Touring - what to do for a lock?

Sorry if there's a topic already somewhere about this. I'm think of just taking a cable and a lock. but do you think people will cut that? I REALLY don't want to carry around one of those massive locks that weigh like 7 pounds, even though they are very safe. what do you guys usually carry?

I have a 26" 3/16" stainless cable that I had made up at a marine place, which together with a small Abus (#30/85) padlock weights about 130 grams. Almost never use it, but there's been a few times I needed to go to the bathroom for 1-2 minutes and so locked the bike up and was glad I had the cable/lock.

This little guy is for emergencies only when I'm out on a day ride. But it's effective if you take the front wheel with you and lock the rest to a tree or fence for the few minutes it takes to do your business.

When touring I have carried a Kryptonite Evo 2000 mini and a 7' kryptonite cable. I have left my bike locked up with this arrangement overnight in low crime places but been uncomfortable about it.

Big city boy here. Most of the keys on my keychain are bike keys. I have beaters locked up all over the city. For those bikes it is two wheels;two locks. If you are locking up in any big city that should be the rule. Lock the frame and back wheel to an imovable object. The second lock secures the front wheel to the frame and I also lock up a helmet.

When touring I choose the security level most appropriate. When ducking in to a corner store in the country for some water, I often just attach a front wheel block (a shock cord that goes between the rim of the front wheel and the frame). Locking up for the day in Reading, England; the bike gets the full treatment. Locking the bike while stealth camping; just a U-bolt through the back wheel and frame. It really depends where you are going.

I carry what I believe to be the best bike lock in the world. A Stock lock. When touring I combine it with a Krypto coil. That way I can lock the bike to a tree even if the diameter is larger than the lock.

Maybe I have been lucky, I have just a thin cable and a combination locl so i dont loose a key. I rarley lock the bike out on a tour I mostly go with gut feeling if it feels unsafe it most likley is at night when i want to sleep i lock the bike to a tree or picnic table and not have to worry about every litle noise.
everyone willhave a different thought on this
catfish

Maybe I have been lucky, I have just a thin cable and a combination locl so i dont loose a key. I rarley lock the bike out on a tour I mostly go with gut feeling if it feels unsafe it most likley is at night when i want to sleep i lock the bike to a tree or picnic table and not have to worry about every litle noise.
everyone willhave a different thought on this
catfish
+1

I was going to start a fresh topic on foldable locks, but thought I could join in here. . . .

I'm now using same-keyed Pinhead locking skewers on all my and my girlfriend's bikes wheels.

I want to use locking skewers in conjuction with mulitiple sets of same-keyed Arbus Bordo foldable locks. The Bordos are are apparently "new" on the scene, but they are mechanically much the same as the old Specialized Wedlocks.

The reasoning for this set-up on all our bikes goes as follows: one key and a single keyed-skewer-quick-release covers all ten of our bikes. Wheels lock to frame, frame locks to whatever is handy. Each bike thus has a lock and skewers already on it, ready to ride, no last minute fussing with swapping out locks or locks/brackets/bags. Either one of us thus can unlock any of our bikes wherever we may be. A medium to high security setup for all situations, and as safe and easy to carry as possible.

I haven't however read any reviews yet of the Arbus Bordo. Also there don't appear to be any retailers in the US, but easy to find in the UK. BTW I own one of the Wedlocks and love it for it's (apparent) high security but above all compactness. (Hate the rattling however but I dealt with that.)

Compactness is more than a casual consideration because my girlfriends' bikes are all very small frames with all the usual space and safety issues when you try to attach stuff to small bikes.

Anybody with experience with the Bordo or the Wedlock?

(BTW the Pinhead skewers are made by the same Canadian company that used to make them for Kryptonite. The newly branded product is so new I don't think there are any reviews yet, and I just received my 10 sets of same-keyed skewers today--based on previous experience they should work well, they now have a rust-resistant coating also.)

I'm sorry mate, you are going to have to explain your banter.
What is a pinhead locking skewer? Is that anything like a skewered quick release? Further what does a folding lock look like?

Sure, here's the locking skewers: www.pinheadcomponents.com

Here is the Specialized "Wedlock" foldable lock: http://www.ideo.com/portfolio/re.asp?x=12375

And here is the ABUS folding lock:

http://www.abus.de/us/main.asp?ScreenLang=us&sid=73821657900493928062006674273152&select=0104b11&artikel=4003318335679

So what I mean by "single keyed" is of course a single key that matches more than one lock, or more than one set of locking skewers in the case of the Pinhead Components product.

