Is there such a thing as a light lock that offers a bit of protection? Bike packing but solo so need to lock on ferry, in towns to buy cake, etc and one night on a proper campsite.....

I’ve just bought a knog lock off evilbay for about a fiver, nice and light

I thought these Z-loks would be ideal for the situations you describe. Never bought one though, so can't say how good they are.

I like the look of the Otto Lock, although don't have one myself.

Having seen some of the videos of them trying to cut one with bolt cutters it looks pretty impressive given the size and weight.

It's an obvious trade off between weight and security:

A HipLok Z Lok weighs 20g and is basically an armoured zip tie that will act as a deterrent against a casual tea leaf but not much more than that. Uses a universal key.

A retractable cable lock like a Knog Milkman weighs about 150g but it's just a thin braided steel cable.

A small cable lock like a knog frankie weighs about 350g and adds a bit more protection but wouldn't take very long for someone with a big pair of bolt cutters to get through.

A Litelok weighs 1.1kg and is soldsecure gold though apparently an angle grinder gets through it fairly quickly.

A Kryptonite Fahgeddabout Mini is 2kg and can double as a small club to beat the thief off.

OTTOLOCK is basically the best option... but it's not cheap, and it's a pain in the arse to get over here.

I do like the look of that ziptie, but I think I'd have to buy one just to break / pick to see if it's worth having at all.

flash wrote:Is there such a thing as a light lock that offers a bit of protection? Bike packing but solo so need to lock on ferry, in towns to buy cake, etc and one night on a proper campsite.....

I think you need to consider the risk of theft and what you're trying to protect it from at each location.

On the ferry from the Island I never lock the bike, no one is allowed on the car deck during the crossing and unless they swim ashore with the bike before we dock then how do they get the bike off before I notice it's gone? On smaller passenger ferries you can usually sit within site of it, for me that's the Gosport ferry etc.

When buying stuff at shops you're trying to protect it from a casual opportunist, the sort that spots a nice bike unattended and rides off on it. A small lock so that it cant be ridden or locked to a post should stop this. The sort of professional thief who's equipped with bolt cutters etc. usually target train stations/university campus bike rack, the sort of place where there is plenty to choose from. The fact that it's a loaded bike is also in your favour as they aren't going to pick it up and run if they cant ride it. Also, leave it in the hardest gear as this slows them down when they jump on it. Make sure to ride through lots of mud as well as this puts them off

As for camp-sites, I did worry the first time and I use my small lock to fix it to a fence/post near my tent. But when car camping and I've gone out walking for the day I've never worried about leaving my tent behind with the sleeping bags in it and the stove in the front etc. all of which added together is more expensive than my bike.

For when i do Le Jog was planning on taking a kryptoflex and a padlock of some description for when i go into supermarkets.
a reasonable balance between weight, security, and cost

such as this.
https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/produ ... 10818.html

Just been having same thoughts, ordered one of these, 230g looks reasonable for the 'cheap,light,strong: pick two' compromise: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/abus-205-combi- ... bike-lock/

Padlock through the chain ring? or brake disc?

Bearbonesnorm wrote:I thought these Z-loks would be ideal for the situations you describe. Never bought one though, so can't say how good they are.

I had these. Disappointing.

Initially promising too.

One prong if the ‘key’ snapped off leaving me in a bit of a situation.

A knackered wood saw cut through the lock in no time.

I have an Otto lock on the way!

Don't buy one that requires a key. If you leave your key in the car it's basically a paperweight. Ask me how I know...

I have 3 cable locks. One on my commuter, in case I need an extra lock (on top of my D lock). One in my Brompton bag, and one in my MTB bag.

They're great, 1 knog (with key), 2 abus combination retractable cable locks

Use them for bikepacking, cafe/pub. Even used one a couple of weekends ago with my sun to pop into bird hide for a little while. Small and very useful

EDIT - I also have things like a couple of Knog party franks in different sizes, armoured coil locks, a little pound shop job that could be used for bikepacking. The retractable cable ones are perfect for piece of mind and opportunistic/drunk folk walking past. Won't stop any proper thieves, isn't designed to

I was about to add that I prefer a combination lock, but benp1's beaten me too it.

