Wireless stem mount

[alienator]

There has got to be a second option for wireless stem mounts. The one option now is great if you've got a big ol' fat stem; however, as it happens, not everyone has a big ol' fat stem. Stem manufacturers have yet to retire non-oversized stems to the pasture, nor is there any reason for them to do so.

When will there be another stem mount option, or do I need to just pitch my iBike under someone's car tires? There has to be a simple way of making iBike wireless mounts that are stable and secure on all sorts of stems. I mean, we've sent men to the Moon and probes to Mars, so we ought to be able to do this. Trying to make mine stable it broke, and I'm not a ham fisted mechanic.

What's wrong with some slots in the mount for zip ties? That's an easy solution.

[rruff]

Hey... this is the bike business, you know! Just guessing... it is a small company that has to get by on what a handful of people can get done. They seem to have been pretty good at intelligently progressing hardware and the software, but it will be awhile before everything is "perfect".

[travispape]

What's wrong with some slots in the mount for zip ties? That's an easy solution.

If you really have a stem mount, I think there should be a slot for a zip tie.

Edit: I have to take that back. I have a high-angle version setting here at my computer that has the zip tie slot, but I just checked the low-angle version on my bike and it doesn't have the zip tie slot. John can send you a new bottom clamp.

Travis

[davidpuglia]

I have adapted my wireless stem mount to the diameter of the Topeak barextender - refer to the posting "Aero Topeak Configuration with Wireless Stem Mount " - I used the "Universal Mount Adapter Gasket" from velocomp which is shipped with all of the new bar mounts available from their website: http://www.ibikesports.com/detail.aspx?ID=43 you may need to add a few stickies.

David

PS - Great series on Discovery Channel "How we left Earth" documents the history of how the US got to the moon.

[alienator]

I have adapted my wireless stem mount to the diameter of the Topeak barextender - refer to the posting "Aero Topeak Configuration with Wireless Stem Mount " - I used the "Universal Mount Adapter Gasket" from velocomp which is shipped with all of the new bar mounts available from their website: http://www.ibikesports.com/detail.aspx?ID=43 you may need to add a few stickies.

David

PS - Great series on Discovery Channel "How we left Earth" documents the history of how the US got to the moon.

I'm not real hip on the Topeak extender. Maybe it's a case of wanting my cake and eating it, too, but the extender in this case doesn't seem like an elegant solution.

I wish I had cable TV, as I wanted to watch that. Another good series, available to rent or buy, is HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon."

[davidpuglia]

Don't use the Topeak extender - I was only using that as an example of adapting the stem mount to a small diameter surface. If you already have the wireless stem mount then all you need is the "Universal Mount Adapter Gasket" that will give you a snug fit on your smaller diameter stem.

David

[alienator]

What's wrong with some slots in the mount for zip ties? That's an easy solution.

If you really have a stem mount, I think there should be a slot for a zip tie.

Edit: I have to take that back. I have a high-angle version setting here at my computer that has the zip tie slot, but I just checked the low-angle version on my bike and it doesn't have the zip tie slot. John can send you a new bottom clamp.

Travis

Yeah, I guess he can, because I just got an email saying that I can go to the iBike store and buy what I need to replace what broke and make the bad design work. Note: there was a miscommunication on the replacement of the clamp, so the red words should be ignored.

Gaskets should have been in the box from the start.

[schroed15]

FWIW, I didn't have good results using the "Universal Mount Adapter Gasket" when trying to marry the wireless mount to a Topeak Xtender, which also has a small diameter. The foam gasket got a little deformed under the pressure of the clamp and just didn't seem stable enough. Seems like it would be subject to the same sort of problems over time that make using electrical tape undesirable.

An alternative I tried was taking a 1" PVC coupling (you can get at any hardware store) and cutting a lengthwise section from it to serve as a mounting surface for the wireless mount. The inner circumference of the coupling is not far off the outer circumference of the Topeak, while the outer circumference of the coupling is much closer to the inner curvature of the wireless mount than the Topeak. I cut a section for the top and bottom of the Topeak to make for a somewhat uniform mounting surface. To add some grip, I cut some small patches of rubber from an old tube and glued them to either side of the sections of coupling. This resulted in a more secure mounting to the Topeak than I had with the gasket (now I just need to figure out how to attach the Topeak to my TT bike!). Maybe this would work with smaller diameter bars or stems, as well.

