Cafe stop bike lock

[shouldbeinbed]

Combi locks don't like winter.

Interesting observation - I've never had a problem with the Abus one at any time of year. YMMV.

There are pros and cons either way, so it's worth giving the matter some thought before making a purchase.

+1 @smutchin I use a Bell combi cable lock that came from Asda for about £12 as my momentary deterrent lock, it sits around the bars happily enough or is small enough to fit a jersey pocket.

In all the years I've used them I've never experienced any of the drawbacks Racing Roadkill suggests. I have had key operated locks freeze up on me tho and the usually small size keys on a ring aren't exactly easy to manipulate in gloves either. Each to their own tho.

 

[ianrauk]

**I've met someone who can unlock a simple combination lock by touch, but my fingers aren't sensitive enough.

We couldn't find/lost the combination to Little H's bike lock so I had a go. Surprised myself how easy it was to unlock.

 

[Pale Rider]

If locking mechanisms are a concern, a cable of your chosen thickness joined by a hook and eye would do the job.

On deployment, leave the join so as it's obscured by the bike and/or anchor point.

It will look like you've just secured your bike with a lightweight lock.

 

[Racing roadkill]

+1 @smutchin I use a Bell combi cable lock that came from Asda for about £12 as my momentary deterrent lock, it sits around the bars happily enough or is small enough to fit a jersey pocket.

In all the years I've used them I've never experienced any of the drawbacks Racing Roadkill suggests. I have had key operated locks freeze up on me tho and the usually small size keys on a ring aren't exactly easy to manipulate in gloves either. Each to their own tho.

-1 for both, you clearly haven't had enough experience with them. Not that that stops people expressing their opinion, which is fine, as long as it's not stated as fact, based on non existent experience, which could be taken by someone who actually needs a valid, experience based opinion in order to help them decide. Welcome to Internet land.

 

[MikeW-71]

The real problem with the Abus is if you forget the combination, you are stuck. You can only change the combination if you remember that old one** That being said, I thoroughly recommend it. I've had it for 4 years.

The giant lock can apparently be pulled open by hand. Though I am sure the Abus can also be easily circumvented, it's not quite as obvious how to do it.

Edit: I don't see how this lock could be exposed to winter grime. It's really too small and light to be kept on the frame. It has to kept in a pocket or bag.

**I've met someone who can unlock a simple combination lock by touch, but my fingers aren't sensitive enough.

Any decent pair of wirecutters should do it.

There's no way I'd leave my bike locked up with the Abus for an extended period. I've only used it to lock the bike to a lamppost/fence/downspout while I pop into a shop, or will then be sitting near the bike anyway.

 

[ianrauk]

There's no way I'd leave my bike locked up with the Abus for an extended period.

.. indeed... not what these locks are for.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

-1 for both, you clearly haven't had enough experience with them. Not that that stops people expressing their opinion, which is fine, as long as it's not stated as fact, based on non existent experience, which could be taken by someone who actually needs a valid, experience based opinion in order to help them decide. Welcome to Internet land.

you arrogant knob. the word "in all the years I've used them" in my post that you managed to quote and still get spectacularly wrong seem to have passed you by.

 

[smutchin]

Not that that stops people expressing their opinion, which is fine, as long as it's not stated as fact, based on non existent experience, which could be taken by someone who actually needs a valid, experience based opinion in order to help them decide. Welcome to Internet land.

My response to your previous comment was perfectly reasonable and made no unfounded claims. I didn't question your experience, merely pointed out that my experience was different. You have no grounds for questioning my experience because you have no idea of the extent of my experience. You're a prize twat and no mistake.

 

[jefmcg]

I've used my Abus combi on days that have rained so hard my shoes took days to dry; I've used it on days of sleet and freezing rain; on days where I had to stop to get the a stick because there was so much cow manure between my tyres and the mudguards that the wheels stopped spinning; I've carried it on summer and winter Audaxes; taken it to 10,000 metres etc etc. None of that has affected it's function, because except for a few minutes at a coffee break, it was in a bag. Oh, and in the case of 10,000 m, it was in a pressurised cabin.

(RR did me the favour of telling me he was putting me on ignore before I realised he required the same. CC is a better place with him on ignore, except at times like this that he is so annoying that annoyance bleeds through my ignore function and I still get to be annoyed by him. If you see what I mean )

 

[smutchin]

Any decent pair of wirecutters should do it.

Aye, you're not wrong there.

I used to leave my bike locked up at the station - with a proper D-lock, of course. Once I came back to it to find some scrote had added their own, one of those cheapo plastic coated chains with a combination lock that used to be so popular. I imagine the culprit thought I would be stupid enough to remove my lock and leave the bike there for them to pick up at their leisure. What I actually did was walk home and fetch a pair of garden loppers (for cutting small branches) and chopped their chain into a dozen pieces, which I left arranged neatly on the wall for them to collect later.

 

[Salty seadog]

Combi locks don't like winter.

nor does my cycling much.....

 

[Salty seadog]

I've had the misfortune of several combi locks succumbing to the Orrible winter road grime, and / or freezing. It ain't funny when you're 80 miles from home. Also, trying to line up a combi code with frozen fingers, or in the dark, with no lights or torches, which haven't run out of charge, is a faff I can live without.

I know exactly how to prevent those problems....

 

[jefmcg]

Oh yes, just remembered ...

My New York Fah... which is a key lock does not like the rain. Unless I keep the tines and inside the lock lightly oiled, a thin patina of rust adheres the lock in place and gives the disturbing impression that the lock has seized up. Now when I notice it getting sticky, I take action so it hasn't "seized" again.

All mechanisms aren't happy in harsh conditions. Look at the antikythera device

 

[smutchin]

'Several combi locks'? I've told you a million times before, Walt, don't exaggerate.

'80 miles from home'

 

[jefmcg]

Also, trying to line up a combi code with frozen fingers, or in the dark, with no lights or torches, which haven't run out of charge, is a faff I can live without

All irrelevant to cafe locks. I only use them outside a cafe or pub, which is open so has lights on. I leave it unlocked in my bag, so don't have have to line the numbers up when I am locking up, and when I am unlocking I have just been somewhere warm and dry, so my fingers aren't numb.

(and in extreme conditions, I would rather fumble with a combination than a key, having dropped my light through a grating during a cafe stop on an Audax. Fumbling with a lock is a pain in the arse, losing a key to your locked bike 80 miles from home is a disaster)