mikedy26

See a higher res version here.
https://www.myredqueen.com

JPZ66

I have not used locks. My rides are out and back usually, or when I ride to work, I have a place to put the bike inside. When I stop somewhere on a ride, it is always in within my sight. I would guess that any bike that can be ridden, that is not within your sight, and not locked up will be "Gone in 60 seconds" !

Joe

KonAaron Snake 

This is me:


I use two cables, sometimes three and a NY Krytonite u-bolt. Both wheels, saddle railings and main tube.

Puget Pounder

Just one per Sheldon Brown, but my bikes goes in a safe garage or in my office if it's locked up.

The best U-locks, if you must carry one on the bike, are the smallest. My favorite is the Kryptonite Mini, which not all bike shops stock. The Mini is much smaller and lighter than the more popular models, but just as secure. It may be even more secure, because of the limited room to put a jack inside it. It also gives less purchase for leverage-based attacks.People tend to buy the big clunky U-locks because they don't know how to use them properly. A U-lock should go around the rear rim and tire, somewhere inside the rear triangle of the frame. There is no need to loop it around the seat tube as well, because the wheel cannot be pulled through the rear triangle.Some will object that felons might cut the rear rim and tire to remove the lock. Believe me, this just doesn't happen in the real world. It is indeed possible to cut the rim with a hacksaw, working from the outside to the inside, but first, the tire must be removed or cut through. It would be a lot of work to steal a frame without a usable rear wheel, the most expensive part of a bike, after the frame.

repechage

One 6' cable, through both wheels and an anchored railing. Don't lock up the clean high profile bikes, lock up the stealth vintage, worn out and frayed bar tape, oil collected dirt.
Short visits to a market. No long term lock ups.
If I am stopping at a coffee house, I adjust the rear brake so that the quick release places a heavy drag on the rear wheel. Concept being that I can catch a guy who is at a disadvantage should he see a neon sign reading "take me".
Watch bike like a hawk.

Novakane 

I use a single thick cabled lock (with a key, not a combo) wrapped in a figure eight through the frame and both wheels as well as around whatever I'm locking it to. This has worked well and keeps me from worrying that the bike might still be there but without wheels when I get back.
I'm usually not away from them for very long. If I figure I'll be away from it for longer I'll also use a u-lock as well, so two max usually. My general goal is to be better locked than the next bike, not impossible to steal because that isn't really possible. The main reason for adding the u-lock is to cause a potential thief to need two different methods to get the bike off the rack, hopefully they'll skip mine and go to the next one that is easier to grab.
I use a similar strategy against bears when walking in the woods - I always make sure I'm with someone who can't run as fast as me.

4Rings6Stars

I'm too trusting. I have a safe place to leave it at the office so no need to lock it there. At school, I just put a U lock through the main triangle and front wheel. I used to lock the rear wheel and the Brooks as well, but have been lazy recently.

gaucho777 

I keep my eyes locked on my bikes.

Chombi

Even back in the 80's I never could figure out what the point is to getting a nice lightweight bike if you carry around 5 pounds of locks and chains with you when you ride it. Bought a U lock back then, but hardly used it. I pretty much never leave my bike out of sight anywhere now, if I can help it. If there would be no way to be within site of my bike or any room or closet to lock it in going anywhere, then it just stays home.

Chombi

Stealthammer

One cable lock. No amount of locks or no quality of lock will secure your bike from a real bike thief, so the best you can do is be smart about where you park and use a decent lock to keep the honest people honest. Anyone who has been cycling for more than a year should know this and accept it. If you can't, don't park your bike anywhere except your home.

KonAaron Snake 

This post is incredibly silly to be blunt. Yes - there are thieves out there that have tools that can get through the best u-bolt. They're the minority (at least in my area). Most thieves are low level addicts who might have a bolt cutters, but don't have cordless angle grinders. They can easily get to your bike, but they aren't going to bother with mine.

This is an analogy of your post:

If an airplane crashes into my house a fire alarm won't help, so I might as well not use one.

Creme Brulee

i use sheldon's technique with a cable through the front wheel

Coophawk

Sheldon's method, with a small ABUS courier lock. Not too heavy (under 2 lbs) but quite secure.

And I don't put it places where I'm not keeping a pretty good eye on it, or bringing it inside.

If I'm going out somewhere I'll be more removed from it, I also keep a Kryptonite 4' cable, and use that to lock it to something sturdy and go through the front wheel as well, off of the back lock.

frantik

Cable locks are almost worthless except as a deterrent against causal thieves.. i've seen plenty of them cut in half

If my bike is going to be out of sight I use a ulock. i have a cheap chain lock i carry with me for emergencies but i bet it could be broken with a rock lol

yesterday I saw someone who had used a u lock to lock the front wheel and the fork to a pole.. the way they had locked it, all you had to do was release the QR lever and remove the front wheel and u could have the rest of the bike.. DOH

noglider 

I just use a crappy cable when I lock in the suburbs. In the city, I'd use something heavier.