It's an arguably complicated plan to get to an arguably simple result:

Two riders carry standardized keys for locking up any of a fleet of bikes + wheels, with a single type of very compact and secure lock + locking skewers.

Or to put it another way, more confusingly perhaps:

Simple single-keyed interchangeable compact highly secure locking for mulitiple bikes and wheels used by two different riders.

Me? I just have the lightest, smalklest, non coiling combo cable I could find.
A: You don't wanna leave your bike out of your sight while touring if you can, people can steal your unlocked bags easily.
B: Most of the time you'll be in realively safe areas where the locals will look after your bike
In all these cases you just need something to keep people from rolling poff with it. With 50lbs of stuff, its pretty hard to carry it away anyhow and very noticable.
Unless I was in a very heavily populated area (or rural areas with massive drug issues), I wouldn't carry anything else.
If an urban area is something you'll hiut once or twice, just get a motel room and leave it there and don't let it out of your sight elsewhere.
A loaded touring bike is not the theif's main target. Also, as small towns don't have bike theft gangs, there's no one walking around with theft tools, so you really just need to deter casual crime. Even the thinkest cable lock will do that.
Also, clipless pedals in the boonies are a derrent.

Big ol' new york Kryptonite lock and chain...i just wear it on my hips and it's all good... just sits me a little more into the saddle...it's lunky...but i'm a paranoid new yorker who likes a little piece of mind. and I also use it to hold down my rain tarp over my Hennessey hammock... and it's looks pretty bad-a** as well... more conversations are started about my chain (in other countries) than about my bike or panniers.

And here is the ABUS folding lock:

http://www.abus.de/us/main.asp?ScreenLang=us&sid=73821657900493928062006674273152&select=0104b11&artikel=4003318335679



I've looked at this lock a number of times on the Abus website but as far as I can tell most of the Abus products are not available in Canada, including this folding lock and the Steel-o-flex cable lock which has the reputation of being the strongest, toughest, most impossible-to-pick cable lock in the world. At 5 lbs for a 1 m cablelock and almost $200 I just know I'd hardly ever carry it and I'd use up an awful lot of karma with my wife if I spent that kind of money on a lock that I didn't use.

Alas, when I talk to any of the local lock guys I just get a blank stare.

I'm not sure how those locking skewers work but it seems like a good idea.

As previously posted, I use two locks. One for the frame and rear wheel and the second for the front wheel. The other advantage of a second lock is that it slows down the thief. I've lost two bikes in living memory and I haven't lost a one since I started with two locks. One of my bikes is left out overnight at a subway station. There have been many attempts, but no one has succeeded.

I agonize over this everytime I go on a tour. Maybe one rule of thumb for this for touring is to take whatever the locals use. If you're going to the middle of nowhere, a minimal lock is OK, but if you're going somewhere that everyone uses an NY Chain, you better have something serious.

Hey stokell, when these guys made attempts on your bike, what did they do, what was damaged, and how did you adjust your stategy if at all after each attempt?

By the way, I once caught a bike thief in the attempt. I was just laying my head on the pillow to go to sleep in the evening, heard a slight rasping sound out my front window, went and pulled aside the curtain, and a lad wearing a trechcoat and sporting a pair of long bolt cutters was standing over my old Mongoose City Bike chained to the rain-gutter. He gave me a big goofy grin and by the time I got outside he'd smoked away. Looked down at the bike chain and one half of a link of the hardware store chain was broken, he'd been about to sever the second half when I caught him.

After that I kept the bike indoors, a grimy business what with Yorkshire rain and mud.

That was 1987. Years later I realized what a crap bike that really was, and almost regret he hadn't stolen it so that I could cash in homeowner's insurance on the loss.

I've looked at this lock a number of times on the Abus website but as far as I can tell most of the Abus products are not available in Canada, including this folding lock and the [B]Steel-o-flex cable lock . . . .

Alas, when I talk to any of the local lock guys I just get a blank stare.

I'm looking for a US distributor for ABUS locks right now, for the Bordo, but I'll ask about that cable lock too. If that doesn't work I'll order the Bordo from a UK seller.

I know that blank stare feeling all too well in the local shops when you have a need for the right product but they don't sell it. Like asking for thorn resistant tubes for 700 wheels in Presta, which goes like this: "I need TR tubes" - "We just have Slime tubes" - "Slime doesn't work with high pressure tires, multiple punctures" - "Then don't ride where the thorns are" - "But I want to ride where I want" - Blank Stare.

