Do you carry a lock?



Quick Shifter

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Jul 6, 2016
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Here's a question: how many riders carry a lock and chain on their bikes? I don't mean for going down the shops or leaving your bike at the station or touring, but when just out for a training run or for a pleasure ride?

I always carry a cable lock, but, thinking about it, I'm not sure of any scenario when I would leave my bike unattended, unless perhaps I'd had an accident or a breakdown that I couldn't fix. Am I lugging a lot of weight around for no reason?
 
Never on a training (I don't train anymore) or pleasure ride, because I'm not going to stop into a store or leave my bike unattended. If I break down so bad that I can't fix it to at least limp home then I'll just walk with the bike. In todays world we have cell phones so if my bike was that bad off I would just call for someone to come get me. In 40 years plus of riding I've never had a situation like that so I'm not worried about it now or ever to justify carrying a lock in a backpack or on the bike for next 40 years!
 
I carry a small cable lock meant for skis and snowboards. It is small and weighs very little. Occasionally if I am out alone, I use it when going in for a pit stop. It would not stop a determined thief, but it would stop someone from just walking off with it. I doubt a determined thief would target my bike.
 
In the 40 plus years of cycling I've never carried any kind of lock. On longer hot rides I'll stop in a store to get more water but never worry about my bike being taken. I had a guy on a ride several weeks ago in a not so nice part of a city I was cycling thru actual see me enter the convenient store and he went and stood by my bike until I came out. I was in the store for over 5 minutes because of the line of people, and he was shocked that I didn't lock it. Look several of my bikes aren't your normal looking bikes so hard to hide, and even harder to sell.
 
Never.

Situational awareness.

If I am in a shithole, democratic enclave, I require line of sight to my bike and only stop if life is on the line.
 
I rarely carry a lock at all. If I cannot have my bike with me, I will keep going until I can.
 
Last week I was riding along a little lane when I happened upon two cyclists loading a bike into a taxi. The bike literally had its front wheel bent in half. There was no other vehicle present, so I can only surmise that the rider had run off the road and hit something, for whatever reason, or maybe the wheel had collapsed.
 
I carry a lock when I know I have to lock the bike in public. Otherwise, I have my lock at my workplace.
Maybe you should create a poll that will give you (us) a better view, on peoples lock carrying behavior.
 

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