That's right, I said another key.
The first one broke right after I bought it and it wasn't even cold. They sent me the"two key, guaranteed replacement deal" with no problem. This time, the lock won't let go of the piece it bit off. So, despite the fact that the lock will work with the broken key, it shouldn't, and I ain't gonna trust it. I can just see me locking it up in a questionable part of Chicago (yes, they still have that) and not being able to get my bike loose without an angle grinder. In which case the local professional craigslist recycle-rs would get it before me. So I threw the lock away.
I have a better one, an Abus Bordo which I will use instead, but that's not the point.
The act of discarding a lock created horrible emotional torture. Well, one night anyway. I woke up in a cold sweat after dreaming that I had suffered bike theft. Not just any bike theft, It was my Hunqapillar. Well, not exactly. I dreamt they stole the Bullmoose Bosco bars. What does this have to do with a broken key in a U-Lock which was not intended to protect the handlebars? I don't know, but I think the failure of that key has set in motion a condition of totally irrational paranoia which would make any trial lawyer salivate. Like the one who is suing the estate of the child killed by his client. This woman is claiming millions in reparations after a night of drinking at a local pub led to her killing an adolescent on a bike and injuring two others. Try to ignore the fact that she was not given a sobriety test at the scene, and that her husband is a police officer. That is an obvious coincidence. But, now she is claiming the children did not operate their brakes properly and she is losing sleep! Hey! I woke up in a cold sweat and had to change my pillowcase, that should be worth a few mil. I blame the public school system. It has gotten too easy to get a law degree. Seriously, there are too many hungry lawyers out there! Put 'em on food stamps, maybe they won't be such a pain in the ass.
I'll have to take a ride on this to help calm me down and get to sleep.
I see no reason to feel guilty unless you are depriving your wife and children with this addiction. I see it as coming with the territory. We should try and improve our enjoyment of cycling as our opportunities and circumstances permit..
ReplyDeleteNow whether that lock is safer than say the Abus Granite X u-lock, I doubt it. It only takes one cut to disable it. It also looks like a bolt cutter could do it in due thinner plates better fit in its jaws. It may or may not be rated as equivalent. I don' think it is. I look forward to a review of review some time.
I have had four bicycles stolen. All in the 1970's. All 10-speeds. For many years I rode old cruisers because they were not as popular to steal. Over the last twenty years I have been riding older but nicer bikes. I have one bike I bought new, a Brompton, because I can keep it with me. My main ride is my pseudo riv. I lock it with an Abus Granite X and I am careful where I park it. It sucks that I have to be so vigilant but in New Orleans there is a lot a desperation.
Schwinnsta.
Amusing that you refer to your main ride as a "pseudo riv." When I get together with some vintage fans, I refer to my Riv's as "faux vintage." The links on the Bordo series have withstood the bolt cutters, of course the grinders are a danger to us all!
ReplyDeleteI feel you on that! I actually had my bike stolen while I was living in New York. Couldn't believe it at first. It didn't hit me, until it really hit me right? Maybe it was my fault for going cheap on a lock but I remember for weeks afterwards having nightmares about it being stolen. One of the worst feelings. Don't go cheap on locks! It's worth the extra cash!
ReplyDeleteEarl Mark @ Eastway Lock