Lock survey - which is the best!!
 

So I'm taking a survey. What is the best lock out there? Or combination of locks? For convenience? For the weight? For ease of use? What are ppl using out there?

flat black unreflective spraypaint.
doesn't show up on the radar like a stealth bomber.

huh?

krypto nyc lock for short trips/lock ups. fugghedaboutit chain for longer. both together for long lock ups in bad parts of town.

Fug chain for almost all situations. Through both wheels, shackle around one rim. Evolution mini and a wheel cable if you live where you can get away with that sort of thing.

NY lock is good if you really want a U, but to me it's so heavy I'd rather just have the chain around my waist than that thing in my bag. NY Fugghedaboutit U is about as good as welding your frame to the rack, but definitely too much weight. Think like a hiker, put the weight on your hips.

bulldog mini with a krypto key cable...I live in a relative crime free area, and the bike comes inside with me most places.

Aaron:)

Light wire lock and a good insurance.

The "Search" function, and just get a krypto that feels good.

Krypto combo u-lock: **** carrying keys around.

Since I got a good pair of wheels, krypto chain around the back wheel and frame to something and a mini u around the front wheel and downtube. that chain has come in handy alot more than I though it would. You know for things like warding off trolls under bridges and whipping teadogg in the basement of Yojimbos. Or helping groups of people lock up. its all the same

Kryptonite Mini Evolution through the frame/front wheel/whatever and a pistol grip pump trained on anyone who gets within 5' of the bike (or rather, I never let it get out of sight ... the lock is just to prevent someone from hopping on and getting a head start).

I use an ON-GUARD U-lock (front wheel/ frame, car wacker) and a cable (rear wheel).

I put an Onguard brute mini through my rear wheel and frame and a locking qr on the front wheel. I'm thinking of getting a chain though for longer lockups.

My bike doesnt stay outside or out of my site (except inside the office, in which its chained to a stairwell that only very few people have access too) for longer than 2-3 minutes at a time, so I just have a Masterlock U-lock cause it was cheap, but still provides some protection.

i have been known to carry the fuggedaboutit and ny lock at the same time. but thats cuz im you know. hardcore. and stuff. yeeeeep. thats me. hardcore. :rolleyes:

NYC chain and/or mini-u.

2 x mini-u tc bulldog. For both hands.

krypto mini and anti-theft skewer

i use a 4 dollar suppppppper light combo lock i got at walmart.
it also helps to have a bike that looks a little rusty and badly painted.
it also helps that i spent a total of $30 on it so if it does get stolen im only really losing some centimental value.

"centimental?". . .no pun intended right.

onguard bulldog mini U with the casing cracked off - bare metal showing.

onguard bulldog mini U with the casing cracked off and then covered in electrical tape. then orange IRO paint ground into the tape. oh, and then a krypto cable around the wheels.

I've left my bike downtown like this a few times. no problems thusfar. KNOCK on f'in WOOD.

i never ever lock my bike. you guys are so cynical and untrusting. they're not gonna steal your bike. even in nyc. locks are over-rated. why carry the weight?

Onguard BruteMini and a Krypto cable. The only complaint is that the key for the brute mini is ****ing huge (like the black plastic part at the end that hooks to the key ring) and jams up the flow of my keychain. Better than losing a bike, I guess.

Last I checked (week ago, maybe), the BruteMinis were on sale at Nashbar for like 25, that's when I got mine.

"The Best" really needs to be asked as "The best for what purpose?"

If someone is locking up a $2,000 bike, and leaving it unattended for nine or ten hours (something that I would never do), they need heavy-duty locks. The massive Kryptonite New York u-lock or the OnGuard Brute u-lock. Or, for folks who want to carry around twice as much weight, yet get nothing extra in security, get the most expensive, and heaviest, chain locks from OnGuard and Kryptonite.

But, the "best" lock for a ten minute stop at the corner coffee shop may be the one that is easiest to carry and to use. I bought an OnGuard Bulldog Mini TC u-lock yesterday. Its "TC" "thin case" on the crossbar makes it OnGuards lightest, slimmest u-lock. Correctly installed around the rear wheel and a steel post, the TC leaves no room for leverage type tools. That leaves cutting...forty minutes of sweating work with manual tools, and power cutting tools are not (knock on wood) used by crooks in my neighborhood.

I continue to see many bikes locked up with ONLY a cable lock. A cable lock, no matter how expensive, no matter how heavy, can be defeated by a skilled crook in seconds. A cable lock is a sign saying "Free bike right here".

And, most of the bikes I see are not locked up correctly. Only the front wheel is attached to the lock. Or, the lock is around a flimsy rack held together with two "easy off" bolts. Learning the correct place to lock up, and learning the "Sheldon Brown" locking technique is just as important as buing "the best lock".