I understand your frustration having spent $1,000+ for the iAero, a Topeak and an extra mount, only to find mounting the unit on my bikes to be such a challenge. I have yet to come up with a way to make it work on my TT bike with a Vision integrated aerobar. However, I've had to do similar rigging with a number of other computers I've owned, too, so this is not a problem unique to the iAero/iBike. While it doesn't make it any less frustrating, I can understand from a manufacturer's perspective how it must be virtually impossible to come up with a one-size fits all solution with so much diversity in bars, stems and setups out there.

[alienator]

I wonder if a gasket, of sorts, could be made from a heat moldable plastic.

[racerfern]

Sorry about the "look" of the attached pictures, but this works. I placed one layer of electrical tape around the FSA Plasma stem. The stem is almost rectangular. Using a regular mount, not the high angle, I positioned it so it was close to level. In this case I left had a gap of 1/8" on the front side and 1/2" on the back side. Using Wurth "WurthFix All" two part epoxy I laid it in and let it sit. On the bottom half I used the neck of the banjo shaped piece. I also put one layer of tape on the bottom side of the mount. When everything was as hard as a rock, I cut all the excess electrical tape leaving a pretty good looking mount. If you wanted to you could pry it off since the tape is still under the epoxy. If I get a chance, I'll upload some after excess trimming. Also note that I had to buy longer pan head screws. My local Ace Hardware has stainless steel screws in both 4-40 x 3/4 and 4-40 x 1. Don't use flat head screws.

I know this won't help much for the TT mounts, but maybe more ideas will come of it.

[alienator]

Banjo piece? Do you mean the clamp on the bottom of the mount? On your stem, what is the plastic piece between the mount clamp and the bars? How did you hold the mount/clamp in position while you laid in epoxy?

I wonder how using JB Weld instead of epoxy would work?

I've got access to a machine shop, so now I'm wondering why I just couldn't machine shims for the top and bottom. The shims could even have slots for zip ties to hold the shims in place, or a new clamp could be machined along with a shim for the top, with both designed for the stem angle so that iBike is held parallel to the road. A little home anodizing would make the shims black.

So what's the radius on the mounts bottom surface and on the clamp?

[alienator]

Even better: machine a shim/spacer to fit between the mount and the stem and still holds the iBike parallel to the road. The shim would be fastened to the iBike via the iBike mount's 2 screws (shorter screws) and two threaded holes in the shim/spacer. Put two slots in spacer for zip ties. No bottom clamp needed.

[racerfern]

Banjo piece? Do you mean the clamp on the bottom of the mount? On your stem, what is the plastic piece between the mount clamp and the bars? How did you hold the mount/clamp in position while you laid in epoxy?

The banjo shaped piece of foam that comes with an iBike. I cut it and used it only under the clamp on the bottom side. The plastic piece in front of the bottom part of the clamp is not part of my setup. That is the very back of the FSA mount that connects from the underside and protrudes forward. It's their version of mounting a computer up front and it shakes like the dickens. In this setup, it is where the 705 has been placed. My wife's dainty little fingers held it in place until I got a pile of goop under the mount. Then she let go and I squeezed in some more from the front side. The only place it really ran out was on the back side. If I had to do this again, I would do it the same way except I would hold the stem on a downward angle so the epoxy didn't run out quite as much.

I wonder how using JB Weld instead of epoxy would work?

JB Weld is two part epoxy, isn't it? I think it comes out greyer in color and you have to mix it. The Wurth has this thin and long mixing tube as part of the kit. You just squeeze out the product, it mixes as it travels down the tube and comes out in a small bead about 1/8" in diameter. You end up shoving the tube under the mount as you squeeze.

[ddotmark]

Did anyone think about, or actually use a hot glue gun for securely mounting the iBike wireless dock on either the stem or handle bar? I think I'm going to give that a try.

[racerfern]

So how did the hot glue work? I'm getting ready to help someone else with their mount.