design Etrex.
But I've kept a two of the three spring-loaded fittings that have been broken simply "by riding iron bicycles over the rocky roadsteads of this parish" and will send them off to Ram headquarters in Seattle. So if anyone here has experience of using this mounting system on a bicycle, good or bad, please post here.
I invested in this system a few years ago when my Garmin Etrex Vista began to rattle in Garmin's own bar-mount for this model. I bought a couple of Ram cradles for the old Etrex, fixed one to a Ram windscreen sucker in the car and got six of Ram's Ez-On/Off bar mounts so I could move the other cradle easily between any of the four bikes I generally ride, with two spare for review bikes.
These bar mounts come with a spring-loaded fitting that bolts to the bottom of the cradle, and attaches to the bar mount with a push and twist action. The spring and all puts the GPS a lot higher above the handlebar, but when it's not fitted, the bar mount is relatively unobtrusive. And I thought the somewhat goofy appearance would be worth it for the cushioning from road shock afforded by the sprung fitting.
All was well for a few thousand miles. I say all was well, but the fitting always rattled somewhat annoyingly on rough roads. My irritation was soothed however, by the thought that this was the sound of the fitting doing its job of absorbing shock, that might otherwise damage my GPS.
Then one day I noticed that the GPS was sitting at a slightly drunken angle and wobbling about a bit more than usual on its sprung mounting. Upon removal I found that one of the four little hooks that engage with dimples inside the bar mount, had broken off. I'd always thought they looked a bit wee for the job they had to do and in comparison to the strength of the spring, which took quite a lot of force to compress when fitting the GPS to the bike. So I was always most careful to press down hard before twisting lightly.
I tried gluing the hook on again. You have to try, but as I expected, forces sufficient to fatigue solid plastic immediately broke the bond.
Since each bar mount comes with a spring-loaded fitting however, I had five spares already and simply fitted another! This lasted another few thousand miles. Then I fitted another. And so on... They all broke exactly the same, always the front-most long-axis hook. Here's a photo of one of the broken fittings.
- Ram "Ez-On/Off" fitting, broken by fatigue
I was down to my last two (one fitted to the GPS cradle and one spare) when I passed the old Etrex Vista on to my daughter and got myself a new Etrex 30. This fits differently to the bike in a way that looks much less likely to rattle (as well as looking neat), so I've abandoned Ram mounts (except in the car) and got a load of Garmin's own bar mounts for the new-design Etrex.
But I've kept a two of the three spring-loaded fittings that have been broken simply "by riding iron bicycles over the rocky roadsteads of this parish" and will send them off to Ram headquarters in Seattle. So if anyone here has experience of using this mounting system on a bicycle, good or bad, please post here.
