xtrajack

I live in a fairly small town, where my bike and I are well known, by the LEO's, and most of the business owners in the area. One of the advantages of owning an Xtracycle in a smallish town.
I am fair certain that if my bike is stolen, it was specifically targeted prior to being stolen. I mean that some one decided that they wanted to get at me, by stealing my bike.

zacster

I have a method for keeping my bikes safe that is foolproof. NEVER LEAVE THEM ANYWHERE!!!!

What is it about bike theft anyway? Why are they such a target? Is someone going to get so much pleasure out of my old clunker that they would steal it? I never did get this. Not all bikes are valuable, most of the thefts are of old crappy bikes. Why are they stolen?

Every now and then I read about a police raid of someone's house where there were bikes stacked up to the ceiling. The "owner" always claims he buys them at garage sales, but it turns out that a large percentage of the thefts could be attributed to this one person over the last x number of years. There was someone in Toronto, and I also read about someone in Chicago.

andyprough

I can see I'll be spending money very soon to upgrade my cable lock after reading through this thread...

For a lot of bikers in the US, if you have homeowner's insurance, you can get a "floater" added on to your home policy for approximately $10 per $100 value of your bike. It would cover your bike loss with no deductible. Ask your agent about it.

wolfchild

Different reasons why bikes are stolen...Big cities almost always have greater bike theft problem then small towns. The reason for this is , because there is a demand for stolen bikes. As long as there is a demand then there will be theft...Crackheads know that they can easily sell a stolen bike , to get their fix.
Then there are professional bike thieves who make profits out of selling stolen bikes and bike parts...And some people steal them, maybe because they have a huge bike fetish.

Yes Toronto is famous for one of the greatest bike thieves this world ever produced. The worst nightmare for Toronto cyclists. This guy was so good he made it all they way to Wikipedia. You can read his resume and profile here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IgorKenk

Even after he was arrested the city of Toronto still gets 2000-3000 bikes stolen during some years.

sportsfan266

Here's a question - I usually lock my bike to street signs using the Sheldon Method and a cable lock looping around the front wheel but how do you lock your bike to a bike rack like this? (https://capl.washjeff.edu/2/l/5551.jpg) Do you put the front wheel over the rack and lock the front wheel and frame? But then what about the rear wheel? And if you have a mini u-lock would that work? These are everywhere along the beach that I go to in the summer.

katsrevenge

In this area it seems to be homeless people or drug addicts looking for a quick twenty or stupid kids.

PaulRivers

Weighs twice as much. Provides 0% more security. Other equally valid methods of increasing security involve a lucky rabbits foot, or covering your bike with magic runes.

PaulRivers

Ha, that's pretty cool.

As long as you realize the bigger risk you're taking with the cable, that's cool. We all take risks - I use a ulock for my commuter, but it's a thinner combination ulock because I don't it's worth the extra weight and hassle of carrying something thicker and heavier. It's not a huge deal as long as you realize your tradeoffs, what's really annoying is that a lot of people don't realize how little security a cable provides compared to a ulock. If you realize that and that's fine with you - that's cool. This is the first video I ran across where someone demonstrates -
Hal Breaks Locks - YouTube

A ulock is not difficult to cut through either really, but at least it draws attention to do it -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YCwwvgYGT0

DiabloScott

Weight's not an issue since I leave it at work.

0% more security than a cable half the diameter? - you're wrong. Not every thief is a professional with a 36" bolt cutter - some of them are punks with smaller tools that could cut thinner cables but not bigger ones. 24" bolt cutters can generally cut through 5/16", and 36" bolt cutters through 1/2"... lots of thieves aren't going to have that. But the security against real pros comes from having multiple locks of different types - requiring more time and multiple tools for the thief.

DiegoFrogs

Strangely enough, here in the town of Lund, Sweden, where I now live, and where something like 50% of all trips are made by bike, I often see people not lock their bikes at all, or jam the front tire in the rack and then use the rear frame-mounted ring-lock on the rear wheel.

When I was here for my interview, I saw the same bike in the same spot, leaning on the kick stand, unlocked, for the entire three days I was here.

Not surprisingly, most people think of bicycle theft as the second biggest problem, behind drunk student shenanigans. Everyone has told me that I won't be an official resident until I've had a bike stolen.

I don't have the key to my city bike's ringlock (have to go to a locksmith), but I've just been locking the front wheel and frame to the rack with the $15 lock I got for free when I bought the bike at a second-hand bicycle store. I usually have to decide between locking the rear, 7-speed IGH wheel or the new budget commuter front wheel that I bought.

Some colleagues have had the plastic accessory brackets, like those that hold lights and locks, stolen off of their bikes during urban shopping trips. I don't have any stories like that yet, but it's only been 10 weeks.