I have a cable cutter that I bought to cut brake and derailleur cables. Someone had a cable lock on his bike and asked me to remove it, so I thought I'd try. My cable cutter went through it about as easily as scissors go through paper. Wow.

jyl

I use a Kryptonite U-lock around the seat stay, rear wheel, and immovable object. That's in the parking garage below my office, short stops on busy shopping streets, etc. If I'm going to lock the bike up for longer - say while I go see a movie - I put the front wheel in the U lock as well.

Amesja

It depends on where, how long, and what bike.

Road bike out in the 'burbs? You can sort of get away with it "in sight" if you don't care about your bike too much. But a little cable lock will probably do. I use a small U-lock and Sheldon-method it. I've got a bolted skewer up front. These will stop a casual thief while I'm taking a break on a long ride. My bike might not be much of a "Collectible/fetish object" but I still don't want to give it to some thief due to my lack of diligence.

Road bike in the city? A better U-lock and Sheldon. Super paranoid about the front wheel with only the bolted skewer. Better be in sight and better be ready to RUN if you see someone come up on your bike. It only takes about 10 seconds to yank a wheel and run. I don't run very fast these days.

City bike in the city? I use 2 Big OnGuard Brute U-locks. One long-shackle large enough to hit the frame and the rear wheel. Sheldon isn't going to cut it (or the thieves will) in the city. Cutting through a rim and tire takes a lot less time than Sheldon thought. The other U-lock goes from frame to front wheel -maybe to another part of he bike rack if I can get it to fit.

Leaving it overnight in the city outside for a few hours -or at a train station? A really CRAPPY bike using the dual U-lock method. I wouldn't leave a nice bike outside anywhere in Chicago overnight -period. No way. Might as well gift-wrap it.


Other areas of the country, your mileage may vary

SkippyX

42

gaucho777 

With all due respect, I don't think it was a silly post in the least. I feel much the same way as stealthammer. His point is that serious bike thieves have the ability to get through almost any lock, and that people should be realistic about this when they decide how & where to lock their bikes. I'd worry less about a bike locked with a cheap lock in a visible, high-traffic area, than the same bike locked with an expensive lock down a dark, quiet alley. Your airplane analogy is not, shall we say, analogous. He's not saying he doesn't use a lock. I read his comment as more along the lines of, "All planes can crash, so be careful when flying into the Bermuda Triangle."

KonAaron Snake 

I don't read his post the same way at all and I'd rather have a u-bolt in a rougher area than a cable in a visible one. A lot of thieves have bolt cutters, they can be fit into a small bag. Not many have angle grinders, which are expensive and make noise or a bolt cutter capable of attacking a quality u-bolt, which are large and won't fit in bags.

A cable will dissuade virtually no thieves, a U-bolt will dissuade the vast majority. Saying you use a crappy lock that many thieves can cut because a small minority can cut a good one seems off base to me.

I've said this before - my Merckx was abandoned in North Philly, by Temple (high target area) for about 3 months with a u-bolt (not even a good one) for protection. Think a cable would have done that?

gaucho777 

Maybe you're right. I wasn't paying attention to the distinction between U-lock and cable lock. I've also busted open a U-lock with a hammer (my own bike, lost u-lock key), so I don't feel much safer with one of those either.

KonAaron Snake 

Try doing that with a Kryptonite NYr...ain't happening.

I broke a key in a Kryptonite evolution (one step below the NY'r) and had my dad come out to help; he's a MaGyver type. First, we tried attacking it with a sledgehammer and freon. Not even close. Next, my father pulled out a portable generator and used a saw on it. Granted, it wasn't exactly the right tool...but it's still a power tool with a generator. We went at it for about 20 minutes with the saw...it cut through around half of the bolt and it destroyed the SECOND blade. We then attacked the weak spot with a crow bar and sledge hammer...half an hour after that, we broke it.

All of this was done right in public view on a city street. Cops walked by, couldn't care less. No pedestrians commented. Granted...we're middle aged guys, but still! The only one who said anything was a guy who offered advice because he used to steal bikes - his advice was go after a different lock. Public view isn't worth much IMO. A cable lock would have taken around 2 minutes - as Tom said, a small bolt cutters will cut through cable in seconds.

DiabloScott

1. Rotary combo U-lock
2. Flat key U-lock
3. 5/8" cable with cylinder key mini U-lock






Several times, other bicycles in the garage have been stolen while mine was safe.

gaucho777 

Guard dog, Argus.

iab

One. And its cheap.

Sometimes I just use my helmet strap.