n'lock -- bike security by making the bike impossible to ride

[Danneaux]

Hi Matt!

Having carefully considered the situation, I went with matte black on my Sherpa and chose the same again on the Nomad. For my Sherpa pics, see: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3896.0

I've got to tell you, it was an agonizing choice the first time. I'd never had a black bike before, and I wasn't too crazy about my father's black 1938 Hercules. Still, I went with black for a number of reasons:
1) Less attractive/eye-catching to thieves.
2) Invisible touch-up.
3) Much more stealthy when wild-camping -- the matte black is absolutely invisible at night. I went the whole nine yards, too, making all the accessories black so it was monochromatic. To my eyes, it looked really nice...sort of the black version of Brummie's red RST (See: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4483.msg21699;topicseen#msg21699 ).

To address the need for daytime visibility, I use neon yellow-green jerseys and jackets and bright red-and-black Ortlieb panniers.  All these have much more surface area to show in traffic than the bicycle alone could ever offer. At night and in camp, I switch to my black clothing (selected to absorb the most heat in cold conditions) and remove the bags and stow them behind my tent (slate bottom, leaf-green fly, black end so I can choose which face to show passing traffic; the lot is pretty invisible in most settings).

At the same time, I simply despise buying things out of fear, and I didn't want my color choice to be influenced by fear of theft or notice.  I love the bright red in the Sherpa line and yellow in the Nomad, and they're really good choices! My tandem is bright red. Andy makes a very good point about having the bike stand out, especially in areas where black bikes are the norm. Still, I will be spending most of my time riding and touring in my corner of the world (Pacific Northwest, USA), and black is a *lot* better for avoiding theft here -- brightly-colored bikes are stolen in a wink.

The thing is, once I saw my matte black Sherpa...all doubts were erased. I *loved* the color -- enough that I chose the Nomad in matte black without a second thought and for the same reasons (now proven and no longer just theory). If I someday find myself craving a bit of color, it would be easy to wrap the handlebars in red tape, or go a bit further and add red vinyl signage cutoffs in an homage to the panel paint schemes of the 1970s.  Most commercial sign shops use adhesive vinyls and plotting cutters, and will often give you cutoff and leftover scraps you can apply in any number of ways. It can be removed in case of a mistake, too.

Still...yellow or red are really, really nice...then there's black again...too many choices! I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the colors offered, so it is down to preference.

What a wonderful dilemma!  

All the best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Matt, my current bike, which will very likely see me out, is not yellow (my first choice) because:

1. I'm getting on a bit for bright pastels. I drove bright sunflower yellow Porsche into my 30s, so I gave up that wonderful primary colour most reluctantly.

2. There was a waiting list for a yellow bike. There always is. It is a law of nature.

3. My particular bike, in whatever colour, is an historical artefact, in that it is a modernisation of a famous design first built in 1936. Coachlining was available only on certain colours by a chappie, then 89, who worked on the line when the bike was first built in 1936. Coachlining was not available on yellow...

4. At the time I was feeling nostalgic for a British Racing Green with gold coach lines Bentley sports car I built on a Mk VI chassis and had been foolish enough to sell to a silver-tongue American with a bottomless bank account. I was even considering going to the considerable expenditure of money and time to build another one.

5. A BRG frame in the right size was the demo bike for the coach lining. I could have it immediately, if I ordered it fitted out with approved parts in stock or immediately available.

6. Also, for taking the green "used" one, rather than lengthen an embarrassingly long waiting list for a yellow one, I was offered a €1300 and something discount (about two thousand dollars in Dan's money), and favourable shipping terms (which are worth hundreds more when you live four countries and a couple of sea passages away).

7. I've been very happy with the dignified green and gold bike. But I won't pretend that every time I see a sunflower yellow bike I don't wonder if I should order up a yellow frame...

8. It may interest Dan that BRG (actually a colour that translates from the German as "non-RAL forest green" -- BRG is whatever the designer says on the day it is, see COLOUR FOR PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATORS in the series Graphic Design in the Computer Age http://coolmainpress.com/andrejuteGDitCA.html ) photographs black, as for instance in the Rivendell joke bottom right of the 2nd page of http://coolmainpress.com/AndreJute'sUtopiaKranich.pdf

9. My bike colour was therefore chosen for a concatenation of eminently rational reasons. None of them would have mattered if a yellow one were available. However, it would, for me in my circumstances, have been the wrong colour, far too aggressive and obtrusive. By luck I got exactly the right colour.

