Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Locking up your ride...

What do the majority of you use to lock up your ride? I've been riding my bike a lot more lately and am very nervous about leaving it outside of places. Needless to say I need a lock and want to get some opinions on bike locks before I purchase one.

You should really search. There are a million threads just like this.

sorry... I did, must just be dumb. I'll try it again.

Search on "kryptonite" or "OnGuard" or "Abus". You will find dozens of lengthy threads, and links to soldsecure.com and other security related sites.

The short answer: buy the most expensive Kryptonite u-lock that you can afford. Put it around your rear wheel, just behind the seat tube, and around a thick steel post that is set in concrete. Use a lighter Kryptonite or OnGuard mini u-lock to secure your front wheel t the frame.

But, if your bike is worth more than $400 or $500, and LOOKS like it, don't let it out of your sight. No lock can stop a well-equipped and highly skilled crook for more than ten or fifteen minutes. A shiny new $500 bike can draw the attention of that rare breed of crook who can open a "top" quality lock, and an expensive looking bike may encourage him to invest that fifteen minutes of work.

Kryptonite Mini-Evolution wins for the ratio of security and convenience that it gives. It sucks for mountain bikes and anything with a long wheel base, but with track bikes with a tight tire to frame clearance it's just about perfect because you can nearly always be able to lock up a wheel with the frame on the standard city bike rack.

I lock up as 'alanbikehouston,' except putting the rear u-lock around the seat tube as well.

If you have QR's wheels can be taken in seconds and if you have track axles with bolts wheels can still be taken in seconds. So, you really need to watch out for everything and plan ahead when knowing where you're riding as someone could just grab your seat/post/bars/stem if they wanted them enough.

If you're inside a building I would lock it up in clear view of someone inside that building, even possibly bypassing a rack for the railing if I know someone will notice if someone is trying to steal it.

Most people I see use the larger chain locks b/c they can carry them over their shoulder, but 2 U-locks fit in my bag fine.

Man, alanbikehouston swoops into these threads outta nowhere, all the time.

As for locks, nothing beats the price and security of the OnGuard Mini Bulldog TC. Should cost about $25 after shipping, and it outperforms the Kryptonite Evolution Mini (by nominal amounts) in tests.
http://www.amazon.com/OnGuard-Bulldog-5013TC-Bicycle-U-Lock/dp/B000FL3E8O/ref=sr_1_1/105-3612987-4170036?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1190236119&sr=8-1
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/417849PP14L._SS500_.jpg

As for locks, nothing beats the price and security of the OnGuard Mini Bulldog TC. Should cost about $25 after shipping, and it outperforms the Kryptonite Evolution Mini (by nominal amounts) in tests.
http://www.amazon.com/OnGuard-Bulldog-5013TC-Bicycle-U-Lock/dp/B000FL3E8O/ref=sr_1_1/105-3612987-4170036?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1190236119&sr=8-1
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/417849PP14L._SS500_.jpg

Yes, both the regular "mini" Bulldog, and the TC version of the Bulldog (even lighter) are terrific locks. Cheap, light, and strong. Big enough to get around the rear wheel of any road bike or hybrid, and most mountain bikes, AND around a beefy locking post, yet little empty space left for a crook to insert leverage tools.

The Bulldog has dual locking bolts, compared with the "bent foot", plus one locking bolt of the Kryptonite Evo "mini". I suspect that makes the Bulldog a little stronger against leverage attacks, but both are good security for something that weighs so little.

Man, alanbikehouston swoops into these threads outta nowhere, all the time.

As for locks, nothing beats the price and security of the OnGuard Mini Bulldog TC. Should cost about $25 after shipping, and it outperforms the Kryptonite Evolution Mini (by nominal amounts) in tests.
http://www.amazon.com/OnGuard-Bulldog-5013TC-Bicycle-U-Lock/dp/B000FL3E8O/ref=sr_1_1/105-3612987-4170036?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1190236119&sr=8-1
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/417849PP14L._SS500_.jpg

Yes. Get this lock. I did.

