Sixty Fiver

I see the question of locking strategy come up time after time and thought I'd show my basic procedure for locking up when I will be away from my bike for any period of time.

I use a Kryptonite shackle, a Planet Bike Cable, and a mini shackle and to date, I have not lost a bike or any bits like my wheels.

I figure that any would be thief will look at this, (appearance can be everything), say "screw it" and look for easier prey.

The Krypto goes through the back wheel and frame and gets attached to a fixed object while the cable goes through the front wheel and gets locked to the crank with the mini shackle.



A shot from the non drive side.



Allen keyed release on my front wheel...a pitlock would be even better.



Another Allen keyed release on my rear wheel.



The amount of time to defeat each lock increases the odds the bike will get passed over and the mini shackle in the crank would make the bike un-rideable if the Kryponite lock and cable were successfully removed.

The mini shackle is easier to use when I am riding bikes with single chain rings and when I am working as a messenger I just lock the front wheel and frame to a fixed object as I am popping in and out of businesses. Only a really dumb thief would try and steal a working messenger's bike as the risk of being caught (and badly beaten) is way too high.

It is always better to lock your rear wheel and frame to something fixed as if you are going to lose a wheel the front one will be cheaper to replace and one can always remove the front wheel and shackle it to everything else as well.

Nutted axles, keyed releases, and pitlocks are better than quick releases as they require tools and will prevent opportunistic scavengers from taking your wheels.

So... how can we steal your ride ?

I'd also like to see examples of bad locking strategies.

This is another favourite locking strategy of mine... she actually fits in a panier.



And this... 'cause we were sitting 20 feet away.

laura*

Hmmm, ...
5/8 inch socket: check
breaker bar: check
a few moments: check
street sign: missing
bike: missing
Four rusty nuts with possibly broken bolts: check

stapfam

I use the kryptonite hawser and D Lock -but only in the shed. If a thief wants my bike- he has to take all 4 that are tied together and wear ear plugs as he would set off the 120db alarm to get at them.

I am lucky in that I never have occasion to leave the bike on rides-If my butt isn't on it- my hand is.

But it does shock me that some very expensive bikes are left in the street with cheap locks fited to them. I have only ever had one bike stolen- but that luckily was the wifes 15 years ago. It had what I thought was a good lock fitted- and the bike was only left for 2 minutes. Took the thief less than that to ride the bike away. He did leave us the lock though.

Sixty Fiver

This is a street sign by my house that made for a convenient demo location and not a place I would consider to be an ideal lock up location due to the possibility of the sign being taken out... but you do make a good point.

I have seen bikes go missing when the fixed object they were locked to was not as fixed as they thought it was and know of thieves who have cut down trees to obtain certain rather nice bicycles that had been locked to them.

Why they did not use bolt cutters is a mystery.

Crimes like this take a little forethought and happen to people who make it a habit of locking up in the same place every day... cause not every bike thief carries a socket set and a breaker bar.

Sixty Fiver

I saw a really nice Specialized Epic downtown that was locked to a post with a shackle that was placed around the upper part of the stem... above the head tube and under the bars.

If I was a bike thief I could have been riding that bike away in a few minutes as all I had to do was remove the cap bolt and stem with an allen key, slip the lock off, and put the bike back together.

The way it was locked made it so the cables would not even interfere with the removal.

I almost wanted to do it and wait for it's owner to come back so I could demonstrate the error of their ways.

iforgotmename

nicely said

Wordbiker

Option #2

A cordless sawzall would reduce it to under a minute.

Siu Blue Wind

^^^ Hence the reason I carry a really big purse.

Wordbiker

To hold your cordless sawzall?

jtarver

Street signs are typically mounted in a sleeve so that when some cager knocks it over the city can just put a new one in the existing sleeve rather than dig up the old one. I rarely lock up to them for this reason but if I do I always verify that the hardware holding the signpost in the sleeve is intact and looks legit. I see a few around town where the hardware is gone and the sign can be lifted out, bike slid off and replaced in a few seconds.

Wordbiker

This alone would keep me from stealing it.

It's a Trek and too small for me.

Sixty Fiver

It's also really dirty and scruffy although my daughter knows that Trek is a an old German word that, when it's translated into English means, "steal me".

To that end, locking up next to a POS Trek can draw attention away from your bike.

degnaw

If a thief has an allen key and time, i think you're basically done for.

The way I lock, they'd get both derailleurs, my crankset, my saddle/seatpost (albeit a cheap one), and my handlebars (with brifters).

Sixty Fiver

With a multi tool a thief could steal parts but they would not get the wheels and frame without putting in more effort to get through the shackle and cable.

Time is the key word here.

Saddle / seatpost theft here is rampant... my nicer saddles (ie Brooks) come with me when I leave my bikes locked up.

Wordbiker

Option #3

Wait til the bike owner returns, point a gun at them, have them unlock it and take the bike.

daven1986

On my bike that I am preparing for locking up outside instead of in a secure parking area I'm considering putting a chain on my saddle so only with a chaintool can the thief remove it. As for locking a nice U-lock with some cable locks ought to deter the thief, also putting a rack on the bike and some gaffer tape should make it unattractive! Shame I have disc brakes - no hiding those!

stapfam

Couriers in London have bikes that work. They may not be that expensive- but all of them have the same look about them. Scruffy. I know they get knocked about and apparantly are not cared for but I know of one cycle courier that has had a custom paint job done on his Kona. It looks as though it is covered in rust and scratches and covered in dirt. You really have to look hard to see it is a decent bike.

Think it has been mentioned- but no-one "borrows" a couriers bike. They all know each others bikes and You won't get far before you are noticed and hunted down.

Sixty Fiver

My courier bike... drop bars seem to be a deterrent in themselves.

Riding this bike downtown could get you badly beaten... if you were not me.

alpacalypse

I have two bikes. One is very ugly, with bolt-on everything and pitlocks on the wheels. Because it's so ugly, I just lock the frame and rear wheel when I need to lock it up, and no one bothers it.

My second bike is much nicer looking and has lots of quick-release goodies, but it folds up. I lock it in well lit places so that I can see it, but if I'm staying somewhere for a while I fold it up and bring it in.

The trick is to use the lock as only part of a more general theft-deterrent plan.

Siu Blue Wind

Shhhh!! *looks around*

Wordbiker

I'll chloroform pcad, you grab the Cervelo.

dynaryder

That smaller lock is gonna get awful greasy....

ghettocruiser

I thought this would be a thread about using thieves to *dispose* of trashed bikes.

It's easier that arranging for scrap metal pickup or taking it to a recycling depot.

Plus, it qualifies as "re-use", right?

CCrew

While you were busy worrying about locks i stole your panniers

Sixty Fiver

Strangely enough... it doesn't.

And the paniers go with me when I lock my bike.