Tate Labs' Bar Fly presents yet another option for mounting your Garmin Edge 200, 500 or 800 computer in front of the bars instead of atop the stem as you would with the stock mount.
Some might rightfully scoff that it's a pricey piece of plastic, but we're guessing you'll have a hard time going back once you've experienced having your computer where it should be.
Like the K-Edge Garmin mount, the Bar Fly places the computer display in front of the bar, where it's both easier to view at a glance and more aesthetically pleasing than when it's perched on the stem. In all honesty, we're surprised Garmin hasn't released its own version yet.
Unlike the jewel-like, CNC-machined aluminum construction of K-Edge's Garmin mount, Tate Labs builds the Bar Fly from Delrin – an engineering plastic widely touted for its durability.
The Bar Fly might not be as pretty to look at as the K-Edge, nor does it come in different colors. But it's lighter (at just 19g), hasn’t shaved bits off our computer as our K-Edge tester did, and is US$10 (£11) cheaper, too. For reference, the stock Garmin mount weighs a measly 8g and costs US$9.99 (£8.99).
As always, though, we found room for improvement. Tate Labs intends the Bar Fly to center the computer in front of the stem, but the offset, single-bolt clamp can only accommodate handlebar clamp widths up to 40mm – a common figure, but with anything wider than that the computer will be off center.
We also prefer the K-Edge's lower position compared to the Bar Fly, which puts the computer about 2cm higher up. One suggestion we presented to Tate Labs was retaining the vertical offset of the current mount but turning it into a flip-flop, dual-sided design so that users could adjust the computer height by reversing the clamp from left to right (which, as we discovered later, has already been done).
The Bar Fly's high position won't be for everyone
The Bar Fly's computer interface also doesn't feel as fluid and 'clicky' as the stock Garmin mount. In fairness though, it's also a much tighter and more secure fit. We've been running Bar Fly mounts on both road and mountain bikes for several months now without coming close to losing a computer, even after crashes.
For sure, US$39.99 (£29) will seem like a lot of money for something like this. However, according to Tate Labs, the Bar Fly is selling like mad and the company can't keep them in stock. Clearly there's an awful lot of interest in this type of product.