Warning – This has nothing to do with Wine Holding or Kickstarter.  Being an SF resident, I am required to pride myself on recycling, free speech, crappy weather in July, technology, and riding my bicycle.  I ride quite a bit and even use it for more than just strictly exercise, but also as a form of transportation.  Using a bicycle where other humans exist requires that you lock your bike when it is unattended outside.  That brings me to the point of this post – The U-Lock bike mount Sucks with a capital S.  I installed my U-Lock bike mount  in order to transfer the weight of my U-Lock from my backpack to my bicycle frame.  I carry at least 15 pounds of stuff in my bag on any given day so moving the bike lock to my frame will at least make my bag a little lighter.  Well, installation was a breeze, but the second I rolled onto the street it started – rattle, rattle, rattle… rattle, rattle, rattle… I was on grade A grass fed concrete and the lock was rattling!  I was able to block it out of my head temporarily, but it was such an UGLY and unnecessary noise that it always struck my nerve the second I got on my bike.  Now, I am well aware that testing and other requirements go into products before they launch commercially.  To me, one of those tests would be to ride a bike around the building and see if the U-Lock rattled enough to drive me nuts!  Well, apparently that wasn’t the highest priority with these guys and girls.  Truth be told the highest priority probably should have been the security of the lock (but I have read online that is also suspect).  Anyway, the noise literally drove me bananas every time I rode my bike because it made my nice old Roubaix Pro sound like it was rattling apart!

So, finally I decided I should put 6 years of mechanical engineering education to work and silence the rattle.  Well, after shaking and looking at the lock and lock mount for about 1 nanosecond, I determined that the problem wasn’t between the U-Lock and the mount, it was between the U and the Bar.  The rubber bushings that are present are about 1/16 of an inch too short to do a damn thing.  As shipped, they literally have zero function as far as I can tell.  This extra space was allowing the Bar to rattle around on the U.  Well, two O-Rings (ASTM D-2000 R-08 Buna N) later my bike is back to silence, except for my slightly creaky saddle.  Maybe I will tackle that one next.