Hisamatsu

Got a Krytonite new york u-lock as a gift. It's brightly colored yellow and easily recognizable. Thought crossed my mind if obscuring the brand by taping it up be more beneficial?

Leaving it as-is would scream to thieves:
"I'm that yellow u-lock that is tough to break unless you got a the time to grind/torch me off. Better off picking some other bike."

At the same time it also screams:
"Hey, expensive lock here which means bike is worth a ton to steal. Well worth the time!"

acidfast7

Just park it near other bikes and thieves will avoid it

kelsodeez

any U lock can be broken with a can of duster and a hammer. if a thief wants your bike that bad, they're going to get it. the best you can do is use two different kinds of locks, leave your bike in an area where a lot of people are around. i lock my carbon bike up all the time in an area that has a lot of bike theft and my golden rule is to always lock my bike up in front of a window of a restaurant. that way, a thief will assume that im eating there and watching my bike as i eat.

CliffordK

I think thieves are attracted to nice bikes, and not locks.

Although perhaps there are some locks they believe aren't worth the time or trouble, especially mid-day. So, I'd leave the brand on... I think it would be more of a deterrent than an attractant (unless there is a known flaw such as the round key Kryptonite locks).

I must admit that it bothered me a couple of days ago when I parked my bike right next to a cut cable lock that looked just like mine

There have been people that have purposely obscured good bikes to make them look like junkers with lousy rattle can paint jobs. I don't know how effective it is, but it does cut down on the value of anything that is painted.

Hisamatsu

Yea, all locks types can be defeated. I'm asking given all things else equal if a lock's branding is more of a deterrent than a attractant.

Hisamatsu

When I first got my new bike every day any where I go people would comment "oh, nice bike there" etc... Got tiresome after a couple months listening. I slapped on a Huffy logo decal covering my bike's original brand name. Guess what? Not a single comment or complement from strangers since. Actually, only time anything was said about it was when my bike was being worked on in my LBS. Said it was a clever idea.

Obscurity does work, I would assume it works to some level on the average thief. However, a pro thief would still recognize bikes even with it covered up by a huffy sticker lol.

HvPnyrs

When I rolled the 'Heavy Hauler' out of the LBS and rode it home for the first time, Disc Brakes announced to thieves that the bike that had them was a High End mountain bike. Now even big box store mountain bikes have disc brakes.

15 yrs ago 'Brifters' on a road bike indicated a High Dollar value. Now, we've come almost full circle, Disc Brake equipped Skinny Tire bikes shout to the world that you're locking up a high value bike. I feel fortunate that for the conditions where I live, rim brake technology is more than satisfactory. Once Road Disc systems 'Trickle Down' to the Big Box level road bike I may consider adopting them.

I have protected my bikes with a 'Defense In Depth' strategy, the Foundation of which are the strongest, best rated U-locks I can afford as Primary Anchoring Lock/s (for many years now a combo of O.G. 'BRUTE' std., big 'K's 'New York' F.U. mini AND 'BB's for the 'Heavy Hauler'). Currently using Abus Granit X plus 54 U-lock teamed with O.G. 'Bulldog' mini 7', PLUS the full "suite" of 'Pinhead' security fasteners for daily lock up of the 'Sporty - Quick' bike.

erig007

Ulocks maybe but locks nope mine is tested against nitrogen attacks and what to they use to test it? a hammer.
liquid nitrogen is at -320F, your can of duster is at what -15F so nope

bikemig 

Which lock are you using and do you really need a lock at 6367 km away from earth, ?

It would be a real bummer if aliens are just like us.

erig007

you can see it by yourself at 3:38
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh46F3we1-M

and 6367km from the center of the earth is right on the surface at some specific lattitude

bikemig 

Cool, I read that too fast then as I was thinking from the surface.

