I totally agree with the person who said on buying a junk bike for shopping purposes. I did that last summer and you can't believe the peace of mind that I had in knowing that junker would not get stolen. The best bikes are cruisers with no gears. Micargi makes cheap cruisers and you can find them on Ebay. Paint it an ugly black color and scratch it up!!

I have used folding bikes all my life with very good success. A folding bike can be folded and taken into a store and locked. The smallest folding bike is the Brompton and you can put it right into the shopping carriage. Another good thing about a folding bike is that no one is going to steal a sixteen inch wheel.

I always keep my lights and air pump in my bag so they are never on the bike until I need them. I keep my New York Chain locked at the train station 24/7 all the time so I never need to carry it. When I get to the station, I'll unlock the chain off the bike rack and chain my bike to a pole that's in front of everyone.

If I'm using the Brompton, it goes with me everywhere. No need
to carry locks or chains. Only my cheap folders get locked.

I agree that bike racks are the place where cycles are vandalized and stolen. At my train station, I just noticed a wheel that was locked to the rack except the bike was missing!

My motto when parking is to not have anything removable attached to the bike. Everything but my front headlight is either in my backpack or strapped onto the outside of my pack. I do this also because when I want to simply go rideing, my bike isn't loaded down with knick-nacks.

What really gets me about locking up is places with those crap bike racks made of rebar. They tear away the paint at even the softest touch. They sit way too low to lock a U-Lock onto properly. The same goes for plastic bike racks that are moulded to hold a wheel and no lock. Both are thankfully becoming pretty rare.

While I'm at it, bike shops with no place to park a bicycle are bothersome. There's bike racks in the front but they're loaded with bikes that are for sale.

When grocery shopping, I lock up to the big racks that are hold all the grocery carts by the front door.

Well, I finally got in trouble. My local grocery store, though only a couple years old, installed a rack that only holds the front wheel of the bike. If I had a two foot long U-lock I could lock my frame, but I have fenders that prevent the wheel from being inserted in the rack. There are also no poles to lock it to outside.

I have brought my bike into the plenty spacious lobby a number of times in the past and locked the wheel to the frame with no problems, but the other day the store manager asked me to "Please leave your bike outside in the future." When I expained my delimma he gave me a blank look and walked away without a word. Maybe he cut me a break because he saw I was loading $50 worth of groceries into my basket, but more likely he had no argument ouside of arbitrary opinion. The lobby has room for my bike. Not to mention one bike against 150 shopping carts is not much. Even if my bike is kind of dirty, I don't see anyone wiping down those carts when they bring them in. They just push them right back inside rain or snow, icky tires and all.

I don't mind parking outside, so maybe he'll be annoyed enough that he'll actually order a new bike rack. Ha ha ha, I kill me!

HI Ron, maybe the store will deliver the items that you need for a small fee, say $5.00, It will save your bike from being ripped off, and you will have peace of mind knowing that your bike is safe.

You can use the bike rack unconventionally.

Rather than trying to fit your front wheel into a slot in the rack, Pick back wheel up and place the bottom bracket on top of the rack.

You should be able to lock your bike quite effectively this way.

I'm with Chewa, small towns are great. :D I feel like a total dork when locking up my bike. (I still do it--it only takes one thief to make off with it.) Most of the bikes I see around town are just parked on the grass or sidewalk, and the only other bike I see locked is a kid's Trek BMX. Of course, 90% of these bikes are cheapies...

When I went to college, nobody bothered to cut my cheap cable lock to make off with my Huffy, but they did steal all my cheap tools and spare inner tube out of the rear rack bag.

Entering the parking lot of the Stone Mountain Kroger supermarket at Redan Rd. and S. Hairston, the first thing I see is a sign:

"No Bicycles or Skateboards."

The security guard even enforces this.

:rolleyes:

(Ron, I didn't even stop to look for bike racks!)

Ignorance is greatest in popular opinion, which regards the bicycle as a children's toy.

I just had an idea! Take my bike to Kroger and lock it with my Kryptonite 2000. Spend a little time in the Kroger, then see if any "law enforcement" officers are actually trying to crack this lock.

Good luck, guys! Even a tow-truck is no match for my Kryp. (Unless the Dekalb County mounties actually ticket me. Can they do this on private property? It wouldn't even be an issue if it weren't private property.)

Dang'd if the police wouldn't laugh this call off till their sides hurt.

"We've got an illegally parked bicycle at the Stone Mountain Kroger store. Hurry!"

I'm not sure if that helps much. When I was in college, a bunch of us in a bar watched as a truck pulled up to the front and three big guys got out, lifted a bike rack filled with four bikes, threw it in the back of the pickup and sped away before anyone could do anything about it.

Back when I was an idiot student (is there any other kind?)

I just took my bike in with me. It was a dirt cheap (can't remember the name!) and I was waddling with Detto Pietros with it, but I figured that I was taking as much space as a wagon, so why not?

This WAS in a University town, so your mileage may vary.

just a thought, good luck!
Tom

I've been riding to the store more frequently. Usually my wife rides with me. I simply lock the two together. Discourages the casual thief from just riding off with one. If some professional is too stupid and does decide to take both...
He'll be sorry when he realizes that the Roadmaster POS isn't worth the effort, 89.00 each brand new 4 years ago. HeeHee.

Holy SH**! You'd better be careful about this, especially in the USA! I locked my wife to my bike when I was visiting this last time, and I almost got ticketed. You'd probably be better off locking the bikes together instead of your wife. Of course, you'll lose the alarm function, but...

cheers,
tt

:D

Most of the accessories on my bike are fixed to the bike, but I do use "zip ties" to attach the pump to the side of the rack. These are easy to remove with pliers in case of a flat, but difficult to remove without tools, thereby discouraging casual theft of the pump.

regards
Dan

I rarely lock my bike when I go into the market if I know it is going to be a quick errand. If I know I will need to be in for more than 15 minutes, I leave my bike at work and walk to the store and back.