Day: August 3, 2011

New Garmin cycling GPSs (such as the Edge 500 and Edge 800) use a new style of mount that can only be affixed to bikes with an elastic band mounting system. This Quarter Turn Bike Mount (Part Number: 010-11430-00) comes with EPDM bands for this mounting, and documentation (seen above) strongly suggests that the same sort of replacement band be used. This is a valid recommendation as EPDM is a very good material for long-term exposure to the elements, but it’s not always that easy to find a specialized material like this.

While Garmin sells the Bike Mount Elastic Bands (Part Number: 010-11430-01) set (six bands, three of each size) themselves for US$5.99, it’s possible to buy them from an industrial supply shop like McMaster-Carr for quite a bit less. Specifically, these rings appear to be as follows:

Small Garmin Elastic Band
AS568A Dash No.: -125
Width: 3/32″ (.103″ Actual)
Inner Diameter: 1 5/16″ (1.299″ Actual)
Outer Diameter: 1 1/2″ (1.505″ Actual)
McMaster-Carr Part Number: 9557K158
Price (as of 2011-Aug-03): US$9.12 for 50 Pieces

Large Garmin Elastic Band
AS568A Dash No.: -131
Width: 3/32″ (.103″ Actual)
Inner Diameter: 1 11/16″ (1.674″ Actual)
Outer Diameter: 1 7/8″ (1.880″ Actual)
McMaster-Carr Part Number: 9557K165
Price (as of 2011-Aug-03): US$9.62 for 50 Pieces

While a pack of 50 bands is overkill for most people’s needs, the price of ~20¢/ea is considerably better than Garmin’s ~$1/ea. At that price a group of friends, a team, or a shop could go in on a box of replacements and just keep them sitting around for use as needed. It also would be trivial to order smaller or larger bands if one needs the mount to fit larger or smaller surfaces; just be sure to get the 3/32″ (.103″ actual) bands and order whatever diameter desired.