Community Driven Design
Your Opinion Matters!
All of our mounts are born out of a desire from someone in the cycling community. Over time the mounts have changed in no small part from the feedback from our customer base. Suggestions and problems lead to new and better solutions that everyone benefits from.
Recently we started posting surveys to capture more specifics related to the desire of the majority. This page captures the results and the impacts of those decisions and expands on the reasons for each survey. They also describe the impact the community has had on the products available on this website.
Garmin Varia RCT715
This survey asked whether we should design mounts or adapters for the Garmin Varia RCT715.
Survey Date:
Begun July 2022 - November 2022
Why we care:
The Garmin Varia RCT715 is a new model radar, camera, and light that is much bigger and heavier than all previous Varia systems. It weighs 2-4x more than previous models, is much bigger, lacks image stabilization, and uses a proprietary connection that is different from all previous Garmin devices. Before we invest in developing a commercial solution, we want to gauge the interest in the new radar.
What we found out:
Approximately 46% voted for a new mount, 37% didn't want the RCT715 at all, and 17% wanted an adapter of some kind.
How this affects future products:
- We designed a new mount that can support the RCT715
- We engineered a new mount arm for the mount
- Initially the mount arm will only be sold with the mount
GoPro Extensions
This survey asked whether we should include the straight Gopro extensions in the kit or make them an optional add-on.
Survey Date:
Begun May 2022 - July 2022
Why we care:
Including the plastic extensions is done for convenience. However, some customers complained that we added them unnecessarily and raised the pricing as a result. We have also had cases where some people using them broke these extensions and were disappointed. Others insisted that we included metal ones which would raise the price even more. Relying on inexpensive 3rd party mount parts can potentially result in a unfavorable view of our products since customers won't necessarily know we don't make them ourselves.
What we found out:
Over 55% of respondents wanted us to stop including the extensions.
How this affects future products:
- We will eventually phase out including the extensions with the kits.
- The extensions will be available as an add-on.
- We will publish guidelines on using other types of extensions available on Amazon and elsewhere.
- We will reduce the kit prices accordingly.
Nut Options
This survey asked whether we should use lock nuts or regular nuts with thread locker. The former is harder to assemble and the latter is easier but messier.
Survey Date:
March to May 2022
Why we cared:
Regular nuts and screws are much easier to assemble, but we still had random reports of a screw falling out. Putting together the mount with lock nuts is definitely more difficult, but also much more secure with virtually no chance of self-loosening.
What we found out:
Over 90% of respondents wanted lock nuts.
How this affects future products:
- We will eventually phase out regular nuts and go back to lock nuts for all non-direct screw contacts. A direct screw contact is a place where the screw attaches to the saddle or some other non-nut connection.
- We will discontinue the inclusion of thread locker as it will be unnecessary. Direct screws will be switched to epoxy or vinyl thread locking screws.
- These changes will make the mount about as vibration proof as we can make it, but will impact the difficulty of assembly.
Eco-Packaging Help
This survey asked whether we should include disposable hex wrenches in the kit along with, or in addition to, thread locker (aka Loctite).
Survey Date:
January to March 2022
Why we cared:
It seemed wasteful that we included steel items when most ended up in the trash or weren't used. However, we also wanted to ensure that we included everything necessary to install the mount and didn't want to assume that customers had these. The thread locker was added because of customer feedback that a screw loosened despite our instructions suggesting using a thread locker.
What we found out:
The 80% of respondents agreed that the hex wrenches were unnecessary and 60% thought the thread locker should always be included. We also determined that about 40% of our customers never open the thread locker we supply.
How this affects future products:
- We reduced the prices of all mounts to account for the removal of the wrenches immediately. We still have a large amount of them, so we are including them until the supply is dramatically reduced. Afterwards they will be offered as an add-on for people who don't have hex wrenches already. Adding them back as an add-on returns the price to the previous value so there is no penalty either way. We will wait and see how this affects Amazon customers who don't have the add-on option presented to them.
- For the thread locker, we will continue to supply it until we switch to epoxy or vinyl thread locking screws (for direct mounts). This means that the mess of the thread locker will no longer be necessary but we will still have the benefit of screws that can't loosen from vibrations.