Locks Suggestions/Recommendations



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Dimpled Chad

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Hi,

I'm new here. I've lurked a bit, and googled some too. I got a new bike for my birthday (Fisher
Tiburon, their base Hybrid model) and I'm thinking about what I need to secure it. I mostly
ride around town (a suburb which shares a border with Chicago) or for leisure with my wife
(i.e., not to work).

The suggestions I've read seem all to suggest getting two locks, one a Kryptonite U-Lock and another
a good chain lock, the former securing the back wheel to the frame and the latter securing the frame
and the front wheel to whatever one would use to keep the bike there upon return. I've also found in
google the suggested link to Sheldon Brown's Lock Strategy
(http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html)

Does all that sound about right, or am I missing anything? Thanks, Chad

--
Looking for a pet? Adopt one! ** http://www.petfinder.com Info for a healthy, happy dog? *
http://www.dog-play.com

I still read the New York Times.

"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced
that basically dogs think humans are nuts."
- John Steinbeck
 
On 17 Jun 2003, Tom Keats opined:

> You might glean some helpful tips, pointers & insights from here:
>

Thank you! Chad

--
Looking for a pet? Adopt one! ** http://www.petfinder.com Info for a healthy, happy dog? *
http://www.dog-play.com

I still read the New York Times.

How come the AT&T logo looks like the Death Star?
 
On 17 Jun 2003, Dimpled Chad opined:

> On 17 Jun 2003, Tom Keats opined:
>
>> You might glean some helpful tips, pointers & insights from here:
>>
>
> Thank you!

ps: do you get this question *all* the time? Just curious. Thanks again. Looks like a great
site. Chad

--
Looking for a pet? Adopt one! ** http://www.petfinder.com Info for a healthy, happy dog? *
http://www.dog-play.com

I still read the New York Times.

Life is like a Car-wash and I'm on a bicycle.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Dimpled Chad <[email protected]> writes:
> On 17 Jun 2003, Dimpled Chad opined:
>
>> On 17 Jun 2003, Tom Keats opined:
>>
>>> You might glean some helpful tips, pointers & insights from here:
>>>
>>
>> Thank you!
>
> ps: do you get this question *all* the time? Just curious. Thanks again. Looks like a great site.
> Chad

It comes up fairly frequently. There seem to be about as many ideas & opinions on bike security as
there are riders, so there's really no "last word" on the subject. Differing locales, differing
purposes of riding, differing requirements ... it's a very broad subject. I just live by my own
three personal rules-of-thumb:

1) never run out of toilet paper
2) always know where my keys are
3) when I'm doing utility rides to the shops etc, exploit every opportunity to bring my bike indoors
with me, and then keep it within eyeshot as much as possible

cheers again, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca
 
The most important piece of advice is to actually use your lock. My daughter and I stopped at the
supermarket with our bikes in the back of my truck after a ride on Sacramento's American River
Bicycle trail. She offered to stay with the bikes while I walked in for one item. . . You can see
where this is headed. I assured her that in the 3 or 4 minutes we were going to be gone that nothing
would happen. Someone stole her bike, and left mine (an older Raleigh Twenty that has been
restored/hopped up). I'm now shopping for a new bike for her and getting the bad taste of crow out
of my mouth.

Sigh. . .

"Dimpled Chad" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> I'm new here. I've lurked a bit, and googled some too. I got a new bike for my birthday (Fisher
> Tiburon, their base Hybrid model) and I'm thinking about what I need to secure it. I mostly ride
> around town
(a
> suburb which shares a border with Chicago) or for leisure with my wife
(i.e.,
> not to work).
>
> The suggestions I've read seem all to suggest getting two locks, one a Kryptonite U-Lock and
> another a good chain lock, the former securing the
back
> wheel to the frame and the latter securing the frame and the front wheel
to
> whatever one would use to keep the bike there upon return. I've also found
in
> google the suggested link to Sheldon Brown's Lock Strategy
> (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html)
>
> Does all that sound about right, or am I missing anything? Thanks, Chad
>
> --
> Looking for a pet? Adopt one! ** http://www.petfinder.com Info for a healthy, happy dog? *
> http://www.dog-play.com
>
> I still read the New York Times.
>
> "I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced
> that basically dogs think humans are nuts."
> - John Steinbeck
 
On 17 Jun 2003 19:31:03 GMT, Dimpled Chad <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'm new here. I've lurked a bit, and googled some too. I got a new bike for my birthday (Fisher
>Tiburon, their base Hybrid model) and I'm thinking about what I need to secure it. I mostly ride
>around town (a suburb which shares a border with Chicago) or for leisure with my wife (i.e., not
>to work).
>
>The suggestions I've read seem all to suggest getting two locks, one a Kryptonite U-Lock and
>another a good chain lock, the former securing the back wheel to the frame

???? The Krypto on the back wheel to the frame? Nope, nope, nope....

