Review: BioLogic ReeCharge Case For iPhone And Bicycle Mount Holds Its Own

In my last article about how technology is bringing bicycling into the 21st century, I stated that much of that forward push is from accessories. A big part of smart phone accessories is cases to protect your smart phone from everyday bumps and drops, but also from the elements and from hardcore, physical activities. I spent this summer putting review units of bicycle smartphone cases and mounts through their paces while commuting to work 30 miles a day via bike. Why, you might ask, in an age of distracted driving and the associated dangers would you want to have your smartphone on your handlebars? Too many drivers don’t pay any attention to cyclists and too many cyclists don’t pay attention to cars as it is, right? There are definitely too many cyclists that don’t pay attention to anything, but I consider myself part of the other camp of cyclists that rides with the belief that everyone on the road around me is aiming for me. In spite of that of careful mindset I found I love having my iPhone on my handlebars because I’m a heavy user of the MapMyRide+ iOS app from MapMyRide.com and record all of my rides. You can easily use MapMyRide and leave your iPhone in your pannier or jersey pocket. If you do that though, you lose the ability to have handy access to Google-based maps. The maps in MapMyRide allow you to view an overview of the current map or your can load maps of pre-created rides. That is, for me, precisely the point of having such a case and bike mount.

BioLogic‘s ReeCharge case has a built-in 1400 mAh lithium polymer battery for charging your iPhone and can recharge itself using a dynamo hub to generate electricity while riding or can be charged (off-bike) via mini USB cable. I don’t have a dynamo hub so I didn’t test that feature, but I always kept the battery charged via USB cable and used it often to recharge my iPhone while riding. The ReeCharge’s battery could give me one full charge for my iPhone; the ReeCharge case is meant as a case and mount combo, while the case is really only meant to be used while on your bike. ReeCharge’s case is too big and bulky to comfortably fit in your pocket though for anything but the quickest trip off your bike. I would have preferred a case that didn’t require me to remove my iPhone 4S when I was done riding, but it’s easy enough to do that it’s not that big of a problem. The case is a hard plastic clamshell with a clear plastic cover on the front. There is an O ring around the edge and then a two-way locking clasp keeps the case closed. The phone is responsive through the clear plastic front and there is a black piece of plastic to make pressing the home button easier. One item to note is that when the phone is in the case and the case is closed, you can’t use the phone for making a call because the microphone is blocked and the speakers are muffled. This isn’t an issue though if you use a bluetooth headset. The instructions say that you set the brightness of the display to its highest setting while in the case and I would concur with that if you use the iPhone in the case when its light. If its dark outside, you can leave the brightness on less than the highest setting as I often do to make my charge last longer.

The ReeCharge case does an excellent job of protecting your smartphone from drops and bounces, which I tested just by being my sometimes clumsy self.  Hoping to not anger the cycling mojo, I didn’t do any endos (look at the second definition) or even fall over when I starting riding with clipless pedals for the first time ever, so I didn’t test the protection of the case to its fullest extent. The ReeCharge case is rated to IPX4 water resistance and I can attest to that from sweat and light rain while riding. Other bike-mount cases available are rated to be waterproof.

Bicycle mount with Dynamo hub cable

The bicycle mount was easy to mount without looking at any instructions. If you had never mounted anything on your handlebars before, the instructions are clear enough for to make that job simple. The ReeCharge Case easily clips in and out of the mount and feels extremely secure. I’ve ridden on smooth road surfaces and bumpy single-tracks and never felt like the phone would fall from the mount. The top of the mount can pivot 180 degrees so you can view your screen horizontally or vertically. With all the hardware on my handlebars, I can only use it in a vertical position.

It was great having this unit on my handlebars and having easy access to maps while cycling over the last several months. If this case had been designed to allow the phone to stay in sort of a bumper case all the time and take the bumper-case clad iPhone in and out, I would love that. The unit I originally received for review was from an early production run and had a problem with the USB connection, but the company was quick in sending me a new unit where the problem had been completely resolved.

I don’t text while driving my car, so I don’t plan on texting while I am riding my bicycle. But it’s only a matter of time until there is a cycling versus pedestrian or vehicle accident where the verdict is that the cyclist was riding distracted. Don’t let that be you and pick up a BioLogic ReeCharge Case.