On tour i use a mini U lock and a cable. i want to put a frame (ring) lock on my long haul trucker, but haven't figured out how to mount the AXA-BASTA SL-7 ring lock or whatever they call it..... maybe one of the other AXA-BASTA lightweight lockers would be good midlevel security; Alas, virtually impossible to find in the USA.

On tours I use a decent sized cable lock. It's a balance between the weight and security, and the cable permits me to lock to a wide variety of objects. While on the move, I'm seldom away from my bike for more than a few minutes. At destinations I book a room and leave my bike in there or somewhere secure at the hotel or guesthouse. The cable lock is a sufficient deterrent. Also, I keep all valuables (cash, camera, documents) in a small separate bag I can carry with me.
When commuting, I use a U-lock since I'm away from the bike for long periods of time.

On tour i use a mini U lock and a cable. i want to put a frame (ring) lock on my long haul trucker, but haven't figured out how to mount the AXA-BASTA SL-7 ring lock or whatever they call it..... maybe one of the other AXA-BASTA lightweight lockers would be good midlevel security; Alas, virtually impossible to find in the USA.


Here're links to those 2 products. Ordering from the UK is no big deal, and these don't look too heavy as far as shipping. . . .

http://www.bicyclemagic.com/products.php?plid=m2b42s46p3409&tbv=AXA-BASTA_SL7_Safety_Lock_ACCESSORIES_Locks_and_security

http://www.bicyclemagic.com/products.php?plid=m2b42s46p619&tbv=AXA-BASTA_SL7_Extension_Cable_ACCESSORIES_Locks_and_security

link no worky.

link no worky.

Links now fixy fixed -- thanks for noticing.

I have two Specialized Wedlocks that I think I'm going to bring. I'm staying in San Francisco for like 3 or more days and I'd rather pack 3.5pounds of locks than get my bike stolen. I'll probably use one to lock the front wheel to the frame and one to lock the back wheel and frame to a post or something.

I got a quote from a guy at ABUS Lock USA on the Bordo lock (Wedlock lookalike): $84, for multiple locks same-keyed. Boy that's alot more than the $50 that my Wedlock cost me.

Brandon, the guy at ABUS, was unclear whether the price drops for larger quantities, I'm still following up on it.

I also just received 10 sets of the Pinhead Components locking skewers, plus 4 keys, everything same-keyed . I cut a deal with the company directly and got a sweet price. This completes one half on my project as I throw these babies on the small fleet of bikes under my roof.

I might add that the Pinhead skewers are nice and minimalist looking, They've also improved the key somewhat over the old Kryptonite version in that it its more rounded and compact to carry.

Also compared to the old Kryptos they now have an anti-rust coating.

i keep my bike in my room or in the same room i am

Actually, I'm just going to bring one lock and take off the front wheel and lock it with the rest of the bike. It seems like it'd take the theif way too long to first try and break through my wedlock and then throw on the front wheel and tighten it. someone would probably realize what's going on by then.

I'm looking for a US distributor for ABUS locks right now . . . .

After some 4 months of waiting I finally received the new ABUS "Bordo" foldable lock, all the way from Germany by way of ABUS USA. I had to buy a bunch of these wholesale because they are still not offered retail.

Anyway, I am totally impressed! These babies rate 8 points out of 15 on ABUS's own security and durability rating system, which is fairly high actually, and in addition the Bordo has the versatility and compactness of a small cable lock, but with solid construction that can't be cut like a a cable.

This Bordo folding lock is basically the same idea as the old Specialized Wedlock (which has been discontinued), but much better in many ways.

The pouch is hugely better designed than the old Wedlock and in addition to being strong, grippy, and mountable on numerous places, won't allow the lock to rattle, which was the thing I hated most about the Wedlock.

Each of the links of the Bordo has strong rubber armor against scratching your frame and insulating against ice-spray-breakage type theft. (Again unlike the Wedlock.)

Although I'm not an expert on locks I suspect the Bordo's "Extra Classe" lock system is better than the Wedlock too.

Anyway, the Wedlock was from Specialized and was discontinued years ago (so it's kind of history in a way) and the Bordo is from ABUS the German lock-maker, a completely different company, but it's good to see that an inherently great design like this can be revived and vastly improved-on like this!

i've seen a number of recommendations for the onguard bulldog mini tc and i've actually found a store in the SF area that stocks them (mike's bikes), but i'm not sure it's a flexible enough solution for touring abroad. i just saw the onguard rottweiler (http://www.onguardlock.com/armour.html) armoured lock at rei and it seems like a better solution, and it has the same security rating as the mini-u. does anybody here use one of these?

