(Steven Chan) said:I just bought a resettable combination cable. However, I
was told that it is not a secure way to lock up a bike.
Should I use a u-lock in addition to the cable? How about
Kryptonite's NY chain? How secure is it to use it alone?
Background: I plan to lock up my bike at a place where
I could commute by vanpool everyday. As a result, the
bike will be left at the same plaza for the most part
of the day, week, and year. Any good security strategy
for my plan?
Most decent bikes would be underprotected with only an
unarmored cable lock. Such a lock will only prevent an
opportunistic theft (though that is the nature of most bike
thefts IMO). A relatively cheap, relatively small cutting
tool can snip through a small-diameter cable in one try.
One essential piece of background you left out is, what sort
of bike are you locking up? If it's a '70s ten-speed that
looks like you dredged it out of the river, or a 73cm frame
with a twin-cable Sturmey Archer hub and upside-down drop
bars, or a recumbent, then any lock that's visible will
probably do fine. (Though I've noticed that somebody _will_
steal a bike of zero to negative worth if it's not locked at
all.) Many city riders crust up their bikes with stickers or
"personalized" paint in the interest of making them less
marketable, and this is a valid approach-- after all, it's
likely to work even if somebody breaks into your house.
I have a bike called "the X-plane", which is a Schwinn
Varsity frame with a 24" coaster brake wheel in the rear,
and a long rod extending out where the fork used to be. This
rod pivots on a couple of tapered roller bearings affixed to
a 3-foot-wide axle with a plastic BMX wheel on each end. So
you can turn the front wheels, see, and the bike leans
freely side to side, but the front axle remains level. Did I
mention it's difficult to ride? 'Cause it's difficult to
ride. I never lock this bike-- I reckon that the thief isn't
up to tackle the learning curve, that watching someone
attempt a getaway would be pretty good entertainment, and
that I could probably receive running updates as to its
whereabouts if it went missing.
If you succumbed to conspicuous trendiness when you bought
your bike, well... you've got the kind of bike preferred by
bike-thieving scum! So adorn that carbon-clad plaything with
a couple of five-pound locks and laugh-- the joke's on you.
Leave it sitting long enough, and someone will probably
relieve you of your overpriced but oh-so-chic componentry.
I got my first armored cable lock in 1989 or so, when the
Cobralinks Jr. hit the shelves, and I've never had occasion
to worry about my bike when thus locked. One major benefit
of a relatively long armored cable (that first one was 42"😉
is that you can lock to a tree, or a light pole, or any
number of other things a U-lock will not help you with. That
opens up the number of available spots as well as the
likelihood that you can keep an eye on your bike.
The several times that I or one of my loved ones has lost a
bike, it was either unlocked (inside or outside the house or
on the car) or poorly locked (front wheel only).
Chalo Colina
