Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - lock-up techniques

so, ive been wondering. im thinking about getting a new lock, cos this chain thing ive got is getting to be a little too much of a hassle, and im thinking about a mini. how do you guys use these? ive seen stuff, like on sheldonbrown etc., that suggest ways of using a mini, and i know/have seen people who just lock their frames, or their rear wheel to the frame. is there a consensus as to the most effective way to use a mini-u?

Wait on that purchase until the NY Minis come out.

whats the diff?

If you have track ends, you can run tight enough tire clearance that a chain breaker or removal of the chainring is necessary to get the wheel off. That way you can concentrate on the front wheel.

thats a good idea.

If you have track ends, you can run tight enough tire clearance that a chain breaker or removal of the chainring is necessary to get the wheel off. That way you can concentrate on the front wheel.

Yeah, I accidentally did that one time. Kind of sucked when I got the first flat...

thats a good point.

...only problem is said thief'll probably have unscrewed your axle bolts and yanked on your
wheel before they figure it out. I'd still lock the rear as more of a visual deterent.


If you have track ends, you can run tight enough tire clearance that a chain breaker or removal of the chainring is necessary to get the wheel off. That way you can concentrate on the front wheel.

how *not* to lock up: (Chombo's photo of wangster's bike)
http://static.flickr.com/18/70523840_01d4d5eaf8.jpg

So give us a picture on how to.

mini around signpost, rear wheel and seastpost just above the bottom bracket.

a cable around the front wheel if it's gonna be more than a few mins.

Wait on that purchase until the NY Minis come out.

when is that?

Wait on that purchase until the NY Minis come out.

That lock is gonna be a very heavy lock...it is the original NY lock with a shorter shackle, but will weigh almost as much. If someone is parking a $1,000 bike in Manhattan (for some insane reason) they might need a four pound lock. But, for people parking a $500 bike in "Friendly Village", a lighter mini-lock provides almost as much security, and is much easier to carry. Two such locks are the OnGuard Bulldog Mini and the Kryptonite Evolution Mini.

Put the Mini u-lock around the rear wheel a couple inches behind the seat tube. In bad areas, secure the front wheel with a cable lock or a second mini-lock. Your bike is not going anywhere.

Never, never, never, put a u-lock around the seat tube or any part of the frame. A dumb crook will attempt to use the frame of the bike as a lever to break the u-lock. He will pretzel your frame long before he breaks the u-lock. That is why the u-lock must enclose the rear wheel and ONLY the rear wheel. If a crook attacks your bike, he will fail. He may damage your rear rim...far cheaper to replace than your frame.

And, always park next to a moron. I saw two expensive Cannondales parked at a museum last year. A two dollar cable was strung through the front wheels...which had quick releases...wasn't any crook gonna be looking at my 1983 Trek.

One more vote for the sheldon-endorsed technique: mini on rear wheel thru the stays, thick cable from the mini to front wheel... Not a bad idea to rig something for your seat too.

cable > than chain?
i like sheldon's method too but i'd prefer a chain though the frame and front wheel

i have a u lock and one of those kryptonite chains attatched to it. i lock the rear wheel and frame to a sign post with my u lock and i get the front wheel with the chain. its also nice having the chain because i can just sling it over my shoulder instead of having to put in in my bag everytime i unlock
-sam-

how *not* to lock up: (Chombo's photo of wangster's bike)
http://static.flickr.com/18/70523840_01d4d5eaf8.jpg

Free bike!

Now please, somebody's gotta have that picture of the bob jackson with the purely decorative chain.

how *not* to lock up: (Chombo's photo of wangster's bike)
http://static.flickr.com/18/70523840_01d4d5eaf8.jpg


damn... always forget the whole point of a lock is to be secure... thats why the 3 rensho's gone now... I forgot and locked it to a dog's leash and when I came out, the dog and my bike were gone!

for short-term parking, i prefer the in-the-tree lockup.
dc's tree protection laws are quite strict, so i doubt any theif would dare cut down one of our nation's capitol's precious trees... ;)
http://static.flickr.com/36/75042965_90aad98bcc.jpg

I'm a big fan of the Sheldon method as well. It seems that wherever I park my bike, there's plenty of bikes that would be easier targets. I picked up the bullldog mini and cable combo for about $30- I'm really happy with it.

wow, sheldon, once again, makes a lot of sense. That method never occurd to me, gotta start trying that.

Sheldon method with a cable for the front. however, these days you gotta worry about bars/stem and seat/post too.

One more vote for the sheldon-endorsed technique: mini on rear wheel thru the stays, thick cable from the mini to front wheel... Not a bad idea to rig something for your seat too.


I feel like you can't go wrong with a U-lock around the frame and rear wheel and something sturdy. Look up some of the post around here where people try to explain Sheldons method. It takes three pages and diagrams and some people still don't get it.

I think a crook is more likly to see you have a good lock on afixed to a permanent object and move to the bike beside you that he can lift over the pole that ruin your frame trying to pry the lock off. I can imagine a person looking at your bike(with Sheldon's method) and thinking someone screwed up and bending either the rear trianlge or rear wheel(and I'm not sure how difficult it is to saw througha wheel but I imagine its easier than a kriptonite u-lock).