***

I had yellow Ortieb panniers, now sold on for reasons nothing to do with the colour (I live in a low-crime environment) but with their usability on a utility rather than a touring bike; they're not intended to be opened every few minutes. They certainly added security for bike and rider at junctions. I replaced them with more convenient open-top Basil pannier baskets, of which i keep only one on the bike in normal use. My feeling is that highly coloured panniers would also attract the eye of everyone else, including light-fingered types. Someone in another thread recently made the point that black Ortliebs anyway have huge reflectors on all sides, and that may well be the operative consideration. I operate a BUMM IQ Fly front and Linetec rear lamp whenever the bike moves, including as daylight running lamps, and consider that sufficient visibility. I do however have a broken reflective Sam Brown belt strapped around the bottom of the pannier basket to hold it more securely to the offside chainstay and that definitely adds visibility from as much as a quarter mile out. I also have spoke reflectors front and rear, and of course my Big Apples have huge reflective circles on their sides.

Frankly, while I certainly consider a yellow motorcar a warning and a safety measure, the tubes on a bike don't have enough substance unless they are painted in reflective paint, so I don't think the colour makes you safer, especially from the front or the back. Only a few days ago a sunflower yellow motor cycle passed me. From the back all I could see was black fittings and a red light. Next I came up on a German tourer, female, on a custom pink bike, and from the back there was nothing of the pink visible, nor from the front.

If you want to make your bike glow in the dark, mix 2% black into primary yellow, and respray. It doesn't have to be a perfect job because the reflectiveness hides all kinds of poor preparation.

***

I can't tell you what to choose. I'll just say that anyone who says he doesn't lust after a yellow bike -- is definitely a bad liar!

Andre Jute

[Danneaux]

1. I'm getting on a bit for bright pastels. I drove a bright sunflower yellow Porsche into my 30s, so I gave up that wonderful primary colour most reluctantly.

Whaaaaaat?!? Andre! How can this be? You can't be more than 24.  <-- There's a story to that. My father always said one is only as old as they feel, and I would often ask "How old are ya now, Dad?" so he could prove it; the answer was usually "Eighteen". On a rougher day, it might be "Nineteen".

Jack is still around at 94 (he's working on shimming my front door hinges as I write this), but we took our last tour together the week before he turned 74. For most of the trip in answer to my queries he was 18, but after a lot of hill-climbing above 6,000ft, he was as much as 19 till he could regain his breath and the world was no longer black before his eyes.

An old motorcyclist, he loved descents as much as I, so when we got under the shadow of Mt. Thielsen on some washboard red-lava gravel, we both let loose. I came down at 56mph and did fine, the speed adding a bit of flotation. He took a slightly different line, and his front wheel came down just as a pothole opened up beneath it. The front wheel twisted around and the handlebar-end took out two ribs in front; the saddle nose took out a third rib from behind. Seeing all this in my reaview mirror was a horror, and I dumped my bike and scrambled up the hill to check on him. In answer to my First Dumb Question, "How are you?", he just glared. In response to the second, "How old are you?" he managed to say -- between gritted teeth -- "Twenty-four".  I think he hit 26 on our rough descent down the remaining 2,800 vertical feet and 27 miles to a remote resort, where we put in a radio-relay call for family members to drive the six hours to come get us. We had bound his ribs in spare innertubes, and had nothing to disinfect all the road rash and clean out the lava-gravel except some rubbing alcohol and a scrub brush we found at the off-season resort. After the scrub-up he reckoned he might be 28. The next morning you could literally hear him creak when he moved, but he was back to 25 or 26, so I knew he'd make it. He turned 74 chronological years just four days later.

So, Andre, you're never past a yellow bike or car if you want one. That's why...

2. There was a waiting list for a yellow bike. There always is. It is a law of nature.

7. I've been very happy with the dignified green and gold bike. But I won't pretend that every time I see a sunflower yellow bike I don't wonder if I should order up a yellow frame...

That's Fate whispering to you, Andre. You won't know a moment's peace till you give in and Go Yellow. Mark my words. Fate is whispering "Doitdoitdoitdoit...".

It may interest Dan that BRG...is whatever the designer says on the day it is...

I've noticed that!

9. My bike colour was therefore chosen for a concatenation of eminently rational reasons. None of them would have mattered if a yellow one were available. However, it would, for me in my circumstances, have been the wrong colour, far too aggressive and obtrusive. By luck I got exactly the right colour.

...Agreed, but you forgot to add, "For a primary bike". Andre...there's secondary, tertiary and quaternary bicycles as well, and yellow is a perfectly acceptable color for those! Just choose the bike to match the day and mood. Done. We all deserve Yellow Days from time to time.

