Originally Posted by
prathmann
They've been commercially available for quite some time:
Robot Check
Not very secure if someone actually takes a hacksaw or even a Swiss Army Knife to it, but I presume the idea is that most thieves will avoid bikes with U-locks and instead go for the ones secured with cables. Don't know how many bike thieves take the time to check the make and material in each U-lock.
Yeah, they wouldn't stop a pro thief, but they may fake out some. The thing is that, at almost 13 ounces, they aren't all that light considering the minimal protection they offer.
On tour usually I either leave the lock home or take a 5 ounce cable lock. Which one depends on the locale. Either way there are usually places where I just avoid leaving the bike out of my sight.