Hi, I'm posting to ask the collective knowlege on this board if anybody has a prefered and optimally secure way of locking up a Strida 5 on the street.

Let me preface by saying that, of course, in most situations, the folded Strida is inconspicuous and compact enough to just take with you wherever you are going, but I do find some day-to-day situations to be a little more challenging. For example, while some gyms (24 hour- I use multiple locations around San Fran) have full size lockers in which the Strida fits, several only have half-size lockers which won't work. It's annoying and sometimes impossible to bother staff members with finding a place to leave the bike out of the way, and of course, recant them of responsibility for it's saftey.

Therefore, I was wondering if anyone knew a good way to lock the bike to a bikerack or pole. The manual shows a u-lock through the tires. Is this secure? Can't tires just be removed? I was experimenting with a cuff lock around the 2 poles just below the handlebars, but it seems like the cuff could be slid up and off if one or both of the folded handlebars are pulled out of their housing. Has anyone tried to lock the bike through the large plastic (or whatever its made of) gear wheel? Sure, it could be broken to remove the bike, but the bike would also be ruined in the process. Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks in advance.

The beauty of the Strida is its small footprint and ability to be wheeled around easily.. I'd just wheel it into the gym folded to where ever I'd be working out.. at my local YMCA, I ride my Birdy often, fold it, and place it within eyesight of where I am working out (usually the racquetball court).. it would be a great perk if it fit in an upright locker, but not even close...

I concede this, but, respectfully, it doesn't answer my question. There are some situations where taking it in is just not an option. For example, I'm going to a very busy museum today and I don't think the coatcheck people are going to be too keen on holding onto my bike.

Through the [alloy] chainwheel, having replaced the hex bolts with anti-theft/security bolts?

Regards
T

Solsticejk,

Thank you for asking this question. I think it's a good question. I own a Brompton and I recently bought a Strida in part because it is indeed cumbersome in some situations to *bring* a Brompton inside, and yet if you have to *leave* a Strida inside, it is not as tidy a package as the Brompton. Being able to leave a bike outside is a lot more convenient than dragging it around, regardless of how well designed the folder. Sure there's risk of theft. But I wonder sometimes if that risk is overestimated. Most of us are more averse to loss (theft) than gain (convenience).

I've locked my Brompton outside in a couple of 15-minute type situations. I haven't yet done so with the Strida, but I can imagine being tempted to try it because a) I have renters insurance which would cover bike theft and b) I now have a backup bike.

I feel that locking through the wheels is secure. Sheldon Brown says that cutting through wheels is quite difficult. As for taking the wheels off, the bolts that would let you do that are hidden on the inside, where the magnets lock together. If your lock is tight enough, like a U lock, the only way I can see that a thief could get the wheels off is to break the lock. Which in any event seems their most likely route anyways.

The main disadvantage I see to locking the Strida then isn't security from theft (I don't see it as any less secure than a non-folder) but security from abuse, intendend or unintended. When folded, you'll have to either prop it up (meaning it could fall over) or lie it down, which makes it take up a lot of low & horizontal space, seeming to leave it prone to kicking or knocking about.

Now, if you're just locking through one wheel, leaving it unfolded - and I realize now perhaps that's what you were thinking - hmm. That deals with the abuse issue, but then it doesn't seem secure to me. You just need an Allen wrench to take the wheel off. It seems probable most theives might not recognize you can "undo" the frame if you lock it through the frame, but I wouldn't want to risk it.

You could have a cable going through both wheels - but that would sure be cumbersome and it wouldn't seem to be much more secure.

So now that I've thought about it - I'd much rather lock a Brompton outside than a Strida.

I lock my 20" Downtube outside most of the time because its not much more expensive than a beater (especially a beater with decent tires) and although I can take it with me in a pinch, it really doesn't fold well enough to be worthwhile in the vast majority of situations. So I agree that there are situations where one might want to lock a folder.

However, I would never lock a Brompton or Strida because while locks and locking techniques can reduce the risk of theft and accidental abuse, there's no way to protect from intentional abuse; and bikes, being a minority vehicle, are at high risk of vandalism, doubly so for unusual bikes like folders, quadruply so for expensive folders like the Brompton, and octoply so for expensive unusual folders like the Strida.

I also don't agree that folders are always inconvenient to take inside. One of the reasons I love my Carryme so much is because I actually think it is easier to fold it up and take it with me than to lock outside. Folding it is quicker than locking, I don't have to waste time findind a place to lock it, I can ride it straight up to the door, and its pretty much completely unobtrusive indoors. Of course that's not to say it's so convenient that it's worth dragging around just in case, but neither is a box of tissues. Also, yes, there are situations where keeping the bike right at hand can get slightly inconvenient, but in those cases it is still easier to simply stand it up in the nearest corner than locking a bike outside ever would be (and there is always a spot in the nearest corner because, quite frankly, the Carryme fits in corners better than just about any other object known to man...without scratching the paint on the walls by leaning it up like the Strida).

This is why, tempted as I am, I have not seen fit to fill in the middle of my collection with 16" bikes like the Brompton or the Strida. They're not quite convenient enough to drag around in *all* situations and they're not suitable to put at risk of theft, abuse, and vandalism by locking outside...plus it's a hassle to not know exactly what you're going to do with your bike at your destination and to waste time scoping out the situation before deciding whether to lock or fold. When I ride my Carryme I know I'm taking it with me without regrets and when I ride my 20" Downtube I know I'm locking it without regrets.

That being said, I don't see why the OP would have a problem with a Strida in a gym. Gyms tend to be spacious and sectioned with big machines in mind. Just lay down the Strida next to your treadmill, weight lifting bench, etc.

