Locking Strategy - U Lock & Chain?
 

Looking for a locking strategy for a fairly nice bike (my son's) that will be ridden to and locked up at a high school during the day.

Thinking about having him carry a small U lock (like Kryptonite NY Mini), and leave a heavy chain lock at the school rack. So the bike can be locked with U lock and with heavy chain, but he only has to carry the U lock. Plus Pinhead or another brand of locking skewers. I've read if you use two locks, make them different types.

What do you think? Has anyone here had a double locked bike stolen? What were the circumstances?

Living and riding in NYC I've had plenty of lock experience, including about a decade before the advent of U-locks. Your leave a chain at school is basicalkly sound if the school staff doesn't decide to cut off an "abandoned" chain. When I lived in Manhattan some friends and I got together and bought 20 chains and keyed alike padlocks, and spread them around our favorite destinations. So for the weight of a key we had 20 secure places to lock our bikes.

Mixing technologies also helps because thieves are less likely to be equipped to handle both.

But ultimately locking a bike is like the divers joke about sharks. "you don't have to outswim a shark, you just have to outswim another diver"
So the key to how much security is comparing the attractiveness of the bike, and the level of security you have to what else is out there. The goal isn't to stop a thief, but to have him decide there's easier pickins elsewhere.

BTW- I don't know about Portland, but one of the most commonly stolen items is the seat and post. That's why serious messengers and commuters in big cities use a seat leash of some kind.

I would check with the school about leaving a chain there, if they are ok with it, then it sounds like a good idea. I doubt thy will be cool with it though. Is there a bike theft problem at the school or in the neighborhood?

It doesn't matter if the school is OK with it or not. If the school says you can't leave a chain on the rack, I'm sure there are plenty of lamp posts or similar within a block or so. Your son can ride up, pick up the chain, ride the last block and lock the bike to the rack, then reversing the process for the ride home. Even the mini U-lock can be left there locked by the chain.

It's simply a matter of making a decision about how and where you plan to lock the bike, then sweating the minor details.

Sometimes it's better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.

Buy and install a ring lock (like 99 percent of Dutch bikes have) and buy an additional cable\chain that attaches to that ring lock. I should add that insurance for the bikes in Holland depend on the bike having an approved ring lock.

The ring lock is permanently attached to the bike and the cable\chain that attaches to that ring lock is mounted somewhere on the bike. Whether of not you use the chain, the chain is inserted in that ring lock and cannot be taken from the bike.

The key for the lock stays in the lock while you ride and is only removed when you decide to lock it up.

The AXA ring lock here on Amazon US is pricey compared to what I would pay here. Here's a link for the AXA chain for the AXA ring lock. That Amazon link for the ring lock doesn't show the price which is $71. You first have to go to here and scroll down to see the AXA ring lock that accepts a cable\chain.

I wonder if that's because they're so effective at deterring thieves, or if it's due to the fact that since it's permanently attached to the bike and the key stuck in it while riding, it's much more likely to be used?

I have seen a thief, two actually, with tools trying to saw their way through a ring lock. I don't know if they succeeded or not.

The ring lock gets used simply because the key is in the lock when you bike. When you park the bike, you remove the key which locks the bike. If you don't remove the key anyone can walk away, sorry, anyone can bike away using your bike. You just get in the habit of always removing the key.

Some folks have their house and work keys on the same key ring as their ring lock.

A cheaper looking bike is also a useful strategy even though my rust bucket UO-8 (nicely upgraded) got ripped off. Still I wouldn't leave a high dollar bike with expensive parts locked up outside.

I use a Chain-lock, made by Abus and a folding 'Bordo' Lock by the same company (J&B sells them to shops)

and another bike I have an Axa ring lock on the frame that locks up the back wheel ,
and a chain by that same company with a pin that snaps in the side of the ring lock.
1.4M long .. wheel and around the post/bike rack.
I got that from Clever Cycles in PDX..

none stolen, but I dont live in PDX or Eugene , or SF , Arcata-Eureka, or any college town, anymore
where people target bikes to be stolen and stripped ..

All of our schools here have their bike racks in a fenced area that are locked during the day. Though I would still want a lock to keep another student from riding my bike home.

A montreal study i posted a few months ago on this forum showed that cheaper bike under 500$ are more likely to be stolen than more expensive one.

If you mean in poor condition then probably that it is a useful strategy.

Did the owners of cheaper bikes use locks that were as good a quality as the owners of expensive bikes? Were the owners of cheaper bikes more likely to lock them up in higher theft areas than the owners of expensive bikes? I know I'll lock my beater bike in places that I won't lock up a nicer bike for example.

Here it is
These 8 Depressing Bike Theft Statistics Show Just How Bad the Problem Is - CityLab

After some thinking about those statistics I believe you're right you may be safer with a beater than an expensive bike in some condition tho it may depends on the law. Sentencing may be different depending on the cost of the bike which may affect thief behavior.