procon

Hi all--

99% of the time I never need a lock for my bike, but sometimes, when going to a crowded restaurant or the gym, that I need to lock my bike outside; for those occasions I've been thinking about a locking technique that I'd like your opinion on.

I have a Swift, and I was thinking about putting locking skewers on the wheels and using a mini u-lock to secure the frame. This would save some weight and also make it easy to travel with the u-lock, which should be able to fit in a pocket or seatpost bag. Furthermore, I'll always be taking the seatpost with me, and without it the Swift looks pretty unride-able; hopefully that discourages the casual thief. I've got two concerns though-- I've thought about the Sheldon Brown method, but I have big apple tires, and I think I'll have an easier time securing the frame to the post or bike rack than I will the tires.

I'd love your opinion; do you think locking skewers with a mini lock is a secure option?

Thanks (as always),
Ari

BigMacFU

Being in NYC myself I'd say no, probably not. If we were in bumble wherever, yes, because then the thieves wouldn't know what were good components versus bad, but in NYC they know. I would get another lock on top of the u-lock, like of the big bull dog kryptonite locks or something, thick chain, bullet proof lock. The more the merrier (though not while carrying them).

geo8rge

"Will a locking skewer prevent most potential thiefs from trying to take it?"
There are incidents of a bike with skewer locks and the front wheel chained to a post being stolen (front wheel left chained to post)

U lock.
There are incidents of the post the bike is locked to being dismantled. Or the owner does not actually chain the bike to the post by mistake.

Since it takes different tools to defeat U and cable locks having one of each is thought to improve odds. It also reduces the chance of mistakenly "locking the bike to itself".

All metal locks can be defeated in about 15 min with a titanium hack saw, 15 sec with a pneumatic. grinder.

Taking parts like seatposts, skewers, and wheels with you will reduce the value of the bike. Etching your name on the Nexus Hub will make it selling less profitable, both for you and a thief.

makeinu

What about locking inside? Anyone ever take their folder and lock it, for example, to the pipes underneath the bathroom sink? Do you think it would be safer than outside?

I guess locking indoors isn't an option if you're locking because they won't let you take the bike into the building, but perhaps there are other unusual/hidden places to lock a folder outside?

I'm toying with the idea of getting a mini retractable snowboard lock for securing my bike indoors for when there is no room to comfortably keep my bike close to me (for example, in a crowded restaurant).

procon

Locking discussions are always so discouraging! Thanks for the tips-- I'm still deciding how big a calculated risk to take.

-Ari