I have a couple of my bikes (actually a bike and a trike) that are used for grocery duty and I have a big ass chain and lock for them. Once again, some guy says to me as I am locking up that if someone really wanted the bike they would get it. (Which is of course true). And I once again state the obvious that I am near the front of the store and getting through the chain is going to take time, and that I just try to make it hard enough so prospective thieves will go elsewhere. Why is it that people so often feel it necessary to comment on my lock and chain?

Because some people just like to provoke debates and arguments.....If you state the obvious to them they still don't get it, just walk away an ignore them and continue to do what you're doing. There is no point of debating with someone who "just doesn't get it".

fify

Every day thieves steal expensive cars with alarms so just go about your business after you lock the bike.

Advocating for the devil here, but is this lock and chain comically large and heavy? Something like that is bound to draw comments or questions. And if the purpose of said lock and chain is to simply keep honest people honest, would it necessarily need to be very large? Obviously, it’s not practical to swap through several different locks in an attempt to match the lock to the situation, but to a non cyclist a comically large lock and chain applied for a simple in-and-out quick stop might appear laughable. Such an incongruity might trigger unsolicited comments.

Were it me, I probably would have smiled and refrained from responding to the comment.


-Kedosto

It depends on the chain and lock security. Some stuff can be easily defeated and certainly when one is less secure than the other it can make it worse. The top end 12mm chain from Schlage/Kyrptonite (New York) took two hits from a sledge hammer and was broken. The 7mm Abus chain didn't get broken even after 3 different people trying to bust it for 15 minutes and people just gave up.

If I have a good secure set up and use good locking practices I generally don't worry about stupid comments. If not I might worry a touch more especially in higher theft areas.

Yes, it's true.

But there are at least two complementary approaches to minimizing the risk of losing your bike:

1) Use the biggest, toughest, bad-a** chain and lock you can find.

2) Make your bike less attractive to thieves than surrounding bikes.

Excellent list!!! And my #3 for the list, I have a few bikes that never get parked and left outside. So far, it's worked.