It's a good mount. I'm already invested in Quad-Lock though, and it performs very well.

 

I have the PD Gen#1 mount. It's very good. But I recently changed direction and went with a Perfect Squeeze mount built into my RKA Tankbag. I like where it puts the phone directly in front of me. Otherwise, I'd be all over the new PD wireless mount.

 

I use a Peak for Radar Detector and Quadlock wireless for iPhone. I prefer the Peak…

Duane

 

I would really like the Peak if that didn’t mean replacing my $60 D3O iPhone case that I already had that works well with my TackForm holder.
Tack Form recently came out with an improved and (now) anti-vibe cradle, allowing me to upgrade just the appropriate parts.
I appreciate the elegance of the Peak Design, but it only makes sense (to me) if starting from scratch, similar to QuadLock. TackForm will grip just about any phone case.

 

Looks nice, but I’m in the same boat with @Rambler358 and don’t have any need to switch at the moment.

 

Looks a like a pretty good mounting system. I'm too invested in Quadlock. But it's good to have choices and some healthy competition.

 

Thanks for the forward. It appears I've been putting off buying a mounting system for just this opportunity.

 

I've been thinking about this more. I'm on the PD mailing list, so they won't let me forget.

I'll probably pull the trigger for my F850GS. What I really like about it is that the mounting arm on the Bar Mount can be rotated and locked into 24 different positions for optimal phone placement and viewing angle. That solves a lot of the problems I have when my phone screen has too much glare, and a small adjustment will do the trick.

The Gen#1 mount I have on my GTL is really good. They've proved their mounting concept.

 

Update: I got my Qi2 wireless charging mount purchased through the Kickstarter program. I bar mounted it on my 850GS.

I have a iPhone 14 in a PD case. I was excited to try it out yesterday, but there is something not right. The phone shows as charging, but charge must be really weak because Apple Music is using more juice than the charge is adding. I have a support ticket into PD, so we’ll see what they come back with on Monday.

 

How are you powering the mount? Direct from battery or through the can bus? I recall reading some connections would be around 5w output and direct from battery would be the way to go.

 

Keep in mind wireless charging is only about 50% efficient at best. Apple only charges wirelessly at 15W, so that's 7.5W going in. Factor in heat and charging speed algorithms, and it could likely be less than that. On top of that, wireless charging generates more heat than plugging it in, so you're going to run into thermal throttling sooner. Add in a case for the phone which reduces thermal transfer and maybe a couple apps running up the processor, you see where I'm going with this.

You can buy a cable that displays how many watts are going into the device. Wireless charging is always going to be slower, hotter, and less efficient than plugging it in.

 

Keep in mind wireless charging is only about 50% efficient at best. Apple only charges wirelessly at 15W, so that's 7.5W going in. Factor in heat and charging speed algorithms, and it could likely be less than that. On top of that, wireless charging generates more heat than plugging it in, so you're going to run into thermal throttling sooner. Add in a case for the phone which reduces thermal transfer and maybe a couple apps running up the processor, you see where I'm going with this.

You can buy a cable that displays how many watts are going into the device. Wireless charging is always going to be slower, hotter, and less efficient than plugging it in.

Try 70-80% for efficiency.

 

Try 70-80% for efficiency.

You're right, I overstated the transfer losses. Most are much better than 50%, I think that figure was more accurate quite a few years ago before the new standards were implemented. From what I see after looking further, the average modern wireless phone charger is around 60-75% efficient. So maybe around the middle of what the two of us are quoting. The efficiency numbers change quite a bit based on conditions, and I think you could only achieve 80% efficiency in the most optimal setup.

You're correct on all this. I got caught up in the hype and gave it a try. I understand less efficient (be it 50% or 80%), but it was only able to keep the charge left on the phone, which at the time was 65%. I experienced zero net gain.

Also, in my simple thinking, the term "wireless" is a misnomer. Instead of the cord being plugged into the phone, the cord is plugged into the charger. I'm still staring at a cord I'd rather not see. All this aside, I'm looking forward to what PD has to say.

I'm glad you gave it a shot. I use the Peak Design mount, and I think it's maybe the best on the market. I'm glad they made a locking motorcycle version and someone here went and tried it. I've been curious to give it a shot if it gets good reviews. Maybe their version 2.0 could have a better cord arrangement, but I'm still interested.

 

I usually run at least Waze, Spotify or SXM and Rever on my iPhone using QuadLock mag charging and other than in extreme heat (sun and maybe 95+ degrees) situations it can usually keep up.

I know this is not QL vs. PD debate, but anyway. I kind of like the way the PD looks, but since I’m already invested in the QL ecosystem, I’m going to stick with it for now.

Definitely interested to hear what PD says.

