On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 17:31:21 -0500, "BobT"
wrote:

My bike came with an Axa SL7 but I took it off and opted for a cable type
lock. Did I make a mistake? It does seem easy to use although I don't like
that the key won't come out unless it's locked.

Well, that's also kind of the point, it forces you to leave your bike
locked if you want your keyring. Unless you're very, very
self-disciplined, leaving yourself the option not to lock up is a recipe
to in fact not end up doing so at all times.

It also means, and this is I suspect the real reason it was done that way,
that if you show the insurance company (the ones in this country) both
keys, they'll take that as evidence you did actually lock it when it was
stolen, which is what insurance companies want to see.

I was worried that putting the Axa SL7 lock only through my spokes was
inviting someone to trash my spokes even if they couldn't ride off with my
bike. '

Well, it's possible. I'd say it's chunky enough that people wouldn't
ignore it, but around here almost every bike has an axa lock so that the
criminals don't forget to check for it, and my experience there doesnt
translate well.

I was also concerned that someone would simply pick up my bike and
throw it in the back of a vehicle and drive off with it. I saw that I could

That's a definite possibility, yep. Best IMHO is to have the ring lock for
always and every time you leave the bike even if it's just for 10 seconds,
and a cable or chain to tie it down to the world for longer periods.

buy a cable that fits into the Axa but saw no advantage to the Axa SL7 +
cable over a cable alone.

The SL7 cable isn't all that great, but then most cables aren't. You have
more freedom of placement when you don't have to get the end back to your
ring lock somehow. On the gripping hand, the SL7 cable is cheaper and
lighter than a full cable lock, so if you're toting around the SL7 anyway,
you can consider the cable. I probably wouldn't use it though.

Are you using the the Axa SL7 regularly to lock your bike without these
problems?

I actually have the regular Axa on my beater bike, but that's a bike so
beat that when it was parked against another bike that was against a wall
(both with two locks on and tied into the world with one), thieves have
been known to move it aside, steal the bike under it, and then put it
back. Or that may have been one or two beaters ago, I don't keep track
very well, but the regular Axa is good enough that I have to replace the
beaters for failures, not for theft, unless I forget to lock it (or lock
it and then leave the key in, which sometimes happens if I'm being the
absent minded type at the time). Incidentally, I live in Utrecht, which is
a student city but not *quite* as bad in bike thefts as Amsterdam.

The new, expensive bike will have an SL7 and won't be left in dark alleys.

Bottom line is that the SL7 has a 14 mm diameter hardened steel ring
around your wheel, which is thicker and harder than pretty much any other
lock can offer, so it's nigh impossible to cut with boltcutters and hard
even with an anglegrinder. Supplement with something that ties your bike
to the world and you shouldn't really have any problems most places.


Jasper