I had yellow Ortlieb panniers, now sold on...they're not intended to be opened every few minutes.

Oh! But have you seen the more recent "Bike-Tourer" series in hazel/black combo?: http://www.ortlieb.de/_prod.php?lang=en&produkt=biketourer they are blindingly fast to open and close, though I am not sure about their absolute waterproofness. The "Grocery Bag" series is pretty quick to open and close as well and come in a variety of somewhat subdued colors: http://www.ortlieb.de/_prod.php?lang=en&produkt=comfortshopper

...anyone who says he doesn't lust after a yellow bike -- is definitely a bad liar!

Absolutely correct! Guilty as charged, but I have surprised myself by *also* loving matte black. Go figure! (But still fondly remembering my first "10-speed", a Kool Lemon yellow Schwinn Varsity in 1972).

All the best,

Dan. (whose father, Jack, had a yellow bike...and wouldn't mind another at age 94 [currently "24" dealing with a *bad* case of shingles])

[Andre Jute]

Give my regards to your dad, Dan. He reminds me of the fellow I found running on the road 3.5 miles out of town. Here one speaks to people one meets in the lanes.

"You'll live to be ninety," I said to him encouragingly, from where I lay on my back on a wide bridge wall, resting up.

He must have had plenty of breath because he positively snapped, "I'm past ninety already, sonny."

Andre Jute

[andrew_s]

A question:

Are the Ahead stems for a 1" steerer, or a 1 1/8" steerer?
The only sizing I can ment mentioned on the n'lock website is standard vs oversize bar clamps

[julk]

Andrew,
I just fitted the basic one, it is for a 1 1/8" steerer and a 25.4mm handlebar.
Both of which are standard on my Thorn.

I found it initially a very tight fit on my 1 1/8" steerer, it only went on halfway with some persuasion and it was difficult to remove.
I took a file, then for speed, a belt sander very gently to the steerer until the n'lock went on all the way.

BUT, on careful measurement, this was the steerer being just a fraction of a mm larger than the 1 1/8" measurement.
Now it is on it certainly makes the bike unrideable when unlocked and I find it makes storage simpler when I can turn the handlebar.

An excellent product if the stem is the right length for you.
Julian.

[Andre Jute]

A question:

Are the Ahead stems for a 1" steerer, or a 1 1/8" steerer?
The only sizing I can ment mentioned on the n'lock website is standard vs oversize bar clamps

The n'lock stems are ALL for 1-1/8 inch outside diameter steerer. If you have an 1-1/8 inch steerer tube, you can buy any of the bare n'lock stems that suit your handlebar clamp size, and fit it. If you want height and reach adjustment, buy the adjustable n'lock. If you want more height adjustment, get the "Quill adaptorset 25.4mm". http://shop.nlock.ch/index.php?cPath=3

If you have a 1 inch outside diameter steerer you can still fit any n'lock that suits your handlebars but you will need a "Quill adaptorset 22.2mm". http://shop.nlock.ch/index.php?cPath=3 This makes the n'lock even more useful by adding a height adjustment.

If you want added security, buy the n'lock Plus which has lock for a cable built in, and either the loose cable or the handlebar with the built-in cable. See the previous page for photos.

Brain People of Switzerland sell sets of components that represent a big saving. These include the stem, a quill to whatever size you want, and the handlebar with the cable inside. That way you get all the possible adjustments and all the possible security (except the long cable, which I bought extra but don't use much), at a big saving.

Andrew,
I just fitted the basic one, it is for a 1 1/8" steerer and a 25.4mm handlebar.
Both of which are standard on my Thorn.

I found it initially a very tight fit on my 1 1/8" steerer, it only went on halfway with some persuasion and it was difficult to remove.
I took a file, then for speed, a belt sander very gently to the steerer until the n'lock went on all the way.

BUT, on careful measurement, this was the steerer being just a fraction of a mm larger than the 1 1/8" measurement.
Now it is on it certainly makes the bike unrideable when unlocked and I find it makes storage simpler when I can turn the handlebar.

An excellent product if the stem is the right length for you.
Julian.

Even with a Dutch-made steerer for a German company, which is precisely 28.6mm, the n'lock is a very tight fit, the Swiss typically going one better than "mere Germans"! That's not all. That gunge that Brain People rub inside their stem clamp is sticky and obstructive. When I took my n'lock off to fit the quill (this is on my Ahead system, Andrew, but first you need a collar clamp and a good understanding of what you're doing because now you're mixing engineering systems with different purposes that could be dangerous to your health if you get it wrong -- better to let your LBS do it for you) for additional height, it was so hard to get off, I feared I would do myself harm. After a break to let the blue air clear and drink a cup of restorative tea, I squirted it full of my favourite all-purpose grease, Finish Line White Teflon, and slipped it onto the quill, which in a test baulked at the lunge, like a dream.