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=147925&highlight=sheldon+lock

...Sheldons method. It takes three pages and diagrams and some people still don't get it.

I can imagine a person looking at your bike and thinking someone screwed up and bending either the rear trianlge or rear wheel.

Exactly. If a bunch of paranoid bike dorks don't get it, will a dim theif trying to work fast and not be seen? They'd probably take the nuts off the back wheel and chain off before they realized the predicament.

how *not* to lock up: (Chombo's photo of wangster's bike)
http://static.flickr.com/18/70523840_01d4d5eaf8.jpg

Damn, how stupid! He didn't lock up his wheels!

yeah, but it's real hard to get around the back wheel, the frame, AND a street pole with a u-lock.
thats why some people carry a chain and a padlock, cause you can lock it to anything, it doesnt have to be as thin.

that bikes too pretty to ride.

yeah, but it's real hard to get around the back wheel, the frame, AND a street pole with a u-lock.
thats why some people carry a chain and a padlock, cause you can lock it to anything, it doesnt have to be as thin.

Simple: the mini u-lock goes around ONLY the rear wheel. NEVER around the seat tube or any part of the frame. Most crooks are lazy and stupid. So, once in their life, they might attempt to steal a bike that is correctly locked. And, they will fail, and never bother with a correctly locked bike again. Too many incorrecty locked bikes to bother.

I use the "rear wheel" method in some of the worst areas of one of America's major crime centers. Late at night in neighborhoods where the police refuse to patrol alone, I put a second lock on the front wheel. No bikes stolen. No bikes tampered with.

There is a bike in downtown Houston that has been locked to a pole for about a year. The owner put the u-lock around the frame. The crook attempted to use the frame as a lever to break the u-lock. Instead, he just turned the frame into a pretzel. The owner must have decided to not bother taking the ruined frame home...it may hang on that pole forever...

I use an Evo Mini U-lock around the frame and an old Kryptolock from frame to front wheel. They have two different types of key patterns, so it just looks like a headache to hack.

It seems like 2 u-locks would be a pain, but I've gotten it down to an artform.

Most crooks are lazy and stupid. So, once in their life, they might attempt to steal a bike that is correctly locked. And, they will fail, and never bother with a correctly locked bike again. Too many incorrecty locked bikes to bother

alan, you should do some consulting for "law and order: criminal intent." i've been obsessed with that show lately. there was a guy trackstanding in an episode i watched recently!!!!!!

There is a bike in downtown Houston that has been locked to a pole for about a year. The owner put the u-lock around the frame. The crook attempted to use the frame as a lever to break the u-lock. Instead, he just turned the frame into a pretzel. The owner must have decided to not bother taking the ruined frame home...it may hang on that pole forever...

that's my only problem with locking it up this way. i see hundreds of bikes/frames, with locks around the wheels that are all twisted up like that, and that is the only reason why i won't do it.

2 ulock minis or mini+ one bigs$$chain, if i'm out of sight for a bit.

I used the "sheldon" technique tonight while I did the "spoke card" photocopy / cut / paste / laminate dance at my friendly neighborhood kinko's.

My fixie neither disappeared or turned into a pretzel. It works, people!

That better have been my spoke card. I still haven't got mine. Santa must not be real.














JERKS.

My fixie neither disappeared or turned into a pretzel. It works, people!

its not that it doesn't work, but as i sit here now i know of 5 frame/wheel/twisted piles of junk. i could never quite figure it out until reading of that locking method. and that 5 is very conservative, hell i'm out of alcohol and will be dashing out in a second... i'll snap a couple pics of these piles of junk and let the pics talk for themselves...

That better have been my spoke card. I still haven't got mine. Santa must not be real.

Mine are not going to Austin. That's all I'm sayin'.

If it makes you feel any better, I've yet to see my card too. Oh, and Santa is King of Jerks.

its not that it doesn't work, but as i sit here now i know of 5 frame/wheel/twisted piles of junk. i could never quite figure it out until reading of that locking method. and that 5 is very conservative, hell i'm out of alcohol and will be dashing out in a second... i'll snap a couple pics of these piles of junk and let the pics talk for themselves...

Man, you killed 5 bikes trying to figure out how it works? That's a world record for sure!


PS: two posts up I said "neither....or" which clearly should have been "neither...nor". It was the Schlitz talking.

not really recommended, but...

three bikes, hooked up high on a light pole (those street signs are about 15 feet up). throw a few locks through them and it's pretty secure. not much to use for leverage when you climb up there.

http://thirdrate.com/pics/deersparty/DSC_6620-01.jpg

Onguard 2006 catalog, not yet on their front web page

http://www.onguardlock.com/2006-OnGuardLocks.pdf

The new bulldog mini TC (thin cover) combines with the kryptonite ny colors :D

three bikes, hooked up high on a light pole (those street signs are about 15 feet up). throw a few locks through them and it's pretty secure. not much to use for leverage when you climb up there.

Wrench wrench wrench....

Someone just stole three rear wheels. Oops.

lock ur bike to ur d-i-c-k- and u might be safe

woah what is that bladed fork on the green bike?