Mounts that attach to stem via pinch bolts: safe?
 

There are several generally well-reviewed mounts for cyclos (Wahoo, Garmin, etc) that mount to the bike via the stem pinch bolts. The idea seems clever enough, but I wonder if it results in any sort of "weak spot" on the bike. Has anyone used these? Do you have a take on how secure they are? Is there any sort of "official" word on whether using this sort of mounting setup runs a risks of premature equipment failure? etc

Random example of what I'm talking about

I use one, seems to work fine.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...793b1b2c43.jpg

I don't have one but just looking at how they mount, I don't see how it would put anything at risk of failure. I might put some loc-tite on the screws to make sure they stayed tight, but otherwise the only thing I see at risk of breaking is the mount itself if you got in a crash.

Ritchey sells a GoPro mount for their stems the uses the pinch bolts. I'd guess they think they're okay.

I'd imagine that so long as the length of the pinch bolts is adequate, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. If the thickness of the mount is enough that you've only got 1-2 threads on the stem, you might have a problem but then again, I wouldn't be surprised if these mounts come with longer bolts to replace the stem's pinch bolts.

@str8jakett, what bar is that?


-Tim-

I had a combo one on my the bike I just traded and never had an issue with it. Bolts were sized correctly and were as tight when I removed it as when I installed it. Be aware on the cheaper non-adjustable ones you can't adjust the angle of the GPS since it is fixed at the stem angle. May or may not be an issue. A few dollars more gets you an adjustable one.

When my Edge 530 gets here in a couple of weeks I think I will bite the bullet and spring for a K-Edge combo mount for the GPS & light.

Only catch...is making sure your stem bolt-spacing matches the computer mount. I considered one of these, but couldn't find one that would fit mine....which is 38-something mm.

Chinese Carbon. Not dead yet, so that's a good sign.

Looking at the linked example, I'd guess you'd want some assurance of the material itself used being of sufficient quality. I don't imagine any of the bits in this product's diagrams below are plastic?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c7c817f00f.jpg

Came across this brand a while back. Appears to be a pretty solid offering, and a fairly clean solution if you also want to add on a camera underneath.

https://f3cycling.com/formmount

The Ritchey mount is width adjustable.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...71ca18e4b4.jpg

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

Any link to that mount please?

Link to the bar too? How long have you used that bar?