Polaris MapTrap £15.00

With Audax and Etape riding ever increasing in popularity over unfamiliar roads, many of us now like to display maps and route sheets in such as way that we can simply glance down at them to navigate quickly as we ride along.

One of the most popular ways of holding this information is called a ‘MapTrap‘, made by Polaris and designed by Chris Juden, the technical editor of the CTC’s ‘Cycle‘ magazine. At £15.00 it is essentially a clear Perspex clip that has been designed to ‘trap’ the map, a bit like a big clear bulldog clip. Held securely in place with three zip ties located in screwed-on brackets, two on the bar and one along the stem, the MapTrap can be located conveniently just where it is needed for that quick glance down en route. At only 15cm long by 9cm wide, it is neat enough to not be too intrusive when not in use. I no longer bother to remove mine when riding on familiar roads, although the zip ties can with care be removed for those who may want to.

At that size the map is not covered completely of course, more just clipped in place, so we recommend that the map is put in a clear waterproof bag to protect it from the elements; appropriate sized clear sealable freezer bags are ideal. I personally use the latter when using route sheets. The MapTrap, as the name suggests, is designed to clamp a folded map; the Perspex does not clamp a single thickness route sheet so the freezer bags help in this respect.

Many also use the MapTrap in connection with a ‘Space Grip’, as although there is normally enough space for a computer to be fitted on the bars, the map will normally obscure it. This applies even more so when route sheets with mileage reference points are used, of course.