- Posts
- 1
- Joined
- Jan 1970
I swapped out my standard lock and put this one on with hardly any trouble. It’s not immediately obvious, but the barrel is flattened on one side—the part that needs to face the CB. Another thing I found was that because of the lock’s relative “bulk,” I needed a larger (longer) center post for the CB since the end must protrude slightly more. Putting together this two-piece unit is pretty straightforward; it uses a screw-type plug that threads into the small cylinder of the outer fitting. A tiny pin sits in the middle and passes through the hole at the end of the CB’s post. My only minor gripe so far is that because of how the holes align side-to-side on the center posts, you can’t just screw the lock’s plug straight in; you have to twist it slightly to clear those side posts. So while I’m not certain I could do it blindfolded, it was easily done within 10 seconds. Once attached, it was lovely strolling around without hearing that annoying ‘clack-clack-clack’ from the old brass lock banging against the plastic tube—it felt like wearing a cow bell. Even after wrapping the original in electrical tape, it still made noise when I walked about nude at home. With this new one, my movements are wonderfully silent. Plus, it’s lighter and less bulky under clothing. As shown in the side view of the lock, the female end of the plug needs a specific key. The plastic key is cylindrical with a hole drilled through it so you can attach it to a ring. To check how secure it was, I tried pushing my finger against the hole and twisting, but nothing happened. Then I pulled apart a paper clip and used its two ends to grip inside the lock and turn it, yet the paper clip couldn’t get hold either. In my view, the security is quite solid. Theoretically, someone with endless time could build something to break this lock open, but most people would likely agree that CBs aren’t perfectly secure anyway. It’s definitely secure enough for what I need. One benefit of this type of locking mechanism is ditching the traditional metal one, leaving you completely metal-free. Theoretically (I haven’t tried it myself), you could walk through airport security without triggering any alarms. I’ll leave that experiment to someone else. Final thoughts? I’m never returning to a standard lock. I love how light, secure, and especially quiet this one is. The lock costs $19.95 on sale here;