Bike locks

[Wellman]

I'm looking to buy one of those flexible locks made of wound up wires. I'd rather use the ones with
a combination so I don't have to carry a key around but I don't know how safe they are. Are the
combination locks good? (They're from Mountain Equipment Co-op for around $15 canadian with 4
numbers and a resettable combination). Should I get a key one instead?

Martin

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

>I'm looking to buy one of those flexible locks made of wound up wires. I'd rather use the ones with
>a combination so I don't have to carry a key around but I don't know how safe they are. Are the
>combination locks good? (They're from Mountain Equipment Co-op for around $15 canadian with 4
>numbers and a resettable combination). Should I get a key one instead?

All the ones I have seen are pretty flimsy and easy to open without knowing the combination. Also
keep in mind that most of those cable locks can easily be cut with bolt cutters. They are not high
security devices. As a friend of mine calls them "honest person theft prevention". They keep a caual
thief from stealing your bike, but a real thief will have no problem with them.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

 

[Mike Miles]

--On Monday, June 30, 2003 6:10 PM -0400 Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]> wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>> I'm looking to buy one of those flexible locks made of wound up wires. I'd rather use the ones
>> with a combination so I don't have to carry a key around but I don't know how safe they are. Are
>> the combination locks good? (They're from Mountain Equipment Co-op for around $15 canadian with 4
>> numbers and a resettable combination). Should I get a key one instead?
>
> All the ones I have seen are pretty flimsy and easy to open without knowing the combination. Also
> keep in mind that most of those cable locks can easily be cut with bolt cutters. They are not high
> security devices. As a friend of mine calls them "honest person theft prevention". They keep a
> caual thief from stealing your bike, but a real thief will have no problem with them.
> ----------------- Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)
>
>

Unfortunately, this is true with most all locks. They really won't stop a dedicated thief, who
carries 3ft bolt cutters (they've been known to even cut the bike rack to get the bike out) or
possibly even a powersaw muffled with a towel. -Mike

 

[E & V Willson]

Wellman,

When you consider that the weakest link in the setup is not the thick cable, but rather the thin
tang that sticks into the combination part (you don't cut the cable, you cut the tang that sticks
into combination part), perhaps you will consider a U type lock . Otherwise almost anything will do
to keep a basically honest person honest.

Regards, Ernie

Wellman wrote:

> I'm looking to buy one of those flexible locks made of wound up wires. I'd rather use the ones
> with a combination so I don't have to carry a key around but I don't know how safe they are. Are
> the combination locks good? (They're from Mountain Equipment Co-op for around $15 canadian with 4
> numbers and a resettable combination). Should I get a key one instead?
>
> Martin

 

[Drifter]

The type of lock you buy may depend on the value of the bike you ride or its appearance. Here in
Vancouver, I have observed daily in the alley behind Granville Street groups of guys dismantling
several bikes at a time. They do this at night, too, and take the wheels off and lock them to bike
racks in the area with heavy chains and locks for safe storage until the pawn shops open in the
morning. Removal one of the two wheels is a speciality because few cyclists lock up both wheels and
frame. It is becoming common practice to use two good U-locks to secure a bike. In this drug
infested city, any bike can fetch a dollar or two!

Wellman wrote:
>
> I'm looking to buy one of those flexible locks made of wound up wires. I'd rather use the ones
> with a combination so I don't have to carry a key around but I don't know how safe they are. Are
> the combination locks good? (They're from Mountain Equipment Co-op for around $15 canadian with 4
> numbers and a resettable combination). Should I get a key one instead?
>
> Martin

 

[Walter Mitty]

"Wellman" <[email protected]> brightened my day with his incisive wit when in
news:[email protected] he conjectured that:

> I'm looking to buy one of those flexible locks made of wound up wires. I'd rather use the ones
> with a combination so I don't have to carry a key around but I don't know how safe they are. Are
> the combination locks good? (They're from Mountain Equipment Co-op for around $15 canadian with 4
> numbers and a resettable combination). Should I get a key one instead?
>
> Martin
>
>

I'd recommend the ABUS steel-o-flex for this. While not, as other posters point out, secure against
the determined thief they are better than most.

http://www.abus.com/ez/EMain.htm

I use a MillennioFlex to secure the front wheel to the frame,wrapping it tight against the frame to
prevent cable cutters getting to it easily. For the rear wheel a good brand U-lock though the frame
and wheel to a metal post - again as tight as possible to prevent a crowbar or hydraulic lift
getting in there. Also, and I don't know if this does any good, I always angle the keyhole to that
it's not easy to get at - maybe, just maybe, it might deter anyone picking the lock?

--
Walter Mitty.