I had a wonderful call on my business phone a couple of weeks ago; it was Heidi from Pro.Fit International based out of Bloomington, MN. She asked if I would like to test out and review their miniGRIP Universal Smart Phone Holder! I was pleased to accept! I got this device over a week ago and have just been so busy that I haven't had the opportunity to get it mounted on my bike and test it out. Plus, it gets dark here now much earlier so by the time I would get home from work, it was too dark to really get any good pics! Thank you for the holder, Pro.Fit! Sorry it took me so long to get this posted!
And now I present to you...my review!
These were all the items that I pulled out of the pouch when my package arrived.
First step was to get this rubber shim mounted on my bike where I wanted the holder to be placed Easy!
Next, screw together the base and adapter plate. Easy...kind of. This should be easy enough, but I had some difficulties.
Screwing the base and plate together.
All screwed together.
The one problem that I found with this is that the instructions stated to put them together with the hardware provided. That was the only instructions. I did put them together as I thought they should be, the bolt part of the screw and bolt system facing outward. This was all groovy until I reached the next step...
Placing the zip ties through the spaces to attach to handle bar.
What wasn't noted was that if your screws are in, you can't really get the zip tie through as it blocks the way of the zip tie and you can't angle the zip tie better due to the bolt.
So then I thought, maybe I have the screws in the wrong way?
So I flipped them all. But then of course that wasn't the right way because you can't then slide the miniGRIP holder onto the plate. The square pieces above were blocked from sliding with the bolts facing the other way. I had to switch them again. This time though, I put the zip ties in before the screws. That worked much better.
Unfortunately, during all of this screwing and unscrewing, I lost a screw! This plant ate it...
After getting all of that sorted out, I mounted the holder onto the handlebars by tightening the zip ties (you are to snip off the ends but I didn't have a scissors with me).
Next, place phone in holder and push the sides in tight to the phone. Then pull the strap holder down and around the phone to keep it tight.
And here you have it!
I took this baby out for a ride on the bumpiest streets in Minneapolis and it worked like a charm! It didn't fall out, it didn't even rattle...even while missing a screw!
The great bonus is the pop open button on the side for an easy release when you are done riding!
Not only will this be great for my bike rides when I happen to get calls (biking up hills and holding a phone just don't go hand in hand), but I think that it has a ton of other benefits too! I have the CardioTrainer application on my phone which measures distance and speed. Rather than mounting a spedometer on my bike, I can just use my phone and that app when it comes to biking. The display screen faced me perfectly so I could look at my phone as I needed to see speed and distance. Also, this could be perfect for someone who has music on their phone and would like to listen to it that way. This may also be an item I could incorporate in the future in my business, Minneapolis By Bike, as we utilize cell phone-sized radios. I'll have to think about this as an investment in the future and determine if it will work!
PLUSES:
A great tool for holding phones so you can use your hands for biking! Waiting on a call? You won't miss it because your phone is in front of you! Watch your route, distance and speed while biking via a GPS tracking system. Holds your phone tight and won't fall out! Worked great for my Android - this was a universal holder. They also have holders specific to Iphones. I biked standing up, sitting down, moving around, and this never got in the way or disturbed my pedaling.
MINUSES:
I really like this new tool, I just wished it came with more detailed instructions. Maybe a couple more pictures to help those of us (like me) who learn by doing/seeing rather than reading. For not having too many detailed pictures, it still wasn't SO bad. :) I just thought the pictures would help and perhaps the order of the instructions needs to be rethought? Zip ties before screwing the plates together?
Besides the small snag in assembling this holder, I really liked it! It will remain on my bike for a while I am sure so that I can continue to use it and test it out, even for business purposes! You can purchase a Pro.Fit holder at any Erik's Bike Shop.
Thanks again Pro.Fit!
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