For our touring bikes, we have 2 cable locks and one U-lock (Abus Granit). That is probably overkill though. We only have the locks because we came from London so they were necessary there and for some reason we just feel this need to put them to good use. It does give peace of mind at night in the campground, although during the day we don't really use them that much. If I were starting from scratch, I would probably just get a couple cable locks. It is nice to have two to lock up various parts of the bike, thread through your panniers etc.

I use a long computer security cable and a padlock. the cable is long enough to go through both wheels.

george

I use a long thin cable and just a simple combination luggage lock. Its a small deterrent. It will stop the opportunistic thief, and will make the insurance company happier about paying out.

I have an On-Guard Bulldog mini U-lock that came with a matching cable - the Bulldog DT5015 I think is the model on the website. I run the cable through my front wheel and use the U-Lock to secure both ends of the cable and lock it around the frame and the back wheel. It works fine but it is heavy. I don't use it much, as I am rarely away from my bike. Most places I go in Northern Ireland I simply use an ancient thin cable combination lock circa 1972. lol

I have discovered however that the On-Guard U-lock is great for pounding tent pegs into hard ground. :)

We have been using a combination cable lock (Onguard) plus a Masterlock cable alarm lock. The cable alarm is quite light and uses a standard 9-volt battery.

http://www.sciplus.com/singleItem.cfm?terms=9293&cartLogFrom=Search

I figure that if someone has the tools to cut a cable lock quickly then at least a lot of noise will be made. There are a few alternatives for the cable alarm; but the source linked above was the cheapest.

I use this Specialized lock (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=21365). It's strong and long enough for both wheels and the saddle. It's also heavy and would rather use a thinner cable and a combination lock but I already had this one so I use it.

Before my first tour I went and bought a HEAVY u lock. After messing with it for awhile I left it home. I have a 3/16" stainless cable with a small padlock that I use for those times that require a lock. The cable is covered with a plastic coating (it is a lifeline cable) so it doesn't screw up the frame, it is long enough to go through both wheels, the frame and around a small tree. But then, if I am in a big city when touring, my bike is in a motel room. In small towns I always put the bike where I can see it from the restaurant, store I am frequenting.

The tests at Soldsecure and at "Cycling Plus" indicate that cable locks are not actually locks. They are signs that say "Get your free bike right here".

The locks that have done best in those tests are the top u-locks and chain locks from Kryptonite, OnGuard/Magnum and Abus.

U-locks may not be the best choice for touring if you will be camping in the country, and need to lock up to trees and fences. Hard to get a u-lock around a tree. For rural touring, the best choice is one of the "gold" rated chains tested by Sold Secure. The best chains weigh eight pounds to twelve pounds, about five pounds more than the best u-locks. But, if the extra five pounds is the difference between riding home from Upper Slobovia, or walking home....

www.soldsecure.com/Leisure.htm

12 pounds for a lock. You gotta be kidding me. Just what kind of a weight budget allows for a 12 pound lock?

Hey stokell, when these guys made attempts on your bike, what did they do, what was damaged, and how did you adjust your stategy if at all after each attempt?

By the way, I once caught a bike thief in the attempt. I was just laying my head on the pillow to go to sleep in the evening, heard a slight rasping sound out my front window, went and pulled aside the curtain, and a lad wearing a trechcoat and sporting a pair of long bolt cutters was standing over my old Mongoose City Bike chained to the rain-gutter. He gave me a big goofy grin and by the time I got outside he'd smoked away. Looked down at the bike chain and one half of a link of the hardware store chain was broken, he'd been about to sever the second half when I caught him.

After that I kept the bike indoors, a grimy business what with Yorkshire rain and mud.

That was 1987. Years later I realized what a crap bike that really was, and almost regret he hadn't stolen it so that I could cash in homeowner's insurance on the loss.

Since I've had my Stock Lock, almost no damage to bike, mostly to the lock. All the paint is off around the frame where the lock goes. I now just cover it with tape. The plastic sheath over the braided portion of the lock has been sawed off. It is almost impossible to start a saw cut on stainless steel. Liquid nitrogen won't work either but works well against tempered steel.

The last time I was touring I took one of those alarms with me that goes off when there is movement, and I installed it on my bike. Once while I was camping along a rail trail in Wales, it went off. I was up a grade, my bike was about 10 metres away hidden along the trail. I didn't know what to do, so I started barking like a dog. It seemed to work, because soon I heard feet running along the cinder trail. I went back and re-set the alarm, but I still didn't sleep much that night.