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I have never used a bike lock holder or holster but this handmade one looks practical and cool: https://www.vespoe.com/contourandco/shop/u-lock-holder. I would like to know if it's practical to use on a daily basis.

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    I'd be worried about landing on it in the event of an accident. That looks likely to be on your lower back/tailbone/coccyx and mine already aches from previous run-ins with the ground.
    – Criggie ♦
    Dec 10, 2016 at 7:29
  • Good luck carrying a long shackle if you use one, or a heavier lock like a fahgettiboutit
    – Batman
    Dec 10, 2016 at 16:18
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    Massive +1 for @Criggie on the safety issue. Head, pelvis and shoulders are key areas for injury when a cycle hits the deck and the barrel of the lock looks ideally positioned to cause lower back injury.
    – OraNob
    Dec 12, 2016 at 13:31

3 Answers 3

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tw: extreme anti-hipster /snark

Ahh! The u-lock belt holder. The perfect accessory for hipsters, literally: Screen shot of assorted young men with ulock hip holsters

Advantages:

  • Everyone will know you're a hipster
  • People may think you're into hardcore bondage
  • No ugly plastic u-lock holder marring the beautiful lines of your pristine lacquer-coated steel fixie
  • If you get mugged you have something to fight back with assuming you haven't parked and locked your bike
  • When you walk into a bar with your u-lock on your hip, all the other hipsters will admire your fashion sense and dedication to the art and science of hipsterism. They may even buy you a craft beer.

Disadvantages:

  • Everyone will know you're a hipster
  • People may think you're into hardcore bondage (thanks Mattnz)
  • Unless you're a bona fide bike messenger (who usually just carry their bikes into the delivery address rather than locking them up), you presumably don't have to wear your lock most of the day. So you have to keep your lock holder on you for the entire day, just for your 20 minute commute from Queens to Brooklyn
  • Everytime you change your trousers, you have to rethread your belt through it. Of course, real men never wash or change their jeans.
  • You are committed to wearing jeans or trousers with sturdy belt loop holes when you ride your bike. Then again, hipsters are allergic to lycra and would also never do a WNBR
  • if you fall while wearing it, it may hurt severely or actually cause you damage (thanks Criggie)
  • Hanging a 3 kg / 6 pound weight on your jeans is going to cause it to sag. But that's why you wear only the finest underwear.
  • Remember, too, that true hipsters do not tuck in their shirts -- so an empty holster would be hidden. So if you want that free craft beer from your fellow hipsters in admiration of your dedication to hipsterism, you need to carry two u-locks, one to lock your bike up outside the bar and other to carry on your hip properly holstered. Or you can go to the bar, sans bike.
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    Wow, I wish I could +10 this answer :D
    – BSO rider
    Dec 10, 2016 at 16:26
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    "When you walk into a bar with your u-lock on your hip, ..." ... you forgot to lock your bike.
    – gschenk
    Dec 10, 2016 at 17:41
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    @gschenk - see the last disadvantage. :-)
    – RoboKaren
    Dec 10, 2016 at 18:07
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    @RoboKaren cheers, I misinterpreted that. As an aside, I've never seen a hipster with a lock holster. And I lived in the hipster part of Toronto. Three blocks from Three-Speed. U-locks fit perfectly well into a trousers belt loops.
    – gschenk
    Dec 10, 2016 at 22:02
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    @jqning The following parts of the answer, IMO, directly address comfort: the requirement to wear a particular kind of trousers, the risk of injury on falling, the effects of hanging a significant weight from one's trousers. The question also invites thoughts on practicality and coolness.
    – David Richerby
    Dec 12, 2016 at 14:39
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An obvious disadvantage is shown clearly in the photograph in the question: locks get dirty. I'd rather not have oil, brake dust and general road dirt rubbed all over my clothes.

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  • I've never heard this complaint. I've used a u lock for years, carried on my bag, in all weather conditions, and it's not dirty or oily or dusty and never has been.
    – jqning
    Dec 12, 2016 at 1:33
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    @jqning Perhaps you keep your bike cleaner than I manage to keep mine, or you only lock through the top-tube or something. I lock through the rear wheel and my D-lock picks up muck and brake dust from the wheel and oil if I accidentally touch it against the chain.
    – David Richerby
    Dec 12, 2016 at 9:34
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Actual reply to actual question: I find it supremely comfortable. Not uncomfortable in the least. I absolutely endorse carrying your lock around your waist. In fact, my summer bag is an Ortlieb backpack with no ulock holder so I wear my ulock around my waist every day and never have an issue with comfort.

I have a belt with a u-lock slot and a hip pouch on it. The hip pouch holds tools, a co2 cart, and a tube. The majority of my time this thing is in my bigger bag, which I carry on my back. However, if I want to run a quick errand I just grab the hip pouch. If I want to travel really light I leave the pouch and use the belt with my lock.

If you get too hung up analyzing the hipster culture you will miss out on the practical analysis. Now, practically speaking, I would not put this attachment on the belt that is holding up my pants. But as a means to keep your lock on you, around the waist is the way to go.

EDIT TO ADD for @David Richerby: I have a few bikes and I don't put u-lock holders on each of them. I carry my lock on my body. Some of the bikes have no place for a u lock to mount!

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  • So you either are wearing two belts ... or a belt and a waist bag ... or you put this in your backback? I really fail to see the utility here....
    – RoboKaren
    Dec 12, 2016 at 1:44
  • @RoboKaren My specific product is the wastebasket from Trash Bags but every bag maker makes one. I slide the pouch off the web belt if I want to just carry my lock - like if I'm riding less than a mile to the printer to examine some proofs. It's a way to carry my lock. Absolutely useful. But if I want to ride to a meeting that is a few miles away I bring the pouch and belt so I have my tools. But if I'm riding home I dump it in my bag with my clothes and computer. In this last case the lock is in a loop hanging off my bag.
    – jqning
    Dec 12, 2016 at 2:24

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