Lock the back wheel to a solid immovable object using the Krypto. Put it inside of the rear
triangle. Don't bother to lock the frame itself. If you look at it, this means that they would have
to cut the back wheel to get the frame- not very likely, and not very easy. Also, get the high-end
MINI krypto for this. Very little room to get any leverage.

> and the latter securing the frame and the front wheel to
> whatever one would use to keep the bike there upon return.

Ever seen 3 foot cable cutters in action? Don't blink! A serious thief can get through most any
cable or chain quickly. The Kryptonite chain is almost unbeatable, but heavy. I'm sure that there
are other worthy chains, and I am almost certain that they will all weigh a lot. So that's the
trade-off- a heavy chain that is a pain to carry, or a chain or cable that will stop casual thieves
but won't deter a serious thief.

> I've also found in google the suggested link to Sheldon Brown's Lock Strategy
> (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html)
>
>Does all that sound about right, or am I missing anything? Thanks, Chad

There are lots of guides to locking a bike. Another one-

http://www.sfbike.org/biking_resources/theft/

Don't forget the seat and seat post! If it has a quick release, your best bet is to get it replaced
with a bolt (go to a hardware store and get an 'english' size allen bolt, not metric- most bike
thieves won't have english allen keys on them). Or get and use a seat cable- again, easily cut but a
deterrent to your casual crack head.

Always lock to a SOLID object. And a chain link fence is not solid.

And don't forget location- lighted, high-traffic, and as near to bikes much nicer than yours as
possible :)

I use a Krypto evo-2000 mini, and a 4 foot krypto cable with a heavy duty masterlock (oh yeah, get
a separate lock for the cable or chain- two sets of tools for a thief, two operations, not one). I
think that they are up to a Kryptonite 3000 or some such thing? Anyway, the u-lock through the
back wheel to a parking meter or rack or similar, the cable through the front wheel and frame and
around the solid object (back wheel also, if I can make it). If I am worried, I will run the cable
through the u-lock just to plug up the opening some more, and lock the cable and lock onto the
bottle rack just to make it a touch harder to get access to the lock if they decide to break it
instead of the cable.

Check local bike groups and shops to see if a Kryptonite New York u-lock and/or chain is a good idea
for your area. They will love selling you both, but it can be a lot of weight and can be overkill in
many parts of the country.

And then my final rule for locking up a bike- if I can't afford to lose the bike, financially or
emotionally, I don't leave it.
 
x-no-archive:yes

<SNIP>> I use a Krypto evo-2000 mini, and a 4 foot krypto cable with a heavy
> duty masterlock (oh yeah, get a separate lock for the cable or chain- two sets of tools for a
> thief, two operations, not one). I think that they are up to a Kryptonite 3000 or some such thing?
> Anyway, the u-lock through the back wheel to a parking meter or rack or similar, the cable through
> the front wheel and frame and around the solid object (back wheel also, if I can make it). If I am
> worried, I will run the cable through the u-lock just to plug up the opening some more, and lock
> the cable and lock onto the bottle rack just to make it a touch harder to get access to the lock
> if they decide to break it instead of the cable.

Have you seen the new lock that looks like a pair of handcuffs? Does anyone here use them? I am
fascinated by this simple solution but wonder if it really works.

