nicoth

Hi. I always have locked my bike with a u lock through the front wheel and frame. Someone today suggested that the rear wheel is better to lock, as it's more expensive. I always figured the front wheel was slightly easier to remove, though now that I think about it, it doesn't seem that much different. I am talking about short errands here, not all day or at night, BTW (obviously a u lock + cable is better). Do you think the rear wheel is a better choice? Also, does anyone recommend using a chain? Something like this : https://www.onguardlock.com/?page_id=329 Thanks.

Titmawz

I always lock my bike like this: Ulock through the seat tube and back wheel. Use a cable lock, loop it through the front wheel and attach to the Ulock itself. I should post a video of it on youtube. Once I do it I will send you the link =)

531phile 

If the thief breaks the U-lock. He'll bypass two locks at once. Wouldn't it be better to loop the cable lock through front wheel, the frame AND the bolted down fixture instead? If one lock gets broken, the scumbag has to work on the other one. Making them work a few secs/mins longer? Of course, it takes about 10 secs to break a cable lock with bolt cutters, but that's 10 more secs for you to come and beat the thief with a bunch of Hadoukens.

Titmawz

Has always worked for me, but again I do not leave my bike out for extended periods of time. And unfortunately the truth is that if theyre gonna steal it, theyre gonna steal it and nothings gonna stop them.

nicoth

Yeah. I suppose what really counts is that there are other (better) bikes out there that are locked less rigorously than yours.

531phile 

True. That's why the bestestest of the bestestest of the bestestest lock strategy is to not lock it up at all and bring the bike with you everywhere...even to the bathroom which I've been known to do.

cpach

I lock just my rear wheel through the rear triangle, as suggested by Sheldon Brown. This secures the rear wheel, and also the wheel cannot be removed from the frame without cutting the rear triangle or the wheel, both of which would reduce or destroy the value of the bike and are more difficult to compromise than the lock itself. I use a mini u lock so I can't usually fit both the wheel and frame, and this is no more secure anyways. The mini u may be too small to fit some jacks that could be defeat a full sized U lock, and otherwise is just lighter.

I used to run a cable out to my front wheel to secure it, and recently got a pit lock front skewer and aheadset cap. I didn't get the rear wheel skewer since I always secure it anyways.

cyclist5

I run a U-Lock through my frame, steel post (that the bike is going to be locked to), and front wheel. It goes pointing down with the key hole on the side closest to the wheel. Then I turn the key hole cover up just for kicks-and-giggles.

I have a thin seat-post security cable going through the loops in my seat and then through my frame then tangling itself around so that I don't need to lock it to keep the cable from unwinding. I keep one loop free underneath the top tube after it's gone through the other loop. I know this sounds confusing but trial-and-error got me to it.

I then take a thick cable lock (that requires three different bolt cutters to cut according to the LBS) and loop that one through the rear wheel, then once around the frame, then through the free loop of the seat cable lock, then through the front wheel and back to lock it. Takes me 5 more seconds to lock the bike this way (the thick cable lock is already curly so that's nice). Knock on wood it's been three years of leaving it on a college campus for 12hrs at a time and nobody has even tackled the locks. So let's hope it stays that way.

Another theft deterrent I did was buy some 3M Reflective tape in silver and plaster my bike with it so that all trademarks and logos are covered. Everyone I ride with on their $3k bikes thinks its for safety because I commute and in part they're right but it's really so that my bike doesn't give off that "shiny" (pun intended) look. The irony of this is that to cover the big Trek logos I need large, long stretches of this tape which is actually bad for reflectivity. Thin strips separated by about 1/2" are best for being reflective.

Now some guys have said to do it like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7RpH...eature=related

I personally think the more complicated your bike lock setup looks is just another deterrent so I have 5 )

But for quick stops is taking the front wheel off and using a U-Lock through front, back, and frame a good enough way? I think it's kind of a pain getting the cable lock out of my pannier for a quick run to get lunch :/

Quick question: it's not a good idea to have just a U-Lock and a double-looped cable lock right? Because even though you run the loop ends of the cable through the U-lock "tooth" if the thief breaks the U-Lock then the cable lock comes off with it, right? Is having a seperate cable lock with it's own locking mechanism worth the added weight? I never noticed how I have a 4lb Kryptonite 13mm U-Lock and a 2.5lb On-Gaurd cable lock which negates the extra $800 I spent going from hybrid to road bike for the 30lb to 20lb difference.

ezdoesit

try this.-
https://www.missinglink.org/page/how-lock-bike

Top Gunner

Hey nicoth, this is an opinionated issue. There are many ways to lock your bike effectively, and doing so hopefully makes other bikes preferred targets (sounds bad, but that's the reality). And yes, any bike, regardless of how it's locked can be stolen quickly, if one were determined enough.

