When I''m riding my road bike, I never lock it because I never leave it, which is why I still have my 1980 Peugeot PXN10LE. Around town on my single speed, I needed a painless way to be able to lock it while I dash into the library or store for a few minutes. This bottle lock is perfect for that. It''s more secure than a big zip tie to prevent casual theft, and that''s all I need. The bottom compartment gives me a handy place to carry odds and ends and I don''t care that it only twists shut because it''s held in place by the bottle cage. I don''t care that I must manually rewind the cable because that means I''m not carrying around a heavy spring-loaded mechanism. I also don''t care that it doesn''t actually hold water because I''m not riding that far (I''ve read this complaint on a forum somewhere!).
The cable is long enough to reach through the rear triangle, around an immovable object AND the front wheel, all without removing the bottle from the cage. I will note that an old-school Blackburn mountain cage holds the lock quite securely, the lighter road version cage, less so (with the lighter cage I might use a velcro strap to make sure it doesn''t bounce out).
This is a well-executed design that will undoubtedly spawn knock-offs; some may even offer refinements. If you need long term security, I suggest good U-locks, heavy chains and armed guards that you know personally. For me, this is the right lock for my purposes. It cost me pennies over $25 here on Amazon, which is cheaper than anywhere else I found. Good riding.
Finally, somebody came up with a intelligent solution to an obvious problem. How do a carry my bike lock? Now why didn''t i think of that. It works as advertised. The design is simple but very functional. The cable and lock worked well and recoiled back in the bottle case with no problem. Great product.
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Note: if you live in a large city where bike theft is a major problem, keep looking, this isn''t for you.
I''ve used this lock now for about 60 days/250 miles in the city, these are my "post purchase eurphoria" experiences with it. Overall it''s a good device, if you can overlook it''s minor faults. Considering the form factor and it''s restraints, I think they''re worth it.
If you live in a medium size city or the suburbs and you are looking for a lock to keep kids or homeless people from riding off with your bike while you go in the store for groceries or for lunch, this is a good choice, especially since it doesn''t need a special mount. The cable isn''t terribly thick the plastic coating on the outside makes it look thicker than it really is. You couldn''t snip it with a pair of wire cutters, but a determined thief could gnaw away at it in 5-10 minutes. Proper cable cutters will make short work of it.
But if all you want is to keep someone from riding off on your bike while you go inside for some Starbucks, this is a great choice. I use this to tie my bike up outside the entrance to the grocery store, the coffee shop by my house, at the park, restaurants, bars and pretty much anywhere else.
Pros: Cable is long enough to run through BOTH wheels + the frame, unusual key design (hard to pick), comes with a spare key. Looks convincing, cable unwinds and winds back up very easily. If it were a spring retract it would likely cost 3x as much and break.
Cons: The pretty shiny white finish of my kuat bottle lock was marred by my water bottle holder in about 10 miles. I''ve since but another 250 miles on my bike (and lock) since then, and while the actual plastic/lock is in great, like new shape, it no longer looks anything like in the pictures. This is only a "con" if you care what your lock looks like. You might be able to buff out some of these smudges and smears caused by the water bottle holder (mine is metal).
Also, it''s rather noisy. What? A lock is noisy? Yes. It''s made of hard ABS plastic, like the outer lining of a football helmet. It''s also slightly smaller than a real water bottle (it''s rigid, so I suppose it needs to be smaller to fit in a wider variety of rigid bottle holders). This rattles like crazy against my metal wire water bottle holder when going over any terrain rougher than smooth blacktop. I ended up making a canvas boot to go around it and nullify most of the noise. If you have a plastic water bottle holder, or it holds bottles particularly tightly, it shouldn''t be a problem, but be aware if you have a metal bottle holder.
Finally, it has a screw/unlockable bottom compartment. This thing is a nice thought, but in reality it''s kind of a pain in the ass. a) it can''t hold anything besides maybe a $20 bill folded + your house key b) anything metal inside this compartment is going to rattle like marbles in a tin can c) if you put your hand on the bottom of the bottle lock to twist the cable back in, the bottom comes unlocked and the whole thing falls out of your hand. I am probably just going to put $10 in here for an emergency and glue this thing shut. I have an under seat bag that does a much better job of holding things.
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Purchased this item for my husband for Christmas. I laughed hysterically when it arrived. I ordered, as the item said, a black Kuat Bottle Lock. Bright pink came. My husband is decidedly not a pink guy, but just a couple of days before Christmas, I decided to wrap it up. Yep, he''s still not a pink guy, but he decided to hang on to it, for the laugh, for the memory of the laugh every time he looks at it, and because he loves how well it works.
This is a great product, but I know a couple of guys that just wouldn''t be able to handle the color. So, thought I would give you a heads up.
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This lock is perfect for casual stops in suburban areas and small towns. If a cable lock offers enough deterrent for your situations, this is a quality, easy to carry solution. A clever design, there when you need it, and not likely to add to your troubles if you fall or crash(the idea of a big cable lock, or U lock in a pocket or jersey scares me).
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