 

I have a bracket in my top box that my phone clips to along with a wired cable. Keeps the phone out of the way and safe. And when I get in the motel at night, it's fully charged.

 

To the points made by @Rat_Trap and @coyotek regarding wireless charging efficiency, here is a PD article buried in the FAQ section of their site:

Wireless Charging Specs for Peak Design Mobile Products

I found the following in the article (buried at the bottom) interesting:

Wireless charging is not as fast as corded charging no matter what charger or phone model you may have. If you want the best performance possible you should try and keep your charger as cool as possible.

I should have been more diligent in my research before ordering. I bought into their marketing hype and let my guard down. I've had nothing but phrase for the previous products I've purchased from PD, so there you go. Still waiting for a reply to my support request......

 

To the points made by @Rat_Trap and @coyotek regarding wireless charging efficiency, here is a PD article buried in the FAQ section of their site:

Wireless Charging Specs for Peak Design Mobile Products

I found the following in the article (buried at the bottom) interesting:

Wireless charging is not as fast as corded charging no matter what charger or phone model you may have. If you want the best performance possible you should try and keep your charger as cool as possible.

I should have been more diligent in my research before ordering. I bought into their marketing hype and let my guard down. I've had nothing but phrase for the previous products I've purchased from PD, so there you go. Still waiting for a reply to my support request......

The speed of charging depends on a bunch of things. How many coils they have, how they did the spacing etc. This is timely as I'm currently working on a night stand project. I welded the frame up and was working on the top and shelf for it. I decided to make the shelves using wood/poured epoxy and the top will have a wireless charger poured into it. I've been doing some testing and I found that if I put my phone directly on the charger, it said it would be charged in 24 mins. If I plugged the same wall adapter into the phone directly, it said full charge in 26 mins (not much difference). But if I spaced the phone up 1", it went to 45 mins. This is all at room temp of course. I don't have any info on how temp effects it.

 

@coyotek I have a few wireless chargers in the house that I use to charge our iPhones and iWatches. They're sleek and more aesthetically pleasing than simply plugging wires into the devices. Most of the time I plug them in at night before bed, so I'm not really concerned with absolute charge times. They're always 100% charged when I fetch them in the morning.

Wireless charging on a bike (to me) is a different animal. When I'm running power intensive phone navigation apps while listening Apple Music, fast charging that generates the least amount of heat possible is my top objective. Apparently, PD is saying (in an indirect way) that corded charging is your best bet for that objective. It would have been helpful if they documented these trade-offs up front without searching through FAQs. I understand that it's my responsibility to dig this stuff out ahead of time, but it still irks me. This hasn't been my PD experience in the past.

 

Coyotek, you seem the one to ask; does a wireless charger, such as this PD example, when directly connected to the battery have a stand-alone current draw, i.e. no phone, watch, etc., charging?

 

Yes. How much would depend on the design. It's not a good idea to connect them direct to the battery.

 

Update: I was about to give up on the PD wireless charging as an experiment. But I thought about PD using USB-C charging as their default power cord as opposed to the secondary USB-A charging option they also make available. I have a USB-C power bank I use for emergencies, so I plugged into that to see if that made any difference. It does! I'm getting a net plus charge while running navigation on the phone.

For me, it means having to plug into the USB-C power bank that I can keep in my tank bag, but that will work. Until it doesn't.

 

Can you not just use one of these? One has to wonder why they didn't make their product 12v in given it's going on a vehicle.

Amazon.com: 2-Pack 12V 24V DC to 5V 3A USB Female DC Converter Adapter Buck Module : Electronics

Amazon.com: 2-Pack 12V 24V DC to 5V 3A USB Female DC Converter Adapter Buck Module : Electronics

www.amazon.com

 

I don’t pretend to understand the electronics piece of this. What I know through experimentation is that when I used the USB-A options (USB-A port on bike, and also USB-A from battery through SAE-to-SAE interface), the charge was relatively weak. On the other hand, USB-C directly from the wireless charger to the USB-C port on the power bank seems to work as intended.

Again, I’m only reporting what I experienced.

 

I took a peek at the specs for your mount, they use PD (Power Delivery) which is the newest charging standard. What makes this charge faster through USB C compared to USB A in your case is your power bank is probably ramping up the voltage. Quick charge and PD support 5v, 9v, 12v, which at the same amperage delivers more charge to your device. PD can also deliver higher voltages, but the Peak design mount looks to be voltage limited at 12v. The charger and product communicate with each other and decide together what voltage to use. There's actually a new PD 3.1 standard that can deliver 240 Watts through a USB C cable, but that's a little overkill for our application right now.

Your USB A port is likely 5v only and the Peak Design mount appears to be current limited at 1.67 amps. That's probably why it wasn't charging very well!

