How to Lock up in NYC
 

MY Daughter is now in school at FIT so I would like to take the old beat up GT Passage down and have a go at a little city riding as I have an excuse to go. I think I would be ok on a Sunday morning. This would also give me a chance to find on street parking even if it was blocks away from the school.
I was hoping someone might have a picture or describe to me the correct way to lock up so as not to wind up like that poor old 5speed that is locked to the light post with its rear wheel missing on 27th street. From searching the forum I see that I will require Kryptonite? I can get this upstate or is this better purchased in town where the bike shops would understand what I require?

The GT Passage is a 1989 steel frame Hybred with 700c x 38 tires...it is a robust, battle scarred veteran.

check out these videos


http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/...-bike-locking/


http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/...-bike-locking/


http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/...final-warning/

also - she can get a great discount on kryptonite if she joins Transportation Alternatives.

Thank You so much. That was really good info and entertaining too. I have a high quality cable I can use for the auxillary, so I just need to get one of those nice square bar "C" locks, replace the Quick connect on the seat post, (not that anyone is going to covet my OEM GT foam seat with the rip in it anyway).
Then I'll just remove any "Fred" stuff.
oh man this is gonna be fun ;)

If you use a beater bike as you've described and lock it well you should be fine, and you are limiting your losses in any case which is smart.

I would add -

don't lock it on the street if you can bring it inside.

don't leave it overnight if you don't have to.

don't lock it up at the same exact place/time everyday.


I bring my bike inside at work (I am lucky to be able to do so); when I had to lock up outside, I varied the type of locks and even switched bikes once in a while, as well as using different bike racks in my vicinity.

Any lock can be defeated if the thief wants it badly enough; the trick is to make them pass your bike up in favor of easier prey (bad as that sounds, ethically speaking:o) and don't make it easy for them. For instance if you lock up predictably, they'll have time to scope out how long they have to come back with the appropriate tools to defeat your particular lock(s).

bottom line - ride a nasty looking (but safe) bike, get the best lock(s) you can afford, use them properly, and then forget about it and have fun riding.:) Good Luck!

1st thing I'd say is DON'T lock it outside unless absolutely necessary. 2nd thing is lock down both wheels & seat at all times. Don't think that b/c a bike is cheap or old someone won't try to steal it. Use a old chain section to lock down the seat.

That's still better than no seat at all.
You'd be surprised to see how many bikes out there are seatless.

Thanks again for the links and advise! I will chain my seat in the approved design. You are right, an old nasty seat is still better than standing up (or forgeting and sitting down !!).
I don't plan on anything more than a Sunday visit to the kid and maybe a short lock up in front of Starbucks...no overnight plans.

If your seat is using a quick release, u should take your seat with you when u lock ur bike. If it's not quick release, then chain it down to the seat stay.

If you don't want to carry a chain, then get two U-locks for front and back wheels. Kryptonite now have the New York lock, which is much much stronger than their Evolution series. Which also means heavier and it costs more.. so that's up to you.
Another note to U-locks, the smaller size U-lock is more secure than the bigger U-lock.

Another good lock-up video, from the Wall Street Journal, featuring Transportation Alternatives.
http://online.wsj.com/video/pumping-...AF86A1309.html

Those Hal videos are great! I just bought my first ever bike in NYC (brooklyn) and this helps a TON.

My current safety rig deserves a D-

Go Wiley!:thumb:

That's a good one, i hadn't seen that yet

who am i to say anything now? My bike just got stolen.

But learn from my mistake. NEVER lock to scaffoldings, street posts without tops, anything that moves, anything that could be disassembled.

You're never too old to learn. years ago I had an old car parked outside my home on LI. I got a nice weather cover for it, which cost over $100 (in the mid 1980s) and came with a thin cable lock. It was gone in a month or so. That was the last time I trusted a thin cable for anything costing that much....

@bicyclehabitat tweets today: "Our chief mechanic, Hal, has been invited to England to talk about best ways to lock a bike. Not bad. Lucky bloke!"

That's funny. I can see them digging his nu yawk accent over there.....:D

I really don't understand why NYC cyclists don't get together and fund a non-profit.... one chartered to use bait bikes and baseball bats until it's safe to own a bike in NYC again.

about seats, i just take mine off...that's one less thing to have to lock. sometimes the front wheel comes along. then it looks like it's already been picked over a bit

well why not just dress up like a bum... an watch them .. an mase the.... damn crooks..

For my beater I use a Kryptonite combination U-Lock and the sheldonbrown.com method. I usually am too lazy to lock my front wheel, but do take the seat post with me.

One of the mysteries of NYC bike theft is why it takes seconds sometimes for a bike to be stolen, and other times a desirable bike will be abandoned but chained to a pole and over the years be slowly dismantled until there is just a fairly desirable frame. After a few years of seeing one of these I cut the lock off and kept the chain.

You should also note that subway fare is $2.25 each way or $4.50 a trip. 200 days a year that is $900. So you can justify 2 or 3 beaters stolen a year just on the fare you save.

It is actually fairly rare for a beater to be stolen if it is ULocked with one of the better ulocks. If they are many times the rider did not lock the bike properly.