Reddit mentions of Satechi Bikemate Slim Case 3 for iPhone 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, 4, 3GS, 3G, BlackBerry Torch, HTC EVO, HTC Inspire 4G, HTC Sensation, Droid X, Droid Incredible, Droid 2, Droid 3, Samsung EPIC, Galaxy S2, S3

I use this for my Galaxy S3 with an otterbox case on it. I'm not sure if the S4 is the same size, but I assume it is.

It works well. It is secure, generally weatherproof (but you don't want to submerge it) and I'm able to adequately use the touchscreen while the case is on. The only drawback is that there is bad glare in bright sunlight, so you've got to wait for a shady patch to see the screen on a bright day.

I used the following with my Samsung Galaxy 3 when I first started out cycling

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006N0T674/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?qid=1411935126&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

It works great and doesn't break the bank.

However, after a couple of months I retired the mount + phone set up. Strava eats through batteries quick. I invested $90 on a Garmin Edge 200. Less profile and way longer battery life.

I can't answer most of your questions, but I can give advice for one or two things. As far as the bike shorts go, don't feel that it's necessary to wear them for every ride. And wearing shorts over them is definitely an option. I wear a pair of more 'form-fitting' but not overly long shorts over my bike shorts (me in bike shorts is more than anybody but my gf ever wants to see.) But, you might want to buy a jersey shirt, if only for the pockets on the back. If you want to carry anything on longer rides, the bouncing of stuff in shorts/pants pockets gets old REALLY fast.

And as far as the pedals and shoes go, I'd advise waiting on the clipless ones. They're nice as far as riding goes, but I'd get used to everything else on the bike first. They'll probably run more than $25 bucks if you decide to upgrade to them (although there are less expensive ones out there - they usually start around $40-50 for the cheaper ones.) Shoes will cost a good bit too. But they aren't an absolute necessity - in fact, you can pedal a SPD pedal with normal shoes in a pinch, it's just a bit less stable.

And as far as apps go, you'll probably be up a river looking for that functionality (especially the crash reporting.) However, the most popular (and the 4 that I use regularly - aka every ride) are Strava Ride with GPS Map My Ride and Endomondo. Ride with GPS has live logging (every minute) for you SO to track you if you wish. All of them do map tracking for free. Advanced statistics are available to subscribers and/or Pro/Plus (paid) versions of the apps on the Play Store. They'll work with bluetooth HR sensors as well. Find out which one works best for what you want before you shell out cash for these subscriptions...

As for the mount, I have a waterproof one that was about $30 here in Japan, but probably isn't available in the States. NVM FOUND IT. It works adequately, but my phone is prone to overheating in the sun (not a top quality phone) as the bag seals and there is no ventilation. Although it does lock the phone securely to the bike. Between that and a constantly checking speed and stuff I switched to carrying my phone in my jersey pocket when it's especially warm outside.

Well for Strava, this is amazing: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006N0T674/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use this not the best mount, but works great on my road bike with runkeeper.

It's a 2013 Motobecane Gran Premio. Steel frame with Shimano 105 parts on it. There will be some slight white scratches on the left side of the top tube.

Everything you see in the first photo was on the bike except for the camelbak bottles. This includes [a Satechi Bikemate Slim Case] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006N0T674/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), a [Cosmos bike speaker] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WO7ECG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), an Avenir Big Mouth bag, a Mirrycle bell, a Planet Bike Super Flash, and two Topeak black plastic adjustable bottle cages.

The bike was stolen near Johnson and Wales university. I previously registered the bike and serial with the police in my hometown and I will be able to recover the serial number tomorrow.

Thanks in advance for keeping an eye out!

Bikemake Slim Case

Inexpensive, fits great and you don't have to buy a new case/mount when you get a new phone.

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I went with http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006N0T674 in the end. Really great case so far and have used it on short and long distance.

I've got to say I disagree with this. I use a Bikemate case with my Galaxy S3 and use it all the time. I love it for going on new solo routes to get turn-by-turn directions and avoid going on a 5 mile detour when I get lost.

The biggest challenges I face are sun glare and battery life. If you keep the screen on bright to overcome the sun glare, the battery life isn't long enough for a 4+ hour ride. In those cases, I usually end up turning the screen off when I don't need it (no turns for a long time, familiar with the route in that area, etc.). It is much easier to access the controls, and see the screen, mounted on my bike than it is digging it out of my back pocket.

FWIW to the OP, my bikemate mount certainly isn't waterproof (i.e., you wouldn't want to submerge it), but I've ridden through some pretty significant Florida downpours without any problems.

Water resistant, simple to use, easy top mount in a variety of configurations.

Canada Amazon link, mount is slightly different