Originally Posted by froze
Sheldon Brown is demonstrating how to use a mini U, and his explaination for that is correct...BUT, what he uses is not correct! The mini U locks do not allow you to lock your front wheel; to do that you need a full size U lock; you remove the front wheel and place it alongside the rear then you use Sheldon Browns mini U bolt method to lock the bike and the two wheels.
But locking your bike doesn't stop with just one lock, you should use 2 different kinds of locks to foil any thief. Get a another lock like a heavy chain lock. If your locking the bike up at the same place every day, you could leave the chain lock secured to a post when your not parked there, just make sure you get permission to leave the lock.
My Lock Strategy article is at
http://sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy
I do not recommend using a U-lock by itself for high security parking, I recommend a U-lock in conjunction with a good cable lock. The cable lock secures the front wheel.
The beauty of this system is that it takes totally different tools to cut a U-lock vs a cable lock, so only a thief equipped with both can succeed.
I advise against removing the front wheel for locking purposes for several reasons:
•It's too much trouble. You shouldn't need to disassemble your bike just to park it.
•It exposes the fork to damage. The fork ends are supposed to be protected by being attached to a hub, they're not intended to be bumped against concrete.
•I see too many people riding around the city who have done this and then made a dangerous error in re-installation of the front wheel; crooked wheels, disconnected brakes, brake shoes knocked askew, QR skewer set incorrectly...
Sheldon "Leave The Heavy Lock On The Rack" Brown
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| I saw a man pursuing the horizon; |
| Round and round they sped. |
| I was disturbed at this; |
| I accosted the man. |
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| "You can never--" |
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| "You lie," he cried, |
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| --Stephen Crane |
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