I just picked up a Kryptonite Kryptolok series 2 for around campus. I don't lock my bike when I'm making deliveries because the risk of it disappearing is worth the time not spent locking every 30 seconds. I saw some kid lock his langster today with a cable and cheap padlock, the sort that can be cut in about half a second with plain bolt cutters, before going to class. It made me sad :(

While we're flogging this one, 2 points:

1. Krypto recently put out a "mini" size of the gray (kryptolok) series, which costs half as much as the evo and about the same as the onguard. These should only really be weaker than the evo for pry/car jack attacks, which are easy to ward off by just filling the shackle. I still vote for the onguard, but if your local shop favors krypto this is a good option

2. Any word about the onguard screwdriver issue? This came up a while back but died down.

why it doesn't matter (http://youtube.com/watch?v=5TNTq3nhuh0) if you lock up your bike...

despite vbjosh's post above (which i've seen and is rediculous, that that's how it is, not that they did it) i use a kryptonite evolution U-lock for the frame (and rear wheel when i can get it in there) and a kryptonite cable lock to lock the wheels to the frame/lock/post.

someone can cut the cable with decent sized bolt cutters without much trouble, and i'm sure half an hour and a hacksaw can get through the u-lock, but i feel most thefts are crimes of opportunity. if you have a good lock set-up, chances are real good some other bike nearby doesn't, and the theif would rather take the easy snag, especially in broad daylight.

why it doesn't matter (http://youtube.com/watch?v=5TNTq3nhuh0) if you lock up your bike...

Those videos definitely demonstrate that many people won't stop a bike thief in action (the same goes for car alarms). However, the guys in the video didn't have to worry about some pissed off bike owner walking out of the sandwich shop and finding them hard at work stealing the bike.

Locks can't buy you 100% security, but what they do buy is time.

A thief will always weigh his/her options when going after a bike. Like, "How long will it take for me to get that bike before the owner sees me?"

Some light reading on the subject: How to not get your bike stolen... (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=200683)

Kryptonite Mini-Evolution wins for the ratio of security and convenience that it gives. It sucks for mountain bikes and anything with a long wheel base, but with track bikes with a tight tire to frame clearance it's just about perfect because you can nearly always be able to lock up a wheel with the frame on the standard city bike rack.

yeah, the mtb....if it weren't for the fact that i usually only lock three types of places: work picks/drops, quick runs into a store, or at friends houses (where it's inside and/or in sight), it'd suck having just the mini for the mtb. the only way to lock is to lock the frame or freelock the rear wheel to the seatstays. though the fixed mtb rear is, really, the most important part of the bike (which a friend dumpstered) anyway.

Search on "kryptonite" or "OnGuard" or "Abus". You will find dozens of lengthy threads, and links to soldsecure.com and other security related sites.

The short answer: buy the most expensive Kryptonite u-lock that you can afford. Put it around your rear wheel, just behind the seat tube, and around a thick steel post that is set in concrete. Use a lighter Kryptonite or OnGuard mini u-lock to secure your front wheel t the frame.

But, if your bike is worth more than $400 or $500, and LOOKS like it, don't let it out of your sight. No lock can stop a well-equipped and highly skilled crook for more than ten or fifteen minutes. A shiny new $500 bike can draw the attention of that rare breed of crook who can open a "top" quality lock, and an expensive looking bike may encourage him to invest that fifteen minutes of work.

are you a bot that is set to automatically reply to any lock or Bikesdirect thread?

uh, those guys were also cutting through simple metal chains...

I've lost a key and been forced to cut through a kryptonite in the past... it took a long time with a grit-edge hacksaw blade... more than 40 minutes and it was a PITA.

I'm too superstitious to make any kind of grand statements about my locking methods.

I just picked up a Bulldog Mini from REI and the cool thing is a few 1000 of them slipped through the silkscreening at the factory so mine has no labels or brands on it at all. I just have a black lock. Pretty cool.

I just picked up a Bulldog Mini from REI and the cool thing is a few 1000 of them slipped through the silkscreening at the factory so mine has no labels or brands on it at all. I just have a black lock. Pretty cool.

I noticed that. REI had also mis-priced them at $9.99, so I bought one for my girlfriend.

New York lock FTW. You can pick it up for about $60, which is a small price to pay for security, and while no lock is 100%, at least if someone does get through, Kryptonite gives up to $3000 of theft protection for the first year, up to 3 years if you're willing to pay ($15).

I just bought a Kryptonite NY 3000 for $58 from aebike.com. I love that store, great prices online.

Also, I'm buying a onguard bulldog mini TC also for when I wanna ride around and stick something in my rear pocket. $23 or so, so cheap, why not.

I noticed that. REI had also mis-priced them at $9.99, so I bought one for my girlfriend.

Online or in stores?

Online or in stores?

In the store. This was probably four or so months ago.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1048/1218498758_fdce5a6dbd.jpg

In the store. This was probably four or so months ago.

That was a little misleading at first!