Although I’m pretty sure nobody would think of stealing my Tour Easy (“How long did it take you to learn to ride that thing?”), it’d be a shame to be wrong. So I carry a coily-cord lock and lash the bike to a post or, for lack of anything better, the front wheel to the frame.
If they can figure out how to get the back wheel out in less than ten minutes without a work stand, they’re a damn sight better mechanic than I!
Anyhow, the trouble with a coily lock is that it’s far too heavy and sinks to the bottom of whatever pack you put it in, crushing the groceries on the way down.
So I built a small plate, tucked into the corner above the bottom bracket, to hold the lock out of the way and within easy reach.
It’s a 1/16-inch aluminum plate held to the bike frame with a pair of padded clamps. I applied a hole saw to the middle to get a way to lash the lock to the plate with two more of those ubiquitous Velcro straps.
The 2.5-inch 10-32 machine screws support the cable coils; the lock already has a plastic coating, so I didn’t bother putting any padding on the screws. Nuts on both sides compress the clamps and support the plate.
The small aluminum plate sticking up prevents the lock coils from pressing the brake cable against the frame. If you forget that, your back brake won’t release completely.
There’s nothing fancy on the left side…
Put Loctite on the threads under the nuts to ensure nothing rattles loose!
The black cable taped to the top frame tube carries the push-to-talk button back to the amateur radio behind the seat. That’s a story for another time.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 