Midlifecyclist

My preferred lock for the last 6-7 years has been Foldylock Compact. It’s 1kg, it comes with a mount and it doesn’t disrupt the lines of my bike too much visually.

I dont really have a reason to change, but I’m curious about what everyone else uses DAILY. Maybe times are changing, getting lighter? Longer? Smaller?

flangehead

I use a Kryptonite U-lock which I either leave at work if direct commute or bungee to my rear rack if I’m stopping off for groceries etc. on the way home.

base2 

I don't lock. I bring my bike in and set it in my cubical.


My desk plant agrees: Inside with no locks is best.

Derailed

I also use a Foldylock Compact.

It's for my Priority Continuum Onyx. I park at a bike rack on a university campus and capture the front wheel and frame in a loop that also goes through the rack. It is, by far, the sleekest lock to transport and engage that I've used. I love it.

Usually, my bike is only there during the day and when there's pretty decent foot traffic. Although there's been some bike theft on our campus, it's relatively safe, I believe.

I also have a Linka frame lock, but I don't use it very often. Instead, it's for very short duration, such as running into a library to pick something up (just to reduce the likelihood for an opportunity theft), and I only engage the Linka, or when I'm in what I perceive to be a riskier situation, and I use both locks simultaneously.

I realize that this system isn't especially secure, and wouldn't be sufficient in some areas, but it offers a decent balance of security, versatility and convenience, IMHO.

locolobo13 

I've been using U-locks since 2010 when a previous bike was stolen. The security guard I talked with said he'd never seen anyone break a U-lock. That was at a community college with plenty of low hanging fruit such as my previous bike.

My current U-lock is a "wallyworld". The previous U-lock lasted me for several years. Then two weeks ago the key broke off inside. It was stuck.

Rick

I worked in a bicycle shop near a university in the early 80s. Customers would approach me and other workers asking us to cut off locks that had been added to their already locked bicycles on campus. Thieves commonly locked up already locked bicycles hoping they would find the bicycle still locked to the rack later when there was no witnesses for the theft. The shop kept a file drawer with documentation of sales. When we could be reasonably sure it was their bicycle we would meet campus police with the info and cut the thieves lock off.

pigmonkey

I have been using an Abus 640 Granit Plus Mini U-lock for the past 9 years. I looked around a month or two ago to see if there was anything better in a similar weight class. I couldn't find anything.

My preferred way to carry it is in a rear rack bracket. Abus makes the Rack Carrier UGH 02 bracket. Trelock makes the ZB 403 Rack Bracket. I have both. Both work great. The Abus uses elastic webbing that will degrade over time. The Trelock uses heavy rubber straps, which seems like they'd last longer. I have 3-4 years of use on both brackets, and both are still going strong.

I also have a full Pitlock setup (both wheels, seat collar, headset top cap).

Smaug1

I have several locks I use regularly:

• Mid-grade Kryptonite U-lock (orange highlights) I use this with my e-moped, and occasionally with other e-bikes.
• OnGuard U-Lock. I leave this one at work to lock my commuter bike up daily.
• Chinese imitation of your FoldyLock. This one is Lectric-branded and usually stays with my Lectric XP Lite.
  
• FoldyLock Forever. A much more stout version of the FoldyLock original. This is currently mounted to my Aventon Level.2, but I’m going to buy a couple more mounts so I can move it from bike to bike. This has a lot of the strength of a kryptonite U-lock, but all of the flexibility and compactness of a folding lock.
• A couple of Master combination cable locks. These are just to throw in a shoulder bag when nothing else seems convenient or flexible enough. For example, I could lock up to a large tree with one of these, and none of my other locks would do that. These are just for popping into a store right quick or for when I can kind of keep an eye on the bike.

Smaug1

I should have bought a LiteLock instead of that Kryptonite U; they use an alloy that is hard and tough, but also which gums up angle grinder cutoff wheels.

they cost twice as much as a good Kryptonite, though.

Frkl

I use OnGaurd U-Locks, which I always seem to find at great prices (especially here where ABUS is king). I have a Brute, which is really too big for carrying around normally, but if I have to lock up overnight in an unsecured place, its size allows me to lock up the wheels, and its 17mm shackle is a nice although not invulnerable deterrent. For daytime outside, and for locking up overnight in areas with limited access, I use a Pitbull Mini. I showed both to the facilities guy where I work when he was removing abandoned bikes, and he said both of them would slow him down a lot/make a lot of noise to cut. So that and lockpickinglawyer thought it was "unlikely" the Brute would get picked in real-world conditions


That's about the best compliment he gives...

But I like to hedge my bets by locking up next to really expensive ebikes with worse locks than mine My hope is that the combination encourages opportunistic thieves to see my commuter as just not worth it.

