Plantlock

[clarion]

Well, OK, not an accessory as such, but it didn't fit in anywhere else really.

These have been around a while.  They're basically rectangular planting troughs, with a couple of bars attached along the side for locking a bike too.  The weight of the soil should make it pretty immovable, but AIUI, they can be bolted down too for added security.

A plantlock is a more attractive piece of street furniture than a normal type of stand, but how does it perform?

Well, I came across one near the Giggling Sausage in Southwark last week.  The bar is easy to lock to, with enough of a gap between the bar and the planter to fit a lock into.  The height is useful to get front wheel & frame locked together.

Downsides?  Well, it's quite low, so I can imagine the bike falling/being pushed over, which would be bad.  And the locking bar itself seems pretty narrow.  I believe it's a rod rather than a tube, as on a Sheffield, so there's a decent amount of metal there, but it doesn't seem so secure.

[thorny]

Using one of these at my new abode. Didn't have much choice as I'm lodging. No problems so far, but in a pretty low crime area (Kew, Surrey). As Clarion said, easy to pass a D lock through and handle seems to be a rod rather than a tube. Have no idea how easy it would be to cut through as I don't have any experience of chopping through metal.
Ours is filled with rocks, bits of paving, soil and plants and seems pretty immovable. No problems with the bike falling over as the D lock passes through the bike frame quite high up the seat stays.

Biggest downside for me is not being able to insure the bike.

[Morrisette]

I've been looking at these.  I was wanting one for occasional use, e.g. when my station bike is at home, or for visitors (the nice bike is staying inside, I've not found a satisfactory 'outside' solution). Thought they were a bit pricey to be honest, specially if I'm not going to use it all the time. And the bike picture stamped on the side does rather scream 'things to steal will be here soon'.

However I do like them. Get them under a hundred quid and I'd got for one.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Interesting. Sounds like a pretty solution for town centres, maybe. Anyone got a piccy?

[Jurek]

Interesting. Sounds like a pretty solution for town centres, maybe. Anyone got a piccy?

Front Yard Company - Market Stall - PlantLock

[Cudzoziemiec]

Dzieks! It's pretty, but not that pretty for a plant pot, and I'm not sure I'd feel confident leaving a bike out overnight attached to it.

[iakobski]

PlantLock constitutes an "immovable object" to lock bicycles to, weighing 75+kg when planted up.

I wonder if they've got agreement with insurers that this counts as an immovable object? Unless you bolted it down, you wouldn't want to leave a good bike on it or overnight. Effective against opportunist thieves, but if they really wanted your bike, just turn it over using the bike as a lever, and all the earth comes out.

[nuttycyclist]

... Effective against opportunist thieves, but if they really wanted your bike, just turn it over using the bike as a lever, and all the earth comes out.

Looks quite a narrow base?   Don't know about using the bike as a lever but I'd wager that they could be tipped sideways and emptied.

[rogerzilla]

Could they be smashed with a 4lb lump hammer (quick job, and an easy takealong tool)?

[ScumOfTheRoad]

They have three or four in use at the Rotherhithe City Farm. They look quite good, and sturdy enough for parking your bike to go into the shops, or to feed the goats!

[Cunobelin]

Could they be smashed with a 4lb lump hammer (quick job, and an easy takealong tool)?

See 1:49 onwards

[rogerzilla]

I was thinking of smashing the plantholder bit, but I see that's metal too.

[teethgrinder]

Angle grinder?

[Notsototalnewbie]

Brixton cycles have two of these outside, and I've never seen them tipped over or hacked about. They've been there a good while.

Considering getting one for the back garden and bolting it down (after checking insurers would be happy with this). We really can't cope with four bikes in a studio flat (even if one is a Brommie) and getting a couple out would be good, if they lived under a cover.

[the_black_lark]

Nice to come across the posts above.
One of the nicest things about designing and producing PlantLocks is the feedback we get, and the life they have of their own.

Some answers to questions asked:

The gap between the planter and the locking bar is the right height for the pedal to sit in, and hold the bike upright (a bit like using the kerb to stand your bike upright).

The locking bar is solid not hollow tube (made of boron steel and heat-treated to achieve robustness beyond most commercially available bicycle locks).

Insurance
PlantLock buyers have reported back to us that a good number of insurers accept  PlantLock as an 'immovable object' when filled, and then the bike is covered under 'household contents'. It just has to be on 'your property'.
That said, 2 good locks seem to do the trick in all public places, and good locks are probably better than the faff of insurance claims.

Pricing
Some cyclists think they're expensive; many think they're not (especially when taking delivery). There's 25kg of steel in a PlantLock.
PlantLocks are manufactured in the UK.
We work really hard to keep costs down & don't have a big mark-up in them because we want to keep manufacturing them here.

Cunobelin's link above is to the PlantLock Strength Test Video ( <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/vy-YYDAHcRU&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/vy-YYDAHcRU&rel=1</a>) - it usually answers most people's worries about security.

Contact us at info@frontyardcompany.co.uk with any more questions that need an honest answer.

[TimO]

I think you'd be hard pushed to find anyway of securing something outside which was more robust than these beasties.  Ultimately it looks to be stronger than most locks, I wouldn't think there are many locks which would withstand the sort of abuse that video shows with the bolt croppers (probably only heavier duty stuff like the Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit family and similar).

I would imagine that if you bolted it into the ground (assuming you've got a concrete/tarmac surface) with a suitable fitting, and then filled it with heavy stones and earth, no one is going to be able to move it, or easily remove a bicycle, aside from doing something like cutting through the frame to steal components, and there's little you can do to avoid that, aside from locking the bike indoors.

£135 doesn't seem too expensive, considering how big and heavy they are.  I've spent more than that on locks, and a lot more than that on bike lights!