Leukybear 

Yes. Ziptie like a piece of bright cloth to the lock with your contact info. And confirm that it is the real owner when they're able to unlock the pitbull.

Squirrelli

^ Yes! Do that!

I mean, it's a nice bike and I'm sure the owner doesn't want it to be stolen or butchered even further.

EpicSchwinn

There is a bike chained up to a piece of metal! I'm sure it wasn't born there.

Aloe

HAHAHA!

Is that a Patrick Nagel picture on the head tube? That's great.

Lilcphoto

Update: That night when I was ready to lock up the wheels with a note, it was gone. The owner must have taken it back. Sad to say the other bike on my dog walk got its brakes stolen... it fascinates me how someone would leave a bike locked up outside for more than 1 day in the same spot

Pinkbullet3

What if you're attending a class of somesort (be it a regular class or a night-class)?

My university luckily has bike lockers that students and staff can rent from for $84/school year. Definitely worth it for my bike to sleep in.

During work/class I U-lock the front wheel and frame to a bike stand and then cable lock the rear wheel and frame to the bike stand.

If my bike does somehow end up getting stolen, I will cry.

Unless I purchase a GPS for it.

v1ral

This topic scares the **** out of me..

TBSN

I've been reading through this and I'm wondering, any opinions on chains vs. U-locks? (and I mean REAL chains, not cables. I live in NYC)

m4rx12

Many thieves may resort to simply damaging your bicycle if they can't get away with the goods. I was hanging out at a friends after work (I till around 11 pm) and at around 1 am I go to return only to discover the lock on my bicycle tampered with and the front forked kicked to the point of bending one of the prongs and of course ripping out the wheel.
Its such a slimy move, failing to steal a bike so desecrating it instead. Just shameful

WATCH OUT

roadlover404

I found this article a couple of days ago and thought it could do some good on this thread...

https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/...trap-your-bike

Now, granted these tips and tricks won't stop a thief from throwing your bike in the back of a pickup, it will slow them down if they try to ride away, that's for sure.
I, especially like the last one, It'll take a lot of coordination to pedal a bike like that... Something most thieves (especially the crackheads) don't have.

Greenrider24

Good thread. Bump.

Jonpwn

I just purchased a bareknuckle frame that is pretty darn new. I recently bought a ulock last week and am now debating whether or not i should get a second one for my front wheel.

anyways, this might be a little off topic but how do you prevent scratches and such from the racks/posts/etc? I'll be locking my bike outside only when i'm in class, otherwise it will be in my room or indoors where i work.

Sherblock

You should realize that a bike will get scratched. You'll probably buy another in 5 years!

Mine has scratches everywhere... bikes are machines, not people ;D

homebrewk

Buying a second lock is generally a good idea, especially if you live in a shady area.

As for preventing scratches: wrapping your u-lock in electrical tape isn't a bad idea.

ddeadserious

My BikeDirect bike doesn't have the most ding-resistant paint, so after a couple marrs on the surface, I began looking for a simple solution. Ended up at a local vinyl shop(the kind that wrap cars, trucks, walls, etc) and got some clear film(it would normally be printed on, and then applied). Cut it to size and applied it to my top tube. You can barely see the seams and it is sticking real well, 99% of people would never know it's there.. Also the guy gave me enough extra to do probably 10 more top tubes if/when mine starts peeling or gets grimy.

Lilcphoto

... everything can still be stolen . . .

Sixty Fiver

Just fitted an additional lock to my wife's vintage Peugeot... it now has a rear O lock at the back wheel which is a beautiful vintage Maillard racing wheel lovingly built up by her number one mechanic so I would hate to have that stolen and on it's own, it keep the bike from being ridden. Am thinking these would be nice for many fg bikes as they are most suited for bicycles with narrower tyres and if there is no rear brake the install is pretty straight up. The wife's bike has the brake mounted at the middle struts of her Mixte so the upper brake area was clear.



It just adds a little more security and she also uses an Abus folding link which stores really nicely on the bike and so far has kept her bikes secure.



The NY Krypto we have is also a big deterrent although it weighs as much as a nice frame.

Sixty Fiver

Bolt cutters this big are a little awkward to walk around with and still requires some massive force... the bolt cutters tend to suffer and you can not do this repeatedly without wrecking them.

Sixty Fiver

Have met Tony and seen this bike and lock... does not protect the wheels but is straight up cool.

storckm

I saw a bike tied to a rack with some twine. It was a Ross mountain bike. Then the bicycle's rider came out, and I talked to her a few minutes, and she told me she'd borrowed it from a neighbor. If I remember right, she said hers had been stolen!

homebrewk

amgarcia

Would it be better to use two U-locks or a U-lock and a cable? Cables seem pretty puny.

Sixty Fiver

Just about any half way dedicated bike thief will have a set of cable cutters so cables are pretty much only good to prevent opportunistic thieves from borrowing your ride.

Two shackles will surely send a message that this bike may not be worth the effort or that it is so nice it needs two locks.

Using my mini to lock my crank or chain ring to the chain stay disables the bike like an O lock and then I add a shackle and sometimes a cable.

EpicSchwinn

I slipped a 18-23c tube over mine. Seems to soften it up a bit.

homebrewk

That's an even better idea. If you want to get real fancy then you can wrap it in Boar's Head sliced turkey.