I'm starting at a new campus next week, it's in the city and I'll have to lock up outside so I'm paranoid about my baby getting pinched. My LBS has the Kryptonite Evolution u-lock in stock but should I wait for them to order in a ******aboudit?

I'll use the u-lock through the rear wheel & frame but I also have a 3/4" thick cable lock that I'll use for the front wheel & frame at the same time.

I'm in Oz (Sydney) and while we have more than our fair share of scumbags I don't know if bike theft is as bas as somewhere like New York.

Depends. Would you be able to ask the local police what they think it's like there for bike theft? Also, I know you love your bike, but is it the sort that thieves would love as well? The Evolution is the one in orange, right? My brother uses that one here in Bike Theft Central, Oregon. He locks the rear wheel and frame and he still has a bike when he returns to it. He probably should do something about his front wheel, but, well, that's my bro for you. His Specialized Allez would be attractive to thieves here.

On a scale of 1-12, with 12 being the highest protection offered, Kryptonite rates the Evolution at a 9, and the New York Fahgettaboudit a 12.

I paid the $90 and got the Fahgettaboudit.

I did too, but if I were living in some other locales, I would have felt fine going with the Evolution. I just don't know what the bike theft scene is like in Sydney.

That's because we both live in Bike Theft Central, Oregon.

Mate,

It's the same everywhere in the world. If someone wants your bike, they'll get it. Locks are for deterring the casual dero that sees your bike as an easy target. So get the most protection you can afford, and try to lock it up next to a nicer bike with less security.

Yeh, I reckon you're spot-on mate. Well, I went down to the LBS and had a bit of a stickybeak. He had the Evolution there but when I asked him about the faghedaboudit he hadn't even heard of it. I told him that its on Kryptonite's website so he took me into the office and we had a look at it online. We talked about a nice Hillbrick ss/fg he had on display, then I bought the Evolution.

I figure that if they can get past the evo chances are they're using power tools or hydraulics, in which case they're most likely going to get past the fagetaboudit. I rode home thinking about how nice that Hillbrick would be around town and how I could possibly scam 900 bucks from the family budget.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

How strong a lock you need depends on many factors.

- Is this a bike that appears to be worth $50, or does it appear to be worth $1,000?

- Will you be locked up in busy public locations for an hour or two during the day, or locked up 24 hours per day?

- Will you be able to lock up next to a large number of bikes that are clearly more valuable than yours?

- Does your college have first rate bike racks that are watched closely by the campus police?

At the largest campus in my neighborhood, most students ride "junk" bikes that are old and rusty. If a student has a "new" bike, it is a $75 Wal-Mart bike or a $300 bike from a discount bike store. I NEVER see a nice new Trek or Cannondale parked on campus. Such a clearly valuable bike would be WAAAY too attractive to crooks. No lock could protect it for long.

So, if your bike is worth more than $500 or so, I'd suggest going to a resale shop and buying a $50 bike for on-campus riding. Less attractive to crooks, and you wouldn't miss it much if it gets stolen.

From the commuting forum: Stolen...

Don't lock any bike that is worth much outside with any lock.
Even the best locks should only be considered theft extenders. Instead of stealing your bike in 10 seconds, it might take 2 minutes.

Alan, the rules are different in Australia. Trust me.

That's the thing, I have no idea how my bike looks to a thief. It's a surly LHT (baby-vomit green frame) that I built up, it doesn't look flash unless you know what you're looking at, and even then it probably doesn't look too flash even though I have a couple of thousand in her. I have no idea what other bikes are locked up on that campus, I've never been there before, however I did spot some nice ones (nicer looking than mine) on enrolment day.

I'm not going to ride a $70 wallymart *****box every day on my 50 mile commute simply because of reliability, comfort, and efficiency issues.... but I'm not going to ride my $6k road bike either if it means locking up outside all day.

The location is on a technical college campus which is wide open to the public to just walk into, there's security but it's a private security co. so the 'guards' are on minimum wages which usually equates to minimum carefactor. The bike racks are a joke! they're the wheel bender design and aren't bolted down. Some of them are tucked away in garden beds, they look more like they've been dumped. I'll be locking up to either a steel fence or a cast iron utility pipe running up one of the buildings. Once I get to know the lecturers and suss out the lay of the land maybe I can talk my way into using storage space in a building.

Here's the bike in question....

Consider getting a cable and a U lock as human error is the most common reason for a heavy lock to fail. Believe you might either not lock it, or lock the bike to itself. I would say 1 in 500 or 1000 locking attempts you will screw up with one of the locks. Also note the thing you lock to might be compromised. In NYC there have been thefts where bike rakes that were bolted to the ground (from above using friction bolts) where knocked over and the bike taken.

Yeah, I'll be using the u-lock on the rear wheel+rear frame triangle, and my cable lock on the front wheel+front frame triangle.

I'd steal it.

Cheers for the compliment, mate.

P.S. I got rid of that stoopid Dura-Ace water bottle yeah, that one sitting in the el-cheapo X-mart cage, that says 'look at me, I'm a Lance wannabe tryhard clueless FRED' ...my 100oz hydropack says basically the same thing but a man's not a camel.