Brain People sell most of their stems to OEMs of upmarket bikes to be fitted by professional mechanics. Whatever the engineering qualities of that gunge, it ain't consumer friendly. I don't mind though; I receive it as a sign of people who take care of engineering before they worry about marketing, and that's my kind of bike people.

Andre Jute

[StuntPilot]

All good info! I have been looking closely at the n'lock system.

As an aside, and unsure where else to post, does anyone have the n'lock fitted with a Tout Terrain The Plug II? As I am interested in both as a future project, are they compatible?

The n'lock top cap button seems very close to the edge of the outside diameter of the steering tube and with The Plug being larger than the tube diameter just wondering it they would work together? Thoughts welcome!

[Danneaux]

Hi Richard!

Looking closely at Andre's excellent photos, my first reaction was the n'lock and Tout Terrain The Plug 2 would be mutually incompatible.

However, looking at the TTTP2 more closely I think it might be possible. The Plug2 replaces the standard stem cap exactly, and if the USB plug was rotate away from the lever, it might work.

The only hitch I can see is of the n'lock locking lever really does overlap the cap, as it appears in one of Andre's shots. If that's the case, then it won't work, as the TTTP2 extends upward vertically from the steerer.

[EDIT: Going back and reviewing the whole of Andre's valuable essay, I think it is almost certain these two products are incompatible]

If you need any measurements, my TTTP2 is not yet in the Nomad, so readily available for detailed photos and measurements.

All the best,

Dan. (..who thinks the Rolling Stones may have had it right about not always getting what y'want, but maybe...sometimes...what y'need)

[julk]

Hi,
The n'lock top cap is fixed in position and feels non removeable.
When unlocked the stem swivels but the top cap stays in one position.

I reckon it is a no go for the Plug of any variety.
Julian.

[Andre Jute]

As an aside, and unsure where else to post, does anyone have the n'lock fitted with a Tout Terrain The Plug II? As I am interested in both as a future project, are they compatible?

The n'lock top cap button seems very close to the edge of the outside diameter of the steering tube and with The Plug being larger than the tube diameter just wondering it they would work together? Thoughts welcome!

There is no way to bring anything at all out of the top of the n'lock stem. Except for a 6mm hole required to put a bolt through in all flavours of the n'lock installation, it doesn't have any hole centred over the  steering tube like other stems. There is thus nowhere to fit a topcap. Since the Tout Terrain The Plug II is, as I understand it, a replacement top cap with a plug in it, the answer is: they are not compatible. See photographs on the previous page to grasp what I'm describing.

More. The best deal in n'locks, and a good way to get almost unlimited vertical adjustment in your stem, is to buy the full special price kit, and then to use the supplied quill in your steering tube (regardless of whether it is a threaded or ahead system), and attach the stem to the quill instead of directly to the steerer tube. The quill has a solid angled plug of cast metal at the bottom. See the photographs near the beginning of this thread for the shape and solidity of the components. See the post in this thread for an n'lock installation using the quill.

Andre Jiute

[Andre Jute]

I thought I already wrote and published an article about fitting a quill to an aheadset system, and using the n'lock with it... Anyway, here it is in the correct thread.



Identify the head tube. Its top is defined by the top bearing of the Cane Creek headset. Above it are spacers which press down on the bearing. Above the spacers is a two bolt seat post clamp, with two chrome flashes, pressing down on the spacers and the bearing, and clamped around the steerer tube to lock in the bearing preload. With this assembly the fork is now fixed in the head tube. The stem no longer fixes the steerer tube in the head tube.

Into the fixed and preloaded steerer tube I next inserted a quill without a stem which came with my n'lock kit. All you can see of it is the ridge around it, the silver ring above the two bolt seat post clamp. The quill is illustrated on the previous page in the components photo. This quill is inserted into the steerer tube with the n'lock stem already assembled on it because the hex bolt head you see on top of the n'lock stem belongs to the quill and is used to pull the sliding block of the quill up to lock it by friction inside the steerer tube; you can't put the quill in the steerer tube without the sliding block already attached to it, and you can't attach the sliding block to it without first putting the bolt through the n'lock. Note specifically that the top bolt does not lock the n'lock to the quill. (Be certain you understand that we're creating a third, different locking system for the steerer and stem here, and that none of it works as expected by those with a little experience of bicycle mechanics. This stuff can put you in surgery or worse if you get it wrong. Unless you're absolutely certain you understand what I'm doing, get your LBS to do the job.) Note also that the quill in this scenario contributes nothing at all to fixing the fork in the headset. The single bolt fixing the n'lock stem to the quill end can be seen just above the two bolts for the seat post clamp. The top of the n'lock is not removable, and appearance of sectioning of the n'lock to the contrary, you cannot take it apart without ruining it: it would defeat its purpose as an anti-theft device if you could.

