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Mention the word Garmin and you think GPS. Whether your'e talking automotive, running or cycling GPS, Garmin has a product for it. 

One thing Garmin overlooked (until very recently), however, is a bicycle mount for the excellent Edge Series. 


Sure, the supplied mount and industrial strength rubber band system does a more than adequate job at securing the computer to your bike, BUT, it gets some minus points for looks. I mean.... rubber bands???


Enter the Barfly. 


Coming Tate Labs, the Barfly takes Garmin's trick twist computer mount and integrates it with an oversize (31.8 mm) handlebar mount. 





The Barfly's 1/8th Turn mount compatible with the whole Edge series (200, 500, 800) and the 910XT and 310XT watches as well. 



The Barfly is made from an engineering grade plastic called Delrin, a Polyoxymethylene. As such, it's strong enough for its intended function and very light weight. A metal nut is embedded on the underside of the unit where the screw bolts in to secure the barfly onto the handlebar. Weight is 19 grams inclusive of screw.



As seen above, be prepared to suffer a weight penalty of 12 grams when swapping out the default Garmin mount for a Barfly. 

                                     

The Barfly slips easily enough around the bars and installation is self explanatory. Recommended torque is 'snug by hand'. No torque wrenches needed here. 

                                      

The Barfly handles the Edge 200 and 500 with ease and copes with the Edge 800's weight. The computers are displayed prominently and at a neck-friendlier angle.  



The Barfly lacks the familiar 12 o'clock 'lock' position which the default Garmin mount has. Instead, the computer is free to be positioned securely anywhere in between the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions. No issues from this at all, except that we probably had gotten used to the 12 o'clock lock of the default.


The Barfly comes in a variant for time trial bikes.... the aptly named Barfly TT. This version is designed to mount on the clip-ons instead of the handlebars proper. 





I mentioned at the start that Garmin overlooked this market and was noticeably absent from the computer mount party. Tate Labs, K-Edge, Quarq and now even SRAM have mounts for the Edge series. But this is no more. Garmin is about to release their own mount called Out Front 





The uninspiredly named Garmin Out Front features a hinged handlebar clamp and repositionable entry/mount...you can have your computer mounted in the 12/6 o'clock or 9/3 o'clock positions. We'll definitely take a look at this once it comes out. 


Garmin accessories are akin to Apple's in that they have become unreasonably expensive for what they are. We got our Barfly for around Php 2,150. Abroad these cost USD 40, which may be a bit too much for something which isn't really a Cycling essential. 


But as they say, if you gotta have it, by all means bite the bullet and go for it!


Verdict


Gives your cockpit a neater look. Newer revised version 40% cheaper. 


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