# How do you guys mount or use your Garmin 60csx?



## Tinier (Apr 13, 2006)

I'm looking for a GPS for offroad navigation purposes. I have friends who use both the Etrex and the 60csX. The 60csX is clearly superior in it's signal reception under heavy tree cover and in urban areas. However, mounting the 60csX on the provided handlebar mount looks like a recipe for disaster when you crash. 

So how do you guys mount your 60csX? Is there a stem mount, or has anyone here adapted/ modified a barmount into a stem mount? Or do you guys just stick it in your camelbaks and stop every now and then to whip it out for a check?


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## brum (Dec 19, 2004)

Don't do the standard RAM Mount, it's screw-on. Same with the holders from Garmin, they always leave a thing on your bar even when youre not using the GPS. My solution consists of a RAM-cradle, a Lumicycle QR (Electron QR's are a bit better for heavy GPS'). Bolt them together with a M5/M6 stainless bolt and nut, a rubber ring in between to prevent slipping et voila:


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## Nordy (Mar 11, 2007)

Mine sits in my camelbak, not game enough to mount it to the bars (mainly because replacement cost in NZ is way expensive)


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

I keep mine in my Camelbak and it works fine. I stop and take it out it mark a waypoint, which i also name, so i would be stopping anyhow if it was on the bars. I used to ride with it in my pocket until i lost it during a ride and didn;t notice until te end of the ride, then had to go back out the next day as early as possible before anyone else could find it. Luckily i found it.


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## RJend (Jun 28, 2005)

*Camelbak GPS*



[email protected]net.com.au said:


> I keep mine in my Camelbak and it works fine. I stop and take it out it mark a waypoint, which i also name, so i would be stopping anyhow if it was on the bars. I used to ride with it in my pocket until i lost it during a ride and didn;t notice until te end of the ride, then had to go back out the next day as early as possible before anyone else could find it. Luckily i found it.


My Garmin came with a belt clip and lanyard. The lanyard is looped through a D ring on a Camelbak shoulder strap, and the belt clip is attached to the shoulder strap. This mounting has worked for me ever since spending an hour searching a leave and brush covered mountain side for a gps that left its bar mount.


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

RJend said:


> My Garmin came with a belt clip and lanyard. The lanyard is looped through a D ring on a Camelbak shoulder strap, and the belt clip is attached to the shoulder strap. This mounting has worked for me ever since spending an hour searching a leave and brush covered mountain side for a gps that left its bar mount.


That's not a bad idea, and i feel better knowing i'm not the only one that's had to look for their GPS. I thought it was a bit ironic looking for a lost GPS but the gf didn't see any humour in it.


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## Krein (Jul 3, 2004)

Tinier said:


> So how do you guys mount your 60csX? Is there a stem mount, or has anyone here adapted/ modified a barmount into a stem mount? Or do you guys just stick it in your camelbaks and stop every now and then to whip it out for a check?


I've always mounted mine on my handelbars, using the standard (~$15) Garmin mount. I have crashed on it and popped it off several times, but never broken it. After about 5000+ offroad miles the little cradle finally broke at the weakest point. The GPS just fell to the ground and I replaced the broken part with a zip tie. Worked for the rest of the Colorado Trail trip I was on.

Granted, when I do more technical/risky rides, I don't use it (I use something like a Foretrex 201) -- but there's no need for it in this case -- I'm just collecting data, not navigating.

My thinking is that if you need a 60CSX on your bars, you're in a new/unknown area, and should be riding with (more) caution, anyway. No guarantee you're not going to destroy it, but the likelihood is lower.

The other issue with handelbar usage (Garmin mount) is vibration / battery shake shut-off. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a bullet proof solution to this.


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## Tinier (Apr 13, 2006)

Thanks for the suggestions guys...but I think I might be withholding the 60csX purchase with the rampant rumours of the possible etrex with sirfstarIII..*keeps fingers crossed*

I ride in unfamiliar terrain, with lots of forks in the road which somehow comes at the best part (gentle rolling downhills). The tree cover is really thick, and my friends etrex constantly have problems getting a fix.


