My light audax bike

[...Who Cares]

I ride what I like to think of as the ultimate audax bike. It cost a lot of money and time to make a
darn light bike with a rack & mudguards. The problem is my lock and chain weighs a bloody ton!!!
Thereby negating any weight reduction I've previously made.

So help me out here, I need the lightest yet secure lock known to man. A 50cm circumference would do
the job and it needs to be secure for up to 15mins at a time outside shops, library, etc.

--
I eat dead things. I peck out eyes. I'm a raven. It's my nature.

 

[Joel Mayes]

In article <[email protected]>, ...who cares wrote:
> I ride what I like to think of as the ultimate audax bike. It cost a lot of money and time to make
> a darn light bike with a rack & mudguards. The problem is my lock and chain weighs a bloody ton!!!
> Thereby negating any weight reduction I've previously made.
>
> So help me out here, I need the lightest yet secure lock known to man. A 50cm circumference would
> do the job and it needs to be secure for up to 15mins at a time outside shops, library, etc.

Someone here might be able to prove me wrong but IMHO a light weight lock and a secure lock are two
completly different things, and shall never meet.

--
| Joel Mayes | Linux and OpenBSD | /"\ ASCII ribbon | Accordionist | | \ / campaign against |
| Musician | My PC, My Rules | X HTML mail and | Music Teacher | | / \ postings |

 

[Frank Krygowski]

"...who cares" wrote:
>
> I ride what I like to think of as the ultimate audax bike. It cost a lot of money and time to make
> a darn light bike with a rack & mudguards. The problem is my lock and chain weighs a bloody ton!!!
> Thereby negating any weight reduction I've previously made.
>
> So help me out here, I need the lightest yet secure lock known to man. A 50cm circumference would
> do the job and it needs to be secure for up to 15mins at a time outside shops, library, etc.

How common is bike theft in your area?

In mine, there are no professional bike theives, AFAIK. For decades now, I've done perfectly well
with a very thin, homemade cable and a simple padlock. The plastic-coated cable is only about 1/4"
thick, including the plastic. I've used this (and only this) everywhere I've ever traveled. I've
used it downtown, while I attended meetings lasting over an hour. I've used it on extended tours,
including international ones.

Now, to be sure, I think carefully about where I'll park the bike. For all-day storage at our
university, I lock it in a lab, because bikes have been stolen there. But otherwise, this has
served me well.

In summary, it may be necessary to be too paranoid. For just 15 minutes, you may not need much.

--
Frank Krygowski [email protected]

 

[Matt O'Toole]

...who cares wrote:

> I ride what I like to think of as the ultimate audax bike. It cost a lot of money and time to make
> a darn light bike with a rack & mudguards. The problem is my lock and chain weighs a bloody ton!!!
> Thereby negating any weight reduction I've previously made.
>
> So help me out here, I need the lightest yet secure lock known to man. A 50cm circumference would
> do the job and it needs to be secure for up to 15mins at a time outside shops, library, etc.

I have a Kryptonite "lite" model D-lock that's supposed to be a good compromise between security and
weight, according to some review I read. It's done the job so far, weighs a couple of pounds, and is
pretty compact.

Matt O.

 

[Squid-In-Traini]

> Now, to be sure, I think carefully about where I'll park the bike. For all-day storage at our
> university, I lock it in a lab, because bikes have been stolen there. But otherwise, this has
> served me well.

I am willing to bet that 90% of thievery occurs at night. Which is why I don't even leave my $65
Giant Kronos outside at night. Ever.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Andymorris]

Matt O'Toole wrote:
> ...who cares wrote:
>
>> I ride what I like to think of as the ultimate audax bike. It cost a lot of money and time to
>> make a darn light bike with a rack & mudguards. The problem is my lock and chain weighs a bloody
>> ton!!! Thereby negating any weight reduction I've previously made.
>>
>> So help me out here, I need the lightest yet secure lock known to man. A 50cm circumference would
>> do the job and it needs to be secure for up to 15mins at a time outside shops, library, etc.
>
> I have a Kryptonite "lite" model D-lock that's supposed to be a good compromise between security
> and weight, according to some review I read. It's done the job so far, weighs a couple of pounds,
> and is pretty compact.
>
> Matt O.

They do a mini u lock as well, which is lighter than a full size one and more secure as its harder
to get tools inside it (that what Kryptonite say). If it will work in your locking situation its a
good as a big one.

Also it look kind of cute.

--
Andy Morris

AndyAtJinkasDotFreeserve.Co.UK

Love this: Put an end to Outlook Express's messy quotes
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>, Joel Mayes <[email protected]> wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, ...who cares wrote:
> > I ride what I like to think of as the ultimate audax bike. It cost a lot of money and time to
> > make a darn light bike with a rack & mudguards. The problem is my lock and chain weighs a bloody
> > ton!!! Thereby negating any weight reduction I've previously made.
> >
> > So help me out here, I need the lightest yet secure lock known to man. A 50cm circumference
> > would do the job and it needs to be secure for up to 15mins at a time outside shops,
> > library, etc.
>
> Someone here might be able to prove me wrong but IMHO a light weight lock and a secure lock are
> two completly different things, and shall never meet.

