I'm broke and interested in making a bike lock myself. I live in a college town and bike theft isn't a huge concern here but all I have now is a *** cable lock and was thinking of making myself a kryptonite esque chainlock. I thought I'd buy a reasonably light/sturdy chain from a hardware store and getting some really thick like canvas type material and sewing it to fit around the chain and then getting a decent padlock. Is this a really bad idea? Someone help me decide whether or not I should do this.

when choosing your chain, remember this - if they can cut it with bolt cutters at the hardware store, they can cut it with bolt cutters in the street.

why would you even consider this?

That was what I was worried about, however, do you think if I get a thick enough fabric it will make it hard enough to deter thefts? Would a $20 kryptonite with padlock be way better?

Fabric's not going to do anything for you.

Spend the money on a real lock or spend the money on another bike, it's up to you.

get a real lock, my friend lost the key for his diy chain and was able to break it with an axe.

It's cheaper... I'm broke... bike theft isn't a huge deal where I live but I still want to have something better than a cable lock.

Not by the time you are done.

Then spend $30 on a mini-U. Cheaper than a chain/disk-lock, better than a cable lock.

I have this and it kicks ass, and it's $40 shipped.

https://www.bikeregistry.com/estore/p...4ee77b95180a34

skimping on a bike lock = fail

For less than what an expensive lock mechanism will cost you, you can pick up the same gauge braided cable at a decent hardware store. Without the coating though it's prone to rust and easier to cut, but more frustrating to cut than chain. If there's a Walmart around they sell eh ok Kryptonite style locks for around $10. All in all you can't skimp on securing your investment.

get high tenasity forged tow chain like the auto wreckers use and a bike american padlock
you won't save much money but it will work

the padlock alone will cost 25 or more and the chain is about 10 a foot
buy a 30 dollar mini u and call it a day

bike: worth something
Kryptonite mini U: $30
DIY solution: $55

this thread: priceless

save 35 bucks and buy an onguard u lock/cable set

If you can't afford a lock, you can't afford to own a bike.

Having a lock is part of owning a bike.

This is no different than being able to "afford" a car payment but not being able to afford the insurance. Guess what? That means that you really can't afford a car.

Get a job....or just tie your bike to the bike rack with a belt.


...but a good belt costs $30, so you are back where you started.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Kryptonite-31-lo...d=p3286.c0.m14

I have this and it seems like a suitable lock. probably about 30 bucks at your lbs.

you think you can't afford a lock, but you can afford to replace you bike if it's stolen? times are getting desperate out there, people are turning towards more illicit ways of getting money. even if they won't steal your bike to pawn it off, they might take it because they can't afford their car anymore.

and if you live in a nice area, it's usually only a bus ride away from a place that's hard-up for cash. people in need aren't gonna take crap stuff from people also in need, they'll go where the nice stuff is sitting around unlocked.

I don't know why everyone is giving him flack. Building your own lock is a stupid idea, but if he is in a really low risk environment why does it matter. When I am back at my parents house I don't even really need to lock my bike up (though I do) because the area is so nice.

Also someone show me where you can buy a Kryptonite mini for $30.

If you title your parents neighborhood as "so nica an area I don't really need to lock my bike up" stop locking it up, lets see how long that title will last.

I've done it probably a total of 20 times for periods varying from 5 minutes to 3 hours. I always lock my bike up now because I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Sorry for bringing this up, this thread isn't a debate on if a lock is necessary or not.

To the OP, I think even a $15 bell U-lock would be better than something you make yourself. Also I was serious about the $30 krypto mini because I am in need of a better lock and I haven't seen them for below $45.

OP, your handmade custom-fabric lock will probably be cute, and if you live in Arts-and-Crafts-Village, everyone will like it... but use your head and listen to the consensus here and buy a bicycle lock. If you're hard up for cash, buy something cheap... but really, there's nothing good about making your own lock... except that it IS cute!

The can you afford to replace your bike mentality is the wrong way to go. Evaluate the risk of theft, the worth of your bicycle and get a lock based on that. Is there a chance it could get stolen? Yup. But a Kryptonite U doesn't take that chance to zero...it just reduces it. If you can get a small U and use the cable with it....of course that's better than a chain. If all you can afford is a chain, then that's better than a cable.

well i guess i am on the other side of the fence from everyone else.

i went to school in lubbock TX. i don't know where you are or where your college town is, but i ran a 3/8" cable lock with a normal masterlock padlock on it for 3 years with no worries and no troubles. it was a very low theft area, and it is not remotely near any high theft areas that might promote "commuting" out to the college town to prey on their stuff. there was no cutting of locks in lubbock. if you left your bike unlocked, someone would probably walk off with it, but no one was bothering to carry around bolt cutters to turn a profit or sell it for crack money.

when i moved to baltimore, i quickly replaced this with a krypo u-lock, but there was never a need to do it before.

the way i think of locks is that that if you want to keep your bike, the safest thing is to have a lock that is more difficult that the lock next to it. bike theft is predominately a crime of opportunity. look at all the bikes locked up around your campus... if they all have ****ty $10 locks, then get something better... but if a lot of them have nice U-locks, you should probably keep up. if someone comes looking to steal a bike and they see a 30-sec job and a 5-min job, they're taking the 30 sec one.

i'm also curious as to everyone's dismissal of buying a huge chain from somewhere like home depot? does anyone know the strength of those chains? as for the "if they cut it with bolt cutters in the shop..." comment, when i've seen those chains cut, it's with a hydraulic press, not ****in bolt cutters.

Well I figured this would be the response I would get, I was just giving it consideration and I don't see how the DIY way would cost $55? I don't know how expensive a chain is but it can't be that much. Anyways, I'll probably get a kyrpto chain lock like the one in the ebay link posted earlier. I think it's like $25 at Icycleusa. Thanks for all of the arguements guys. Even though it is a low risk area and a diy lock would work just fine, I'll probably hold out for something made specifically for bikes.

Oh yeah, you're an ******* if you've ever spent $30 on a ****ing belt.

In my opinion, the point of having a lock is at least as much about the appearence of security as about the actual difficulty of opening the lock.
If someone really wants your bike, I don't think there's anything you can do about it, but if it seems like the bike next to yours is easier to steal, then the thief will take that one, and not your bike.

I think it would be really difficult to achieve that appearence with a home-made lock.