josh7337

I am just curious what everyone here uses to secure their rides from theives? I recently bought this HUGE Trimax chain and 70 mm discus padlock. I mean, this thing is a beast! This is the biggest section of chain i have ever seen in my life. I forgot the exact specs, but the links are 10mm hexagonal steel capable of withstanding 10 (might have been 20, i forgot) tons of cut force. The lock has a 5/8th inch armored shackle, all steel construction, with mushroom pins (which make it harder to pick). After buying this monster, im doubting its practicality, as it weighs almost as much as my bike and is very hard to secure around the frame when not in use. With that being said, im relatively certain that no one, with the possible exception of a good locksmith, can defeat this thing. Im just curious what everyone else uses to keep their bikes in their possession?


btw ive had 4 bikes stolen in my 27 yrs as a cyclist...and that makes me unhappy

operator

That can be defeated with power tools. Anyways, big ass chains are nearly worthless if you aren't going to be parking in the same general vicinity. Way too heavy to be practical. You just leave it where you're going to be locking.

josh7337

what do you use to secure your bike?

josh7337

btw i forgot to ask: what power tools exist with the capability to cut through this thing? (shaped charges do not qualify as "tools" lol)

john bono

A grinding wheel can cut anything--as can a hacksaw. Sure, it might take a while, but anything can be cut, given enough time. Locks don't make it impossible to steal a bike, just more difficult--so a thief will steal the bike with no/cheap lock over a bike with an expensive/good lock.

mechBgon

Oxy-acetylene torch. Game over. The conventional wisdom is to use two high-security locks that would require different types of tools to defeat (not counting oxy-acetylene torches, that is).

To secure my own commuting bikes, the lock I use most... is the lock on our server-room door. It's pretty rare that I lock 'em up outside.

'nother

I usually do just that: keep it in my possession. I've been known to take it into the bathroom with me if I feel it's unsafe to leave. It only takes a few seconds for someone to make off with it; a lock frequently just slows them down but will not stop a determined thief.

That sucks. I'm not sure there's a device that can solve your problems though -- to me it's more a matter of "best practices", not silver bullets. And even best practices are not good enough sometimes.

jwbnyc

For serious security in high risk areas:

Abus Granit Plus Citychain X Plus 1060

Kryptonite New York U Lock

Onguard locking skewers and seatpost bolt.

A couple of small cables to further secure the wheels, saddle, and cages. I use all of it every time I am leaving the bike. I try to lock up dead smack in front of a busy doorman-equipped building entrance.

All this stuff, except the skewers of course, lives at work and gets used only for running errands during work hours which is the only time I need to leave the bike unattended for short <1hr periods of time.

For quick stops never far from the bike:

Kryptonite Mini Evolution and a retractable mini cable.

This is what I carry most of the time while commuting.

For rec riding, where I will not be leaving the bike out of sight, I use a medium security Abus chain, thick cable, or sometimes just a retractable cable.

If I am going to be gone for Hours the bike ends up inside somewhere. I have the luxury of multiple places I can get the bike off the street in Midtown.

DieselDan

Where I live, just ride a road bike.

I usually remove the front wheel and lock it to the frame, rear wheel, and bike rack, or other solid piece, then remove the skewer.

Cyclist0383

My wife and I both use an Onguard Brute lock and Pitlock locking skewers. We both park our *nice* bikes on the streets in the CBD.

As for locking skewers I find that the Pitlock are MUCH better than the Onguard, (which are the same as Kryptonite used to sell. They are made by PinHead Components.)

The Pitocks are much easier to use as the key isn't prone to slipping, they don't rust like the PinHeads do, and Pitlock sends you two keys- not one like PinHead. If you lose your Pinhead key you need to buy a new key for $22. What a rip off....

Here's a good write up on Pitlock.
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/pitlock.asp
The Pitlock set


The key


Installed






Here's a much cheaper place to buy Pitlock.
https://www.urbanbiketech.com/secure_shop.html

operator

It's also much cheaper to buy a cable lock that holds the front while a heavy duty one goes through the rear. Or a krypto chain through the front and rear wheels and cable through the seat.

Cyclist0383

It's also very quick and easy to cut that cable lock and steal a nice wheel set.....

Urbanbiketech

True Ziemas,

I went camping this weekend and locked our two bikes to a tree with Kryptocable. I lost the key to padlock I was using (no U-Lock as this is what I use for the bike-rack). I ended up being able to get an old hacksaw from friend of the family and proceeded to cut through the cable in about five minutes. This might sound like a long time, but keep in mind that I was using an old, rusty, dull hacksaw. I'll post a pic of my cable when I get a chance. This is exactly why I started Urban Bike Tech - to sell a product that works very well.