I think at some point you have to decide a few things:

1) how likely is theft in your area

2) how desirable is your bicycle

3) how much will it hurt to lose the bike (a combination of insurance and emotional considerations)

I'm in a suburban area where I'm pretty sure my well-worn Pinarello looks like a crappy theft target
compared to the more liquid MTBs that everyone else rides. As a result, I use a ridiculously cheap
cable lock to secure it for short errands, or take it inside the bicycle shop when I go there.

When I ride it to work, I have a monstrously heavy roller-link lock designed for motorcycles, and I
leave it on the rack at work and lock up the bike there.

15 minutes, for an audax bike (trans: terribly uncool), in an environment that isn't a downtown core
or a college campus sounds like a situation in which you won't need much of a lock. I'm pretty sure
the Esge fenders on my Pinarello reduce its desirability .

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

[B. Sanders]

"...who cares" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I ride what I like to think of as the ultimate audax bike. It cost a lot
of
> money and time to make a darn light bike with a rack & mudguards. The problem is my lock and chain
> weighs a bloody ton!!! Thereby negating any weight reduction I've previously made.
>
> So help me out here, I need the lightest yet secure lock known to man. A 50cm circumference would
> do the job and it needs to be secure for up to 15mins at a time outside shops, library, etc.

Years ago, I drew up plans for just such a lock. It was to be a "spider" design (it looks like a
spider), with wide, flat arms made from flexible strands of Kevlar inside a thin radially-belted
casing of Kevlar, covered in a tough polymer housing. The arms would all connect to a central
composite-encased lock mechanism (internal to the "spider" shape).

The flat composite arms would be too fat for bolt cutters (by design), and almost impossible to saw
through, since the fine strands of Kevlar would get stuck in the saw teeth. I figured it would
probably take quite a long time to break this kind of lock, thus adding a significant deterrent.
You'd probably need a sharp chisel, and several minutes of loud pounding with a sledge hammer
against a steel anvil to cut this lock.

The "spider" design would self-coil around any frame tube with enough holding force to prevent it
from sliding around; but would still allow easy manipulation for locking up the bike. Composite
construction would keep the weight to a minimum. The only steel component would be the lock core.

I still have the plans around here somewhere if any well-heeled entrepreneur wants to give it a go.
There's a decent sized market for such a device, I suspect. I haven't seen anything nearly so
innovative as this design; but that doesn't mean there isn't one

-Barry

 

[Trent Gregory H]

On Fri, 14 Mar 2003, ...who cares wrote:

> I ride what I like to think of as the ultimate audax bike. It cost a lot of money and time to make
> a darn light bike with a rack & mudguards. The problem is my lock and chain weighs a bloody ton!!!
> Thereby negating any weight reduction I've previously made.
>
> So help me out here, I need the lightest yet secure lock known to man. A 50cm circumference would
> do the job and it needs to be secure for up to 15mins at a time outside shops, library, etc.
>

Who,

As Sheldon says at http://sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html, a U-lock is the difference between a
$400 and a $700 (or a $400 and a $2000) bike, audax or no. I'm curious: If you have a purpose-built
audax bike, why are you using it for quick utility trips in an area with enough crime that you
worry about it getting nicked in 15 minutes? In those circumstances, I would think that a $60
charity-shop special beater bike would be your best bet, and cheaper than the unobtainium lock
you're looking for.

Trent

 

[David Damerell]

David Damerell <[email protected]> wrote:
>Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:
>>When I ride it to work, I have a monstrously heavy roller-link lock designed for motorcycles, and
>>I leave it on the rack at work and lock up the bike there.
>Not to be Captain Obvious, but people trying this strategy should leave the lock on the rack when
>not in use.

... but you said that. Ooops.

Another anti-theft technique is to keep it dirty. Resist the urge to make the bike all clean
and glossy.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> flcl?

 

[Dane Jackson]

Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> In summary, it may be necessary to be too paranoid. For just 15 minutes, you may not need much.

"Paranoia is it's own reward." I use to say this in jest, but as I become more cynical in my old age
(27) I find myself using the phrase in earnest more and more often.

I think the best suggestion I saw in the thread is to get a beater bike for doing nearby shopping
and things of that nature. I'm working on that myself currently. Anyone in the Seattle area have a
beater bike that's ridable for cheap?

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g This wasn't just plain terrible, this was
fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it. -- Dorothy Parker

 

[Robert Taylor]

If you generally go to the same places you could just buy several secure but inexpensive (heavy)
locks and leave them locked to the bike stand, fence, etc at the places you go rather than carry a
lock with you on the bike. You would need to carry a lock only when going to a place where you had
no lock stashed.

Bob Taylor