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review
£8.99
VERDICT:
Simple and effective at keeping a device mounted on your bike
Weight:
38g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
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The Zefal Z Universal Mount is a nice little eighth-turn widget that is simple and pretty effective for most of your on-bar portable device requirements. It comes in a cardboard box, with paper instructions, so all the packaging is completely recyclable, always a good part of product design.
Buy Zefal Z Universal Mount
Find a Zefal dealer
It's component parts are few, and that's always a good sign as it usually means that there's less to go wrong. It consists of the four-pronged attachment, with a thick rubber band (with two sizes available in the box) to strap the mount to your bars. The band is adjustable, so it will go around any diameter of bar. It coped with some fairly rattly cobbled sections on my daily commute, along with a mix of minor and major roads. The odd bit of adjustment was needed to straighten things up, but this was infrequent and not a big chore.
The benefit of the band-on attachment rather than a screw-on mount is that you can easily swap from bike-to-bike, or take the whole thing with you if you're leaving your bike for extended periods. There's also the opportunity to use the mount on other modes of transport, for example a motorbike.
The mount itself (which looks a bit like a Quad Lock mount, but isn't) works well and it's simple to attach or remove your device with an eighth of a turn. This does mean that you need to position your mount well, if you have to avoid other bar-mounted items such as lights. Everything is robust and feels like it will be serviceable for years to come.
Overall, I'd probably choose this mount as opposed to the more permanent bar mount that usually comes with similar products, mainly due to the increased cross-compatibility but also as it's a lot lower-profile and less chunky. For touring, I'd revert to a permanent mount, but this is great for day-to-day riding.
Verdict
Simple and effective at keeping a device mounted on your bike
road.cc test report
Make and model: Zefal Z Universal Mount
Size tested: Black, 15-36mm
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
The Z Universal Mount is a universal mounting system for the Z Console range (not #7070). Using the rubber strap, you can easily attach your phone to a bicycle, a stroller, a treadmill or a shopping cart. No tools are needed to install the holder. It is compact and easy to use making attaching your smartphone to the holder possible in one click and with one-hand. It comes with two interchangeable silicone strap. The Z Universal Mount can be attached to diameters of 15 to 36 mm.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
LOCK SYSTEM : Easy installation in one click and with one-hand.
UNIVERSAL MOUNTING :Various applications such as cycling, stroller, shopping cart or treadmill.
RUBBER MOUNTING : Equipped with a rubber base for better grip.
Material: Thermoplastic support / Rubber strap
Weight: 24g
Mounting: Adjustable rubber strap on tube Ø 15-36mm
Compatibility: Z Console range (except #7070)
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Did what it's designed for, without any issues
Rate the product for durability:
10/10
Can't see there being any problems, it's very robust
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
10/10
At 38g, you'd be hard pressed to notice the weight
Rate the product for value:
9/10
Can be had for as low as £8.09 on Amazon
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
No issues, the quarter-turn mount is simple and easy to use
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Simplicity, well executed
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing much
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your score
Simple product, nice packaging, tidy design
About the tester
Age: 34
I usually ride: Kinesis Racelight T (winter) Cervélo S2 (Summer) My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 5-10 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, general fitness riding, mtb,
Latest Comments
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Or, alternatively, get the Aldi front and rear for £15. The rear doesn't flash like the previous models, but does have the braking function. The...
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Was a stocking-filler type thing but always handy - reflective spoke straws. (They're not reflecting as I turned the flash off.)
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Add new comment
9 comments
Great - a cheap alternative to Garmin spares. Except it isn't.... Or is it?
Not very universal, then, is it?.... Or isn't it?
That's OK - I don't really want to mount the universe on my handlebars.
..... Or do I?
But, other than that, did you find the review helpful?
Maybe I'm just dense, but I made it through pretty much the entire article without having the slightest idea what this was supposed to attach to. "Universal mount", I thought, "what a great idea to be able to mount absolutely anything to this simple rubber strap". But alas.
its universal innit
it attaches anything to anything obviously
ah- it’s a zip tie.
It's a universal mount for the Z Console (whatever the hell that is) range - except #7070 - so not universal in the way anybody who doesn't live in a marketing department means.
Yes, a very poor article that assumes we all know and use some other Zefal product that is never introduced and in fact we don't all know and use.
I even looked at the instruction manual on Zefal's site and am no wiser. Fit the mount then attach your phone to it. No explanation of what you attach to your phone to do so!
I think Hugh is correct. Isn't this just, in effect, a spare mount if you already have the system?
What do you attach to your phone to hold it on this mount? Do you need to buy a quad lock case?
Same. More questions than answers. It seems this is just a universal mount requiring an existing Z Console Zefal case, which comes with a bike mount anyway - it's just less 'universal'!
Either 1) I've misunderstood, and it'd be great for the review to be clear enough to disperse the confusion, or 2) the review doesn't point out the pointlessness of the product for anyone who already has a required case.
http://www.zefal.com/en/21-smartphone-holders