Just got a Trek DS 8.3, LEGIT. Love the bike so far! now time to upgrade some accessories. I added a seat bag, water bottle holder, kickstand and some lights, now I am looking for a lock and a bike rack. How do you guys lock up your bikes? Was looking at the topeak rack that hooks up to the seat post. What are you guys rolling with? I plan to put some fishing rod holders some how as well. I really like the topeak bags for the ability to slide on and off with a rail and locking mechanism. Should I go mounted rack? or the seat rack that pops on and off with the same latch as the seat post. Thanks a lot.

OR does anyone know where I can find posts on these topics? The search bar up top is not helping me out

In terms of locks the I use an Kryptonite New York Lock and a cable lock. I don't know what theft is like where you are so you may not need all that but here in NYC we gotta do whatever it takes to prevent our bikes from getting stolen.

I live around San Francisco, ca . Where I live, I do not think there is much of a problem. I just do not want to be worrying about my bike when it's out of sight. Techniques on chaining? The seat and tires easily pop off.....double u bolts, u bolt plus chain through tires and seat? New at this as you can tell.

I have a permanently mounted Blackburn rack on my utility bike. There are lots of similar models on the market and they are plenty strong, with many bags designed to work with them. I have a rack trunk that straps to it and shopping panniers that clip on the rails easily. I use a Kryptonite combination cable lock, but my bike does not get left unattended in theft prone areas. I'm just needing to deter casual theft. If I needed greater security, I'd probably use a combination of a U-lock and a cable.


I've seen photos where someone used a bit of a drive chain looped through the seat rails and rear triangle to keep the seat from being easily taken. Again, this is just to deter casual theft, since that's easily defeated with a cheap chain breaker tool.

Get a rear rack that also attaches to frame near the rear derailleur, it will be much more capable for carrying cargo.

If you have a U-lock, put the U part through one of the openings in the rack near the seat such that it lays flat on the rack. Lock the lock. Use a Velcro wire strap to secure the lock to the rack. It'll vibrate and make some noise, but it's not going anywhere.



Use this type of wire tie and wrap the tie around the rack and then through the hole so that it's permanently attached to the rack like in the right most piece. Take the free end and loop it around the lock and then back on to itself to secure the lock.

U locks are heavy. Sure as heck I don't want to carry more than one standard size U lock around with me...mine is around 4 pounds.

I insert the U lock where the back wheel and seat stay intersects so that secures my back wheel and frame. The Sheldon method may be preferable for some people, but I feel this is more secure as the frame is positively locked. The front wheel you can use a cable to secure. A four foot cable should be sufficient. Take one end of the cable, wrap it around the wheel and then thread it through the other eye in the cable. Take the eye on the free end and insert it in the U-lock.

This is dependent on the area that you are in or visit but the method described above is what I did at SF State for a while. No one ever messed with my bike except that one time some bozo locked their bike to mine in addition to the rack.

As far as locks go, Kryptonite Evolution 4 standard and LS and the NY U locks are the better U locks they make because the locking mechanism has one bolt on each side of the U shackle. The minis and anything below the Evolution only have one bolt. Two bolts are better because it means two cuts are required to free the bike. It is also less likely that one end will be pulled out of the crossbar if something like a jack is used.

I don't know about their chain products as I've not looked into them.

Thank you very much! I am most likely going to buy a 4' cable and a U-lock. Any preference on a cable? I have not ridden too much as of yet but plan to when ever I can. I have only had my bike for only a week but want to keep it as "my bike" not some other persons. Thanks a lot jsdavis.

Yo, Yo Spiff, ever had a problem with clipping your heels on the panniers? Just wondering, I have read a little and some people have that problem (like my brother). Thank again.

You will love the Topeak rack and trunk Bag ! Richard

Only once. I bought a used MTB for my daughter and a set of these utility panniers that were on sale at Nashbar. You can find my non-glowing review on the product page: https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...0_10000_202599
I think they were not designed for a short framed MTB with a relatively short wheelbase. On a taller frame or a bike with a longer wheelbase they would have worked better.

Some panniers are shaped to give heel clearance, others are high enough to avoid it. It's a combination of the bike and the pannier design. I just bought a set of these shopping panniers on clearance at REI. They mount quickly and are convenient. Plenty of heel clearance. In fact, the cantilever brake arms come closer to my heels than the panniers. They appear a little heavier duty than similar ones that Performance sells. Looks like REI online still has them for what I got them for: https://www.rei.com/product/780449/no...e-bike-pannier

Using a chain as a seat lock is very common here in NYC. Both my 7200 and my Utopia have it even though I don't really lock the Utopia outside on a regular basis.

For a rack, I use a frame mounted Performance TranSit rack. I had one of those racks that attaches to your seat post with a quick release, but if I had a lot of stuff in my tail trunk, the rack wouldn't always stay in place. It was not fun. I use a TranSit expandable bag on the rack, plus I also have both small and large TranSit panniers for when needed.

Kryptonite's New York U lock is what I use to lock my frame to something immoveable. I run the lock through the stays and wheel spokes. A thick coiled Planet Bike combination cable lock secures my front wheel to the main frame tubes. Another smaller diameter cable passes through the rails of my seat to secure it to the frame. Finally, my skewers have been replaced with locking units.

I have both money and time invested in my bikes, and I want to keep them!

I am partial to using the loops on my panniers / bags as a place to hang my u lock as it keeps the lock handy and frees up space in the bag... also like this set up with the Carradice bag on my folder.

My wife and I are riding a pair of Trek Multitrack 7000 bikes. Long rides on rail trail with shopping in cities we go through.
Each of our bikes have the Topeak Explorer tubular racks, without the springs. Our bikes have linear pull brakes, not disks.
Our bags are the MTX Trunk bags.
Our first set of the Topeak MTX bags did not last very long. Sewn seams started to come apart. Especially around the bag top zippers.
I bought another larger set and took a close look at the seam sowing before putting my money on the LBS counter. These bags have now been in use for 4 years. Used between 70 and 90 days a year. Carried all sorts of things in the pannier bags.