LOL! In this thread that you started, where you whined when your seatpost got stolen when you locked your folder outside, you were annoyed at the very same advice you are giving right now. Hilarious.

Maybe, but I would attempt to check it any way. They may surprise you.

Yeah, I recently checked my Kent in at the LAopera and all they did was chuckle and ask where I got the darn thing. The people at the door were more reluctant about bringing bikes in, but let me in anyway because I folded it and said I'd check it in.

I guess it must be a riot for trolls because no one else seems to be laughing.

Why is it that the only time you ever post is to troll my posts? Is there something wrong with you? Putting me in your sig suggests an unhealthy obsession.

The answer to this question is no. There are no good ways to lock a bike to a bike rack. There are millions of bike stolen around the world attached to bike racks and that is the location crooks go to steal bikes. The only bike that should be attached to a bike rack should cost no more than $50.00 dolars and have about $250.00 dollars in chains and u-locks securing the wheels and frame.

Having said that, I did see a Strida 3 locked outside in New York City the other day. He had a simple U-lock I could have poped off in 10 seconds. You lock outside only bikes that you're not afraid of losing or getting destroyed.

Part of the problem with folders is they are ALL too heavy carrying around all day long. The folding bike concept works well if you can drop the bike in a central location and not have carry it around. It requires thinking before hand what you are going to do because any activity that requires lots of indoor walking is not a place you'll want a folder. You can't really take them shopping at a mall or Museum and even rolling the Strida or CarryMe for longer than 20 minutes becomes too heavy. Do you really want to carry a twenty pound bike while also having to juggle packages on the other hand? As for the museum, you almost certainly do not want to lug a 20 pound bike all afternoon.

There is someone on the forum who said you can lug the CarryMe easier than a Brompton however, that's only for a short while. Even the Carryme would become a beast of burden lugging that bike around the mall for an hour.

I still think the best bike for shopping around a mall or a museum is a plain old beater. If the mall has a bike rack, please don't use it! Learn to hide the bike away from foot traffic and your bike has a better chance of survival!

I find it hard to believe that there isn't always some corner where a Strida could stand up against. Even if you don't ask staff to look out for it, gyms aren't generally crawling with bike thieves. If it bothers you enough, lock it with a lightish cable lock in the folded position so it can't be unfolded, such as through both wheels, and just lean it.

Or dress it in a disguise -- as a sleeping Doberman. People always let sleeping dogs lie.

Regards
T

I fold my Strida 5 completely, stand it against a post, then D lock around the post & around all 3 tubes just South of the seat. Have done this all over Europe (using the best D lock admittedly) ( you can use the handlebar end handbrakes to stop it rolling down)

Safe & theft-proof Strida-ing!

P.S. I saw a Brompton in Kensington High Street, locked to tree using a Snake lock.....................AROUND THE SEATPOST!!!!!!!!!! What a muppet! LOL!

Having read through the replies thus far recieved (and I appreciate every one of them) I do have to once again point out that the focus of this thread is simply to determine a good way of locking the Strida outside (and by good, I mean as good as a regular bike, be that as insecure as it may be). While I realize this is a folding bike forum, and folding bikes, by their very nature, encourage a sort of do-anything, go anywhere resourceful attitude in terms of omnipresent transport convenience, I never intended this thread to discuss the merits/disadvantages of leaving the bike vs. taking it with you.

As a concession to those that DO want to question my facility for infiltrating situations I have posed as problems with the bike in tow, I have found that around 85% of the time, taking the bike along poses virtually no difficulty, with a speculated far lesser risk of theft than street locking, especially at night;

That said, the problem lies not so much in terms of real-world inconvenience or lack of space (in theory, keeping the Strida out of the way but in sight at the gym would be a very simple task), but more in the sadly commonplace bureaucratic mentalities of minor level "maintainance" employees. Much like the "following orders" creedo of many a hierarchy, rules must be obeyed lest a higher-up cause problems. That means, "bikes," which in this case are smaller than the massive wheeled duffel someone else brought on, are not allowed on the bus according to "the rules." That means I'm not allowed in the gym with it (which, if I'm not mistaken, is supposed to promote an active lifestyle), just because it has petals and a seat, and maybe, because folded, it confuses the simple mind telling me "no." I could get into all of the historical and political parallels regarding this type of knee-jerk response I've sadly come to expect, despite my attempt at nonchalance (or the force), but I think you get my point, rant over, and sorry for so many "quotation marks."

So, sounds like the wheels, with a ulock, win so far. Anyone try the cufflock idea? Thanks again for past and future responses.

It is funny because among other things, you suggest that the OP should take the bike with him into the gym, and put it beside his bench or machine while he works out. Have you been to a gym before? Don't you realize how hazardous that would be? Most gyms don't even allow a gym bag into the training area, you have to lock it up in your locker. A folding bike? Hilarious.

Then you had to diss Bromptons and Stridas because of their wheel size. What's next, you suggesting that your small wheeled Carry Me handles potholes as good as the larger wheeled folders? Or maybe claim that you don't need to oil folder's chains?

Sorry to burst your bubble but I also post in other threads. And I see no problem with quoting you in my sig, hey if you really believe that is true then you should be glad I am advertising it. Thanks by the way for the PM you sent me. Why does it have a lot of asterisks though?

To the OP, I would find a way to lock it inside the gym. Since you would go there regularly, it doesn't hurt to inquire politely and/or befriend maintenance/security personnel. That's what I do and it turns out that a couple of employees also park their bikes inside, and they permitted me to store my Brompton beside their bikes.