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## Nordy (Mar 11, 2007)

I borrowed a friends legend which didnt work at all in the city or in the forest and then read the reveiws on the Cx and decided it would be worth a try, it comes riding with me alot and has helped me map out alot of the places where I ride. All from inside my camelbak


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

I broke 5 garmin mounts before buying the bomb-proof RAM mount system


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## viewsion (May 29, 2006)

Bombproof? I don't think so, I broke 2 RAM mounts before switching to the garmin. Haven't broken the garmin mount yet...


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

viewsion said:


> Bombproof? I don't think so, I broke 2 RAM mounts before switching to the garmin. Haven't broken the garmin mount yet...


Really? Where did the mounts break? Were they same as that on my bike in the pic above?

I started using the Garmin mounts in '97, with the GPS38, then a GPS12. I broke 4 mounts, and then a fifth that was cobbled together from the parts of its dead brethren. Admittedly these were in crashes.

With the RAM mount, I am able to tighten the ball head just tight enough so that it won't move during riding, but will move rather than break in a crash. Been using it since '04, and no problems so far. (Touch wood.) In fact, my only concern has been to make sure that the mount is not overtightened on the bar, lest I crimp it!

Joe


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## viewsion (May 29, 2006)

joeadnan said:


> Really? Where did the mounts break? Were they same as that on my bike in the pic above?


The cradle cracked on the flexible arm. I had 2 so tossed it, then the ball mount broke. Sent an email to RAM, no response, disappointing. I liked the adjustability of the mount.

This was during the winter on road rides. Thin tires and rough roads cause more intense vibration than mtn biking, I think.

I always loop the lanyard around the handlebars


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

I'm surprised the ball mount broke, though yours certainly looks different from mine:










I'm not a fan of the stressed plastic cradle either, nor Garmin's slightly half baked idea of the button at the back of the GPS (held on by the teeniest of nutserts). Perhaps the cold may have made the plastic brittle.

Anyway, back to the OP's question, for the ne plus ultra of GPS mounts, check out Touratech mounts.


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## TroyS600 (Mar 29, 2007)

I've got a RAM mount for my GPSmap 76S for the motorcycles (on-road), i've been considering using it on the mt bike as well, but i'm a little concerned about vibrations/impacts from riding rough trails. I've got a full suspension bike, but still am nervous about how well the GPS would take the roughness.

Has anyone had a GPS damaged from this? I'm guessing not since you're all talking about crashing and breaking mounts and yet no broken GPS units. Maybe I don't need to worry.


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## gps_dr (Feb 27, 2007)

*I had a similar mount, that broke, emailed picture to them and they replaced it. It broke again. Both breaks were in the arms around the bar.
With my new bike I am trying a pair of rap274 mounts that eliminate the ball.
Not as adjustable, but I think it amplifies vibration less than having arms.
*


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## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

Just a head's up; your color fonts make it hard for those with colorblindness to read.


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

It seems the RAM mounts that are breaking are the plastic ones. The one I have is metal -- an aluminium baseplate clamped to the handlebar with a stainless U-bolt. I've had good luck with this metal version, although it is certainly not for weight weenies.

I hadn't realised RAM now made plastic mounts, and when I was referring to their "bomb-proof" mounts, I was of course referring to the metal one.


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## pinkheadedbug (Aug 16, 2006)

I use the bar mount. The GPS will pop off if you crash badly so one suggestion is to put a safety line on it, like you would a snowboard. Then if it pops off it still stays attached to the bike. 

I really like having it on the bar.


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## ribaldmanikin (Mar 9, 2006)

I tried the light quick release/ram mount option for my eXplorist on the weekend, and it worked pretty well. I was riding a rigid SS through some rough stuff, and the mount/gps hardly moved. 

It's a great option for anybody with more than one bike...


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## dan0 (Oct 12, 2005)

Tinier said:


> Thanks for the suggestions guys...but I think I might be withholding the 60csX purchase with the rampant rumours of the possible etrex with sirfstarIII..*keeps fingers crossed*
> 
> I ride in unfamiliar terrain, with lots of forks in the road which somehow comes at the best part (gentle rolling downhills). The tree cover is really thick, and my friends etrex constantly have problems getting a fix.


get 60 csx, it has a better screen, a memory chip and for $100 you can get the auto kit that has a mount, cable and north america streets and cities. so you can use it to get to the ride also


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## pinkheadedbug (Aug 16, 2006)

Agreed re 60Csx. The car mount kit rocks, and the interface is about a thousand times nicer too.


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