Cuff It?

As I put together Tuesday's post about bike lock anti-theft guarantees, I came across a lock not only backed by a wow-that-smacks-of-manufacturer-confidence $3500 warranty but also begging me to either start a game of cops and robbers or get my kink on.

Simply put: Master Lock Street Cuffs look like no bike lock I'd ever seen, and I wanted to know more.

Master Lock of course makes the cuffs sound great: hardened steel laminate, no fixed anchor point for leverage, nowhere for a would-be thief to wedge a jack or a pry bar...

Lovely, and at a mere $65.41, I was beginning to wonder if I needed to get myself a pair. Perusing reviews put a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm, though. (As it tends to do; are there any hater-less products out there?) I'm not ready to write off the cuffs, but seeing as I already have a good lock, I'm not rushing out to buy a pair either. If you're smitten as I initially was by the idea of securing your bike with steel bracelets, here are some factors to weigh first:

• Users report that the tubular locks—one per cuff—are tricky: sometimes they won't lock, sometimes they won't unlock.
• The center links can supposedly be cut or popped with readily-available tools.
• It's great for affixing your bike to a parking meter, but in some locations suitable anchors are scarce.
• And, to quote (errors and all) a review on mtbr.com: "Lets be honest. Its a lock. Some people take pride in defeating locks, so its a universal weekness."