I was in the local Suzu shop the other day and found this awesome helmet lock from Kryptonite: http://www.kryptonitelock.com/inetisscripts/abtinetis.exe/PublicArticleDetails@public?artid=3080&atf=products_item&pgrp=20
The cable winds up inside that little cylinder and makes storing it in our dinky compartment a breeze. The cable itself is pretty thin so I wouldn't trust it to lock a bike up, but for something like a helmet some sort of lock is probably all you need to keep someone from just walkin by and grabbin it.
i remember seeing those online. i went with a bigger/thicker cable wound around the grabrail, because the one you're talking about looked kinda flimsy. however, i'm getting really tired of my huge one.
what's your impression of the small one first-hand? does it look like someone could easily/quickly break it?
Can someone explain how it works?
As far as thickness goes I'd say the cable itself is about the thickness of your mouse cable and is made of steel. When it comes to sturdiness I really trust Kryptonite's quality, but this lock isn't made to take a real beating like their heavy duty locks are.
How it works: You pull the cable out of the center and on the sides there are holes that you stick the cable in. Once the cable is in it works like a Zip-Tie in that you can push the cable through, thus making it tighter, but you can't pull it out. To remove the cable you insert the key in the center and the cable can then be pulled out. There are actually 2 holes and the cable is long enough to figure out a number of locking methods.
To wind it up you just turn the top "dial" and it winds the cable up like a manual tape measure would wind up.
Check out this handlebar helmet lock on Dennis Kirk (http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/Product.jsp?skuId=501385&store=Main&productId=p501385&catId=4&leafCatId=41704)
Anyone ever use one of these?
Ian