When you look for a USB C charger for the bike, try to get one that is using the PD protocol, it'll be right in the product name on Amazon. This also helps to future proof it. Even the older Quick Charge protocol would be good, the charger will say something like 20 watts or 30 watts. I think most modern USB C chargers will support multiple voltages, so you should be good with the cheaper and simpler options.

 

There is some smarts going on with the new chargers. As in they communicate. My new pad charger I got for the table charges almost as fast as a wired one when I use the USB brick that came with it. If I plug it into one of my other 3amp usb device outlets, it won't charge at all, just blinks red. It knows. I was reading some on the USB specs and it's not as uniform as most think. It's not the connector type though because my pad has a USB C to USB A cable. Sucks it's trial and error.

 

I have this charging port wired up and zip tied to my right handlebar cable bundle (pictured is my previous A port only charging port). It has both the A and C ports with the PD charging system. It has an on/off switch so I have it wired to the battery so that I can charge my Sena while stopped for lunch and still be able to turn it off when parked in the garage for extended periods of time. The one down side to this model is the blue digital display for voltage is very dim, almost unreadable. My bike TFT display shows voltage so I really don't need that blue display.

Amazon.com: RANDPOW Motorcycle Phone Charger, Dual USB Quick Charge 3.0 Type C PD with ON/Off Switch, Waterproof Quick Disconnect SAE to USB Adapter - Blue : Automotive

Buy RANDPOW Motorcycle Phone Charger, Dual USB Quick Charge 3.0 Type C PD with ON/Off Switch, Waterproof Quick Disconnect SAE to USB Adapter - Blue: Battery Chargers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

I received my PD wireless ball mount charger late last week. I'm a bit dismayed (and untrusting) that part of the mount system had to be self-assembled by the end user. Namely a plastic square clip type "thingy" had to be stuck to the mount in a designated area with pre applied adhesive that was covered by a pull strip. There is a halfhearted attempt at humor to explain why the end user must perform this assembly but does not succeed in doing so. My concern is how strong is this bond for such a seemingly critical piece to hold a $1500 phone?


Addendum;

I'm trying to ask this exact question to PD customer support but run into their e-mail bot snooper.

 

I received my PD wireless ball mount charger late last week. I'm a bit dismayed (and untrusting) that part of the mount system had to be self-assembled by the end user. Namely a plastic square clip type "thingy" had to be stuck to the mount in a designated area with pre applied adhesive that was covered by a pull strip. There is a halfhearted attempt at humor to explain why the end user must perform this assembly but does not succeed in doing so. My concern is how strong is this bond for such a seemingly critical piece to hold a $1500 phone?

The phone is held by the built-in top and bottom clip. The plastic "thingy" is mounted in-between as the charging interface. You phone is extremely secure.

I too wondered why it wasn't fully assembled in the box. I'm guessing because it allows them to use the same base head for charging and non-charging units. Still....

 

My 2020 GSA originally came with the stock BMW DIN socket on the lower right of the TFT and which I later replaced with a Wunderlich dual socket USB/USB-C fast charger. Plug and play with the stock wiring harness. A few months ago I installed a Wunderlich cockpit cover, which is the crescent shaped cover below the TFT and came pre-drilled for the charger. I drilled another hole on the left side and installed another dual socket charger using @coyotek wiring harness. I run my Chigee AIO-5 Play (for CarPlay), Uniden R4 radar detector and iPhone (which stays in my tank bag) all from USB or C without issue.

 

And it handles tip overs without any issue!

 

I use the Quadlock Mount with the Wireless Charging head for my iPhone 15 Max Pro. I like the anti-vibration setup on the Quadlock as I don't want to destry the sensitive camera in the Phone.

To provide power to the Quadlock Wireless Charge, I have just installed the Chigee TR100 Two-Way Charging Hub.

TR100 Two-way Charging Hub

Stay charged on long rides with the TR100 Charging Hub—your reliable USB and battery charger maintainer for worry-free travels.

www.chigee.com

This 100W hub provides two outlets; USB-A and USB-C and can be used with either lead acid or lithium batteries. What sets it apart is that it can be used as an emergency charger if you have a dead battery. You just set it to reverse charge and then plug a USB power bank into the USB-C port.

 

I went ahead and purchased the USB charger @Arizona Jim referenced in post #33. I went out for a test ride this morning, and it works as advertised. I was surprised at how fast the phone charged up while running MRA phone navigation and Apple Music.

So, I'm keeping the Peak Design Qi2 mount charger. I'm a big fan of the Peak Design mounts, and really didn't want to try a different brand. All is good.

 

Awesome to hear. I'm still waiting for a phone case. November 25 is now the date for the case shipment. 😄