I'm still curious as to which lock you use.

gpburdell

I think you're asking an effectively unanswerable question. Far too many variables to end up with any guidance more insightful than "it depends".

walrus1

I'd say thieves actually go for the cheaper lock and I have some extremely limited evidence to back it up. My friend bought a very cheap POS MTB at Target. He also bought a cheap cable lock. I pointed this out to him and he brushed me off then a few weeks later someone stole his bike. So he went back to Target bought the same exact bike but he went out and bought a Kryptonite U-lock and reinforced cable set. He still has the bike. Also I bought a Kryponite Evolution Series 4 U-lock and Master chain lock when I bought my first bike three years ago and I still have my bike. Why would a thief fiddle with a harder lock when he can clip a cable and scamper?

gpburdell

I think you're answering a different question. In your friend's situation the type of lock made the difference not the branding/name. Very simple to nibble through a cable lock with a pair of dikes while acting like you're having trouble with your lock. I doubt it mattered whether he bought a generic cable lock or a big name cable lock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2gKB58xa6k

walrus1

I'd argue that I'm answering the same question since his branded lock hasn't gotten stolen yet.

alan s 

Thieves will definitely go for the more expensive lock. It's all about proving that even the most expensive lock can be defeated. They don't really care about the bike. If it happens to be nice, that's just the bonus at the end.

gpburdell

What makes you think it's the brand name being displayed that made the difference instead of his switching from a cable lock to a u-lock?

Which would you leave your bike out overnight with: Kryptonite branded cable lock or a u-lock with the brand name obscured?

fietsbob

My Bike locks became more secure when I moved away from 'Bike Friendly' towns with College campuses with a thriving traffic in stolen bikes and Parts ..

DiabloScott

Absolutely true - sometimes they bust the locks and leave the bike there just to show you what good lock busters they are. All branding should be covered up with electrical tape for security.

TransitBiker

I only lock my bike up to something outside grocery stores. If i go to dunkin donuts or starbucks i lock it to itself by the window i sit at or to the rack outside respectively. When i need to go into say staples or bedbath, i either bring it into the entrance-way and tuck it out of the way or lock it to some large fixed object. I plan to get 3 more U locks for whatever use and a heavy chain and pad lock(s?) for if i need to lock it up in a less secure area outside of town

- Andy

noglider 

Where are you locking the bike? For how long? How often? What is bike theft like in that area? You have to answer these questions. You might find that locking up in the same place all day long is not a good idea, no matter what lock you have. Here in NYC, crime has gone way down, but bike theft has not. It's pretty bad. I'm lucky that my employer lets me bring my bike inside. I don't even carry a lock!

Hisamatsu

I'm starting to lean toward covering up the branding with some tape or spray. Any u-lock is already going to deter most normal petty thieves with clippers. Showing off the brand isn't going deter them any more than already is.

However, leaving the branding on would just make it easier for serious pro thieves to scout/spot your bike. They already have the ability to grind any lock at leisure. The yellow kryptonite color sticks out like a sore thumb. Most people wouldn't buy a lock that almost cost as much as the bike.

CliffordK

Uhhh... like the Titanium Huffy?
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...new-huffy.html

One would think that something like the Corvette would lead the stolen cars, but they don't even make the top 10 list, which has Hondas and Toyotas. I.E. Whatever is out on the road.

No doubt there is a huge number of $50 bikes that never are even reported stolen (and thus also safer to sell).



I did fix up a no-name MTB for the son of an acquaintance. I was told that he just left the bike in front of the library (near the bus stop) when he moved out of town??? Anyway, I had some troubles with the combo-lock, so I left it overnight. The next day, the bike was gone (don't use a dial type Master Combo Lock to lock a bike). So, I walked around the block, and found the bike the next block over in front of the bus stop. I presume someone picked the lock and borrowed the bike for an errand, then left it back at the bus stop.

Hisamatsu

I really wanted to use a Fisher-price sticker/logo, but probably too obvious lol.

rmfnla

True story: years ago a friend of mine moved to New York. She took her car and the first few days had to park on the street. Sure enough, someone broke into it and stole the stereo.

She also had The Club on her steering wheel, and the thieves took that off the wheel and left it on the seat.

The obvious message was, "We didn't want your car, but if we did this wouldn't have stopped us."

Gotta love people who take pride in their work...