Strawbunyan

I really like your bike. Very nice.

base2 

Thanks. I had it made especially just for me. It's very versatile and I have yet to find a thing it doesn't do well. Originally I had it configured with skinny road tires and tall road gearing. Then for a while with 26x2.1 inch knobby tires and low mountain bike appropriate gearing for Forest-Service roads. But I think right now it's happiest with 26x1.8 slicks and 18-93 gear inch gearing. It's basic design was ported over from a touring/commuting platform, after all.

I had it built with extra strong tubing to withstand airline baggage handlers and S&S coupling to fit is standard checked baggage. I'm taking it to Finland with me in the summer and Arkansas in autumn.

Here is another picture I've shared a number of times. Though a few details have changed since this picture was taken.

I'm actually taking it to investigate the progress of the snow clearing operation of one of my local closed mountain passes, today. I'm sure there will be more pics to follow soon in the Pacific Northwest regional subforum.

Classtime 

This looks fun. I bring my bike into my classroom and for shopping trips, I have a long cable lock the goes around my waste while riding or the u-lock on my Townie tha5 has the holder.

From Bike****. 4 letter bad word begins with s andnendsvwith t.
https://lumberjac.com/2016/10/bike****-rope-lock/

Pantah

I'll take a photo of it later as it's sitting at home but I've been using the same Kryptonite New York Chain for 20 years now with an unusual lock that it did not come with. The reason for the mention of the lock is it was something my dad had laying around and, thanks to its design, is NOT the skinniest link on the whole setup but rather the thickest. For those who don't know what the New York Chain is, it's a 6 foot (might actually be 5 feet), 15 pound, hardened, square link chain. I'm not a fan of my bike or either of the wheels being stolen and I often need to lock to something that isn't u-lock friendly. I also used to lock my bike up at a few different college campuses back in the day as well as some fairly sketchy parts of San Francisco and Oakland. I carry it like a sash around my shoulder or in a backpack. My friends nicknamed it the chain of command.

Don't care that it's heavy, it's a small price to pay for basically a guarantee that people won't mess with it. I know it's saved my bikes numerous times. Years ago, I came out from class with friends and we went to grab our bikes. Most on the rack had been stolen, including both of my friend's bikes, but mine was one of the few left alone.

When it comes to commuting these days, I don't actually bring the lock with me since I can park my bike in my stall. However, in days past when that wasn't an option, the lock came with me every day. The lock is still used today though as I need it when I go shopping or run errands around town.

Smaug1

Guys, have a look at this video.

It shows that someone experienced with an angle grinder can get through Kryptonite's highest grade lock in under a minute, but the LiteLok would take 10 minutes and 3 cutoff wheels. (an extra battery for the grinder, too, as those guys probably aren't going to buy the high dollar Milwaukee that this guy had)

It has ceramic embedded in the middle of the shackle.

lex further

Wow! Never heard of that . I honestly don't remember much from my college and campus days, except the books and the relief which i felt when i found these guys https://academized.com/write-my-paper . Shortly after that i went to my first college party ever and that was just amazing. I think people often forget to enjoy their life and live way too serious life. There is not much fun in all that!

LV2TNDM

The game has changed significantly in the last several years. The standard ulocks are now virtually obsolete. I still use a 35 year old Kryptonite K4 Mini for some applications, like on the back of the car with security chain.

But for regular locking in an urban environment, none of what has been previously available offers the protection I would like. I've used the Kryptonite NY Fugeddaboudit for 20 years now, but despite its size and quality, it's fodder for grinders. So I'm now using the Hiplok D1000 for my everyday needs as well as when top security is needed. Which is most of the time in the SF Bay Area. I also own the Altor SAF lock, that predates the Hiplok and Litelocks by a few years and was the first truly grinder-resistant lock. But it's simply absurd at 13 pounds and massive. So big, it's very limiting in locking options. The two former brands seem pretty solid and offer far better security and peace of mind than everything else out there.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about security & augmenting my bicycle locks over the years. Using pipe fittings & sleeves to make my locks just that much harder to defeat. All my garage bikes are locked securely to the concrete or walls and I now use motion-sensing video surveillance. That plus large, double locks on the garage with additional custom grinder resistance measures means my garage is hard to get into, then the bikes are hard to steal and I'll get a notification whenever someone opens the door. So I'm pretty well covered. (In fact, I'm away from home now, so I just logged into my camera to take a peek at the bikes & shop. All quiet on the western front!

