Last updated September 2026.
Quad Lock and RAM are the two names every rider knows, and they solve the phone-mount problem from opposite ends. Quad Lock is a system: a case with a lock on the back that clicks onto a matching mount. RAM is a clamp: spring-loaded arms that grab whatever phone you put in them, on an adjustable ball arm. Both are good. They’re good at different things, and the right one depends on three questions.
The short version
- Quad Lock if you keep a phone for years, you ride a single or twin, and you want the most secure lock and a dampener that protects the camera.
- RAM X-Grip if you swap phones, hate cases, share the mount across bikes or with other people, or need infinite adjustability. Accept that it does little for vibration.
Head to head
| Quad Lock | RAM X-Grip | |
|---|---|---|
| How it holds the phone | Twist-lock into a dedicated case (or stick-on adapter) | Four spring-loaded rubber arms; tether included |
| Case required | Yes | No |
| On/off speed | One second | Five seconds, two hands |
| Security at speed | Positive mechanical lock | Friction; wind can lift a phone — use the tether |
| Vibration isolation | Add-on dampener, ~90% claimed | Rubber ball only; optional damping bases |
| Adjustability | Fixed angle (ball-mount version tilts) | Fully adjustable ball-and-socket arm |
| Fits odd bars / crossbars | Bar clamps, fork-stem, mirror, reservoir mounts | Tough-Claw fits 16–38 mm round, square or odd |
| Swapping phones | New phone = new case ($30–40) | Just put the new phone in |
| Wireless charging | Weatherproof head, ~$70 | Tough-Charge X-Grip |
| Typical kit price | $110–150 with case and dampener | $65–90 |
| Longevity | Plastic components, years of service | Effectively indestructible; riders report a decade |
Question 1: How long do you keep a phone?
Quad Lock only works with a Quad Lock case (or their universal adapter glued to yours, which adds a lump). If you upgrade every year, that’s a new $35 case every year and a period where your new phone doesn’t fit the bike. If you keep a phone three or four years, it’s a non-issue. RAM doesn’t care what phone it is — a bare iPhone, a Galaxy in a rugged case, a friend’s phone on a group ride. That flexibility is RAM’s whole argument.
Question 2: What does your engine feel like at 5,000 rpm?
Smooth inline-four: either mount is fine for the camera. Big single, parallel twin, V-twin or boxer: you need real vibration isolation, and that’s where the two diverge. Quad Lock’s add-on dampener is a proper elastomer stage; Bennetts’ instrumented testing found it cut transmitted energy by 45% at revs on an inline-four and was the better of the two dampeners tested on a BMW boxer. A bare RAM X-Grip on a rigid arm has only the rubber ball, which helps a little; RAM’s vibration-damping bases help more but add cost and length. If you ride a thumper and you care about your phone’s camera, Quad Lock plus dampener is the safer setup. On my Ténéré’s 689 cc twin, that’s what I run.
Question 3: Where does the phone need to sit?
RAM’s ball-and-socket arm points the phone wherever you want it — angled, offset, raised above a windscreen, tucked beside a dash. Quad Lock’s standard mounts hold a fixed angle relative to the bar; you choose the mount for the position (bar clamp, fork stem, mirror, brake reservoir) and get some adjustment, but not RAM’s freedom. If your cockpit is awkward, RAM solves problems Quad Lock can’t.
Security
Quad Lock’s twist-lock is a mechanical connection; the phone can’t come off without a deliberate press-and-turn. The X-Grip is friction: the arms hold the phone and the tether catches it if they don’t. Riders have run X-Grips at track speeds, and one Bennetts contributor bent the arms tighter and has had a phone stay put at 140 mph. Out of the box, though, the Quad Lock is the more secure connection, particularly for a phone mounted in portrait where wind can get underneath it.
What the same rider might own
Plenty of people have both: Quad Lock on the bike they ride most, a RAM on the second bike or the one that gets loaned out. And a growing number are switching from either to a CarPlay screen, which sidesteps the whole vibration question by leaving the phone in a pocket. If the camera damage risk bothers you and you ride a rough engine, that’s worth pricing up.
Verdict
Most riders on most bikes should buy Quad Lock plus the dampener. RAM is the right answer for a specific set of people — phone-swappers, case-refusers, awkward cockpits, shared bikes — and for them it’s the right answer by a wide margin. Neither is a mistake. Buying either without thinking about vibration is.
For the wider field — Peak Design, SP Connect and the rest — see Best motorcycle phone mounts.
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