BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

That looks lovely.

It doesn't provide much detail, but I'm guessing the locking bit would be the weakest link. It also might get a bit awkward trying to lock up in a crowded location. I have enough trouble jamming my larger U-lock into a full bike rack and lock up my bike, if that U-lock was 3 feet long...

I imagine if it was on loose enough, that you could bend it repeatedly to failure. Plus isn’t Ti more brittle than steel at cold temps? CO2 blast and a tap…

I really can't see this requiring $37.5k.

You can break a U-lock with a car jack. One way to protect against that is to lock up to something large enough and have a small enough U-lock that nobody can fit a car jack into it.

This thing is flexible enough that a jack attack would be pointless, but I wonder if you couldn't cause a failure at the U-bend bit at the end by using a small hand clamp and a can of CO2 freeze, like Marko said. Maybe whatever Ti alloy they use is resistant to failure, but if you collapse that 180 degree bend down to flat is it going to spring right back or fail?

Joe: tooling for mass manufacturing costs a lot more than you'd think. I doubt the plan for this is for the guy to keep tooling them out of a garage - which means he has to pay for tooling, which can easily cost 15 grand on its own, plus the initial investment in material and assembly, that 37k won't take you very far.

Which is why any product development company that produces product samples for $12k is probably full of it. See: my former employer.

I love the idea, it looks great. Plus, the thing is 75% of the way to production on this pledge thing.

The company appears to be NJ, all they would need to do would be to field test the thing in NYC, see how the thieves beat it, improve it, and so on. Seems like it would definiteley be solid enough for the 'burgh, as is.

Every lock has strong points and weak points.

The only weak point I see with this one is possibly the bend and the lock cylinder itself. I'm not a metallurgist, but I think it would be much harder to break that shackle than you may think.

Based off the designer's background, I would venture that it is safe to say that the TiGr lock would be by far the best lightweight security solution I've ever seen.

Wow. Look at the price they have for preordered products for which there is a wait for delivery.

The $100 for the .75" lower security one is sold out. (? Aren't they capable of scaling up for 50 more?)

That leaves you with $150 for the lower security lock. $250 for the higher security 1.25" lock (Plus a .75" lock. PLUS!!! A $10 t-shirt!!!!)

No chance of delivery for the next month or two. Or more, maybe, they don't say.

Might be a good lock, sure. Not a good deal, IMO.

I think you're missing the point of Kickstarter, Mick...

Mick - the point of kickstarter is to fund new ideas, which is why if the project doesn't get funded, everyone gets their money back. This is not for purchasing goods, but many folks choose to use a pre-production or 'first-off-the line' as incentive to sponsor the project.

You should poke around the website, you'd probably find someone you might want to give a few bucks to :p

Hm, I think a dremel would cut through that band in about 30 seconds.

@robdlc - there actually are people that I give money to.

As far as security apparatus? I think I would want the second wave, after the after the bike theives in NYC beta test the first version.

I did have some negotiations for getting a very light carbon fiber guitar case. Those are phenomenally expensive, but had I paid before production started, I would have gotten a great deal on it.

@john

I have very limited experience with Ti, but I think you would have a tought time cutting it with a Dremel. I shatter Dremel cut off wheels on hot rolled steel.

Here's the issue as I see it. Imagine using this lock to lock your bike to a "2 hour parking" street sign (never a terribly good idea, but pretty common). With a small U-lock, the only way to get the bike off would be to remove the rectangular sign and slide the bike off the top (which occasionally happens). With this lock, it seems to me like it would be really easy to just slide the bike up and over the sign. To make matters worse it seems like you could easily remove the front wheel (with it still remaining locked to the rear wheel/frame) to give yourself more room for bending - meaning this would probably work for fatter objects, too, assuming they weren't too tall. That's the best I can think of though - otherwise it seems to be as safe as a U-lock in most situations.

@john - After having spent some time machining and fabricating with Ti, I can tell you a dremel wouldn't do much to it.

