My garmin 510 tabs broke for the second time in less than half a year in my barfly 2.0 mount - both times I went over a major bump on the road and the garmin flew out leaving the broken tab inside the mount. I brought it to the distributor previously and after a month they returned it with a new back panel, and I'm sure I can get that done again. But I have a niggling suspicion that the barfly might be the problem, though I cannot explain how exactly the mount can break the tabs off (It is their job to grip the unit tightly after all!).
Anyone has any thoughts on this, or perhaps stories to share? I googled it a bit and found some with similar breakages but I wasn't able to find out if the barfly (2.0) was the mount used for all those occasions as well.
Barfly 2.0 ripping my Garmin mounting tabs?
Moderator: robbosmans
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I've posted about this before, but yews the barfly 2.0 seems much tighter than a garmin OEM mount, and yes, I broke my tabs.
Subsequently I have taken a dremel and some fine sandpaper to the barfy so that my new garmin slides in with just enough retention force to hold it. nIt is now looser than a Garmin OEM, but I believe adequate.
Subsequently I have taken a dremel and some fine sandpaper to the barfy so that my new garmin slides in with just enough retention force to hold it. nIt is now looser than a Garmin OEM, but I believe adequate.
Hi rick, would you mind showing me where you did put the dremel to and the area you sanded down?
The distributor didn't ask the first time, and I had no reason to think that the mount might be the issue. I just returned it to them again and they told me that they will see if Garmin will do it for free. If I have to pay for a replacement back panel, so be it. They still didn't ask about me using 'counterfeit' mounts during the incident.
There were 3 areas that I modified on my mount:
#1: The top surface, which slides under the tab on the garmin, seemed too thick(tight). So I used some 440 grit sandpaper on a flat table and just sanded down the top surface of the barfly, which makes the engaging thickness thinner.
#2: The plastic "crossbars" in the mount, upon which are the nubs that engage the recesses in the back of the garmin tab, seem way too stiff, which increases the force required to insert the garmin. So I dremelled material away from the root of the cantilever to make the crossbars much more flexible.
#3: THere are some semicircular divits on the outer diameter of the garmin's tabs. They engage with semicircular bumps on the inside of the barfly that are hard to see. I didn't even know they were there until I inspected closely. It turns out that these bumps are a big contributor to the force required to engage the garmin into the barfly, because the full diameter of the garmin tab has to slide past the bumps before engaging into the divit. I dremelled these off until they are almost completely gone. The garmin still engages securely and "clicks" into place just on the force of the tabs in the rear.
I will post some pictures when I get a chance.
I did all these with frequent fit checks so I could get it to click-in "securely enough" without making it so loose that I would worry about it coming off over rough roads.
The Barfly is tighter than the OEM mount, but I personally know people who have also broken tabs using the OEM mount exclusively. The barfly might create a little extra stress, but inspection of the gramin tabs shows that they have stress concentrations molded in at the root of the tabs, so they are very vulnerable to begin with. It is a "less than optimum" design. But I am repeatedly surprised at how big companies still apparently have no mechanical engineers checking the designs.
#1: The top surface, which slides under the tab on the garmin, seemed too thick(tight). So I used some 440 grit sandpaper on a flat table and just sanded down the top surface of the barfly, which makes the engaging thickness thinner.
#2: The plastic "crossbars" in the mount, upon which are the nubs that engage the recesses in the back of the garmin tab, seem way too stiff, which increases the force required to insert the garmin. So I dremelled material away from the root of the cantilever to make the crossbars much more flexible.
#3: THere are some semicircular divits on the outer diameter of the garmin's tabs. They engage with semicircular bumps on the inside of the barfly that are hard to see. I didn't even know they were there until I inspected closely. It turns out that these bumps are a big contributor to the force required to engage the garmin into the barfly, because the full diameter of the garmin tab has to slide past the bumps before engaging into the divit. I dremelled these off until they are almost completely gone. The garmin still engages securely and "clicks" into place just on the force of the tabs in the rear.
I will post some pictures when I get a chance.
I did all these with frequent fit checks so I could get it to click-in "securely enough" without making it so loose that I would worry about it coming off over rough roads.
The Barfly is tighter than the OEM mount, but I personally know people who have also broken tabs using the OEM mount exclusively. The barfly might create a little extra stress, but inspection of the gramin tabs shows that they have stress concentrations molded in at the root of the tabs, so they are very vulnerable to begin with. It is a "less than optimum" design. But I am repeatedly surprised at how big companies still apparently have no mechanical engineers checking the designs.
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Zigmeister
- Posts: 938
- Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:09 pm
Running a 2.0 for about 3 months, no issues so far for me with my 500.
It is a bit tight when putting it in/out. I just put my fingers under the mount and push upward and I turn and push downward on the Garmin with engaging/disengaging. That would likely take some pressure off the tabs doing this.
Also, as the other poster, some fine sandpaper to smooth it out could help. Maybe light grease/wipe off so a slight residue is left to help with in/out?
It is a bit tight when putting it in/out. I just put my fingers under the mount and push upward and I turn and push downward on the Garmin with engaging/disengaging. That would likely take some pressure off the tabs doing this.
Also, as the other poster, some fine sandpaper to smooth it out could help. Maybe light grease/wipe off so a slight residue is left to help with in/out?
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CerveloMikey
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:20 pm
- Location: Burbank, CA
I have a 500 with a 2.0 and no problems... seems like it is all 510s. Could Garmin have cheaped out on the 510 ears on the back of the unit? Is the 510 heavier than the 500?
R2.5 / R3 / S-Works 29er (20 lbs) / S-Works SL4 Di2 (14.7 lbs)
No I don't think it's a 510 issue. I had my 500 break in the same place using a Garmin mount which was then fixed for free by Garmin. It's a design issue as I've heard of quite a few of people with both old and new devices who've had the issue.
In my opinion it's not the Bar Fly that's to blame. It's the weak material that Garmin uses for its tabs. I've broken two Garmins, lost one. My frustration resulted in inpiration - the G-SAVR. http://g-savr.com
Last edited by nrf000 on Tue May 12, 2015 4:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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