My lock is a nightmare to use. Thinking about maybe a cafe lock.

[indianajo]

Insurance is nice but you are without a bike for however long it takes the paperwork to grind through the bureaucracy. For those of us without automobiles this would lead to becoming dependent on public transportation, which is infrequent in my city.
Alloy chain locks as pawag are pretty secure, but very heavy for an ebike. I use a 3/8" diameter stainless steel cable, which can damage a bolt cutter just as badly, but weighs half as much as a chain. Mine is 6' long to wrap utility poles gas meters and live electrical conduits, which are common in my city as real bike racks are not. The lock becomes the weak link in this scenario. The abus 92/80 has a 12 mm diameter rotating pin which would be a PITB to cut with a grinder or bolt cutter. Takes a good pannier to carry this 10 lb combo. Mine has not been attempted in 6 years of shopping, working, eating, or listening with the bike parked, but I have had the tires slashed twice. In apartment rich neighborhoods I alsouse a cheap master cable lock to secure the front wheel to the frame. Many quick release front wheels are removed by vandals on festival weekends as Derby. I replaced the QR axles & seat clamp with bolt & nut, but carry tools sufficient to remove adjust or replace wheels & seatpost.

 

[Eiri]

Sigh. So I asked Specialized about cafe locks. They say that to make them work with the bike, I'd need some sort of adapter that they have but isn't available anywhere but in Europe.

In other words, they say there aren't any cafe locks that work on their bikes. Welp, that sucks.

Unless someone has a genius idea of how it could be installed...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I hated folding locks when I first started using them. Now they are second nature to use. Locks get brought up all the time and the same thing applies, buy a lock that reflects your level of security needs. Live in a good area or have a cheaper ebike, get a lower security level lock. Live or ride into "bad" areas, get the best you can afford.

But if I was in your shoes I'd try to get used to the folding lock. I like my SeatyLocks for my general needs.

If I remember I'll try to get a good picture of my Xpedition locked up. I ride the my local Food Lion and Walmart on a regular basis. Both have shady characters hanging around most of the time.

Agree with you and the OP: My Abus Bordo was a real pain at first. And I mean that literally, as my back gives me only 30 seconds to fiddle with things bent over, and my knees strongly object to bike-side squats.

So, thought seriously about ditching the Abus, but my wallet, already traumatized by the bike purchase, told me to figure it out. Turns out, practice and experimenting with geometries really help. And now that I'm a lot quicker with it, Abus it is, though definitely going lube it as @fooferdoggie suggested.

However, if had to use the Abus twice a day, it'd probably be long gone. Hope the cafe lock works out for the OP.

 

[Eiri]

Wait.

So I'm comparing pictures of the Vado 3.0 IGH Step-through that I own with pictures of installed café locks. I cannot tell the difference.

Does anyone have an idea why the Specialized customer service agent told me that café locks are incompatible and require an adapter? I cannot for the life of me figure out what's so special about the Specialized that would make it not work.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Wait.

So I'm comparing pictures of the Vado 3.0 IGH Step-through that I own with pictures of installed café locks. I cannot tell the difference.

Does anyone have an idea why the Specialized customer service agent told me that café locks are incompatible and require an adapter? I cannot for the life of me figure out what's so special about the Specialized that would make it not work.

No specific info there, but a cafe lock has to bolt to something, and very securely at that. Plus, drilling thin frame members can weaken them significantly.

Maybe the claimed "incompatibility" has to do with engineering issues like that. Could be that the safe mounting points aren't the right distance from the rear wheel.

 

[Eiri]

No specific info there, but a cafe lock has to bolt to something, and very securely at that. Plus, drilling thin frame members can weaken them significantly.

Maybe the claimed "incompatibility" has to do with engineering issues like that. Could be that the safe mounting points aren't the right distance from the rear wheel.

Hmm, that's a valid theory. I ought to give the really knowledgeable guy who sold me the bike a call. Maybe he can help me understand.

 

[BlackHand]

There are a couple threads here discussing fitting cafe locks on Specialized bikes, might want to check that out.

The cafe lock I got didn't quite line up with my bike's mounting points, so I had to do some dremel surgery on it. Also, worst case you can always zip tie the cafe lock to the frame. It doesn't look as nice but doesn't really compromise the security either.