My Kickstarter Ottolock finally came in, so I made a quick video. I got the 60" version so that I could loop it through both tires. Though the price was kinda steep ($59), I like the design and weight (~8 oz), and think it'll will work out well for my needs.

Cool. Hopefully you don't have to find out how secure it is by having someone try to steal your bike, but it would be interesting to know how the strap and mechanism hold up under daily use.

Yeah, the strap seems pretty sturdy. I'm hoping the combo mechanism lasts. Being long enough to loop through both my tires was a big selling point for me. Also, because it's flat, it's pretty compact when rolled up. (I'm much more likely to bring this along on an errand rather than my u-lock).

I bet a pair of metal shears/heavy duty scissors would go right through that.

Another gimmick for people who don't want to horror of having to carry an extra pound or two for a U-lock.

Their site says it's "more secure than a cable lock" but still only for "short term theft opportunities" so not as secure as a U lock. What's the point then?

I wouldn't trust any of my bikes to it. Plus, being brightly colored, people can identify that specific lock from far away, and if they know they can break it, may just take a trip over to your bike to do so.

For those of us who just need something to keep the honest people honest, while the bike is parked on the rack with twenty others at a popular cyclist stopping spot? I've got a U-lock, it doesn't get used beyond leaving my bike parked for hours at a time on the street, which simply isn't that often.

Although I do agree, that particular one looks very flimsy.

Gee, their video, OTTOLOCK is Extremely Hard to Cut is really misleading.

1. small 4 inch? diagonal cutters. Try longer handled ones, and snip a little at a time, like thieves do when cutting a cable lock.

2. Tin snips. These aren't even aviation snips which have way more leverage and better handles, and they don't try to cut near the pivot part of the blades! (did they loosen the pivot bolt? the lock strap seems to slide in between the blades.)

3. bolt cutters. Again, not cutting near the pivot point. They don't show the person leaning into the handles, how hard did they try?

And there's no attempts to break the (aluminum?) combo lock.


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It does look good as a secondary lock for the wheels. My Kryptonite 4-foot cable lock is 12 ounces and includes a velcro strap to store it coiled into an oval shape. I use it along with a U-lock. This Ottolock would be lighter, smaller, and be locked separately.

The smallest version would be stronger than the $7 combination coil lock I use when running into a store, just to avoid someone riding off on my bike.

My review sample arrived this week. It wasn't on my radar initially but it looks better than I expected. Like the OP said, it's a good choice for keeping honest people honest.

So is the tried and true (and likely cheaper) cable lock.

That video is hilarious. I don't know if anyone could "half ass" it more than that guy did. Watching the video, I'm almost 100% sure I could cut it with a pair of heavy duty scissors. Even dikes if used correctly.

And bolt cutters often DON'T have blades that come all of the way together (the bolt often snaps before that) so how the heck was that expected to work? At least try it in the other orientation or folded.

With that said, I noticed the 'samples' he was using were very well cut with nice edges. I wonder how they cut those.

I bet it was a pair of metal shears/aviation snips.

Also, if this thing is made with pieces of flat metal on the inside, I wonder if taking advantage of metal fatigue would make it easier to break (aka fold it back and forth a few times.)

That video is insulting to intelligent riders ... hilarious for thieves, I bet.

Thing is ... it Might be better than a similar cable. If they wanted to impress serious buyers, they should have shown how long it took to get through with the dikes they used---which were a reasonable pair of pocketable dikes which a thief might have, or a semi-honest person might have in the toolbox in his car or truck. if it took longer than a cable lock ... I might stop to think. As it is ... I will wait until a serious test video is released.

As was also noted ... how about a hammer and chisel to the lock body?

Not to mention the laughable 3 digit combo on it...

It MAY be better than a small cable lock, but is it better than 4 small cable locks? Cause that's how many you could buy with the same amount of money. I suppose you're also paying for ease of use but still...

For that price I'd get some cut resistant rope and just TIE it around the bike with a fancy, hard to untie knot. Some ropes are next to impossible to cut with scissors (or dikes, or shears) and must be cut using other methods. (Sharp knife on wooden block for example.)

I sense a Kickstartr campaign coming on .....

Do you think if I made a fancy video I could get a bunch of idiots to buy some rope I pick up from my local hardware store? Citing that the rope is the best lock because it can't be cut with normal bike thief tools? (Honestly though, some rope is seriously hard to cut, even when using good tools.) Some ropes are imbedded with steel strands that stop cuts made with knives, but the rope part itself (fibrous part) can't be cut by "clamping" tools (like dikes or scissors.) The best (and sometimes only) way to cut them is to put them on a wooden block and chop at them with an axe or cut with a hot knife. Of course, hydraulic shears would work fine as well.

I think I could probably raise a few tens of thousands dollars? Do you want in? We could make so much money.

That's basically what I was thinking. Because it looks like it can be easily defeated, a potential thief may be attracted to it and choose to give it a go. A U lock, on the other hand, gives a PITA impression.

For a quick trip on a bike one isn't terribly attached to, it looks ok.

Was it just me, or did it look like the would-be thief in the demo video actually did get partially through the strap with the wire cutters and the snips? Maybe that was just the casing edge.

Looked to me that he hit metal with the tin snips ... and they were the wrong tool for the job.

except for the reasonable price (), the upside is that, looking at the mounting arrangement, there's a better than even chance the lock will fall off the bike and be (fingers crossed) lost on the first ride. ...win, win.

kudos to the OP for giving it a try though.

Yes, but it's lighter and at least as secure as a cable lock. The little snips they tried are well known to slowly eat most cable locks. For me a cable lock is in a middle ground of useless, too heavy for the protection it affords.

Personally, I'll probably buy a Z-lok when they come out. Basically, I want something that I can use while I run in to a coffee shop and not have someone toss a bike in a truck.

I've got an 8lb Kryptonite chain if I actually want security.

Not everybody lives in an area that requires a heavy lock. In 35 years of riding, I've probably locked up my bike 10-12 times total. There is a decent looking mtb near one of my ride starts that hasn't moved in a couple weeks and there are no houses nearby so it is amazing it hasn't been stolen yet but the people in my little farm town aren't really known to be desperadoes.

I joined the kickstarter and this lock may actually be overkill.

Consider me jealous.
I live in a decent sized college town and lock my shed with a U-lock. Diff'rent strokes, as they say.

What is these "dikes" you guys speak of?

Slang for "diagonal cutters".

I like it as a lock to go thru wheels as a supplement to a Ulock. I got from videos only to use in low crime areas. Is a little high priced for what it seems to be. But light weight would be nice for places I can kind of keep an eye on my bike and run in and grab fast food or drinks.

I would think that, generally, using this lock to cinch the bike up close to the lock point, e.g. around the seatpost/lock point, minimizing access for manipulating and cutting, would be the most effective use. Looping it long through the wheels provides fantastic access for cutters at all angles, and affords lots of room to "work" the lock strap as well, so less than ideal (from a cut attack perspective). If the main attack is against the locking mech, then maybe loose through the wheels but away from a hard surface (assuming a strike attack) would be better.

In any case, it's clearly indicated for low-risk scenarios, so it probably won't matter much either way.

Here's a review of Ottolock from Outside magazine, including trying to cut the lock with bolt cutters and a comparison to a similar weight cable lock. Outside is not exactly the most reputable gear reviewer, but at least (hopefully) independent of the manufacturer: https://www.outsideonline.com/218553...sions-ottolock