Utility Cycling - Bike rack at the store

I am curious as to how much my personal habits vary from others.

When You take your bike to the store to buy say stuff for the house.

Do you take the bike in the store with you?
Do you lock it up to a bike rack or shopping cart station?
Do you try to lock it up where lots of people will be seeing it?

Do you clip off your lights and computer and pack them with you?

I do most of this stuff, I don't take it in the store, and I just wondered about the habits of other two wheelers.

Normally lock it up to a rack. If no rack, then some other solid fixture ... I used a tree recently. At the hardware store, I use my cable lock to hook to a steel pillar that holds up the entrance to the store. At the gardening store, I lock it to a fence.

I almost never take anything off the bike. I have one bike that I use for shopping and it doesn't have a computer or pump or anything else. However, if I do have my Cateye light, which has a quick release, I take that off.

I pretty much lock mine to a rack or solid object if not available. Though where I work at we let our customers bring thiers in and don't mind we are a bike friendly store with bike rack. I leave mine on the rack until it gets dark then bring it in I work until 1 am on a not so great part of town.

My bike stays outside when shopping. I guess that I just don't want to look like a kook bringing my bike inside the store.

If there is a rack - the bike gets chained to the rack. If no rack then to the best alternative I can find - or finally free standing at the front of the store with the lock cable threaded through the wheels and frame.

I lock mine to whatever stable object is available. Not alot of places have bike racks so the handicap rail works fine. (Not obstucting wheelchair access of course)

I am curious as to how much my personal habits vary from others.

When You take your bike to the store to buy say stuff for the house.

Do you take the bike in the store with you?
Do you lock it up to a bike rack or shopping cart station?
Do you try to lock it up where lots of people will be seeing it?

Do you clip off your lights and computer and pack them with you?

I do most of this stuff, I don't take it in the store, and I just wondered about the habits of other two wheelers.

I took my bike shopping this Friday. I parked it next to the shopping carts in the entranceway. I forgot my lock, but the clerk kept an eye on it for me while I shopped - it was a dollar store, so I wasn't in there long.

Usually I'm not shopping for long, so I just lock up the bike and front wheel to a bike rack. I always unclip my lights and computer and place them in my backpack. However, many businesses don't like people carrying around backpacks.

Anyhow, if I'm downtown (convention centre, orthodontist, etc), I take my seat with me, and I place a second lock around my rear wheel and frame.

At school, I take my bike with me and leave it in a secured room in the chemistry building.

one time I took mine into a public restroom, had to take a leak and there wasn't any stable objects to lock it to, people looked at me weird...

I lock mine to any solid looped object or something tall enough that it can't be lifted over...I have seem many a bike locked to a parking meter, where all they did was lift the bike up the post and gone. The store I frequent most has a nice solid cart corral right in front of the building. I don't use the cart corrals in the parking lot...to much risk for someone to crush it backing out. The cart corrals at my local grocery store look like they have been in a demolition derby...:eek: :p

Aaron:)

What I dislike most are the racks I see at my grocery store and work. It's the type where you can fit a tire (if it's not too wide). To lock the bike to this, you need a long cable lock. Another feature of this rack is that if some bumps into the back of your bike, you are likely to damage the front tire . I don't know who designed these racks. But when I see them, I look for an alternate location to lock up.
Something like this:


Which I got from here: http://www.theparkcatalog.com/items.asp?Cc=br&CatMoveby=0&Nbm=&Pbm=&FromNav=

The Whole Foods near where I live is right next to the bike path, and has a good rack next to it. I haven't gotten around to taking the bike to the grocery store yet - still working on reducing car usage, and I just noticed the store next to the bike path a few weeks ago...

Only about 3 miles from home too.

What I dislike most are the racks I see at my grocery store and work. It's the type where you can fit a tire (if it's not too wide). To lock the bike to this, you need a long cable lock. Another feature of this rack is that if some bumps into the back of your bike, you are likely to damage the front tire . I don't know who designed these racks. But when I see them, I look for an alternate location to lock up.
Something like this:


Which I got from here: http://www.theparkcatalog.com/items.asp?Cc=br&CatMoveby=0&Nbm=&Pbm=&FromNav=

If using one of these, make sure your lock is long enough, to loop through the very front of the rear wheel, through the front wheel and the rack, the front of the rear wheel means your lock is also going through the rear triangle, a thief then needs to either cut the lock or the frame, they don't want to cut the frame.

If using a U-lock, back the bike in, and put the lock so it goes through the rear triangle, the rear wheel and the rack, optionally remove the front wheel, and put it within the U of the lock. Carry a piece of rubber to protect the dropouts from the ground.

If you have both kinds of lock (the best), loop the U lock through the frame and rear wheel, and use the cable to lock the front wheel, frame and rack OR loop the cable lock between the front and rear wheels, through the frame, and use the U lock to lock the front wheel to the rack. It is impossible to cut a wheel with a tire installed, and a thief does not, typically have time to remove the tire, to cut the rim...