Do you guys see it beneficial to buy 2 Kryptu U-Locks that are keyed the same (1 key for both locks), so I can lock the frame/front wheel up to a post/whatever (Krypto Evo Mini LS), and the rear wheel to the frame (Krypto Evo Mini)?

I know you can carry a cable, but I figure that if I'm going to carry a cable around that can be quickly cut, I may as well carry a Krypto Evo Mini to lock my rear wheel up... thoughts?

john

I use a Kryptonite evolution mini U (new style with disc lock cylinder) for most lockups, usually locking the top tube to a meter or sign post or small tree because I'll be within sight of the bike.

If I'll be out of sight of the bike or leaving it for long, I use the sheldon method to secure the back wheel and frame simultaneously to something reasonably secure. Sometimes I carry a wheel leash with me to provide a little more deterrence for the front wheel, but I usually don't worry too much because it is not a very expensive wheel (the whole wheelset was under $150) and it has a bolt-on axle.

I recently picked up Kryptonite's Fahgeddaboudit version of the New York chain with the NY disc lock. It weighs 8 pounds, but it just screams overkill. If nothing else, the image that a bike locked with this chain presents to the average would-be thief is worth the weight in gold. The problem with this lock, of course, is carrying it. I usually ride with at least one pannier, but the weight of the lock is making the bottom of the bag flex back against the stays for my rear fender. I'm planning on modifying my rack slightly to provide some support for this corner of the bag, but I would perfer to find a good way to carry the lock on my body to increase maneuverability. You can ride a lot faster and more gracefully with a 20lb backpack than you can with a 20lb pannier because the weight is moving with the rider's body instead of acting as dead weight in an ackward position on the frame.

I'm too skinny to wear the chain around my waist as-is (darn, eh?), but it fits across the shoulder/chest pretty nicely. The only problem is where it digs into my collarbone. My plans are thus: add some kind of padding (several layers of felt?) underneath the sheath on the lock where it would cross my collarbone -OR- (possibly AND) add a loop of aircraft cable a few links back on one side so that it is the perfect length to lock around my waist and ride on my hips when I lock one end of the chain to the loop of cable. I'll probably use a zip tie to get the length figured out and then swage a loop of plastic-coated cable of that length into place.

I have been using the Fug chain in the garage to lock the rear wheel, frame, and rack to a sturdy object and tossing the Krypto mini U lock on the front wheel/downtube just for good measure. I definitely don't live in a place where people people's garages get knocked off, but I figure it's a good habit to get into since I plan to be moving up into Minneapolis sometime soon.

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I see no reason not to do so. Most people use a U lock to secure the frame and rear wheel to something and then a cable from the U lock to go up to the front wheel and maybe through a helmet strap, saddle rail, etc. on the way.

If you have some really hot wheels or are locking up in a city with theft problems, then going the extra mile and having two u locks isn't a bad idea. For typical lockups in most cities, one U lock and a fatter cable for the other wheel is usually more than enough. It's all up to you to decide on how secure you want to be.

question about chain locks: which brand/model lets you adjust which link of the chain you want to put the lock on? This would be helpful in locking to things like parking meteres (when you need a tight fit so thieves can't just lift your bike/lock over) as well as transportation (so you can cinch it tight around your waist).

Let me know if your guys' chain locks can do this. i think the onguard mastiff chains can only fit in the last designated link.

Maybe it's just me being a nervous nelly, but doesn't having a big 6 pound chain wrapped around your waist or chest pose somewhat of a problem if you get hit by a car? If I get hit by a car/truck and then I hit the ground, it seems like a chain around the chest or waist could do some serious harm to you. Even the U-lock in the pocket seems like it could be dangerous.

I know it dirties the look of a clean fixie, but I like keeping my lock on a sturdy mounting bracket on my bike. Great, now everyone is going to think I'm lame.

All of the high end chains I am aware of (onguard, master, kryptonite) are specifically designed to have the links as tight as possible to save weight and make it harder to get tools into them. Unless you have a very small lock shackle, I doubt you will be able to get a good lock through any links but the end of the chain with one of these locks.

Either avoid short posts and parking meters, or get a lock with a shackle that can go around small objects. The NY disc lock I use with my NY chain is like a super tiny U lock and is large enough to actually lock around a wheel or some sign posts in addition to closing the ends of the chain.

Something I discovered when using the chain lock is that you can form a figure eight with the chain by looping it through the bike and around whatever object normally, and then lock both ends of the chain together with the lock as well as passing the middle of the chain through the hasp of the lock. If done correctly, this will prevent someone from having enough spare chain to do bad things with it, like slide it up and over a sign. I can take a picture if you'd like.