muckymucky

dont lube it~ duh~ just you have to hear your gears and you wont go as fast.. big deal >=D

lubed for efficiency, no lube for no grim> pick one. lube and blackness is like a requirement if you have gears~

frymaster

that's actually a really brilliant idea...

devilshaircut

Okay this is going to sound silly but since locking up in this manner sounds very important to you, why don't you take sheets of tin foil with you wherever you go and wrap it around the section of your chainring you plan to lock against. When you are done, dispose of the foil.

It's a lot of trouble and probably not worth it. But then again, locking up that thoroughly is probably overkill too. At least it solves your problem.

CliftonGK1

Is there such a thing in NYC?

iansmash

Yeah I would just give up on trying to keep it clean man...

Good locking skills though dude

mander

Yep you will need to either switch to a less sticky "dry" lube (and therefore you'll have to lube more frequently) or clean your chain more frequently. Either way, cleaner chains don't come for nothing. In the summer I switch to a teflon based lube. It's total garbage when it gets wet but otherwise it works fine and the chain stays very clean. This is hardly a drastic change in my routine too... just saying.

As much as it pains me to agree with devlshaircut, I personally don't think your locking regime is worth it. Someone who really wants your cranks will just have to unbolt the chainring. The odds of having a crankset stolen are so slim that I don't think it really matters too much. However, it's your bike and more security never hurts!

CliftonGK1

If I had to take a guess, it's not about securing the cranks from theft. Probably locks up like that to have 1 more thing filling the space inside the shackle and making it more difficult to mess with.

devilshaircut

I think that in most cases, even in NYC, locking up your front and rear wheels with u-locks is sufficient. If someone is determined to steal your bike, for some reason, they are gonna take it anyhow.

fuzz2050

CliftonGK1

You're right that nothing, short of locking your bike to an ED-209, is going to stop a determined thief. But isn't the standard convention that if you have to double lock, use 2 different kinds? (Chain/U-lock, U-lock/Cable, etc. That way a thief can't break both with a single tool.)

devilshaircut

Sure, but that doesn't necessitate locking up through a chainring.

Also, with regard to the chain guard, I am not sure his lock is big enough to fit around it also.

CliftonGK1

Hey ddac,
Can you fit the shackle of that disc lock around your downtube below the bottle cage, instead of through the chainring?

frymaster

i think you should just carry a condom with you and drape it over your u-lock every time your park. i mean, who really wants to touch a condom they've found on the streets in nyc? certainly not a bicycle thief.

devilshaircut

I think fry is onto something.

mander

Nope, like other teflon lubes my dry lube is suspended in a nice strong solvent, so the first application takes off much of the pre existing chain gunk. I use MEC dry lube. It's poorly reviewed, but it does the trick for me. You have to take these very light lubes for what they are... don't ride in the rain, reapply often, etc.

Jabba Degrassi

Agreed. I'm definitely going to start doing this.

Sixty Fiver

I often secure my minu u lock through the crank and attach the cable there to secure the front wheel and chain grease has not been an issue... but I am careful when I lock and unlock.

A Krypto secures the back wheel and frame.

ilikebikes

Do it every day and wipe it before you handle it when locking it up, and even thats not going to keep you from getting black crap on your hands when you lock it up that way, I give my bike a good cleaning after every ride, including cleaning and lubing the chain, I still get dirt on my hands when I touch the chain, its part of having a bike dude, get used to it.

Johnny Nemo

There are two types of people in the world.... those with clean chains and normal people.

Johnny Nemo

Nope... not riding your bike and just taking pics of it to post, is the answer.

frymaster

then you use the first condom, the one you left, to remove the second condom. see? my plan is, if not "foolproof", at the very least "fool resistant".

this picture just makes me love the fact that i live in a rinky-dink prairie town of only a million. i ride and park in literally the worst parts of my city, the areas that our esteemed city council determined needed cctvs and beat cops because it was a "hot bed" of crime (read: valuable inner city real estate being ruined by the presence of poor people).

i frame lock with u-lock from the 90's. it even says "sport lock" on the side of it, so you know it's a cheapo... and i've never even had an attempt on my bike.

JackD

What about the pedals? You don't lock them!

mander

I think your lockup would be greatly simplified if you got a security skewer for the front wheel. Just my 2 cents.

beeftech

SRSLY?

Also people, Rock n Roll lube, the best of both wax lubes and oil based lubes with less of their down sides! /end

Scrodzilla

Get a black chain.

Problem solved.