^ good question. Our library has these too.

I this was my only choice, I would use a chain like this one: Robot Check

The chain would lock the front wheel and frame, then cable the back wheel.

Yarn Bomb / Knit Storm
 

In my case, I would recruit the gf, we would do a romantic O' Dark Thirty Yarn Bombing mission on the top bar of that bike rack, so that it's nice and cozy snug.:love:

During daytime use I and/or gf could then lift the front wheel of our bike/s up and over that nice, cozy snug, AND SOFT, Knit Stormed upper bar, Then, set bike/s down with nice and soft upper bar sandwiched behind the fork, above the front tire and with down tube resting on top of the top bar of rack.
Then proceed to use your std. size u-lock (sorry minis won't work, neither will short wheelbase, tight geometry bikes) to lock front wheel, top bar of bike rack, and downtube, inside the lock shackle.
Run cable to, or use your mini u-lock to secure back wheel.:D

I don't know about lugging around such a heavy chain, but it definitely sounds better than buying a new bike. I'm also not so sure that fashionable knit wear is the answer for me, but carrying a bit of swim noodle might do the trick. Of course that might not work out too good with fenders...

Thanks for the tips!

Whatever lock you use, never, ever leave your bike on the street overnight.

If the ends already have bikes locked to them on one of these "wheel bender" racks, there's only one way to securely lock the bike to the middle portion of the rack:

Lift the front wheel about three feet above the ground, lifting the wheel over the horizontal tube of the rack. You can then rest the bike on top of the rack. The portion that will be resting on the rack is where the down tube meets the head tube. This will allow you to lock the frame (and front wheel) to the rack. If that's too much hassle I recommend locking to the nearest street sign instead.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=386816

Alternatively, you can just lock one wheel to the rack, but be prepared to say bye-bye to the rest of the bike.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=386817

Thx streets - I like that the pic you posted has the bike well locked and shows it working with fenders, which I thought might be a problem. I think this is where HvPnyrs "O' Dark Thirty Yarn Bombing mission" for a regularly visited rack comes in to play to protect the frame. :)

I ride a recumbent, which is a bit difficult to lock. When I know I'm going to be using it for errands (not very often, I just take a U-lock (Kryptonite) with me and lock it to something, never just to itself.

I don't bother locking my bike at work, which is nice. I work for a small company where everyone knows my bike, and one has to have a badge to even get into the parking lot.