Complete this sentence: a chain is only as strong as __ _____ ___.

As a bicycle mechanic who routinely breaks up wheels and cuts tires before throwing them out (which doesn't take ten minutes of "sweaty effort," btw), I'm not satisfied with packing along two good locks and then making an aluminum wheel rim and a tire the weak point in my locking strategy. I think that two locks securing the frame and wheels at two points has higher deterrence factor to prevent an attempt in the first place (which is what we really want, right?), and is more likely to prevent the attempt from succeeding if they do attempt a theft. That's what I'm going to keep doing when I have to leave my bike in public.

And with thieves stealing quick-release skewers, blinkies, bags, lights and computers, I don't buy the line about how the bike is worth nothing to them with a ruined rear wheel. Ask some of BikeForums' NYC commuters about the lengths they have to go to.

If you want to take different risks using a different technique than I do, I really have no issue with that. It's your bike, do whatever you like. I do think you need to be more objective about other locking techniques, however, instead of trying to tell us all that there's just one correct way to lock a bike, namely yours.


Food for thought... oh noes, how will I get through the Velox rim tape and the folding tire without a scissors?!

(the kicker: this rim broke by itself, the user was riding it at the time)