Is there such thing as overkill with the locks?
 

It will look like too much time/work to bike thieves, especially if it's in an area that's actively being monitored by security.

It sounds like overkill to me but on the other hand you can't go wrong with more security.

I use the smallest cable lock with my not-so-expensive Schwinn. And that's it. I try to secure both wheels but sometimes I can't stretch it enough, depending on what I'm locking it to.

It's heavy, but I like my Kryptonite Series 4 chain lock...probably overkill considering I live in small town rural BC. Thing's a beast and in the summer I carry it in the helmet pocket of my bike pack or in the winter I carry it in the bottom pocket of my bigger pack. Funny thing about getting stuff online is a lot of time the scale of an object is lost in the pictures lol! :)

To me, losing a bike is like losing a friend so I would not consider your strategy to be overkill. Sounds like you've thought it out well.

A lot of the "risk" is situational. So, LA vs NY vs Small Town somewhere... is all different. Also how, when, and where you lock the bike.

I'd hope your security guards would notice if someone starts chopping bikes off of the rack with an angle grinder. Of course, one trick is to look like one belongs.

Leaving your bike for 8 hours a day is also different than occasionally stopping at a grocery store for 15 minutes. As is leaving it anywhere outside overnight.

If you're mainly commuting to and from work, I'd ask the security guards if they would be offended if you leave a lock attached to the bike rack. That way you aren't lugging 20 pounds of lock back and forth every day. The spare lock & chain may come in handy.

Some bicycle thieves would probably see a large number of security mechanisms as a challenge.

only 30 days after buying a brand new 1987 4runner that I personally customized with an enormous canvas top swapped for the fiberglass topper was stolen 15 feet from my sleeping head while visiting my folks in ny, near the city. had to take the train home to somerville. all I had was a POS franken bike. basically a collection of parts found on the streets of beacon hill which I spray painted yellow. but "they" weren't gonna get my only transportation. so I rode it to the hardware store in harvard square. bought the absolute most enormous four? foot length of case hardened chain they had & the biggest padlock. combined musta been 10lbs. carried it by wrapping it all around the seat post & locking one end to the other. it was worth more than the bike. under normal conditions it would have been overkill. but not at that time

When your lock weighs enough that carrying it about kills you, getting a second would be overkill.

Said it endlessly on these threads, will say it again, i guess, because so many people have not caught on:

Unless you are locking up in a really nasty neighborhood in a high-crime urban area ... anything at all will stop most thieves, because most thieves will not want to bother doing any serious work to steal a bike that they just want to joy-ride. meth-heads and crack-heads won't have the patience ... but thy might saw through a really cheap cable lock. Get a serious piece of chain---not big, but too big to break with a random branch picked up in the parking lot, and secure it with a reasonable comp lock. Fro $20 you will be protected fron 90-95 percent of thieves.

Any thief who Really wants your bike can take it. Hydraulic jacks snap u-locks, bolt-cutters cut chain, and even the ridiculous, ocean-liner anchor-chain stuff can be cut with an angle grinder. Thing is, unless you are leaving a $2000 bike out to be stolen ... the real pros won't take the risk to steak your bike. And the rest won't have the tools.

If your bike is in a location where random people won't walk by and see it, and where no one will be able to spend half-an hour working on it, or use something as noisy as an angle grinder .....

Hey, something else I have said .... you pay as much as you need to pay to Feel secure.

Your bike is never "secure." it can Always be stolen. There ore people on this forum who have had bikes stolen Out of Their Apartments. What you really buy when you buy a lock is a measure of peace of mind. Spend as much as you need to be able to not spend all your time away from the bike, worrying about the bike.

If you have all the stuff you just mentioned, and still don't feel safe, i suggest getting Three more U-locks and some two-inch chain and an air horn which triggers if the wheels are rotated. if that doesn't work, hire a security guard.

No. "Overkill with the locks" is not possible.

I carry three "U" locks, Four Cable locks (5; 6; and 12 foot. Only the 6 foot has an integrated lock) and one 3 foot chain lock with integrated key lock.
They are carried either in or on a basket, or in my trailer.

If some low life is going to steal my bike or trike, the S.O.B. is going to have to work to get it.

I leave my bike locked in a panic room i built in m,my house. the walls are reinforced concrete six inches thick, with a steel security door. I have a retina-scan lock and a time-lock which kicks in if someone tries to open the door by bypassing the retina scan.

My bike will never be stolen.

Nor will it ever be ridden.

Now, at last, i don't fear bike theft.

But then ... my bike is a 22-year-old BSO from Sears, with more rust than paint, no tires, tacoed wheels, and no seat, and the chain is rusted solid. But at least I am not afraid it will be stolen.

If some low life is going to steal my bike, the S.O.B. is going to have to work to get it.

Would this be adequate? Or should I try a bit larger? How many links should I get? About 60 pounds per link. :foo:

I need a bigger lock. That Kryptonite NY lock looks downright puny.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c291216718.jpg

Your goal is out running the other Guy, the Bear has different interests..

No, but there is such as thing as over confidence.

Maybe progressively do away with one lock at a time until your bike gets stolen, then add one back?

Murphy's Law of bikes: All bikes weigh the same, because the lighter the bike, the heavier the chain needed to secure it. ;)

I take a perverse pleasure in securing my bike, so the only thing I think is suboptimal in your setup is that you don't have the Abus Amparo 4850 frame lock with the 1.5metre noose chain, that would surely be long enough to secure your saddle, thus allowing you to lose the cable.

Your limit on locks and chain is the volume and mass of those that you're willing to carry.

+1. This is exactly what I've done while commuting to and from high-theft university campuses. I left the gnarly lock, and used the others for low-theft areas like suburban shopping centers and inside my house.