Originally Posted by
Juha
OK, you just identified two of the many factors I was talking about: lock's ability to protect and "functional portability". There are more, and the two you mentioned might benefit from more detailed definition. Even so, you now have to decide which of the two is more important to find out "the best" lock. How much portability are you willing to sacrifice to gain more protection, or vice versa?
Once you come up with an answer to that, you will hopefully realize someone else might have a different, yet equally correct answer. Again, there are many good lock makers out there. In the end it boils down to personal preferences and opinions rather than objective facts. You said it earlier yourself: you're looking for opinions in this thread (which is why I find the title somewhat ambitious and misleading).
--J
Locks purpose: to secure and protect.
The better a lock can do this the better a lock is, it doesn’t matter what a person thinks about a lock, it matters how precisely a lock can achieve its objective- to secure an object from people that wish to take it by force.
My personal preference will not change, or alter in any way a locks ability to protect. No, this is not a subjective matter. However, which lock I decide to choose is.
Further, if it “boils down to personal opinion” then I am right because this is my personal opinion, and according to your position, “someone else might have a different, yet equally correct answer.” Therefore, my answer is “different” from yours, and at the same time, “equally correct.” Your words not mine. On your view there is no reason to disagree with me because I am just as equally correct as you are. In this same way, the man who thinks that cable locks are superior to U-locks is also correct. The point is that… it sounds like you really don’t think there is such a thing as a good lock; and if you don’t think there is such a thing as a good lock, then there is also no such thing as a bad lock. This is something I don’t believe.
Fact: there is such a thing as a good lock as well as a bad lock, and my personal preference is not the deciding factor.
As for stating opinion, this is what we all do, but what gives our opinion authority is our ability to defend what we believe. Yes, I love to hear from other people such as yourself, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t challenge your opinion, just like you should challenge mine. The test is whether or not you can answer the challenge and defend what you believe. Hence, “Bike Locks The Facts” will not be a thread composed of assertions, but of well defended positions so that in the end the reader can make a more informed choice as to what buy.
From your view it would seem that you want a thread with many assertions- all of which you take to be “equally correct” facts? This just isn’t so, a Walmart Huffy is inferior to a professionally assembled Trek and a Kryptonite lock is superior to a cheap Bell lock. Indeed, what is the point of talking locks if there is no such thing as good and bad locks? For in that case any lock will do.
Respectfully
Jack