Bike locks as a whole are sort of a losing battle, it seems that no matter what you do bike thieves are two-steps ahead — and locks also aren't very practical to carry on a training ride.
OTTO DesignWorks, the same people who brought you the OTTO derailleur tuning device is attempting to fill this security gap however with the OTTOLOCK. It's Kickstarter campaign includes a variety of pledge amounts and claims that the lock is "far more secure than a cable lock, and much lighter than a U-lock"
Inspired by Jelly Belly presented by Maxxis rider Jacob Rathe, who’s had his own trouble with bike thieves, he wanted to help create a lock that was light enough to take on a training ride but still strong enough to at least slow down a thief.
Claimed to weigh 115g, the OTTOLOCK is a cinch combo lock that has a band made from multiple layers of high-tempered steel bands that are reinforced by Kevlar, and covered in Santoprene plastic to protect your bike from damage.
The high-tempered steel bands are quite thin and layered in a manner that still allows the lock to be flexible and robust, yet resistant to cutting thanks to the Kevlar reinforcement.
The locking head features a three numeral combination lock, which can be set to the numbers of your choice. While the current version is made from aluminium, the team at OTTO DesignWorks says it may use zinc for the production version as "weight is very important."
Available in three lengths 18in (45cm), 30in (76cm), and 60in (150cm) and three colours the OTTOLOCK should satisfy the needs of both the lycra brigade and the casual rider.
The team at OTTO DesignWorks places the OTTOLOCK somewhere between a cable lock and a u-lock in terms of security. While we haven't actually had one on hand to test, if the bolt cutters they attack the band with in the campaign video are any indication, it’s a safe bet your bike will still be where you left if when you leave the cafe.
The lock is small and flexible enough to roll up to about the size of a 700c tube and will easily fit in a jersey pocket or in a saddle bag.
OTTOLOCK does point out that all locks can be compromised with the right tools and enough time, but they’ve tested the band for cutting (bolt cutters, wire cutters, single pivot and compound sheers), band torsion, head pawl picking, head impact, and assembly tensile force pull testing. According to its testing, the current version of the OTTOLOCK has gone through 20 band iterations, five lock head designs and it takes over 400lbs of force to pull apart the lock — the company says the production version will exceed that figure.
The lock itself is designed and assembled in Portland and the components are manufactured in the Midwest.
Having reached its funding goal in under 48-hours the OTTOLOCK campaign still has 23-days to go at the time of writing and is set to ship in February 2017.