First, I don't look at everyone as a potential criminal. Actually, I am a rather trusting person most of the time.

Second, while it is certainly true that a bike lock can be broken rather quickly, MOST people, other than a professional thief, are carrying around the necessary tools to do that. Most bike thefts are not thought out and are often a spur of the moment decision. Therefore, all a bike lock is ultimately going to do is keep honest people honest.

It boils down to what YOU want to do. YOU choose not to lock yours. And that's just fine. As for me, well, I'll continue to take mine, wherever possible, INSIDE whatever store I happen to be at. If I can't you can bet your ass that I am going to make it as hard as possible for someone to take it.

Riding, for me anyway, isn't something that I do only on the weekends or when the weather is nice. I ride virtually every day, in all kinds of weather. I ride to commute, for errands, and, yes, to have a little fun once in a while. I have not owned a car, motorcycle, or other vehicle since 2000. I don't even have a drivers license any longer. So, if mine gets stolen it's a bit more than a minor inconvenience.

Obviously from your posts you are either fortunate enough to live in a "crime free" area, your don't ride on a daily basis, or you just flat don't care if yours is stolen. It's your choice in the end.

Either way...Keep on riding!!!!!

Always locking my bike and never having it stolen is better than never locking my bike and having it stolen once.

It's a little disingenuous to say that one should simply move to a place where bikes don't get stolen, because there is no guarantee or explicit arrangement with all of the town's inhabitants that absolutely no bikes will be stolen. My grandparents live in a small town and haven't locked their doors in 30 years, even when they leave to visit family in other states for extended periods of time. My dad lost his wallet there once and had it returned to him with every dollar intact, but yet my sister still had her bike stolen there a couple of years ago.

I always lock up whether I will be a minute or an hour.

I agree. It's not a matter of "if" it's a matter of "when". You might live in an area where kids leave their bikes lying in the front yards and they are always there the next morning. But YOUR bike might not be. Sure, you can take the chance and hope that nothing happens. But, for me anyway, if I cannot SEE my bike then it's going to get locked up.

I lock mine up all the time if I can't can't bring it inside.

Chris

I always lock up...bikes cost way too much to trust in the goodness of people.

Lowes, Home Depot, Target and a lot of the larger stores don't mind if I roll mine in. WalMart, on the other hand, seems to change their mind depending on the day.

When I am told NOT to bring it in I ask if THEY are willing to be held responsible for the possible replacement costs IF the bike somehow gets stolen from their premises. This works GREAT if they do not have a bicycle rack available. That's usually enough to get them to allow me to take it inside.

My U lock and cable add some significant weight I'd like to leave behind, and I'll be adding more weight when I buy a longer cable. Since they're on the bike, not locking it and having the bike stolen would be some expensive stupidity.

A solution that is not applicable to me is a quick release seat clamp that leaves the post. That could discourage impulse thieves.

Usually (almost always) DH and I ride together when we go shopping. If one of us stays with the bikes then we don't lock up. If we both go in, then the bikes are locked together. It's an easy enough precaution to hopefully deter any opportunistic would-be thief. I would rather spend an extra minute locking up than to come out and find our rides missing.

Always locked, (even at home in the garage) unless I have it within sight. Not that recumbents are easy to steal. But I spent a long, long time getting the money for this vehicle, and I'm not sure my insurance will cover something stolen that wasn't locked up. It's also a good idea to register your bike and its components at bikeregistry.com and for about $1, you can get the stickers to put on the frame and components.

I lock up anytime I am off my bicycle. Even if I am still close. The few seconds I loose locking up is not worth the $1000+ it would cost me to replace my bicycle and everything on it.

AXA ring lock, on the frame, closes around the back wheel,
so quick shopping, no roll away theft of convenience.

anymore time, the lock up plug in chain goes around the front wheel,
and rack or signpost.

I lock up even if I am going to be sitting on the sidewalk right next to my bike. My bike is like family to me. If I don't ride one day I even go in and say hello to him. I bought a new saddle for my second bike this morning but feel a bit guilty now - like they both should get something.

