hillyman

I still use mine the same way. I'm just a recreational rider so for quick stops fine and it is light. But I bought early access and wasn't reviews that it could be cut that easy. Kind of false advertising on Ottolocks part. Half hearted attempts to cut in their videos. I say that is false advertising. But not much can be done now. Works slightly better than nothing.

dim

where I live (Cambridge UK), we have hundreds of bikes stolen .... guys walk around with high powered portable angle grinders in shopping bags and will take a bike in broad daylight with pedestrians walking past ....

I do not take my good bikes into the city if I have to leave it unatended ... I use my £45 cheap bike

bbbean 

Keep in mind that if a thief is prepared enough to be carrying tools, he's going to steal your bike 90% of the time, regardless of whether you locked it with an Ottolock or 75 lbs of logging chain, 3 Kryptonites, and a string of barbed wire.

Locks like the Ottolock are protection against crimes of opportunity, and still require you to use good judgement about where, when, and for how long you park your bike.

drlogik 

A starting price of $50 dollars is very steep for a lock with this level of security. I think one is paying for the engineering behind it; which is fine but for me, I'll stick with my small U-lock.

If I know I need to leave my bike locked for more than a few minutes I use the U-lock and a separate cable with lock. That extra time to deal with a second lock may make the difference between the other guy's bike getting stolen and not mine if he only has one lock.

DrIsotope

A lock works for me so long as it can prevent a snatch-n-grab. I've clipped my helmet straps through the triangle and front wheel, purely in the hopes of preventing someone from just quickly wheeling the bike away when I'm not paying attention. The exact same thing I use the Knog Milkman for. I guess it works. Or at least doesn't not work.

livedarklions

Even there, though, the idea that someone is more likely to have an angle grinder than a pair of tin snips is absurd. That's the statement I was responding to. Tin snips are a great tool for targets of opportunity, quiet and very cheap.

Ogsarg

How many different locks can be cut with tin snips? It seems to me that this would greatly limit the choice of bikes that someone could steal. Furthermore, people that have locks that can be cut with snips probably know that and only use them on less desirable bikes that someone would be less likely to steal.

The grinder, on the other hand, can take care of just about anything so if someone were looking for bikes to steal, why wouldn't they have the tool that would allow them to steal whatever they see as the best target? Doesn't seem all that absurd to me.

What seems less likely to me is that there are thieves running around with tin snips looking for nice bikes that happen to have Ottolocks.

bbbean 

Given that cable locks can also be cut easily ( ), the Ottolock certainly isn't at a disadvantage compared to other non U-locks.

Perhaps what people object to is the price tag. That's a reasonable concern, and is a fine reason for people to buy something cheaper. But that's a matter for the market to work out, and clearly, lots of us consider the Ottolock worth the price of admission. So maybe the real issue is more akin to buying a top of the line helmet vs a less expensive helmet. Both will protect your head, but one will do it with more style. Whether that is worth the price tag is a purely subjective decision.

BB

livedarklions

Right, the article quotes the Portland police that half the thieves are carrying tin snips. They're looking for crappy cable locks to cut in seconds, not Ulocks that take minutes with a grinder. Problem is that it's now well-publicized that Ottolock is really just a cool-looking design for a very light crappy cable lock.

I'm not going to tell people that they're wrong if they think it's worth the money, I just don't think many people will agree and that the failure of the redesign is a complete disaster for the product.

I'm no engineer, but isn't what's going on is that flattening the material into a ribbon makes it easier to cut than bundling it into a cable? Here's a video of a guy taking the ribbon apart with a pocket knife and a pair of scissors. Note that the scissors are enough to cut through the metal band:
Basically, they've got a design that makes expensive materials as vulnerable as cheap ones.

tcs

Ottolock: 'We’ve always recommended redundant locking with a quality U-lock for higher crime areas or long duration lock-ups.'