What you see is the minimum extension of this configuration of the n'lock. It is possible to move the handlebars  up vertically by several inches by undoing the bolt in the top a couple of turns and raising the quill in the steerer tube to whatever new height you want, then tightening it again.

Andre Jute

[StuntPilot]

Thank you all! Consensus indeed is that it is not compatible. You are right Dan, what I want takes second place to what I need - the Tout Terrain The Plug takes priority for touring. Will just look at the big chunky D-lock like the Abus Granite X Plus 54 23cm instead!

[Andre Jute]

Thank you all! Consensus indeed is that it is not compatible. You are right Dan, what I want takes second place to what I need - the Tout Terrain The Plug takes priority for touring. Will just look at the big chunky D-lock like the Abus Granite X Plus 54 23cm instead!

If you truly want an n'lock, there are now several options for a USB charging port fed by your hub dynamo besides the Tout Terrain Plug.  There is the versatile BUMM E-Werk, and several lamps with USB charging ports have found favour with posters. Check lamp threads.

[Andre Jute]

n'lock BASE KIT INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MECHANICALLY INNOCENT

I have just purchased an N'Lock for my Nomad but alas the N'Lock arrived with
no fitting instructions. I have to admit that I am no bike mechanic but I dont mind
having a go at something as long as I have the instructions to help me along.
I would very much appreciate it if someone could guide me along to fit the N'Lock.
Are there any special tools required to do the job, if so I think I should let my local
bike shop have a look at it.

Cheers
Dave

The n'lock (sic, no caps) is OEM equipment, so it doesn't come with instructions. Assuming that you are fitting the n'lock as a standard ahead stem, all you need are generic stem fitting instructions and an Allen key (if you're American, a hex wrench) available on every multitool and in every toolkit I've ever seen.

If you're fitting the quill conversion kit, the steps are not difficult but you need to understand that you're mixing two stem fitting/steering technologies, and you need to understand how both work, and it gets correspondingly trickier; you have to perform all the steps precisely and in a certain sequence or your bike will not steer. In this case, let your dealer do it and ask if you can watch.

Assuming that you are fitting the n'lock as a standard ahead stem: Separate handlebar from stem and park on wheel, with towel to prevent scratches. Remove stem from steerer tube.  Fit spacers to leave 40mm (minimum) to 42mm of steerer tube exposed. There must be about 2mm of space between the top of the steerer tube and the inside of the n'lock, and the bottom of the n'lock must press down on your topmost spacer (or, less likely with a modern tourer, the top of the headset top bearing). Whether you have to exchange the star-fangled nut depends on the position of the one on the bike; if the n'lock top bolt will engage with the star nut already fitted, you don't, so you can take off the one on the n'lock and save it somewhere. Replacing the star nut is not trivial but there are good instructions on this forum; URL in next post.

Okay, now you have a bare steerer tube, with suitable star nut locked in place, sticking out of your bike's head tube, and you can now perform a basic n'lock installation. Leave key in n'lock; this is important. Slide n'lock onto steering tube; some wriggling may be necessary as this is Swiss engineering with tight tolerances. Pull down hard on handlebars and wriggle to remove play, fasten top bolt. Fasten bolt on lower ring at side.  Generic torque ratings will do. (Franklin Niedrig, the designer, confirmed that my choice was good:
-- the n'lock stem to steerer 10Nm and
-- the handlebar to stem 7Nm)
If you don't have a torque wrench, fasten the top bolt until there is just the slightest resistance when you try to turn the handlebars, then back off a fraction. Check for knock by holding the wheel firmly between your knees and. with brake pulled on hard, pulling downwards on handlebars. If there is knock, undo all bolts and start over at top bolt. Refit handlebars, check all bolts. After a few hundred miles, check all bolts again, then again after a thousand, and then at every main service or once a year if it is a low mileage bike.

n'lock operates by turning the switch on top, turning the key and pulling it out. To ride again, insert key, turn into position, nothing happens, turn handlebars until steering locks on.

That's all there is to it. It takes far longer to describe than the five minutes it should take a good bike mechanic. Good luck. Ask if you get stuck.