Old man on a bike

https://ottodesignworks.com/shop/ottolock

Why would I trust my highly personalized, expensive thief-attractant bike to an un-tried Kickstarter campaign flimsy looking strap for a bike lock?  OK, it was a gamble, and their self-promotional video was a bit short on credibility, but I felt like giving the guys some encouragement, having failed at enough good ideas myself to know how a bit of a boost at the right time can bring a smile to your over-stressed face.  The endless,”Whoops, we nearly produced one” emails were good fun too, and kind of got me thinking that they were honest at least, because a scammer would have deliberately included spelling mistakes. And they over-subscribed massively, so there were a lot of us who wanted something lighter than the ginormous U-bold and cable which does ensure that my bike always stays where I leave it, but it’s too much just for 5 minutes outside the supermarket.  This is looking good so far.

It’s made with multiple layers of stainless stell and kevlar and it’s a lot harder to cut than a cable. And it’s small and light, so it always goes with me.

It’s very  tight to operate needing a bit of force to slide it through the mechanism, so I’ll be interested to see how it wears, and I’m only going to use it where I can cinch it really tightly to try to stop scum from even trying to cut it. However, this review is pretty convincing.  https://www.outsideonline.com/2185536/first-impressions-ottolock 

And this one – http://www.core77.com/posts/56234/Ottolock-An-Ultralight-Bike-Lock-That-Doesnt-Suck . I don’t like carrying around that big lock all the time, so for normal riding, where I’m never off the saddle and out of sight for more than a few minutes, this will be great. And all those quick shopping trips, where the Kryptonite is too much trouble.

So, the rules are:

• quick stops only
• always buckled really tight

Has anyone got any long term reviews?

After 1 month I’m totally happy 😉

6 months down a few roads, only a couple of thousand kilometres, but very comfortable K’s they were, thanks to the Salsa Bend Bars and the Ergon GP1 Locking Grips . 

My old 29er hardtail was fitted with butterfly bars which got a lot of very strange looks because they really are a bit excessive although they do give you options, lots of options.  With this arrangement the only changes I make to my hand position is alternating between thumbs around and thumbs on top, and when I get into anything interesting, like the grassy steep slope in the building site that I cut through on my  commute, I can force my elbows out and keep that stiffness in the steering. Sometimes I think the 17⁰ version might have been better for that, but after a day’s comfortable riding I’m always glad I took the plunge for the 23⁰