If I'm using a quality u-lock, what exactly does the redundant locking with an Ottolock provide?

tcs

I'm actually pleased to see the publication of how easily the Ottolock is defeated and that there continue to be passionate users of the device. I know who I'll be parking my u-locked bike next to.

livedarklions

Less of a fashion statement, but probably just as good security at 100 grams for $17:

https://www.amazon.com/Allnice-Porta...f_=gep_p2_dp_8

HPL

I just never leave my ride unattended, never use racks, loads into my car. I guess I don't stop on rides except where no one is anyways. Had one bike stolen as a kid (mine and a friend's), but found caught the culprits red-handed and retrieved same day. I feel sorry for those who have leave any bike unattended; where I work folks are always getting their saddles stolen, nothing is safe!

OBoile

Definitely seems like a more cost effective alternative.

autonomy

Ha, he did take 3 minutes to cut it. But you could probably do that with scissors to a cable lock as well, cutting strand-by-strand.

Here's a guy who does it painstakingly with a pocket knife:

Millions of people leave their bikes unattended every day, nothing to feel sorry about. It's the nature of the beast.

autonomy

Does anyone know, what is the most difficult lock that's not a ULock to pick/split/cut according to LockPickingLawyer?

Atlas Shrugged

What do I use? Either for bikepacking or Long Distance Endurance rides where I need to stop from time to time and leave my bike unattended at convenience stores etc. It's not an option to be hauling a U Lock or heavy Chain/Padlock combination. My understanding was the Ottolock was a light convenient method of preventing snatch and grab kind of thefts.

Looking for ideas.

HPL

I had a pull pin (like a grenade) ear piercing alarm. Slapped under the BB shell (small, magnetic, sorry Ti, alloy, CF), 2 inches of tire rotation (36 spoke) and wow! With tiny remote to shut off, replacing the pin doesn't turn it off. Did for a friend, but it was a while ago. Everybody knows that the bike is being messed with illegally.

79pmooney

I used a really simple system for many years. A plastic coated cable and padlock. That cable was just long enough to go around my waist twice. Clip the padlock into the cable and a belt loop and it was completely secure. Every cable I've ever seen since was either too long or too short to do that with.

Yes, I had no illusion that it was theft-proof. But for a quick lockup to a sign securing both wheels, it worked. Now when I held a job in Boston, I went to a motorcycle dealer and bought a real cable lock and just left that at work. 8-10 pounds? It wasn't light!

Edit: that cable lock went on a few tours.

Ben

tcs

Abus Granit Extreme Plus 59.

subgrade

There are different kinds of thieves: the opportunists who see an unlocked bike and ride off with it; the pros who look for expensive bikes and are equipped for the job and plan ahead; and the regulars, who have the intention of stealing bikes, but aren't going into great risk for that. The latter ones will have one or several tools to cut through weak locks in seconds, but won't bother with U-locks or other serious locks, and although I have no way of knowing, I'd guess that these make up the majority of bike thefts.

autonomy

Damn, almost 4 kilos for the lightest version and ~180ish USD. I should've said "lighter than a U-lock/motorcycle chain"

livedarklions

I use the RockyMounts Hendrix folding lock. Weighs about pound, and pretty compact. Supposedly mid-level security. It looks tough, which I think is important to deter opportunists. No idea what it would actually take to cut it, but I'm fairly certain it's tin-snip-proof. I'm sure a mid-size bolt cutter could probably do it, and of course angle grinders cut everything.

What would really bug me about the Ottolock is that it looks as weak as it is. If you're parked next to other bikes, you don't want your lock to LOOK easier than the ones next to it.

OBoile

livedarklions posted a great option a few posts above yours (#38 on this thread).

OBoile

I'd guess that the opportunists are the majority. But having said that, knowing your location and crowd makes a big difference. "Regulars" are very unlikely to be patrolling around a small town, or even low traffic places in the suburbs, looking for bikes to steal, so a low security lock would be fine there. Similarly, if you're leaving your bike locked next to a bunch of unlocked bikes, just about any thief is going to go for the low hanging fruit.