Hi, I’m currently doing a school project where I am designing a product to hold a laptop on the handlebars of a bike for Zwift, and was wondering what other solutions people currently have/use and what they are like.
Does it make your device easy to control and use?
Is it close enough to you?
What would improve the product?
Thank you.
I wouldn’t want to put the laptop on the handle bars.
Some kind of floor stand would work much better, or some kind of moveable desk but many companies have already made those i’m afraid!
things like this are readily available on amazon very cheaply
I have attached my phone to my handlebar and use it to control my laptop using a unified remote app. Works fine as long as my phone isn’t to wet…
I was wondering what products people use to hold their device.
What device do you use?
How does the product hold it?
Is the device close enough to you to allow you to control Zwift?
What would you improve about it?
Thank you.
I agree with @Chris_Holton that mounting a laptop (or tablet) to the handlebars isn’t a great solution. The vibrations produced while cycling make for an inferior visual experience.
The following experiences I’ve had might be of some use to you.
I always zwift with a tablet mounted on a separate, heavy floor stand, which I built, with the screen directly in front of me. This has worked really well for me for a couple of years. (I’ve briefly tried using a non-touch-screen laptop or a streaming device plus separate screen, but find the tablet touch-screen close by gives the best user experience for me.)
Anyway, a few months ago, I decided that I wanted to be able to touch-type messages using a proper keyboard, instead of one-thumbing messages on the Companion app on my phone (mounted on Quad Lock stand on my stem). When experimenting with building a handlebar-mounted stand for a compact bluetooth keyboard, I found that the position required for the keyboard to be so that I could type comfortably with both hands really got in the way of useful hand positions when riding. Mounting it further away from me than the tops of the bars made typing a very tiring activity, requiring greater core strength than I have, meaning that I ended up only typing with one hand, propping myself up with the other on the handlebars, and thus defeating the purpose. I also found that having the keyboard, which is about the width of a 13-14" laptop, permanently connected to the bars, annoying. After a couple of weeks of testing this keyboard holder that I had designed and made (based on modified tri-bar clamps bolted to square aluminium tubing, anchoring the keyboard to these with 3M Dual Lock), I removed it and went back to one-thumbing on the phone. That just works, even if it’s slower, plus I don’t have to be careful about where I grab the handlebars for fear of damaging the keyboard or my hand.
A lot of people seem to use the table-on-roller solution for placing their laptops while zwifting (like Wahoo’s), which, as far as I understand, allows you to pull the laptop and table closer for typing (at a reasonably comfortable height), then push it and the table out of way again after, if desired. Those do seem to take up a lot of space. That’s not a concern for many people, but my zwifting space is very limited. Perhaps it’s worth looking into creating a more compact, but still floor-mounted, stand design that uses an adjustable arm to allow the rider to bring the keyboard/laptop to exactly where it’s most comfortable for typing, then move it away again when the rider wants to stand up on the pedals and sprint without getting sweat all over the device. Good luck with your R&D.
I use this for my laptop:
It’s a little far away, but I also use Companion App on my phone for control and this has nice slots at the front to sit it in.
It would be better if it didn’t have tripod legs and could slide in a bit closer without touching the wheel.
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I stick my tablet (running the companion app; though though if I had an adequately powerful device, there’s no reason I couldn’t run the main app here instead I suppose) into the “tacx bracket for tablets” (the main app is running on my PC across the room)
Pro are that it’s easy to do most of the mundane things in zwift (drop ride on bombs, take screenshots) without the fear I’m going to drop the device on the floor/bike, and it’s not much further to reach than if I had a bike computer stuck on the outside of my handlebars.
Downsides are that there this holder only really works in landscape mode, which the companion app does not make use of (so everything is displayed at a 90 degree angle to what is actually useful). I have previously attempted to balance the tablet vertically with all the supports in as close as they could be to try and prevent excessive wobbling. It did not end well.
There´s so many cool DIY instructions out there for a dedicated Zwift desk, I built this one:
Zwift table DIY
It´s german, but I think you´ll get the idea. It´s cheap, it´s rock solid, and of course you can always modify it according to your needs. I´ve attached several bottle cages, a few towel hooks, a socket strip and the fan control to the sides. Maybe it´s oversized for a tablet, but I like the fact that I have plenty of space to store my nutrition, my phone and whatever I need during my exercise.
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That’s great, have you got the fan hanging off the bottom like the video?
Would be tough for folks without the tools though. Here’s something similar ready-made: Cycle trainer stand desk, wahoo, zwift, kickr | eBay
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Hi Lebasi, thank you very much for your response, it was very useful. I’ve now completed my school project and it would be extremely useful if you could give some feedback below about what you like about it and what you would do to improve it. I’ve attached photos below. Many thanks!
Uploading: Laptop stand (back).png…
Hi Colin, thank you very much for your response, it was very useful. I’ve now completed my school project and it would be extremely useful if you could give some feedback below about what you like about it and what you would do to improve it. I’ve attached photos below. Many thanks!
Hi Sepp, thank you very much for your response, it was very useful. I’ve now completed my school project and it would be extremely useful if you could give some feedback below about what you like about it and what you would do to improve it. I’ve attached photos below. Many thanks!
It looks interesting and will definitely hold a tablet. One thing might be a soft but grippy rubber surface on the side facing you to prevent those four screw heads scratching the device you put on there.
It will also level the surface and might help prevent the device sliding off.
Other thoughts if you are designing a future version, what if someone has aero bars (eg Canyon H36), it may not fit over the bars.
Also consider the Cervelo V-Stem on the S5 or the strange double-deck bars on the Canyon Grail.
I think the real trick is going to be keeping your device within reach range but out of the way of sweat and wind. On my machine this position would get sprayed with sweat droplets and interfere with my ventilation. Looks cool though!
My fan is a 450mm industrial fan on the floor and at about 2 o’clock position relative to the bike.
I have a tall IKEA table in front of my Kickr bike now, it’s big enough to fit many things and high enough that it is out of the way.
I started with a Tacx Tablet Holder running Zwift on an iPad, adapting a phone tray designed for a spin bike so I could have a smartphone handy running the Companion App:
…however, I’ve taken the tablet mount off temporarily since I’m using a TV for Zwift now. The tray still works fine without it.
Bunch of great ideas in this topic: Pain-cave photos/equipment ideas
If I were starting from scratch without a tablet mount, I might buy one of these: Trainer Tray — Foothill Products
EDIT - I bought the Trainer Tray.
I use a 64" or so television connected to the PC. I won’t fit on the handlebar.
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I use this (not available anymore) to hold my phone for companion app.
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