Finding a spot for mini ulock
#1
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Finding a spot for mini ulock
Went to the store today and it was my first time to use a mini u-lock. I tried locking it up to a rail; no dice. Tried it with another rail. No dice. Eventually I had to lift the entire back tire up to get the silly thing attached.
For all of you with mini's, what is the most convenient spot you've found to lock up?
#2
beatz down lo|seatz up hi
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Back wheel through the rear triangle. Or top tube for quick errands.
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I mean what do you attach the bike to. It's precisely because that's where I'm putting it that I'm having such a hard time finding a suitable spot.
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A bike rack, a secure post of some sort...what do you mean by rail?
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I can attach it to most anything, typically street meters. However, I don't lock through a wheel, just the frame. The wheels have security skewers on them.
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When grocery shopping, I lock it to the bascart return corral. I have to use one of the ends. If I try to use a middle post, the rails won't allow the bike to get close enough.
#7
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I find mine usually fits on things like rails or scaffolding, but it does sometimes require a little finagling with the position of the pedals/cranks, etc. Bike racks are most often the first choice, though, and I haven't encountered one too thick to get the shackle around. With some objects, I have to use a different locking location on the bike. Sometimes through the rear wheel, which I prefer, other times through the frame somewhere.
#9
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Mini U locks work best with "modern" bike racks. Madison has an official city document covering which kinds of bike racks are best for meeting the city parking requirement, and which ones to avoid. A lot of the bad ones are 60s and 70s designs still in common use, but they work fine even on a fat tube Al bike if you have a full size U lock. (The wave design is one a lot of people in the commuting forum like, but it's a *serious* PITA if you're carrying a load and want to use a U lock to get the rack, an Al frame and your wheel)
If you're in a city that doesn't require bike parking for businesses, a mini U lock is not a good choice as your primary lock. A regular U lock will work in more situations, and a chain + lock combo will be most flexible.
If you're in a city that doesn't require bike parking for businesses, a mini U lock is not a good choice as your primary lock. A regular U lock will work in more situations, and a chain + lock combo will be most flexible.
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While it defeats the purpose of a mini U lock could you carry a chain with you? Carry enough chain to secure the frame and wheels and go around whatever you want to lock to. Then use the mini U as a freaky over-sized pad lock. I got a free over-sized padlock once, kind of like a mini-U, got a massive chain that I left at work, and secured the chain with the lock. Good for commuting.
#11
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I lock up to caution tape, or jute twine, or nylon rope. Anything bigger won't fit my mini- u.
I'm kidding.
I'm kidding.
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With a mini U-lock you really need to carry either a chain or a cable for those crappy bike racks you can't lock to directly with the U-lock. Ideally, a mini gives you more security, and that's true with most modern well designed bike racks, in addition to a lot of random opportunity locking spots, but it's also less versatile.
A cable or chain increases your potential locking configurations massively. Just remember that when you're using the U-lock as padlock, and a cable is securing your frame, its way less secure. Good for a quick run inside somewhere or when you're going to be sitting within sight of your bike, but otherwise, keep looking for a better rack or lockup spot.
Or carry a mini U-lock AND something in the caliber of the Fuhgeddaboudit/NYC Kryptonite Chain. A good extra 15 pounds of metal to carry around gives you that much more character, as Calvin's dad would say.
A cable or chain increases your potential locking configurations massively. Just remember that when you're using the U-lock as padlock, and a cable is securing your frame, its way less secure. Good for a quick run inside somewhere or when you're going to be sitting within sight of your bike, but otherwise, keep looking for a better rack or lockup spot.
Or carry a mini U-lock AND something in the caliber of the Fuhgeddaboudit/NYC Kryptonite Chain. A good extra 15 pounds of metal to carry around gives you that much more character, as Calvin's dad would say.
#13
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I lock my bike to parking meters with a mini evolution.
To do so I place the bike drive side away from the meter, rotate the crank so the crank near the meter is pointing forward, snug the bike up so that the meter post is just behind the bottom bracket where the chainstays attach then I fit the mini ulock around the meter post and the set tube. The nose of the seat is usually pressed against the meter. It takes all of 15 seconds, including wrapping a cable through the wheels and into the u-lock.
Other methods I've used: locking the seatstay to a litter receptor or locking the toptube to fence.
I can't fit the lock around the rear wheel and seat tube of my mountainbike, so I carry a cable with open loops on the ends to lock the wheels - it comes in handy when there isn't a meter or skinny signpost about.
To do so I place the bike drive side away from the meter, rotate the crank so the crank near the meter is pointing forward, snug the bike up so that the meter post is just behind the bottom bracket where the chainstays attach then I fit the mini ulock around the meter post and the set tube. The nose of the seat is usually pressed against the meter. It takes all of 15 seconds, including wrapping a cable through the wheels and into the u-lock.
Other methods I've used: locking the seatstay to a litter receptor or locking the toptube to fence.
I can't fit the lock around the rear wheel and seat tube of my mountainbike, so I carry a cable with open loops on the ends to lock the wheels - it comes in handy when there isn't a meter or skinny signpost about.
Last edited by randomgear; 04-04-08 at 08:57 PM. Reason: clarification
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I use an OnGuard Pitbull Mini with the Sheldon Brown method:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html
Get the rear wheel close enough to a vertical pole and it's snug, but it fits fine.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html
Get the rear wheel close enough to a vertical pole and it's snug, but it fits fine.
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mini long shackle. ver' nice.