alechenken

Is it safe to have a U-lock mounted below your downtube? It seems like it could work, but I wanted some other opinions before I attempted this incredibly stupid feat. There's about four inches of clearance from the ground to the U-lock. Let me know if I'm being original, or if I'm just being stupid. Perhaps both.

lbear

I would worry about it swinging into the pedals/cranks if you hit a bump in the road. Resulting in you becoming part of the road.

j mendivil

Speed bumps? More gunk on the lock. But, I have seen other items mounted as such. Many bikes have extra cage bolts here, for fuel, extra water etc., so it is not so far fetched. Try it, good luck!

xenologer

Yeah, I though of doing it that way too, but the engineer in me kept saying no way.

Can't see the rest of your frame, any reason it can't be mounted Inside the frame? say off the seat tube? or hanging from the top tube?


My own frame is really small, so I couldn't fit it inside the frame itself since I had a water bottle holder in there along with a frame pump...

Ended up ditching the bulky holder that came with the ULock and took an old frame pump clip; hose clamped that to the side of the top tube way forward near the headset (where my knees dont reach). So the ULock basically hangs on the side of the frame up there. You don't even need to find a clip that holds it tightly, I just use it as a hook, then a velcro strap keeps the lock from bouncing out.

bhop

Why would you want to put it there when you've got nothing on your seat tube? Just curious..

That's where I put mine and it stays put and out of the way. You can see the mount here, although the lock isn't on.

alechenken

No, there's no room inside the frame, it's a compact geometry. My goal was also to keep the center of gravity low too, and anyplace inside the frame was in the way of the bottle cage. Thanks all for your help

BarracksSi

I have that same lock.

Put the mount on the seatpost, then turn it back most of the way -- but not all the way to the rear (say, about at 7 o'clock as you look at it from above and behind). Loosen the set screw in the silver tab thingy on the lock so that you can mount the lock and have it pointed as straight to the rear as possible. Tighten the set screw and tighten the mount.

When you want to go on really fast rides, take off the lock and it'll feel like a whole new bike.

bhop

Seems like it'd be out of the way of the bottle if you turned the lock around. The mounting point would be on the front side of the lock, not the back (when mounted on the bike), opposite of what you have now. Lock would sit kinda next to the seat tube and rear wheel.. pretty much what BarracksSi said.. You can't really tell in my pic, but the mount kinda angles out to the left a bit.

BarracksSi

If I were home, I'd take a pic or two and show what I mean. But, I won't be back home for another couple weeks...

My concern about having that lock low on the downtube would be going over something like a speedbump (curbs are easy to avoid, even though they're an obvious hazard), banging the lock, and possibly crimping the downtube. I haven't tested the squeezing strength of my own C'dale, but I don't want to try, either.

Bookman

Try mounting the U-lock bracket this way. I guarantee it won't interfere with pedaling. If you don't need your lock on a particular ride, there's still room to add a second bottle cage.

Carusoswi

It doesn't look safe to me. The speed bump example is one obvious problem, but, if you are like me, there are plenty of occasions when you might ride somewhere that calls for you to get over something that might require the clearance that your proposed mounting location sacrifices.

If you strike something, even if your tube isn't destroyed, it might sustain a substantial dent.

I feel your pain about where to mount that thing. It's one reason I don't use that sort of lock, although it's probably better than the cable lock that I use in terms of security.

Good luck with it.

Caruso

alechenken

Thanks BarrackSi and Bookman for the help with creative ways to mount the lock. It is an awkward setup, and I'm going to change it to something safer. I had not yet thought of an eccentric mounting pattern, because the OCD in me tells me the lock has to be in line with the midline of the bike. I appreciate all the help you all gave, and I hope to be using these forums again soon! I really enjoy it.

RacerOne

I would not ride with that there. I only see bad things coming from that set-up.

Bekologist

to answer the OP, I'd say 'unorthodox' and 'potentially dangerous'.

try mounting the lock off the seattube, facing back, braced against the seatstay,

like this..... this............. or this.

Juha

This is how I have my Abus mount installed. By "pointing it as straight to the rear as possible" it doesn't even interfere with my Ortlieb rear panniers.

Regarding the "3rd bottle cage" point, I don't think those reach below BB the way the lock does in pic.

--J

Widsith

It looks to me like an invitation to snag it on a stick or other piece of road debris. I keep picturing one of those hooks on the tail of an aircraft that catches a cable while landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier...

BarracksSi

Yeah, that's just like how I have mine, except that I put it up on the seatpost itself.

fetad

I like Bek's solution. I would augment it just a tad because I'm OCD about rattles. Mount it a few inches further towards the top tube; Enough that you could tightly wrap a small velcro strap around the u-lock to the seatstay. This should keep it from bumping/rattling against the stay.

bhop

Here's how I have mine mounted. The bike shop I bought my bike at mounted it for me. It's and out of the way, aesthetically looks ok IMO, and most of the weight is centered over the mount so it's a snug fit and doesn't rattle at all.



On the right, you can see how the mount on the lock side is angled in.

TromboneAl

I had my Kryptolok2 Mini mounted on the seat tube, but I found that it rattled. Now I've found a new way to carry it that, surprisingly, is perfectly comfortable:

unterhausen

I've thought of that, but I keep my lightweight camping axe in that pocket.