I don’t ride with my phone attached to my handlebars everyday, but when I do I use the Peak Design Everyday Case. The MagSafe case is designed to work with the brand’s Out Front bike mount, which has proven surprisingly secure on rough MTB trails and is incredibly adaptable for gravel riding.
Peak Design Everyday Case and Out Front mount specs
- Cases designed to fit iPhone 11-15, Android phones too
- Bike mount fits 22.2mm, 25.4mm, and 31.8mm diameter bars but not 35mm
- Case attaches to the mount with both magnets and a clip
- Price: $59.95 for the case, $69.95 for the bike mount
- Buy from Peak Design.
Installation
Snapping the Peak Design Everyday Case onto my new iPhone 15 Pro was no problem. The case is tight but not so tight that you contemplate getting out a set of channel lock pliers. At first I thought maybe the case was too tight. Pressing the lock button on the right seemed to summon Siri every time, and I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t just lock the phone. It turns out I was pressing the button too hard, muscle memory from my last phone and case I guess. My takeaway: the button built into the Peak Design Everyday Case is sensitive and requires very little pressing force, possibly even less than without a case at all.
Peak Design Out Front Bike Mount
It’s entirely possible the Out Front Bike Mount came with printed instructions and I threw them away. Or maybe there aren’t any. Either way, I couldn’t figure out how to use the plastic inserts included with the mount to make the clamp fit my bars. Of course my first two attempts to install the mount came minutes before I was set to go out for a ride. Rushed installs rarely go well.
Somehow it finally dawned on me that I needed to pop out the low-profile inserts inside the clamp before clipping in the proper adapters for my bar diameter. Peak Design states clearly on the website that the Out Front Bike Mount doesn’t fit 35mm diameter bars, which in hindsight would have been helpful information to read.
The mount does include hardware to fit 22.2mm, 25.4mm, and 31.8mm diameter bars, which covers a lot of ground. Depending on which size bars you have, that means a couple potential mounting locations. With 35mm MTB bars I was unable to mount the holder to the center of the bars, so it went on the right side of the bars toward the grips.
On my gravel bike I chose to mount the Peak Design Out Front Bike Mount to the center of the bars. There’s a simple hex bolt to tighten the clamp, or you can use the included thumb bolt which makes for easier mid-ride adjustments. It’s just not as lightweight or as “aero.”
On the trail and on the road
“Are you trying to break your phone with that thing?”
I got variations of that question each time I rode with my phone attached to my handlebars. It’s a fair question, and I’m sure that any sort of crash could easily destroy your phone, the mount, and/or your bike.
The more pressing question is, will the phone just pop out of the mount on its own? With 23+ months of Apple Care coverage left on my device, I threw caution to the wind. I rode with my brand new phone on the road, on some of the rockiest singletrack around, and on my regular Tuesday night trail ride where tree branches and helmet strangling vines seemingly appear out of nowhere. And not once was the phone ejected from its perch.
I joked to a friend that I could practically lift my bike with the phone attached and it wouldn’t come off. Later, I did just that and easily got the front end of the bike off the ground. (It was too awkward to lift everything high enough to get both wheels airborne so I can only confirm that the attachment is strong enough to lift half my bike’s weight.)
Cased it
The Peak Design Everyday Case has proven rugged off the bike too. I accidentally dropped my phone face down onto a piece of slate in my driveway and it came up from the crash unscathed.
Usability
As an everyday carry, the Peak Design case is better than most. It doesn’t look or feel bulky, and is available in neutral but not bland colors. The back of the case features a woven nylon texture that has held up surprisingly well with zero snags so far. I thought maybe it would become discolored from handling, but that hasn’t been an issue. The sides of the case are rubberized, though it’s not a super sticky rubber which is good for sliding in pockets, bad for holding onto when you’re juggling a bunch of groceries and have just a tenuous grip on your phone.
Since the case is MagSafe it works with all the various chargers and stands that are out there, including several handy options from Peak Design including a tripod mount.
The one area where Peak Design missed the mark on this particular case is with the cutout for the all-new iPhone Action Button included on the iPhone 15 Pro. The recess on the case just isn’t wide enough to easily access the button, especially if you have fat fingers like me. To be clear, this problem only affects the Everyday Case version designed for the iPhone 15 Pro.
To the brand’s massive credit, they admitted being caught off guard by the iPhone design change and seem to be bending over backward to make things right for the 30,000 (!) folks who bought or will buy the first edition of the Everyday Case. An updated case will incorporate a button, rather than a cutout, and buyers can opt to get a replacement case when they’re available, or get a credit toward a future purchase.
The Out Front mount has proven convenient on the bike. The phone snaps into place quickly and with little effort, and it’s easy to position the mount so the screen is visible during the ride. Depending on the orientation of the mount, detaching the phone can be a little awkward, requiring a blind reach underneath the unclip.
Another nice feature on the mount is the ability to add an included GoPro mount to the bottom so you can attach a small bike light underneath. Or an actual GoPro. Peak Design mentions the possibility of using your phone to film the ride using their mount, and I can confirm, this is indeed possible. My trail footage came out a little shaky though, and the phone needs to be angled just right.
Pros and cons of the Peak Design Everyday Case and Out Front bike mount
Pros
- Solid case and bike mount
- Versatile case works well on and off the bike
- Looks good and has proven protective against droppage
Cons
- Can get pricey as you buy accessories that work with the case
- Unclipping from the bike mount is awkward sometimes
Bottom line
I’ll be keeping my phone in the Peak Design Everyday Case for day-to-day use, even though I told myself I’d just go case-less this time around. It looks good, prevents damage, and makes it easy to mount the phone to a bike or charging stand anytime, anywhere.
- Price: $59.95 for the case, $69.95 for the bike mount
- Buy from Peak Design.
