The Chainlink

U Lock Transportation

As I was traveling in the pouring rain with my U-lock in my bag. I was wondering,
How do the rest of you carry your U locks?
I have an On Guard Ulock with a cable, and the holder thing was rubbish and broke apart within the first week. I've just been carrying it in my bag, Or clipped between the snap enclosures on my Chrome Bag.

Views: 4027

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by DavID on February 27, 2009 at 8:39am
Always in the bag, if i am traveling bag-less i slide it in by belt. Some companies make hip packs that work with smaller locks(chicago wig, cadence,ect) and holsters www.fabrichorse.com
Permalink Reply by Hector on February 27, 2009 at 9:36am
I use the fabric horse belt holster.
it's very convenient and no one notices you have it on.
Although sometimes it is a burden when my pants are too lose.
Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on February 27, 2009 at 11:46am
I have a 50 lbs. Topeak rack and Topeak bag and I carry two u-locks to work. I don't wear a backpack when I've got enough rack space for my bag and panniers. The frame holder things for my locks were crap too. Otherwise I just pad them with some piece of cloth and put them in the pack.
Permalink Reply by wig [ isaac ] on February 27, 2009 at 1:20pm
I had the same problem for years ... so I made a bag with pockets on the outside for them..
Permalink Reply by terryg on February 27, 2009 at 4:36pm
I dance three times around my bike, burning incense and chanting my super-secret lock mantra - if you touch my bike, the Flintstones theme song will forever permeate your consciousness. Nobody has ever touched my bike.

no no, tha's not it. I'm relying on the 2009 Bike Winter Abominable Snowman to guard it, along with an angry looking stag that used to hang from a Celebrator doppelbock bottle, but now hangs from a brake cable. The bottle is history.

I think I do like Ryan and hang the u-lock down a side of my rear rack, relying on the vertical support to keep it out of my wheels. It's really convenient until I want to use 2 panniers. At which point the lock would just go into the bag! This setup rattles over bumps, and it's annoying.

(I've missed chainlink for almost a week!)
Permalink Reply by payton on February 28, 2009 at 12:51am
I bungee mine to the rack. I keep thinking there must be a better way, but apparently not.

I also have used a New York Chain, which typically goes into a saddle bag. Trouble is, I always feel like I need to take the saddle bag with when locking up, and I've never found a good "quick release" saddle bag.

One warning to those who regularly wear their locks: the lock can pretty seriously injure you if you land on it in a crash. I used to wear the NY Chain as a belt, but stopped after it bruised me badly in an otherwise minor spill.

Oh, and the most fearsome of all Bike Winter mascots? The narwhal. Don't take any minor spills around any of those...
Permalink Reply by Martin Hazard on February 28, 2009 at 9:49am
For the record there are a few aftermarket bike mount lock brackets that are decent. Pretty much all OEM brackets are garbage, and as been said, will fail in short order. Use of these brackets can be hazardous, as when the bracket fails, it could fall into your wheel. I have seen this a number of times over the years. A rack or a bag are the safest options.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 28, 2009 at 10:47am
I bungee mine onto the rear rack (or carry in backpack if I'm riding the folder).
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on February 28, 2009 at 11:13am
I hope there are none of those guys in Lake Michigan around Oak Street beach! My suit of armor is still at the cleaners.

payton said:
I bungee mine to the rack. I keep thinking there must be a better way, but apparently not.

I also have used a New York Chain, which typically goes into a saddle bag. Trouble is, I always feel like I need to take the saddle bag with when locking up, and I've never found a good "quick release" saddle bag.

One warning to those who regularly wear their locks: the lock can pretty seriously injure you if you land on it in a crash. I used to wear the NY Chain as a belt, but stopped after it bruised me badly in an otherwise minor spill.

Oh, and the most fearsome of all Bike Winter mascots? The narwhal. Don't take any minor spills around any of those...
Permalink Reply by Todd Allen on February 28, 2009 at 12:44pm
Martin, you obviously haven't considered all of the options.

First off, everybody knows that to look really fast you need a feather weight bicycle that is nothing more than a couple wheels with hardly any spokes just barely joined together by a super expensive looking frame without any extra crap like racks, bags, fenders, kickstand, lights, or even a ring-a-dingy bell to slow you down or mar the beauty of your frame.

And a U-lock is a lot heavier then a ring-a-dingy bell so optimizing how one deals with a U-lock is so much more important.

But fortunately there is a better option that allows one to achieve super high efficiency cycling nirvana and it's a heck of a lot safer than tossing that dangerous U-lock in a bag which could fail at any moment and destroy a preciously expensive spoke, which the loss of a single one might cause wheel failure.

Simply contact your support crew which can follow safely behind you in a large SUV that will scarcely notice the extra weight of a U-lock. Ideally you should have them also take your wallet to minimize the risk of an excessive butt cheek contusion that one can get from crash landing on too thick a stack of credit cards.
Permalink Reply by jonathan on February 28, 2009 at 5:19pm
I saw a hand built frame design that had a bar on the rear seat stays to mount a lock. never save the link though.
Permalink Reply by Chris on March 8, 2009 at 11:37am
I have a new york mini and i just "lock" it to my messenger bag strap and let it hang to the side thats nearest my back. works like a charm, hardly notice it's there.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service