The above photo is taken from Cyclingtips most excellent coverage of the Eurobike 2017. Hope they won’t mind.
Among the many new products that appeared a Eurobike, few really caught my attention. One of them is the new ABUS Bordo Lite Mini, a folding lock that measures 60cm in length and weighs in at only 500g. That’s 25cm and 150g less than the existing Bordo Lite. Strangely, outside of Cyclingtips’ article, there’s almost no mention of this lock anywhere else. Instead, you find that cycling news report about the new version of the Bordo folding lock which comes with an inbuilt alarm. Maybe, after all, it’s just all about smart, and if it doesn’t contain any form of electronics, it cannot be smart.
However, I think it’s a pretty important product. Of course, no lock is truly unbreakable. In the end, it’s mostly about telling the occasional thief that it’s easier to steel the next bike to the left or right. And I can see some scenarios in which I might like to have something like the Lite Mini.
I should mention that I already own the regular Bordo Lite. From my perspective, it’s the optimal lock for a multi-day road bike trip, when you want to lock the bike over night while it’s also secured by means of the property’s doors, or when you want to interrupt your ride somewhere for a slightly longish break and intend to leave the bike out of sight. But it’s still so large that you need to attach it to the frame, so I usually wouldn’t pick it for a day ride.
Unfortunately, on day rides I have found myself at many occasions to think about taking a swim at the lake and then not doing it. Or getting ice cream from a place without a street facing bar, or buying a lunch sandwich from a supermarket, or quickly walking to a view point for a photo. And, again, just not doing it. Because then I could not lock the bike. I also have a mini cable lock, also from ABUS. However, that one is so tiny and fragile, I think a strong man could rip it apart without any tools.
So, the Bordo Lite Mini is a good step in the direction of getting to a folding lock that truly fits a day ride. In its first iteration, I think it’s still too heavy, as it’s not that much liter than the Bordo Lite. I see the sweet-spot between 350 and 400g, while I would be willing to accept a lower security level at that weight, and for the lock to only measure 50cm in length. Then, it would be a certain buy on my side, and I would see myself to take more occasions for a quick swim.
Onabike.cc 