Rode bike to a gym during Friday rush hour frenzy amid cars, food vendor vans, construction trucks, other bicyclists,.... (all rushing to go home for the weekend). Upon arriving and deciding where to lock the bike, realized I forgot to bring a lock! (I usually don't need lock when commuting to work and like to avoid any unnecessary weight. Kinda knew this would happen to me some day...) Promptly rode back home, going through another rush hour nightmare.

I don't think I ever forgo my lock when I lived in Manhattan, but if I did it wasn't enough of an issue to remember. Now that I live in the burbs, I often don't carry a lock, so it's easy to forget if I don't consider all my planned stops. But even than it's not too big a deal and I can figure a workaround.

However, I've ridden all the way to the warehouse in the rain only to find I forgot the key. No fun at all, so I now keep spare warehouse key attached to a waterbottle boss. IME forgetting a key is far more inconvenient than forgetting a lock.

You mean "lock" at the end?

Thank the Lord I didn't have an accident during my ride-for-nothing.

yes,

BTW- you;re no more likely to have an accident on a fool's errand than any other time. However, you;re far more likely to remember every minor added inconvenience.

I mostly ride recreationally. But I sometimes stop for this or that. Although I likely wouldn't need a lock on my bike I would never leave my bicycle alone and not locked to something. So I carry a cheap little cable lock in my saddle bag. It is not enough of a deterrent to keep the bike safe from someone out looking to steal a bicycle.

But the average kid that would consider riding off on a bicycle that is just sitting there.... might past on mine.

I rode on 2nd avenue. The subway construction and the fact everyone going from uptown Manhattan to Queens via Queensboro Bridge tends to take that avenue makes it badly congested. Had a bobcat passing me closely without slowing down.

Time of day and location have made it easy to stash the bike for short periods when I've left the lock at home. Work key situations were always much worse. I've often worked odd hours, and after locking myself out a few times, I started wearing the keys on a chain.

How the hill does a Bobcat pass you in all that congestion on 2nd Ave? When I lived in Manhattan, I loved rush hour and any time with high congestion. No more worries about anything coming up behind me.

There were gaps in the congestion. The Bobcat must be for the subway construction. The driver (seated very high) was happily listening to very loud music and turning his head around (but looking horizontally at that high level). He actually passed me twice, before and after a red light.

If you mount a rear wheel lock on your bike, you'll never be without a lock. Nearly 100 percent of all bikes in Holland have such a lock. The thieves can still pick up your bike and walk away, but it might discourage some thieves.

Since I started riding a folding bike, I don't bother with locks anymore. The nice thing about owning one is that I can carry the bike into wherever I go.

Axa Ring lock.. I cant forget it, its on the frame, the key is removed to close the lock .

Dont always take my Brommy in [parked it just inside of the door of a rummage sale , yesterday, while I looked at the stuff,
of course someone thought it was included .. as I looked at a overpriced (for a charity rummage sale) Cedar chest
so I just said 'I'd sell for 4 thousand'.

I hang a lock (Onguard Armored Cable type) from My Brompton M bars.. and pop off the front Bag & shoulder it.

I have brought it in, and some places, that is why i take that bike .

and No 'Rush hour Nightmare' , too small a town for that.

I never forget, nor deliberately neglect, to bring a lock anymore, because I keep a TiGr strapped to my bikes. It's so unobtrusive, sleekly mounted, and light, that it's simply not a problem to carry around all the time. Here's their smallest model on my mini-velo:



I can capture frame+wheel, or if I'm particularly nervous, both wheels+frame if I remove the front.

I didn't think I would need a lock today. I planned to ride and return home. But the more I rode, the more I realized I needed a new saddle. I went to the bike shop which was fine since I took it inside. But I rode longer and could have used a smoothie but didn't have a lock. I struggled to make it home. I am going to put some cable locks around my seat posts. At least I will have on if I need it.

The gym wouldn't allow you to bring the bike inside just once?

That's what I was gonna say , I think they would have allowed you, a member of the gym to bring in the bike? but anyway,,,,, If that would have happened then the post would'nt have been as exciting......

I don't know if Vol asked but, if so, he might have run into one of those "If I make an exception for you....." types. They're ubiquitous in NYC.

I never considered the possibility of being allowed to bring bike inside unlocked, so I never asked. Just think about it, who's going to watch your bike for you during all that time? Funny thing is I did not realize until the very last minute, when I was trying to decide between two poles of different sizes which one would work for my lock.
[MENTION=138487]chaadster[/MENTION] (#13), I looked up TiGr locks, they sell for $150~$300

Yeah, but they're sweet, and if for you they are, as they were for me, exactly what you need, then do it. You won't regret it. Expensive, yes, but they're literally liberating. No lie.

I keep a TiGr on my Dahon, too, because not only do I not want to bother folding it up and bringing it in all the time, even when I do bring it in, I don't want to carry it around all the time, so I lock it up in the fold as a deterrent (hopefully!).

Sweet think is that I can just loosen the strap and let the lock dangle, and it doesn't interfere with the fold:

The one time in recent history I forgot to bring the lock, I was fortunately going to work. Admin frowns on bikes in the buildings, but I figure nobody cares if I do it on occasion, so I took the bike in my office.

There's been some drug issues in my community lately, so I started locking up my bike when I park it in the (locked) detached garage. The bonus is that I always remember my lock.

I keep a cable lock locked around the frame rails of my seat while riding. I need the key to leave the apartment, so it's pretty unlikely that I won't have it. And at home, the keys are next to the wallet.

The next thing with fold-able bikes is a soft cover on rollers. Or do they exist now?

That would be the Dahon Mariner that you have? I almost bought that model myself until my wife talked me into buying the Brompton.

To be honest with you, I don't particularly care for carrying my Brompton around either. If its just walking inside a restaurant or carrying it for a short distance I don't mind, but if its for a longer haul, I partially unfold it - lifting up the handlebar assembly and using the handlebars to push the bike around on the wheels that are attached to the rear carrier. When the bike is folded, the carrier is now to the bottom allowing its 4 wheels to roll along the floor or ground. I'm sure if you were to raise the seat post some, you could push the Dahon around on its its two wheels. I can do that with my wife's Dahon Curve D3 so as to avoid carrying it. Give it a try.

Cheers
Wayne

I forget my lock often. Also forget the pannier when going grocery shopping. Hey I am getting old.

Once I even forgot my pannier filled with groceries on the sidewalk of the grocery store! I figured I would be buying a new bag and groceries for sure. Jumped in the car to save time and drove back to the store. There the bag was right where I left it!

And guess I can't blame my age for my forgetfulness. Once when I was a much younger man, I returned form a service call in Denver. At that time you were able to leave things at the sidewalk of the airport. I piled up my tools, the oscilloscope (about a $2000 scope), spare boards etc. Went to the parking lot to pick up the car. Getting home, I was exhausted. I was thinking I would take my clothes and the scope out of the car and leave the rest for the next day. Then I thought scope? Turned around and oh no! I forgot to pickup my gear! Drove back out to the airport and there it was right where I left it.