I did have one but the Police destroyed it. Long story.

It's not going to be strong, so just find the cheapest lock for the weight you want to carry. I got my last one from a supermarket, I think it was £4. If you're spending over £10 you're wasting money (IMYO ). Don't overcomplicate it.

I’ve got a cheapy crappy cafe retractable thin wire combi lock

It’s next to useless but just enough to lock my bike while I grab a coffee etc

I wouldn’t use if the bike was going to be out of sightshot (new word) for more than 30 secs.

However there are places I will just happily leave it unlocked (pubs in Wales)

There have been times mid ride that I would have been quite pleased to find out that somebody had nicked it but it’s never happened and I’ve had to carry on

benp1 wrote:Don't buy one that requires a key. If you leave your key in the car it's basically a paperweight. Ask me how I know...

I have 3 cable locks. One on my commuter, in case I need an extra lock (on top of my D lock). One in my Brompton bag, and one in my MTB bag.

They're great, 1 knog (with key), 2 abus combination retractable cable locks

Use them for bikepacking, cafe/pub. Even used one a couple of weekends ago with my sun to pop into bird hide for a little while. Small and very useful

EDIT - I also have things like a couple of Knog party franks in different sizes, armoured coil locks, a little pound shop job that could be used for bikepacking. The retractable cable ones are perfect for piece of mind and opportunistic/drunk folk walking past. Won't stop any proper thieves, isn't designed to

I bought one of those Knog Party Frank locks - in a nice right red colour. Handy enough for popping into a shop/pub. The colour makes it very visible to passers by. It's a wee bit short though - the price paid for light weight.

I have wondered if a wee padlock and a length of dyneema would do as good a job - and be even lighter.

I just use a cheap bike lock from tesco £ 2-3

Plastified wire and a small number lock you find for baggage for most trips.

When I rode across the UK for 5.5 weeks I also used an Abus, pretty much this https://www.abus.com/ger/Sicherheit-Unt ... rino-5412C
This due to large campgrounds and rides through cities.

Just a word on Otto-lock. I made an enquiry today about the possibility of setting up a trade account and importing some. Turns out they've already got a deal going with a German distributor for Europe that should start up sometime early this year, so hopefully they'll be more easily available here soon.

I use a Kryptonite KryptoFlex Seatsaver Cable and a little padlock. It's long enough go to through a wheel and your frame and I reckon it'll stop anyone not carrying garden sheers.

Oli.vert wrote:Just a word on Otto-lock. I made an enquiry today about the possibility of setting up a trade account and importing some. Turns out they've already got a deal going with a German distributor for Europe that should start up sometime early this year, so hopefully they'll be more easily available here soon.

Bushgear UK list them https://www.bushgear.co.uk/products/ott ... cycle-lock - whether they actually have stock I don't know but their webpage would suggest they do in 3 sizes and 3 colours?

£50

I just have a long wire made myself with a loop at either end and small combination padlock, long enough to round post, frame and wheel. Wouldn't last long under attack, but very light and if bike is out of sight, i have been known to take the quick release with me and knocked the chain off the front chainring, so that if they jump wheels will hopefully fall off and they'll not be able to pedal anywhere

That Otto lock looks really impressive. The reviews with bolt cropper attacks on the band are impressive, but cant find any reviews of how resilient the actual mechanism is though?
I just tend to keep my bike in sight, and that includes wheeling the bike into a supermarket if needs and not too muddy. I do use one of those weedy cable locks if just running into a shop as whilst it wouldnt stop a tooled up bike thief for more than a second, it is enough to help an honest person resist the temptation. I also put the helmet strap through the wheel/frame as well to slow someone down. Will think about buying the Ottolock though

I found a few 1 star reviews on amazon that imply they had some early manufacturing issues after their kickstarter where the mechanism would lock and then not unlock. Hopefully they've been resolved now...