bananakorps

My Montague Paratrooper's front&back wheels were stolen couple weeks ago, in Manhattan no less. It was my first bike, so it's understandable that now I'm extremely paranoid.
I just bought a Specialized Vita Elite yesterday, and I'm not sure if I can get away with cable locking my front wheel or should I just go get a PitLock skewer set.
And I've been reading online people saying that the fork can be stolen too.
I don't know if I should buy the front + rear pit lock combination (I thought the front skewer once you skew tight, it locks the fork too) or should I invest in the front + rear + aheadset combination. And while we are on the subject, is there any other parts of this particular bike needs to be protected(aside from the seatpost)?

fairymuff

I had my wheels stolen once, so I feel your pain. Popped into a shop for 5-10 minutes and I'd forgotten my cable, so I just had the U-lock. Came out of the shop and found both wheels missing. Normally I will carry a cable to secure both wheels together with a U-lock to secure the bike to a solid object.

Unfortunately, the reality is that in many place keeping your bike out of sight for more than 10 minutes is a bad idea. Locks don't prevent theft. They merely slow it down.

waynesworld

If I lived in NYC, I'm pretty sure I'd take multiple, redundant measures to prevent theft. Searching the Commuter forum should yield lots of advice, provided you can figure out which search terms to use. Maybe 'theft', 'security', 'secure', 'lock', 'skewer', 'pitlock', or some combination thereof.

Also, this video is pretty good, and entertaining.

BTW, you are getting new wheels for the Paratooper, right? Sounds almost as though you've given up on it.

bananakorps

As matter of fact I'm selling the rest of the bike. I've asked the bike store people it takes around $250-300 just to replace the parts, that's not counting the labor. It's half of what I'd paid for the bike (got it on sale) so I just bought the Vita Elite. The paratrooper is too heavy anyway.

waynesworld

I'd make you an offer if I were local. Always liked the Paratrooper. Good luck with the new bike, and definitely check out those threads. There are so many different ideas about locking, it's almost like tires.

Did the video help?