OTTOLOCK. Get in......

Planet X

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ottolock/ottolocktm-the-go-anywhere-cinch-lock-for-bikes-an

Looks good.
Yeah.....I know, someone is going to say "angle grinder". C4 also.

smacl

Planet X wrote: »

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ottolock/ottolocktm-the-go-anywhere-cinch-lock-for-bikes-an

Looks good.
Yeah.....I know, someone is going to say "angle grinder". C4 also.

Like so many kickstarter projects, comments suggest delays in getting the product and poor QA. Looks nice, but I'd tend to wait until its been on the shelves for a few months and read customer reviews again at that point.

velo.2010

So, the stainless steel bands are 1.8cm wide and traverse separately across the strap, which allow it to bend and coil fairly tightly. When pressed down with a bulky cutter, the bands unbend to a degree and 'almost' form a complete join. The operative word there is 'almost'! I think any sharp enough cutter with long levers would easily cut through where there is that weakness in the join. If the stainless steel bands ran longitudinally, then it would be stronger, but then that's basically a chain.

Dave_White

I like how they have put this just one security level below u-locks. That's pretty ambitious, considering that combination locks are extremely easy to pick.

ED E

Yeah, its a f'cking combo lock. With 3 dials. Not even bothered to put in 5.

All you need is a needle and 30-45 seconds to pick that. Or a cigar lighter. Kickfarted.

Thargor

Id swear Ive seen those in Aldi or Lidl already. Its an invitation to bike thieves its so small and flimsy looking.

wanderer 22

This got a lot more love when I posted it before...I think it'd be handy for coffee stops; if yours is the only bike locked it's going to be the last one nicked!

Inquitus

colm18 wrote: »

This got a lot more love when I posted it before...I think it'd be handy for coffee stops; if yours is the only bike locked it's going to be the last one nicked!

Aye if it can indeed stand up to a decent set of boltcutters with some good leverage it's an ideal deterrent for Sportives and Coffee Stops when leaving your bike unattended.

jamesd

I've one ordered for sportives and Sunday spins coffee stops, in our club I'm the only one that locks their bike at sportives / coffee stops and I always have.

Ive it in my head thatbif someone comes along to rob a bike they will go for an unlocked bike instead of mine.

Kaisr Sose

jamesd wrote: »

I've one ordered for sportives and Sunday spins coffee stops, in our club I'm the only one that locks their bike at sportives / coffee stops and I always have.

Ive it in my head thatbif someone comes along to rob a bike they will go for an unlocked bike instead of mine.

Your logic is 100%. Thieves will always go for the best opportunity and a unlocked bike will be it. I may get one too for same reason and for when skiing leaving my skis outside mountain huts.

brianomc

jamesd wrote: »

I've one ordered for sportives and Sunday spins coffee stops, in our club I'm the only one that locks their bike at sportives / coffee stops and I always have.

Ive it in my head thatbif someone comes along to rob a bike they will go for an unlocked bike instead of mine.

Same reason I ordered one, I guess I'm putting some faith in the manufacturer as I don't really want to test it with bolt cutters myself.
I'm still waiting on mine but they have recently asked for my phone number for the courier so hopefully have it in a week or 2.

PaulieC

Spendy enough. I'll stick with the hiplok for casual use.

sy_flembeck

jamesd wrote: »

I've one ordered for sportives and Sunday spins coffee stops, in our club I'm the only one that locks their bike at sportives / coffee stops and I always have

I tried to order just there but got the option of $33 or $35 shipping (plus fees). Is that the cheapest or did I miss something?

FWIW I'm ordering for the same sentiments as yourself.

07Lapierre

The weak point is the lock, not the cable.....

https://youtu.be/CHEW6EQhxg0

check_six

ED E wrote: »

Yeah, its a f'cking combo lock. With 3 dials. Not even bothered to put in 5.

All you need is a needle and 30-45 seconds to pick that. Or a cigar lighter. Kickfarted.

Yep, 3 dials has so few combinations that you could try them all pretty quickly without any other equipment. You're talking probably 5 minutes at the outside.

Alek

The problem with weak looking locks is that they will be tried first from the bunch. This will result in damaged lock, scratched frame and if the thief came well prepared, missing bike.

A fake, but huge Kryptonite copy made from cheese would be a better deterrent - thieves usually have no time to mess with locks that look difficult to be broken.

seamus

check_six wrote: »

Yep, 3 dials has so few combinations that you could try them all pretty quickly without any other equipment. You're talking probably 5 minutes at the outside.

