One of the hacks I am most proud of, and that I use every day when I commute, is utilizing a promotional bank carabiner to secure my bike chain around my waist. I covered this in a previous post entitled I'm too Sexy for My Bike Chain - get your Right Said Fred on if you want a backtrack for this post.
Here are the photos from that post - from afar . . .
There is one minor problem with this hack that never really bothered me until I started pay $60 for t-shirts. In the pictures above you will notice that the chain came with a sleeve, however there are exposed links around the lock area. As I ride, the links rub together and pinch my shirt.
This causes wear and tear and eventually holes start to appear in the shirt. If I am wearing a cheap t-shirt it's no big deal, however when I am wearing merino wool t-shirts that run around $60 each it is a big deal.
I started to think about how I could combat this problem and my initial hack was to take an old towel, cut it down to size, and place it between the lock/chain and my shirt.
While this did work, trying to secure the chain and hold the towel at the same time was not the easiest thing to do. I knew a sleeve would make it easy, but the problem was the lock is pretty big. It then hit me while clearning out a closet - a pant leg would be perfect.
I took an old pair of jeans, hacked the leg down to size and slipped it over the chain. Now the pant leg stays on my chain all the time and I just have to secure it and then slide the pant leg over the lock. Voilà! No more holes in my merino wool shirts.
For those that might be curious, I always do ride with either a jacket or a button up shirt that covers the lock so it actually is not visible.
Do have have any lock hacks? Feel free to let us know.
Wow. When I see a chain like that I feel good about my choices. I cannot see ever living someplace that needs that chain. I carry the lightest cable lock I could find and lots of times I don't even use it.
Posted by: Jack | 02/08/2011 at 12:55 PM
Didn't you say at one point that you cut off and hem BDUs for riding pants (as do I, but I just buy pants at goodwill). Next time you do that just keep the lower leg and you'll have a chain sleeve that matches your pants!
Posted by: theguth | 02/08/2011 at 01:47 PM
I would hate to fall down and land on that lock.
Posted by: Norm D. | 02/08/2011 at 02:08 PM
That's why I carry a messenger bag, to put heavy and cumbersome objects (like a lock) in.
Posted by: Devon | 02/08/2011 at 02:21 PM
People have commented before about the "danger" of wearing a lock like this, however I think it's a bit of a wash. I guess I would explain sorta like this . . .
People tell me it's dangerous to ride a bike in New York City. While this may be true, it's also dangerous to walk in New York City and you could be injured either way (there are hundreds of similar analogies of course - seat belt argument for example - "A friend of mine didn't wear a seat belt and still lived. Why should I wear one?")
I see the danger in wearing a bag with heavy objects in it as well - you could fall on the contents and they could injure you. You could also fall on the lock or chain and rather than your body taking the brunt of the fall, the lock actually might protect you. Which would you rather have hit the pavement - you or the lock and chain? I would hazard a guess and say that a case could be made for either.
No matter what I say I will not convince everyone, I just think the argument of injury is overblown.
Posted by: Matt | 02/09/2011 at 08:45 AM