Easily? Thanks for your perspective. I currently own three bicycles. One of them was a cheap Giant Cypress ST... and I spent more on it than I did on my other two bikes, my wife's bike and my son's bike. I can't afford to replace it.

One of those other bikes, BTW is a 1983 Schwinn Sierra that I've converted into a hybrid. Bought it used at a thrift store a couple of years ago... after 4,000+ miles in the saddle of it, I HAVE become quite attached to it. Her name is Mabel.

So true. If you THINK that your bike is a pile of tubes and machined parts then, perhaps, you shouldn't be riding. My bike is a friend that allows me a temporary escape, allows me to think things through and work stuff out. It has also helped me to make many new friends that, otherwise, I probably would not have met.

I spend a lot of time taking care of my ride. Adding some things and doing preventative maintenance. I suppose that this "mulvyer" or whoever they are is probably someone that hasn't really had a chance to get the right idea. Perhaps they are simply put off by the fact that they MIGHT have something from a big-box store that isn't working out for them.

In any case, since they haven't posted here since this one begins to think that they are nothing mor than an internet troll looking to raise people's ire........

Thought that this was a bit amusing.

What about your helmet? I've seen a few people just leave it dangling from the handlebars, but even tho I don't live in what I consider a high crime area, I just can't bring myself to do that. I try to run the chain thru the straps, but not sure if that's good/bad. I'm still afraid of seeming like a dork by wearing/carrying it with me into a store.

Depending on how long I am going to be I'll either wear it or carry it. I thought the same "dork" thing for a long time myself, but then I figured why should I let it bother me. Surprisingly enough I have never received any nasty comments about it either way.

If I'm using a shopping cart, I dangle it from the handle. If not, I carry it by the strap. I don't personally care who thinks I'm a dork. I know what I think, I know what my wife thinks and that's good enough.

As far as the helmet is concerned, it depends on the length of stay. If I'm going to be off the bike for a long time, I run the U-lock through the helmet straps when locking the bike. If it's a quick run in to the grocery store I leave the helmet on my head. I don't see it as a "dork" thing, I see it as:

1) A "fit" thing. You don't see people wearing bike helmets pushing around carts full of frozen pizzas, boxes of super-sugary cereals, and case upon case of soft drinks.
2) As a means to explain why I am so sweaty.

If you have to explain then they probably aren't going to understand anyway.....

Yeah, I was sweating up a storm today in the midday heat - would've been a good signal to others to explain why I was so swampy.

I have a question about locks, and the U-Locks in particular. I've only looked at a few in the local Walmart. They seem heavy and kinda unwieldy. But I'm quickly getting fed up with my $10 combination cable lock. The damn thing is so twisty that it's always a pain to untangle it and try to thread it thru everything. But the U-Locks seem kinda short....do people just hook them thru the front tire and the bike rack? I'm always worried that if someone really wanted to, they could just flip the quick release on the tire and make off with the rest. And what do you do when there's no rack? Doesn't seem the U-Lock would be flexible enough to attach to a bench or whatever is handy to lock up to.

I use a length of chain with a small u-lock. It's enough to go around the frame and the rear tire. I also have an 8-foot coated cable with a keyed lock. I carry that one with me more often as it's much easier to use. It still needs to be "threaded" through the wheels and frame though.

It's really what you prefer to use. Larger u-locks are a bit unwieldy but a lot of the people that I have seen use some combination of both. A u-lock and some sort of a cable.

I gave up on combination locks a long time ago.

Also, I wouldn't suggest you by your security from Wally World. Go to your LBS and they will be able to help you pick out what you would need.

I'm surprised you have such success with that line of hot air to store personnel. I would have expected them to laugh at your bluster, if not tell you to get lost. What makes you think any store is responsible for providing bike racks, or responsible for your property outside?

Interesting concept. What added value would an LBS provenance add to security device purchase over a similar product purchased at a fraction of that price from Walmart or any hardware store?

What "help" could be needed from LBS personnel for this?