This seems like a silly question, but I thought better safe than sorry..

Does anyone know of any security risks (or other risks, I suppose) to just leaving my Kryptonite u-lock locked to the rack when I'm not using it?

My lock is big and heavy and it occurred to me today that it is a little dumb that I haul the thing to and from work every day when I could just leave it locked on the bike rack. The bike is stored in my garage when I'm at home and I have lesser locks for quick trips like grocery runs.

Should also mention that I live in a small town with a low crime rate. My office is off the beaten path and there is essentially no visibility of the bike rack from any important roads. If someone were to cut the lock itself just to be a jerk I wouldn't lose any sleep over that. But if someone has an entire weekend to screw around with the lock would they be able to somehow rig it so that they can open it once my bike is attached?

Thanks

I would be more worried that I would show up one day to find that helpful maintenance people have removed my lock; leaving me with nothing to lock my bicycle with.

Fortunately it is a smallish company (approx 300 people), there is one maintenance person who is part time and I know very well, and I'm one of only two people who ride in to work. I don't think most people even remember that we have a bike rack.

If the lock does show up missing, I have received permission before to bring my bike in and store it in the maintenance room or my office. Just not something I want to make a habit of as it could cause an office politics nightmare should a bunch of other people start riding in.. ("Why can he store his bike inside, but we can't? wah wah wah)

I don't think a lock can be rigged so that someone can open it once you lock it. Here in NYC people leave locks on racks all the time. One of my favorite lock stories is that I used to leave my Kryptonite chain wrapped around a street light. I didn't bring the bike in one day and just happened to glance at the street light where my chain normally is and it was gone. So was the street light, leaving only the 2 foot stump that the pole sits on. I went to complain to the local police department and when they stopped laughing they suggested that I call the utility company.

I called, they told me that, yes, that street light was removed because it was damaged, and they got me in touch with the contractor. The contractor said, yes, there was a lock on the pole and they left it on the nearby bike rack. There was, of course, no nearby bike rack because otherwise I would have been using that rather than a street pole. I never got it back but I get a good story about how someone removed a street light so they could steal my lock.

I did that and, similar to dgk02, arrived to find no bike rack one day. Fortunately, they had just moved it around the corner, and there was my trusty lock.

The biggest risk I see is that you wind up wanting to stop somewhere else and now you don't have your lock with you.

I guess you can come up with conspiracy theory stuff about rigged locks or some worret stuff about rust and elements, but as long as you and maintenance guy are OK then it sound like all is OK.