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review

Knog Party Frank lock

2
£16.99

VERDICT:

2
10
Pretty lock, but not up to the job
Weight: 
210g
Contact: 
www.todayscyclist.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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"The timeless pick-up line, 'Hey lady, you make me wanna wrap my sausage round a pole!' is as debonair as it is disarmingly effective. The Party Frank is that sausage wrapped around that pole 24-7 and it wants all the ladies to know that nothing's gunna break its hold". So says the Knog website of this silicone-coated cable lock, and the packaging suggests that you can trust it to keep your bike safe at the train station or other medium risk environments. And can you? No, in a word.

I wouldn't trust any light weight cable lock to keep my bike safe at the station or anywhere else it was going to be left unattended for long periods, in my experience none of them are up to that particular job. It also has to be said that many British railway stations are probably somewhat closer to a war zone than the corner shop - London Bridge station was the hottest of bike theft hotspots in an admittedly not very scientific insurance company survey on bike theft last year.

Knog have done a bit of lateral thinking for their cable lock range, including some microfilaments inside the cable in the hope that it will make them more resistant to bolt cutter attack. When it comes to the Party Frank It's a vain hope, sadly: the test model took one look at our 30" chopper (sorry, went all Knog website there for a minute) and put up a paltry 20 seconds of resistance. To be fair Knog aren't claiming that the Party Frank is any sort of maximum security device. They give it a security rating of 3/10 but unfortunately even that's being generous. I'd give it a 1/10.

You wouldn't need croppers as big as ours to make mincemeat of this lock, It's just not very strong. If you're desperate for a silicone-covered lock in a gaudy colour then one of the beefier Knog units might turn a trick down the train station, as it were. But I wouldn't rely on this.

Verdict

Pretty, but not up to the job.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Knog Party Frank lock

Size tested: Gold

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Patented seamless overmould using medical grade UV stable silicone.

Braided loose bound steel cable with fibre core (making cable more secure in the event of bolt cutter attack).

Includes 3 colour-coded overmoulded keys with wrist coil.

1000 combination blade style lock cylinder.

8mm Stainless steel locking shackle.

No leverage points.

Cable Diameter 12mm, Steel Cable Diameter 5mm.

Non Mark / Scratch surface.

Available in 12 Colours.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
5/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
1/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
1/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
5/10
Rate the product for value:
 
4/10

Did you enjoy using the product? No

Would you consider buying the product? No

Would you recommend the product to a friend? No

Overall rating: 2/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 190cm  Weight: 98kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Genesis Equilibrium with SRAM Apex

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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