Custom u-locks; new bike fashion trend?

Are custom, personalized U-locks the next big thing in bike fashion here in Bike City, USA? After all, U-locks are pretty much ubiquitous on the urban biking scene and they’re not exactly easy to conceal. So, why not add some flair and make a fashion statement out of them? Seems reasonable to me.

Check out these examples of the latest must-have bike fashion accessory seen on the streets of Portland…

First, there’s the very clever re-use of an Oury grip (hat tip to Dustin Hubbard):

And of course, the knitted “U-lock sweater” is a Portland fave (thanks to Justa):

And, the grand finale, a custom paint-job (found via Molly Cameron on Twitter):

If this continues, are limited edition “street series” u-locks from the likes of Kryptonite far off?

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, contact me via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a paying subscriber.

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jim
jim
14 years ago

funny to see the knited lock. the paint is allready allscrtched up so its not going to save the paint (unless that was a custom scratch job)

Shawn Small
14 years ago

I have been wanting to CarbonFiber my ulock for a long time.

Now if only I could make one that didn’t outweigh my bike

davidio
davidio
14 years ago

It appears to me that the lock with the coozy is protecting a custom splatter paint job.

My mind wanders to the Big Lebowski . . .

bearcub
14 years ago

yeah, justa’s all about the splatter paint. her tallbike has a pretty similar paintjob, only with more of a sprockettes-centric color scheme….with a little bit of bicycle belles thrown in for good measure.

steve
steve
14 years ago

justa’s paint rocks. any more pics?

jim
jim
14 years ago

I want to see a video of them making splatter paint. it sounds fun

jim
jim
14 years ago

do they pour out paint on visqueen and ride around on top of it splattering paint on everything? That would be a fun event for last thursday

Dan Kaufman
14 years ago

I love it! My tired, rusty, and beat up ulock is gonna get modified & perhaps powder coated.