To answer you question though, yes, the back wheel is more expensive to replace than the front wheel & it does not take much more time to remove, so it's better to lock that one. Chains are effective locks but also very heavy to carry. Go to a bike store and feel the weight to see if you want to add that to your bicycle. If you want to keep using a u-lock alone, there is always the option of putting locking skewers on one, if not both of your wheels, instead of the quick release. A lot of people in metropolitan areas do that. Also, not all u-locks are created equal. Some are better than others.

Ultimately, do what suits you & your lifestyle best, weigh the pros/cons of the different arguments, (of which there are many) & be mindful that nothing is 100% effective. Good luck!

badrad

interesting point about the rear wheels being stolen - in the past few weeks i have notice where locked up bikes that appear to be vandalized, more often are missing the rear wheels. on at least 4 or 5 occasions i have seen bikes that appeared securely locked up (usually frame and front wheel with ulock), but missing the rear wheel with the chain drooped in a pile on the ground- which i had thought odd, but come to realize that most people lock the front thinking the rear is harder to remove because of the chain and derailleur.

c3hamby

I use a 4' Krypto Chain and ulock. Chain locks back wheel to frame and what it's being locked to, and the u goes thru the front wheel and frame. Initially was going to leave the chain at work, but I take both everywhere I go, leaving them in the rear panniers. On a recent camping trip I used this method to lock the bike to a sign post while I slept in the tent. Sure it's heavy, but I spent a bunch of dough on my Surly LHT fully accessorized with Surly front and rear racks and 2 pairs of Ortlieb rollers so to me it's worth it. I couldn't bear to have it stolen right now.

I call it 'resistance training'.

Steely Dan

my locking strategies in order of preference:

1. take my bike indoors with me at my destination, if possible.

2. if my destination can't or won't accommodate a full size bike secured indoors somewhere, then i ride my 20" wheel folding bike and bring that inside with me.

3. if my destination can't or won't accommodate a folded 20" wheel bike secured indoors somewhere, then i'm forced to street lock:

--- a. try to find a high pedestrian traffic/visibility area with other nicer bikes already locked up (if possible).
--- b. ABUS folding locking through seat-post and rear wheel and secure object.
--- c. cable lock through front wheel and frame and secure object.
--- d. pray.


as others have said, if a bike, any bike, is left unattended on a street and a passing thief wants it bad enough, it's as good as gone because most professional thieves can make easy work of any bike security system. the only things you can do to increase the odds in your favor is to try to make your bike less appealing through a variety of means (ie. a stealth beater) and/or to use multiple locking systems to make it not worth the thief's trouble and time to defeat them, though that can easily get out of hand - two locks are better then one, three better than two, four better than three, and so on and so forth until you've got some paranoid weirdo riding with 14 different bike locks weighing 250 pounds as he's on his way to the LBS to pick up lock number 15.

exile

I lock my bike with a lock through the rear wheels, chainstays, and bike rack. I do have a cheap cable lock I could use to attach the front wheels to the frame and around the rack if necessary.

With any lock there is both positives and negatives.

Chain locks are versatile and they (depending on length) can be secured around more objects than a ulock. However they tend to be heavier. How you carry them can also come into play.

Ulocks usually work well with posts or other items found in an urban environment. Usually not as heavy as a chain, but not as versatile. Usually come with some kind of mounting apparatus so the bike handles the weight.

Cables like chains are very versatile. However they tend to be lighter and most can be defeated with household tools easily concealed.

tpelle

So, to complicate matters, what do you do about "removable" accessories like the CPU of my cyclocomputer, my headlight, etc? I could take 'em off and drop them into my panniers, but then a thief could just snag 'em out of the pannier as well.