To keep your saddle from wandering away, replace the quick release with an Allen head bolt, get a hot melt glue gun, and fill the socket of the Allen head bolt with glue. To remove the saddle, you just need a hot melt glue gun to melt the glue, thieves don't have enough time to pick it out, and rarely carry a hot melt glue gun.

I live in Alexandria, VA and there are a good number of people who use bikes for shopping and such so there are a decent number of at least those inverted U-shaped bike racks outside a number of larger businesses. When I cannot find one of those I tend to use street lights for locking up, nice strong stable point and if anyone can lift my bike the 12"+ of the height of the light to slip the cable lock off the post, well more power to them. As for removing lights and the computer, I'll rarely remove everything. Sometimes I'll remove the computer, depends on where I am and how long I'll be inside, and I only have my headlight on when I'm going to be riding at night or foul weather so that is rarely an issue. My rear red blinkies are cheap enough I don't bother to remove them often.

I live in Alexandria, VA ..... As for removing lights and the computer, I'll rarely remove everything. Sometimes I'll remove the computer, depends on where I am and how long I'll be inside, and I only have my headlight on when I'm going to be riding at night or foul weather so that is rarely an issue. My rear red blinkies are cheap enough I don't bother to remove them often.
fuerein, Alexandria is a high theft area especially old town. I had a computer ripped from the Old Town Library, a bike cable cut and bike stolen from the old town library, a bike stolen from the king street metro-locked with 2 locks that time, and a bike stolen from a porch in Rosemont- chain cut that time. These thefts occured over a period of 5 years. In 7 years of living car free in DC I've had nothing stolen. Of course I got a massive lock after the king street metro theft and don't leave removeables on the bike. I did have a bike trashed in a bad neighborhood in DC so I'm not saying this shore of the potomac is any better.

Here in the Salt Lake Valley it varies.
In Salt lake City, I would worry,
But I live in Taylorsville, a suburb and not to much gets stolen here, well the economy is going gangbusters right now, when the depression hits, then it will get bad.

My kids say it's not bad up at the University, they say they leave speedos and all on the bike with no worries.....

I vetoed the U-Bolt idea, unless I had 3 or 4 per bike, I use a stainless cable with steel thimbles, stainless is harder to cut than steel. It runs thru both wheels and the frame.

I am curious as to how much my personal habits vary from others.

When You take your bike to the store to buy say stuff for the house.

Do you take the bike in the store with you?
Do you lock it up to a bike rack or shopping cart station?
Do you try to lock it up where lots of people will be seeing it?

Do you clip off your lights and computer and pack them with you?

I do most of this stuff, I don't take it in the store, and I just wondered about the habits of other two wheelers.

Here in Southern California, you probably are at risk for bike theft, no matter what lock percautions you take. So I now use folding bikes exclusively. I fold the small wheeled bike up and place it in my shopping cart. Or I roll it folded inside banks, large emply areas, some stores without impeding others. I keep it "naked" most of the time so any nervous store clerks or security guards can see I am not walking off with anything. I have never been stopped or harrased in stores-only in a hospital when I took one to visit my sick father-go figure!

I always lock mine and take off the lights and computer. I've had blinkies stolen off bikes before.

You can almost always find a place to lock it. If you can't find a post or rack to lock to, lock to a sewer grate with a cable lock.

If I'm going into Lowes or Home Depot, I take my bike with me. At the grocery stores I go to I lock up just outside the front door and only take off my GPS if I have it with me. If I don't have a lock with me, I typically take the bike into the store and leave it inside, asking the courtesy desk personnel if it's ok. (I try to leave it right where they can see it)

If I'm going into Lowes or Home Depot, I take my bike with me. At the grocery stores I go to I lock up just outside the front door and only take off my GPS if I have it with me. If I don't have a lock with me, I typically take the bike into the store and leave it inside, asking the courtesy desk personnel if it's ok. (I try to leave it right where they can see it)
I'm not a bike thief, but if I were, I would definitely have the balls to take a bike that was sitting unlocked inside a store. By the time the cops responded, I'd be 10 miles away in another city with a can of spray paint.

Here in Southern California, you probably are at risk for bike theft, no matter what lock percautions you take. So I now use folding bikes exclusively. I fold the small wheeled bike up and place it in my shopping cart. Or I roll it folded inside banks, large emply areas, some stores without impeding others. I keep it "naked" most of the time so any nervous store clerks or security guards can see I am not walking off with anything. I have never been stopped or harrased in stores-only in a hospital when I took one to visit my sick father-go figure!



Back when my Grand Pappy come over here, law was, you steel a mans horse, you hang.
That is how I WISHED it was today.

If you hang one, the next 4 will think twice.

Back when my Grand Pappy come over here, law was, you steel a mans horse, you hang.
That is how I WISHED it was today.

If you hang one, the next 4 will think twice.

I hate to tell you this but thousands of horses were stolen each year during the 18th century regardless of the punishment.