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Anti-Boredom Trainer Handlebar Mounts – Bikase iPad Holder & Performance Travel Magazine Rack

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Performance Bike travel handlebar mounted magazine rack

Anyone that’s spent any time on a trainer knows not having something to watch or read is incredibly boring. If you don’t have the luxury of a big screen in your torture chamber, or you’re on the road, we’ve been testing two highly portable contraptions that make it easy to put your entertainment directly in front of you.

Shown above, Performance Bike’s Travel Trac Book Caddy disassembles to a pretty flat package and will hold books, magazines, iPads and tablets or even just your towel with ease. We also tried out the Bikase iKase iPad holder, which secures the too-expensive Apple tablet in plain view with no fear it’ll fall off mid “ride”.

Roll past the break see which one might be right for you…

PERFORMANCE BIKE TRAVEL TRAC BOOK CADDY

Performance Bike travel handlebar mounted magazine rack Performance Bike travel handlebar mounted magazine rack

The Travel Trac has a shaped base that rests on top of your handlebar and wraps around the stem for support. The book tray can rotate, letting you position reading material at the best angle.

Performance Bike travel handlebar mounted magazine rack Performance Bike travel handlebar mounted magazine rack

To secure it all to the bike, a knob threads inside a flat wedge that pulls it all tight against the bar and stem. While it does hold secure once it’s properly positioned, it’s not the greatest attachment system in the world. The rubbery nub on the end of the bolt wore through, leaving its metal to rub (and scratch) the bottom of the stem. A simple piece of cloth or something between the bolt and stem kept it from damaging the stem. It also occasionally took a couple tries to center it on the stem – although having handlebars that don’t flatten out just outside the stem clamp area (like these) make it much easier.

Overall, for the price ($14.99 – $19.99 on PerformanceBike.com), it’s a pretty good deal. The squared off “J” shape of the bottom of the tray held my magazine and book pages in place, and it’s a good width for an iPad with a thick protective case.

BIKASE IKASE IPAD HANDLEBAR MOUNT CASE

Bikase iKase iPad handlebar mount case

The Bikase iKase is a simple fabric case with a Velcro closure on one end and clear window to keep sweat off the screen.

Bikase iKase iPad handlebar mount case

The sides are not fully enclosed, so there’s nothing weatherproof about it…but are you really going to be riding outdoors with an iPad on your bike (if you are, Thule’s got you covered)? Depending on which way you slide the iPad in, either the sync port and speakers will be facing out, or the power button and headphone jack. The other end is a full width Velcro closure flap. Given the weak audio output from the built in speaker, we always ran it with the headphone jack accessible. Even better is using Bluetooth earphones like the Jaybird Freedom.

The clear cover kept the screen safe from sweat, but did catch a good bit of glare when placed directly under overhead lights. Touchscreen operation was acceptable, but did sometimes require firm or repeated pressing…just not enough to become annoying.

Bikase iKase iPad handlebar mount case

The bottom of the case has three Velcro loops to strap to the handlebar and stem, and they’re on a rotating base that let’s you place the iPad in vertical or landscape mode. It lacks tilt adjustment, so it’s dependent on the angle of your stem. If, like me, your stem is pretty flat, the view can want to rotate on its own when you pedal hard and the bike wiggles or wobbles. Using the “Rotation Lock” setting fixes that problem, and shoving a Clif Bar or something inside the sleeve under the top of the iPad improves the angle. If you have a negative rise stem, this probably isn’t the best way to view your iPad on the bike.

It sits a bit low, so my knees would tap it when I stood up to pedal. Sitting is fine, though, and it held everything securely. The rotational base is stiff enough that it won’t spin on it’s own, you’ve gotta position it the way you want it. Retail is $39.99, find it at AltGear.com.

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19 Comments
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Xris
Xris
11 years ago

Yes. All kinds of yes.

Though the first one doesn’t seem carbon stem friendly.

Bob
Bob
11 years ago

This ridiculous. When I train inside, I sweat like a open shower. There is not way this magazine or iPad are gonna stay dry…

Jack
Jack
11 years ago

Not so great options if you like to view data whilst on the Turbo ?

Bogey
Bogey
11 years ago

It looks like you lose the ability to ride on the tops of your bars with both setups. That’s a massive fail in my books.

Walter
11 years ago

If you get bored, maybe you shouldn’t train indoors.

Stephen
Stephen
11 years ago

Very nice! I usually use a music stand but can’t ever really get it close enough. Great solution.

Robo
Robo
11 years ago

The performance rack is fine if you will be setting it and forgetting it for a long time (like all winter). But if you mix trainer days with actual outdoor days, this is too much of a pain in the a** to set up. My bars don’t flatten out, and it still is very difficult to get it centered and stabilized. And my rubber stopper quickly wore out too. But there is plenty of room to get your hands under it if you want to be on the top of your bars, and I can keep my Garmin in its normal spot. But overall, it’s too much of a pain for my use.

Robo
Robo
11 years ago

Oh, and they mentioned the Jaybird Freedoms. Those are great if your’re running downloaded media, but not for streaming. Apparently wifi and bluetooth use the same antennae, and performance deteriorates dramatically when used simultaneously. So bluetooth headphones are unusable with streaming, in my experience. If anyone knows any workarounds or tricks, please share.

Al Bundy
Al Bundy
11 years ago

Ever since Married With Children went syndication, I’m never bored training inside. Can I get a “Woah…Bundy!!!”

Chris
Chris
11 years ago

Thule actually *doesn’t* have anyone covered, because they seem to never want to release that pack n pedal system.

WV Cycling
11 years ago

I have my girlfriend hold my laptop in front of me while I’m on the trainer. She’s starting to sing some of the songs on the Sufferfest videos!

Erik
Erik
11 years ago

Get a microphone stand with an iPad mount and you’re FAR better off than these things.

Bayard
Bayard
11 years ago

Who says this is just for the trainer?

EricNM
EricNM
11 years ago

@Bayard:

That’s just what I was thinking! Think of the possibilities: you can follow your Strava progress on Google maps or via GPS in real time while you’re riding. Or, mount a rear-facing camera to see who’s about to run you over whilst texting, talking, shaving, etc. Brilliant!

Damo
Damo
11 years ago

Just use the wife’s ironing board, simple laptop holder, also keeps spare water bottles close by.

Bog
Bog
11 years ago

@Damo – the ironing board idea is great. I just don’t want to get caught calling it my wife’s ironing board!

Damo
Damo
11 years ago

@Bog
Its “our” Ironing Board

Frank
Frank
11 years ago

I still think a music stand in front of the bike is the best option.

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