Yeah, but as others say, that's five minutes poking at your bike versus 3 seconds grabbing someone else's bike and flying off. You're not going to be very successful running out of the shop in your cleats trying to catch the guy who just threw your bike in the back of a van.

This is the kind of thing that would be perfect for those occasions when you're out on a solo spin and want to pop into a shop to grab something, or on huge sportives when you have to leave your bike 100m away from the food stop.

A bulkier-looking lock might be a better deterrent, but you're not going to haul it around the ROK.

loyatemu

Alek wrote: »

The problem with weak looking locks is that they will be tried first from the bunch. This will result in damaged lock, scratched frame and if the thief came well prepared, missing bike.

A fake, but huge Kryptonite copy made from cheese would be a better deterrent - thieves usually have no time to mess with locks that look difficult to be broken.

in fairness, they've designed it for leisure cyclists who are nipping in for a coffee or into the shops - they don't claim it would stand up to any prolonged attempt to remove it. It's designed to be stronger than a cable lock, and much lighter than a U-lock so you can throw it into your jersey pocket or saddlebag.

I'm not sure how much of a weakness the 3 digit combination is, how many bikes do you know that have been stolen by having their lock picked rather than by brute force or tools?

07Lapierre

I've a smaller version of this:

http://crossovercycles.com.au/product/bike-lock-bbb-quickcode-bbl-65-cable-combination-lock-red/

I bought mine for €5 and its small/light enough to put in your back pocket. Its really just to deter an "Opportunist" thief.

When you consider how much bikes costs, a lock of any kind is better than nothing.

Alek

It's designed to be stronger than a cable lock, and much lighter than a U-lock so you can throw it into your jersey pocket or saddlebag.

Fair enough. It looks nifty as a secondary lock too.

I'd be actually interested if I did not have this one already - folds really small and fits jersey pocket too.

https://www.abus.com/uk/Mobile-Security/Bike-Safety-and-Security/Locks/Cable-locks/Tresor-1340/%28variant%29/21479

AndrewJRenko

Alek wrote: »

A fake, but huge Kryptonite copy made from cheese would be a better deterrent - thieves usually have no time to mess with locks that look difficult to be broken.

Not sure this is feasible - the prospect of any large lump of cheese making it untouched to the end of a ride with me is very low.

Planet X

Yeah.....secondary lock. Agreed.
Any bicycle lock can be defeated.
A lot of scrotes wouldn't have the ability/ intellegence to crack a 3 digit combo.
It depends on how far up the ladder you want to go with security.
This, it seems, is a capable temporary lock for securing for short stays. Coffee breaks etc.

mrcheez

colm18 wrote: »

This got a lot more love when I posted it before...I think it'd be handy for coffee stops; if yours is the only bike locked it's going to be the last one nicked!

Just get one of these cable locks instead for short-term lockage at a fraction of the price of the Ottolock.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001R4BPOI/

Had one of these for years for my backpack when leaving it on the beach etc.

Kaisr Sose

check_six wrote: »

Yep, 3 dials has so few combinations that you could try them all pretty quickly without any other equipment. You're talking probably 5 minutes at the outside.

1000 possible combinations starting from 000 through to 999 in 5 mins?

Thargor

Yep, we used to do that to each others bikes in school.

Kaisr Sose

Thargor wrote: »

Yep, we used to do that to each others bikes in school.

Of course it's possible – but not all the combinations in 5mins?

ford2600

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

1000 possible combinations starting from 000 through to 999 in 5 mins?

720 give the lad some credit 😀

There is a much quicker way though

ED E

Yeah you dont need to try every combo, just something sharp like a pin.

brianomc

Are most combination locks attached to bikes broken by solving the combination or just pulling the bike and snapping the rubbish cable attached to it?

Most bike thieves I would have thought would have bolt cutters or handheld angle grinder or just brute force using the bike as leverage to snap the cable. Are their lock-picking skills adequate to break the combination? Are we giving them too much credit or am I being naive?

I did have a similar lock that mrcheez links to above but was never confident in any way with it, when the ottolock arrives I will try break the other one to see for myself how strong it was.

tomasrojo

Maybe there's a market for some sort of titanium nurse's lock for road bikes. (The lock being made of titanium, not the nurse. Would have to be removable from the frame easily enough when unlocked, I suppose.)

tomasrojo

On the Batesian mimickry strategy (light lock that looks like a good u-lock), there is the aluminium Palmy lock. Pretty light, looks like a standard steel u-lock, easy to defeat if you realise that it isn't that.