Mini U-lock & Sheldon Brown method
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Mini U-lock & Sheldon Brown method
Hello fellow commuters/hybrid bikers!
My first post on this site.
I am considering to go with a mini U-lock and I know about the Sheldon Brown method of using it: Lock Strategy
But I still can't wrap my head around it.
I have Quick Release wheels and want to keep them that way. How can using the mini U-lock only for the rim (inside the triangle of the frame) prevent someone from simply using the Quick Release and taking the frame?
I freely admit I can't think 3-dimensionally well! Thank goodness I'm not a surgeon!
Thanks in advance for any simple explanation you guys can give!
BTW, I live in San Francisco where tons of bikes get stolen all the time and the other thing I worry about -- assuming the Sheldon Brown method will work for me -- is that crooks might see only my rear wheel being locked as an easy mark and attempt to steal the bike, thus wrecking it if not taking it.
My first post on this site.
I am considering to go with a mini U-lock and I know about the Sheldon Brown method of using it: Lock Strategy
But I still can't wrap my head around it.
I have Quick Release wheels and want to keep them that way. How can using the mini U-lock only for the rim (inside the triangle of the frame) prevent someone from simply using the Quick Release and taking the frame?
I freely admit I can't think 3-dimensionally well! Thank goodness I'm not a surgeon!
Thanks in advance for any simple explanation you guys can give!
BTW, I live in San Francisco where tons of bikes get stolen all the time and the other thing I worry about -- assuming the Sheldon Brown method will work for me -- is that crooks might see only my rear wheel being locked as an easy mark and attempt to steal the bike, thus wrecking it if not taking it.
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If you can't think in 3D, no amount of explaining is going to make it work. Grab a bike and a piece of rope, tie it up per Sheldon's method, then try removing the wheel. Report back.
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Most u-locks come with a cord as well. I lock the wheel to the rack with the u-lock and then loop the cord through the mini u-lock and the frame so the frame is locked as well.
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Locking the rim inside of the rear triangle works because the wheel is too big to slip through the triangle. I don't use this exact method because I worry that a thief might sacrifice the rear wheel to steal the bike. (cut the tire and rim with a hacksaw, slip the lock out of the wheel and take the bike)
So I use a similar method but trap one seatstay inside the U-lock also.
So I use a similar method but trap one seatstay inside the U-lock also.
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Locking the rim inside of the rear triangle works because the wheel is too big to slip through the triangle. I don't use this exact method because I worry that a thief might sacrifice the rear wheel to steal the bike. (cut the tire and rim with a hacksaw, slip the lock out of the wheel and take the bike)
So I use a similar method but trap one seatstay inside the U-lock also.
So I use a similar method but trap one seatstay inside the U-lock also.
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Just try locking your bike that way, then try to steal it. If you can steal the frame without breaking the lock, then you locked it up wrong.
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#10
Tourer
"Right. But I thought if you have a Quick Release than the frame will easily disconnect from the rear wheel altogether."
Yes, it will disconnect. But then you have a big version of one of those fiendishly clever coffee table puzzles. But there is no clever solution. The mini U-lock connects the wheel to the rack you are locked to. You cannot get the frame over the wheel or the rack. The thief would need to destroy the rear wheel to get the frame.
Yes, it will disconnect. But then you have a big version of one of those fiendishly clever coffee table puzzles. But there is no clever solution. The mini U-lock connects the wheel to the rack you are locked to. You cannot get the frame over the wheel or the rack. The thief would need to destroy the rear wheel to get the frame.
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"Right. But I thought if you have a Quick Release than the frame will easily disconnect from the rear wheel altogether."
Yes, it will disconnect. But then you have a big version of one of those fiendishly clever coffee table puzzles. But there is no clever solution. The mini U-lock connects the wheel to the rack you are locked to. You cannot get the frame over the wheel or the rack. The thief would need to destroy the rear wheel to get the frame.
Yes, it will disconnect. But then you have a big version of one of those fiendishly clever coffee table puzzles. But there is no clever solution. The mini U-lock connects the wheel to the rack you are locked to. You cannot get the frame over the wheel or the rack. The thief would need to destroy the rear wheel to get the frame.
Try this -- have a friend make a circle with his arms. Reach through and take hold of a bicycle wheel. Now ask your friend to step away without opening his arm circle. Go ahead and offer him $50.00 if he can do it. (warning some people with big arms can earn the dough, but it's rare)
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“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
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can't stop a thief from using power tools, use a reasonable lock but park you bike in a busy area, if you are leaving it overnight, don't expect it to be there the next day if your bike is nice. I use a chain and lock for motorcycles and smaller chain to loop the front wheel. Unfortunately the setup is heavy, about 10 pounds, but I wouldn't leave it overnight.
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Sheldon's article admits the possibility that a thief could hack through the rear wheel, but points out that this never happens in reality because the thief would have to sacrifice the second-most valuable piece of the bike, the rear wheel, in the process. Too much work/risk for a ruined reward in his opinion.
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Conceptualize it this way. Looking at the picture on Sheldon's site, imagine the wheel as a door, hinged at the U-lock and the "doorknob" at the extreme back of the wheel. Now, pretend that the axle is free and open the door toward you, so that the wheel is parallel (in line with) to the U-lock and post. It's not attached to the bike or frame, but it still forms a non-removable barrier (the solid immovable post on one side, and a wheel too big to fit through the triangle on the other. Doesn't matter whether the "door" is open or closed, the result is exactly the same.
The only way to remove the frame is to release the post, the U-lock, or the wheel. No other way.
The only way to remove the frame is to release the post, the U-lock, or the wheel. No other way.
#17
incazzare.
It's hard to understand for some people without trying it. Try the advice above. Tie your rear wheel to something though the frame triangle. Then try and remove the frame. You will not be able to do it without untying or cutting the rope.
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Sheldon's article admits the possibility that a thief could hack through the rear wheel, but points out that this never happens in reality because the thief would have to sacrifice the second-most valuable piece of the bike, the rear wheel, in the process. Too much work/risk for a ruined reward in his opinion.
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In theory, a thief could do that, but in practice, it's not common. In fact, I haven't heard of it happening, though I'm sure it has happened. They would have to bring a saw and cut through the rim and tire. It would be easy enough, but it seems that thieves don't carry saws. Strange but true. The point is don't measure likelihood of theft by how long it takes. You have to know what tools the thieves carry. They have bolt cutters and cable cutters, but they don't have saws.
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In fact, one of the best ways to keep a bike from being stolen is to render it unrideable either by taking the front wheel with you, or by some other means.
This is why locking by the seat stay is better than by a main tube is better. Stays are weaker and easily damaged in obvious ways by many brute force methods to break locks. Thieves know, that while they'll get the bike, it's less saleable if at all, so move on to a better target. The key to bike security isn't to stop a thief, it's simply to move him to a better target. In this way it's similar to the logic of outrunning your buddy rather than the lion.
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Here's Sheldon's own illustration. Could someone explain the down side of using that very same lock like this?
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