When my "nicer" bikes get here this week, I'm going to use the assortment of locks that I already have and mostly only leave them in my house.

wolfchild

One thing I've noticed is that, there are a lot of bike racks which are not very secure or strong. A heavy duty chain or U Lock is harder to cut then a lot of bike racks...I've also seen ring/post style of bike racks which would be very easy to defeat. All you need to do is to remove 4 bolts and throw the whole thing into a pick up truck and drive away and then cut the lock off later on.

dynaryder

First,try to get one of the end spots and lock up like a normal rack. Otherwise,yeah,put the bike over the top like in the photo. Put the U lock through the front wheel and frame and if possible also try to get it through one of the rack's vertical bars. Use a cable for your rear wheel.

N0WBIE

I have this u lock: Amazon.com : Blackburn Folsom U-Lock : Bike U Locks : Sports & Outdoors
I am going to buy this:Amazon.com: Kryptonite 720018210610 KryptoFlex 3/8" x 7' 1007 Double Loop Security Cable: Sports & Outdoors

IS THIS A GOOD CHOICE?

eastbay71

When I commute to work I park my bike right next to my workstation and there are only 6 people allowed in that space. I don't park my expensive bike anywhere ever. When I want to go into San Francisco or Oakland I ride my hybrid bike. Its an ugly beater that looks cheap. I check my cheap bike at the bike check if one is available or lock it with a U-Lock through the frame and rear wheel around a post and a thick cable for the front wheel. My hybrid bike doesn't have any quick releases on the wheels or seat. The Oakland swap meet is notorious for selling stolen bikes. If I ever lose mine that's the first place I'll look.

byrd48

I keep mine from getting stolen without even carrying a lock. I don't leave it anywhere. Grocery store, convenience store, home depot, I take it everywhere. I probably should carry a lock in case I have to leave it somewhere. For commuting to classes, I could see where you would not be able to take it into the classroom, but be creative. Think outside the box and see if there is a place you can leave it, even if its locked, try to lock it beside a street vendor or someone who could keep an eye on it. I used to feel like I had to use the bike racks, but one day I went to the store and forgot my lock and started to turn around and go home, and just said, heck with it, let's see what happens. To date, I haven't had any business tell me I could not bring it inside. But again, be creative, reduce your odds, use your head. Treat it like a stack of hundred dollar bills or like your own kid. Just my thoughts

Donnie Johnson

I keep mine in pretty average looking condition, old rusty and dirty, but in excellent mechanical condition. Most peoples bikes in my area are a little more beautiful but less practical for my usage. I lock it up in very obvious places where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic or CCTV, and I normally take the important things with me, headlights panniers etc. Thieves are so unpredictable. They may never steal my bike or it may be stolen as I type this.

The fear of my bike being doesn't stop me from riding it everywhere for two reasons.

#1 it is only a touring bike, yeah sure I have ridden it a lot and a across far away countries, but it is just a bike, and
#2 I do so many KM that even replacing the bike every year is far cheaper than driving my car, or owning a second car. (My partner requires our car to drive our newborn baby)

Donnie

beerbaron2002

Take it inside with you thats really the only way locks just stall people. If u cant go inside get a pos and lock it.

TransitBiker

I am thinking a second U lock might not be a bad idea, because if this bike is stolen, I'll be without one for a very long time.

- Andy

NoviceJohn

Keep it inside your house. Not even in your garage. Two reasons why.

1.) People walking by cannot see your bike, therefore, they don't know you have an expensive bike.
2.) Thieves will actually have to break/go into your home to steal it. It won't be a quick grab and run.

pavemen

I have a $1500 road bike that I have a small cable with rotary combo I use when I can't take the bike inside. I try to leave it locked by a door and minimize the time it is out of my sight. I have even left the bike unlocked between the inner and outer door at a Sears store. I could not see the bike itself but I could see enough of the doors that i would know if someone was starting to walk away with it. I also left my rear LED flasher on and pointed it towards the wall so i could see the wall light up.

So far I have left the bike inside convenience stores near the door, walked around a few stores with it, etc. without any issues. As long as you don't look like trouble then most employees don't care. They just don't want kids riding inside or knocking crap over or getting in the way. Look responsible and act responsible and its usually not a problem to keep the bike with you.

If I was commuting elsewhere I would have a larger lock probably, but we have bike lockers at the office so I just need to carry a small padlock for that.

erig007

inflatable bike my friend

N0WBIE

I think what I will do is that I am going to use 2 u locks and one cable that krytonite gave me. The second u lock is a Blackburn Folsom.

Sullalto

Yeah, I've noticed that as well. If I were a bike thief, I generally wouldn't worry about the bike locks. Just snip the rack, throw the bike in the back of a pickup/suv, and go.