Good point about being able to spread it and lift it over things... that would need to be in the instruction manual.

Yea, I never thought about that. Seems like you might be able to squeeze it over a meter head if you really wanted to.

I don't think this lock is really intended top serve as a high security lock. I imagine the people it attracts most is roadies and touring cyclists looking for a light-weight locking solution for times they want to walk into a store or something.

I would have felt a lot more comfortable during CtC with one of these.

@Nick - I agree, but it's pretty steep (price-wise) for a not-very-high-security lock. you might as well get a so-so small U-lock and a cable, which is plenty light, albeit probably a little harder to portage than this snazzy lock.

On a 16lb carbon bike, "plenty light" and ultra light are pretty different. In that case, I would spend the hundred bucks to get a Ti lock.

A crappy $10 cable lock is lighter than that thing and plenty enough deterrent against someone walking off with your bike while you take a whiz...

Or, this: http://bikeportland.org/2011/05/03/forget-your-lock-some-businesses-will-loan-you-one-52415

^ that is an interesting, simple idea for business owners wanting to be bike-friendly. Very cool.

I'm gonna buy a few locks when I get some good cash, and put them in all the places I work, because that is a fantastic idea. I've forgotten my lock so many times...

Couldn't you just buy one lock with a good mount (Kryptonite has some good ones, will replace it if they break) and then just keep it on the bike when it isn't locked up?

I do have a mount, now that I think of it. I couldn't figure out how to put it on my bike, but now it's buried somewhere

However, the locks in question were more in the vein of salty's link above. having a lending system of some sort.

REI will lend you a lock.

seems to me that you would be able to just crush the curve with any of an assortment of crushing tools, i don't know much about Ti but i'd like to see someone try it...

Well, this thread has been closed for a while... so I'll bump it since I actual purchased one of these from Amazon. I was looking for something that I could easily always have with me, was light, and seemed sturdy enough for use at the Port Authority Parking lots. Plus.. Ti, how cool is that? The thing is amazingly light, and really sturdy. As others have pointed out, you do have to be careful where you use it. Street parking signs would be a no-no. Although, even if they do that...they still have to get the lock off without damaging the bike, so it would need probably to be moved to some place with some serious equipment. [Although I do wonder how the lock mechanism would stand up to some liquid nitrogen and a hammer...] And to be honest, I've had issues with the three rivers racks as well. They are just wide enough its hard to close the lock around both wheels. It's not the perfect lock but it is great for the whole "make my bike more secure than the one next to mine." Which, I've always thought is the point.... Anyway, next cycling event, I'll be happy to give demonstrations. I'm the person of size on a black and white Jamis.

I've got one of those locks, too. It was light enough to bring along on Crush the Commonwealth. I've found that it is possible to use it on the Three Rivers Racks if you put it through the back wheel and turn the front wheel so it lines up right. It's a good lock, if expensive. Easy to use, locks both wheels. I would imagine that at some point thieves will figure out a standard method for cutting it open, and word will get around, the way it did with the Kryptonite locks with the circular key. Titanium is not a hard metal, but the lock's design makes it difficult to cut with a hacksaw. But since it is so rare, right now I think thieves will just throw up their hands and move on to the next bike.

And I thought I was cheap for not wanting to pay for a(nother) Kryptonite U-Lock Added weight savings by reduced money in wallet

I just wanted to give some support to the TiGr lock company. I had a problem unlocking the lock, which appears to have been the result of a worn key, after about a year of constant use, and they're sending me out a new locking cylinder and set of keys, with postage paid to return my old cylinder after I get the new one. They really stand behind their product, which has a lifetime warranty.

I'm curious if anyone has experience with an ABUS bordo lock. I was considering one of those for longer rides where I might be able to stash it in a jersey pocket. However, I'm not really sure how that will work in practice. Can anyone enlighten me?

Seems like a dumb idea. :) Hmm, how can we quadruple the points of failure on a simple U-lock...