maximusvt

When I lived in NYC, I would use a U-lock and remove the front tire, lock it to the back and through the frame and I never had a problem with that method...
Back when I was probably about 17, while I was locking up next to McD's at 125th and broadway (sketchiest parking lot I have ever had the pleasure of growing up next to), a big guy comes up to me, puts his hand on the bike and says "Hey kid, I got a gat, I could pop you any time... gimme the bike". I gave him the bike and started walking away, but he stopped me and told me to put the front wheel back on, "and make it good and tight". So I put the wheel back, made a good effort to *look* like I was tightening it, and then the guy told me to get lost... As I walked away and he picked up the bike to take it down a few steps, the front wheel fell right out and bounced down in front of him. I ran around the drivethru and into the building, and watched from the window as he walked away empty handed across the parking lot, flipping me the bird all the way. Hehehehe...
I know that is probably a dangerous/unreliable method of theft prevention, but it did make me feel like the man and I did get to keep my bike. Just thought I would share.

slim_chestnut

The best method to discourage theft is to have a really rauncy paint job on everything including the alloy and chrome parts. Begin by applying a generous coat of paint sealer and then hard wax and then get two or three cans of ugly paint and have at it. Refer to John Allen's website.

How much sense does it make to have a beautiful, state of the art bike with hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of components all shined up and sitting out whether it is locked or unlocked?? It is like an advertisement shouting STEAL ME! it is better to have a good, efficient, old bike you can just leave around and hop on whenever you need it. Bikes that do not require special wardrobe, shoes and gear to just USE get used much more. Or if theft is a real problem get a folder and carry it inside.

FYI all that is needed to defeat the very "best" locks is a can of freon "freeze"spray and a hardened steel striking instrument and something to use as a back stop. This is an old NYC bike theif's trick and one of the reason that Kryptonite finally had to limit their losses on theft of bikes locked with their products.

When I used to own a shop and customer would come in with lost keys to a Krypronite they had two choices: order and wait for replacement keys or once they had proven ownership I could have the lock off in 3 minutes or less. Chains, U-locks, anything can be easily defeated by a pro in 3 minutes or less. so quickly that suspicion is not stirred among passersby.

Slim

supcom

Better keep that hacksaw around in case you lose the key to your locking skewers.

Cyclist0383

Pitlock gives you two, unlike Pinhead. Plus, I have three matching sets of Pitlock skewers, so that's six keys. I don't think I'll manage to lose six keys.....

I also have the "key card" in case I prove myself to be a bigger bonehead than I thought possible and lose all six keys.....

supcom

This is a fallacy. Even cheap Huffy's get stolen. It's called "Security by Obsurity" and is the least effective method of protection. If you do this to a nice bike, you are just taking your loss up front, before the thief does.

Bob Ross

I suppose that's a logical generalization. It may even be statistically true. But I fell compelled to point out an exception (me) that doesn't seem all that uncommon:

I ride my blinged-out multi-kilobuck road bike *WAY* more than I ever rode my beater. It's just more fun for me to strap on the Lycra & treat cycling as a serious endeavor rather than as a casual, off-the-cuff, "oh, gee, I guess I could hop on my bike to grab that quart of milk" afterthought. Now I *plan* my cycling trips in advance, and I wind up looking forward to them, and I spend hours and hours riding several days a week...whereas I used to commute and run errands and once in a while take a ride around the park, all of which totalled maybe one tenth of the mileage I put on my road bike.

But yes, I also had to make the conscious decision *not* to use my bike for commuting & errands anymore. Its function in my life had to change. And I'm willing to make that sacrifice in order to get the enjoyment (and so much more of it) that I do.

So I don't own a lock. If I can't take it in with me where I'm going, I don't stop. Period.

divineAndbright

Where the hell do you people live? Someone threatening to kill you for your bicycle? What the hell? Does it have $1000 bills taped to it or something? Just move already!

Street Sweeper

I either, take it inside with me.. leave it by a window, and never lose eye contact.. Or, lock it up, and take both wheels inside with me, lol. rarely do I stop long enough for that though.

sunofsand

I don't have reason to lock my bike as I don't get off it
or
when I am off it (to take photographs) I haul it with me. I was at Letchworth SP for the entire day carrying the 40lb sucker through muddy trails and up hundreds of stairs. People were smiling/giggling/commenting all the time. Then I had to ride 50 miles home.
In LA I used to just lock it up with a U lock and leave it for however long it took. Sometimes I even left it while playing basketball for hours on end without any type of security. Never any problems.

Where do you people live? LOL Skid-Row?

M3ta7h3ad

Ah that sucks a bit.

I use a Kryptolok U-Lock in combination with a 6ft Kryptocable (just a cable with two noose end things ).

Shove the U lock around a post/rack, through back wheel and chain (dont bother with frame) then use the kryptocable to loop through the front wheel, and strap it to the other side of the rack (keeping the bike tied firmly to the bike rack) or just loop it and through the frame.

Loop the free end of the cable (I use it like a noose) over the u-lock and thats it.

Granted if they chopped the cable, the bike wouldnt be free... it'd just wobble more but damn... nervous about leaving it out with the kryptolock ulock now too! its only a bronze sold secure thing.

donnamb 

No, but since there's a lot of bike in Portland, there's a lot of bike theft. It seems to be a pretty popular property crime here and lots of other places.

Demit

child tracking devices work well if you have an expense bike but really the best defense is a crappy bike, without quick releases, a big lock and no seat.