If you are locking regularly in anything but "Pleasantville," you need the latest anti-grinder locks. They're a must. And to anyone "not locking a bike because I bring it inside," I suggest you still lock it. Nothing more convenient than an item to steal that's a getaway vehicle at the same time. Paranoid? No, I call it smart. Plus I've heard a million stories of burglaries that end with the thief riding away on your prized steed. You probably own a quality lock, why not use it?

tcs

Beginning in the summer of 1977 I used a Citadel U-lock for the next 30+ years. Additionally, I never had any trouble finding a nicer bike locked less securely to park next to.

Ah, but those were the pre- battery-powered angle grinder days of bike theft. Additionally, I've retired. IF I were locking up anywhere but my local library in the modern era, I'd go with a Litelok X-3 or maybe a Skunklock Chemical V2. Hmm. Or maybe a Litelok X3 disguised as a Skunklock.

tcs

Harry Houdini entertained audiences a hundred years ago quickly picking locks on stage. So society gave up on padlocks. NOT.

Picking an unknown lock upside down, backwards and left-handed while kneeling in a puddle in the dark is a lot different than picking in good light at a comfortable workstation after you've studied the key and played with the lock before you turned the camera on.

I just haven't seen any reports of bike thieves being apprehended carrying picking tools. I haven't seen any reports of picking tools found dropped in the grass at the scene of bike thefts. I haven't seen any reports of opened but undamaged bike locks lying near missing bikes.

I find the Lock Picking Lawyer entertaining, but other than weeding out really egregious locks, I don't find his picking applicable to real-world bike theft. Hey, maybe in the future thanks to the tutorials he churns out, but not now.

veganbikes

I go ABUS Bordo 6405 or 6500 generally as they created the first folding locks and make some of the best still because they know how to temper and harden and join their locks to make them secure. I also have a ABUS café lock in the back (5750L NR, I believe) and in some cases if I am locking up a longer time I will add one of my Bordo Lites to front wheel and frame but generally I try to bring it in with me.

Agreed that lock picking is probably less common most thieves are using destructive methods but it can still happen. I heard about it at least once over the years that I can recall

We had an intern who gave his bike to a thief (left it unlocked and unattended for a short period) and luckily we saw the guy riding past and got the bike back for him with no fuss on the thief's part which was nice. He saw us chasing him and stopped got off the bike and didn't put up any resistance which was nice not even any yelling just some light confusion which was cleared up and then he made up a lie about someone giving the bike to him right where he had left it. A good reminder to always keep your bike locked.

However on that note we had someone come in to my first bike shop many many moons ago because both of the wheels of his girlfriends bike were stolen and we told him how to keep his bike safe and properly locked and prevent this from happening again and the dingbat immediately lock his bike outside just by the rear wheel. We pulled it inside minus the rear wheel and left a note just so it didn't happen to him again. I don't know if he ever quite learned the lesson but he did by some locking skewers for the GFs bike at least and he acted like he understood. So not just locking the bike but also using good locking practices is extremely important. The lock is super important but if used poorly it doesn't matter what lock you have.

tcs

Sheldon Brown recommended two locks of different kinds so the thief would need two different tools. (That advice came from the era when battery-powered angle grinders were not as ubiquitous as today.)

Two locks? Are you crazy?

Hey, I can't assess your security environment. A fellow with a cycling organization in London said in two decades he'd never heard of anyone using the two-lock method getting their bike stolen.

Anyway, if anyone is actually concerned about lock-picking bike theft, use two locks requiring two different picking tools and techniques.

locolobo13 

Depends. Way back my bike was stolen with two locks on it. See this thread: Stolen Bike

Short story the bike was secured to a light pole with a cable lock. The ulock wouldn't fit around the pole, it locked the rear wheel to the frame. The thief cut the cable and carried the bike off.

tcs

Ya, locks aren't talismans. You gotta embrace the method and use good technique as well as good locks.

While you're at it, here are some wheel, saddle and component security do-dads:

https://keys.abus.com/eng/bike/produ...onent-security
https://www.bicyclebolts.com/
https://designbydelta.com/products/hublox-security-skewers
https://hexlox.com/
https://www.ixow.com/en/univers/protection-contre-le-vol/
https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/pr...ey/001768.html
https://pinheadlocks.com/
https://www.pitlock.de/en/
https://www.amazon.com/SUNLITE-Locki.../dp/B002K2IYPY

veganbikes

Yes two or sometimes three locks and no not crazy at all. Couldn't be less crazy (at least on this issue) Making your bike less of a target and harder to steal means they will move on to the easier to steal bike.

Of course the bike I am talking about is an 11k Bosch equipped electric bicycle but even on my regular bikes for long term lock ups always two locks. Ideally yes different locks to give you more flexibility and a difference in getting in.

However in the end a bike can get stolen with any number or locks and your lock is only as strong as your weakest point. I have seen enough people with big heavy duty u-locks locking to a chainlink fence.