It seems we can't have too many aftermarket Garmin mounts these days, and Design Cycles is tossing its hat into the ring with the FlipLoc. The flip-flop design offers some mounting flexibility but the construction looks and feels a little cheap for our liking.
The key feature of Design Cycles' FlipLoc is its two-sided quarter-mount interface for Garmin's Edge 200 and 500 computers (sorry, it won't work consistently with the bigger Edge 800). This means you can mount the FlipLoc to whatever side of the stem clamp works best with your particular cable routing, with the added bonus of a little bit of height adjustment when you swap from left to right.
Design Cycles has also done a good job of tuning the feel of the computer interface. It's a bit tighter (and, thus, more secure) than a stock Garmin mount such as Tate Labs' Bar Fly but has a more distinct 'click' when the computer is fully engaged.
Likewise, it feels silkier to engage and remove than K-Edge's machined aluminum mount, and doesn't shave off little bits of plastic. Moreover, the FlipLoc is cheaper and lighter than both of those units, with a suggested retail price of US$35 and a paltry actual weight of 13g including the anodized aluminum bolt.
However, the 3D-printed plastic construction makes the FlipLoc notably flexier than other aftermarket mounts we've used, especially compared to the ultra-burly K-Edge. And the rough finish looks a bit chintzy to us, particularly given that its black color isn't deep enough to match most bars and stems.
More troubling is the fact that the computer is slightly tilted and doesn't sit perfectly square, almost as though the FlipLoc were sagging under the weight of all that data. Design Cycles sent multiple samples to us for review and, unfortunately, all were identical in this respect.
Were the cost differential greater between the FlipLoc and other competitors we'd be more willing to overlook its shortcomings. But as it is, such basic flaws are rather disappointing for a US$35 piece of plastic.