I've already tie-wrapped my bottle-cage headlight battery to the bottle cage, but the headlight itself just unclips from the handlebar. Same way with the computer. I suppose I could buy a fanny pack or something, and stuff those things in it when I'm off the bike but it seems like a hassle. Besides, fanny packs are kind of dorky looking, and everybody assumes you're packing a pistol (which might not be a bad thing in terms of theft-deterrence, on second thought).

Koa C.

Right now i do the mini lock on the back wheel through the rear triangle with a cable going to the front wheel. I also have one of those little seat tethers that i loop into the lock as well. I was thinking about getting another mini u lock and use that to lock the front wheel to the frame and lose the cable. It seems like it would be faster to lock up this way and also would require the thief to cut two locks. Does anyone do this? Any drawbacks to this besides the added weight? Those mini u's aren't that heavy anyway.

AlmostGreenGuy

It has been theorized that one should use a U-lock on the back, and a cable on the front. The U-lock and cable require two different tools to defeat them quickly, so chances are better that the thief won't have both tools.

exile

What you are talking about are more crimes of opportunity. The best thing is to have items you can easily take with you. Unfortunately you never know what a thief is thinking or what they will take. I once had some thief steal an empty saddle bag which was not in the best of conditions.

One of the reasons I don't use panniers is that I wouldn't feel safe if I left them on the bike. I have a rear rack with a milk crate attached and throw my back pack in it while riding.

Steely Dan

not necessarily. not all bike thiefs intend to ride off on the bikes they steal. some bike thiefs in chicago work out of vans, so they would only need to cut the one u-lock attaching the frame to a secure object, throw the bike in the back of a van, and then cut the other u-lock attaching the front wheel to the frame when they get back to their lair and have all the time in the world to do so. if possible, it's best to have two separate locks securely attaching the frame of your bike to a secure object. that's still not anywhere close to foolproof (unfortunately, nothing is), but two points of connection between your frame and a secure object utilizing two different types of lock might be enough of a nuisance to make a thief pass over your bike for an easier picking.

badrad

+1 the thieves that are organized will have enough tools at their disposal. but anchoring the bike with a couple different locks to different points will definitely make them think a bit more on the effort/risk of getting caught. another thing to watch out for is that the bike is only as secure as the bike racks that you lock them to. i've seen bike racks that have had the anchor bolts removed or compromised by some thief waiting for an unwary cyclist to lock their bikes to.

c3hamby

In response to a question about leaving panniers and other accessories on a locked bike, I don't.

If I am grocery shopping, I carry the panns with me and use them as grocery bags. The grocery stores I shop in encourage customers to bring their own bags, so voila. The lights, computer and other easily removables go into the back pocket of my cycling jersey. If I am at work, the easily removables go in the panns and the panns sit under my desk along with my cycling clothes which I change back into after work in the bathroom. If I am camping the panns go into the tent. I only carry at the most 2 panns for commuting.

I don't use the front 3rd and 4th bags unless I'm doing extended cross country travelling, which will hopefully happen at the end of September, Austin, TX to Little Rock, Ar.

cyclist5

+1 I have the same problem. I have a backpack pannier and toss it all in the front pocket

c3hamby

Or sign posts that thieves previously detached from the ground and waited for an unsuspecting cyclist to lock it to the post. Lift sign post, lift bike.

We have a bike post at work like you described, a simple socket wrench or one powered and a 9/16ths would get you a good haul. It's a s shaped contraption with a few more curves. If I ever use it I will probably use the middle of the rack, maybe lock the chain to one side and the u to the other. Currently I keep my bike locked inside the stairwell chained to a permanently attached structure near the stairwell out of the walkway.

I saw security walking over to the stairwell the other day, but no one has said anything yet. But there was a wet floor sign in front of my bike when I went outside for lunch....

nwbikeman

Whats your wheel worth? You can get a new front wheel for most any bike for about $60 complete. This same rear wheel is a minimum of $120, figuring a 7 speed wheel, $70,7 speed cassette $30, and rear tire and tube $20 and no labor. I Take rear wheels of faster than the fronts since you don't have to unscrew the QR.

ZManT

When you and your buddy startle a grizzly bear in the woods, you definitely want to run. But bear in mind that you don't need to outrun the bear, you just need to outrun your buddy.

kidding aside, thieves look for the path of least resistance. Provide a greater level of relative resistance than other "choices" for the thief and try to guide his choice away from your gear.