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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Ways to Store your Bicycle

Need a way to store your bicycle indoors within your house or apartment that reduces how much space it takes up / makes your bicycle fit the decor? Here are 13 ways to store your bicycle(s) so they take up less space and makes them look very stylish.














Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Bicycle Mount Cellphone Holder


Earlier today I went for a ride around Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto and the surrounding area. With me I took my cellphone and decided to try out a new accessory:

Taotronics Bicycle Mount Cellphone Holder...

Which I purchased via Sunvalleytek Canada / via Amazon.ca. They also make cellphone mounts for cars and a variety of other devices. The name of the device on Amazon is really long, apparently because Taotronics is trying to squeeze as many keywords into the title as they can.

They also sent me a follow-up email to make sure I received the package in the mail, and some additional information:

Dear Charles,

We’re sending this email to check in and make sure that your order arrived and is working well for you.

Just so you know, the bicycle phone mount are covered with a 1-year warranty which can be extended by another 6-month if you register the product online with warranty card included in item package.

If you have any problems or questions about our product, please respond to this email and we will do our best to resolve your issue within 24 hours.

Below are some tips before you install the phone mount to your bike.

1.Do not ride for long time on road with too many bumps which is not good for your phone and also the mount. Put a piece of cloth to the handlebar before you try to install the clamp to the bicycle which could prevent the clamp getting loose after a period time of riding.

2.If you are not able to fix the clamp to your bicycle handle bar, please check the below picture.

3. If the cradle which holds the phone comes off from the clamp which is fixed to the handle bar, please try to put the cradle into the clamp oppositely to have a try.

Finally, we hope that you will be willing to leave an honest review of our product on Amazon. User reviews are vital to our research and development, and having your input will enable us to continue making a product that you enjoy using.

Thank you again for choosing TaoTronics. We are committed to providing you quality products and top notch customer service, and hope to serve you for years to come.

Best regards,

Ella

So yes, a review. But I shall be posting it here, not on Amazon.

Review Note #1.

The most important part of any product is that it needs to work. This product works. So that is a success right there.

Review Note #2.

I managed to purchase this bicycle accessory on sale. $13.99. Regularly priced at $29.99. So huzzah. I got a deal. Sucks to be the people who have to pay full price.

Review Note #3.

The stretchy rubber device did not completely fit my Samsung Galaxy S6 (plus case), height wise. It had no problem fitting width wise, but it was too short to go over the top of my phone, over the back of the mount, and over the corners of the bottom of the phone. So instead I simply placed it over the top of the phone and then jury rigged it to the side clamps, thus ensuring that my phone wouldn't bounce out while riding over bumps. (I also double checked how tight it was

A smaller phone would not have had this problem, but I managed to get it to work.

However if I were to give the manufacturer a piece of advice, I recommend including two of those stretchy rubber devices in the packaging, that are two different sizes. At present they do give the purchaser two of them, but they are both the same size. A larger version of the stretchy rubber thingy that fits taller/larger phones would be handy.


The Stretchy Rubber Thingy, Horizontal

Review Note #4.

Build quality and usability. It was well designed and well built. I have no qualms about the quality of the materials. It was very easy to use and install. Takes less than a minute to attach to a bicycle, even less to remove it. (Which unfortunately means thieves might grab it. I decided to remove it from my bicycle after I was done cycling today, which means the next time I intend to use this accessory, it will at least be easy to use.)

Review Note #5.

I like how when you press the side button the side clamps slowly go outwards, releasing your phone in a nice, slow and orderly manner. It was so cool I showed the wife. Oooooooo!

Overall I give this product 4 stars out of 5. If they included a larger rubber thingy that fits larger phones it would be 5 stars.

SAFETY NOTE

Don't play on your phone while cycling. Avoid the urge to press buttons. If you have to do something on your phone, slow down and stop, go to the sidewalk and do what you need to do.

Distracted Cycling Kills Cyclists.

NOTE

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About the Author

Charles Moffat is equal parts bicycle mechanic, cyclist, painter, sculptor, fantasy writer, poet, website designer and pun maker. For more details see charlesmoffat.com.

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