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German BMX/MTB company NC-17 has produced an upscale iPhone holder made from solid aluminum. There’s a video of the holder here.
The 89.95 Euro handlebar bracket complements NC-17’s new app which turns an iPhone into a large wireless bike computer. This is quite a departure for NC-17’s Udo Ochendalski, who many call ‘Germany’s Gary Fisher.’ Why the switch? Jo Beckendorff interviewed Ochendalski for the Eurobike Show Daily.
ESD: You spearheaded the German BMX scene in the 1980s and the mountain bike scene in the 1990s. Are you now turning into an Apple Fanboy?
Udo: Not really. As a tuning company we take standard bikes and take a close look to make them better, in our way. Now, with e-bikes we need access to the drive control system to process our tuning ideas. Therefore we chose the Apple iPhone as it best fits the needs we have in order to perform this function.
ESD: Handlebar-mounted iPhone holders are nothing new. What makes yours unique?
Udo: Our holder is robust, made from 100 percent Aluminium 7075 T6. It’s upscale. Our customers have 8kg bikes costing 4,000+ Euros; our holders are more aesthetic than others on the market. We have a holder for the iPhone 3 and for the new iPhone 4. We also have a NC-17 hub charger that works with most hub dynamos to charge mobile electronic devices.
ESD: Tell us about your iPhone app.
Udo: First, we need a ‘dashboard’ to get the access to an e-bike drive controller. Why not then also integrate a professional cycle computer into the function set? We decided to go with the ANT+ wireless protocol and offer all the usual sport functions like speed, heart-rate, power, cadence, GPS position and so on.
We have two Cycle NC-17 apps available in Apple’s App Store via iTunes. The standard cycle computer is a free download. To get the full ANT+ function you need the 5 Euro app and a 75 Euro NC-17 dongle that attaches to the iPhone.
The new iPhone holder is available for the 3 and 3G right now and will be available for the iPhone 4 soon.
In the UK, the holder has been snapped up by Chain Reaction of Belfast.