Pat in Texas
 
On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 09:41:48 -0500, "Pat" <[email protected]> wrote:

>x-no-archive:yes
>
><SNIP>> I use a Krypto evo-2000 mini, and a 4 foot krypto cable with a heavy
>> duty masterlock (oh yeah, get a separate lock for the cable or chain- two sets of tools for a
>> thief, two operations, not one). I think that they are up to a Kryptonite 3000 or some such
>> thing? Anyway, the u-lock through the back wheel to a parking meter or rack or similar, the cable
>> through the front wheel and frame and around the solid object (back wheel also, if I can make
>> it). If I am worried, I will run the cable through the u-lock just to plug up the opening some
>> more, and lock the cable and lock onto the bottle rack just to make it a touch harder to get
>> access to the lock if they decide to break it instead of the cable.
>
>
>Have you seen the new lock that looks like a pair of handcuffs? Does anyone here use them? I am
>fascinated by this simple solution but wonder if it really works.
>
>Pat in Texas
>

I've seen them but haven't heard anything about them. I'd also be interested to learn more about
them; maybe someone will post some info.
 
Dan Daniel <[email protected]> wrote
>
> Check local bike groups and shops to see if a Kryptonite New York u-lock and/or chain is a good
> idea for your area. They will love selling you both, but it can be a lot of weight and can be
> overkill in many parts of the country.

A New York U _and_ a New York Chain? That would be overkill in a machine shop in the South Bronx.
The two together would weigh close to fifteen pounds! I have seen plenty of people in NYC using one
or the other, but never both at once.

CC
 
On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 23:02:06 -0700, Dan Daniel <[email protected]> wrote:

>Ever seen 3 foot cable cutters in action? Don't blink! A serious thief can get through most any
>cable or chain quickly. The Kryptonite chain is almost unbeatable, but heavy. I'm sure that there
>are other worthy chains, and I am almost certain that they will all weigh a lot. So that's the
>trade-off- a heavy chain that is a pain to carry, or a chain or cable that will stop casual thieves
>but won't deter a serious thief.

The difference between chains a thief can open and ones they can't is whether they're made of
hardened steel or regular. Even relatively lightweight hardened steel links will withstand a bolt
cutter. And don't use a regular padlock. The weakest link on most bike chains is the padlock, not
the chain. A disc-lock works way better, with *much* less opportunity for leverage.

Jasper
 
On 17 Jun 2003, Dimpled Chad opined:

> Hi,
>
> I'm new here. I've lurked a bit, and googled some too. I got a new bike for my birthday (Fisher
> Tiburon, their base Hybrid model) and I'm thinking about what I need to secure it. I mostly ride
> around town (a suburb which shares a border with Chicago) or for leisure with my wife (i.e., not
> to work).

Thanks, again everyone, for the advice. I've a followup question.

Again, given my situation (reprinted above), I've decided to go with at least a U-Lock (and probably
a cable as well, but that's not pertinent to this question).

The question deals with mounting the lock. My options it seems are to carry the lock with me in a
backpack or mounting the sucker on my bike. The former isn't always the best option for me; I'm not
typically with backback.

So, what is the general view to mounting a u-lock on my hybrid bike. There seem to be three
options: inside the frame, which would block the two slots for waterbottles; to the side rear,
which seems bizzare to me, but which wouldn't block the innerpart of the frame, and under the
seat, which the dealer says can hit against my legs as I ride. (Option 4: shell out the big bucks
for the Master-Lock handcuff style lock which fits into a holder mounted in one of the two
waterbottle slots.)

Which is better? Any? None? Problems with side mounting?

Thanks in advance! Chad

--
Looking for a pet? Adopt one! ** http://www.petfinder.com Info for a healthy, happy dog? *
http://www.dog-play.com

I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.
 
"Dimpled Chad" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> There seem to be three options: inside the frame, which would block the two
slots
> for waterbottles; to the side rear, which seems bizzare to me, but which wouldn't block the
> innerpart of the frame, and under the seat, which the dealer says can hit against my legs as I
> ride. (Option 4: shell out the
big
> bucks for the Master-Lock handcuff style lock which fits into a holder mounted in one of the two
> waterbottle slots.)

Another Option:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=&subcategory=&sku=320 4&brand=

These work well if you have space for them on your bars.

-Buck
 
"Jasper Janssen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> On Sat, 21 Jun 2003 00:36:08 GMT, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> wrote:
>
> >Another Option:
>
>http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=&subcategory=&sku=32
0
> >4&brand=
> >
> >These work well if you have space for them on your bars.
>
> Make it a really big lock, put some handlebar foam on the lock, and presto -- dual function as
> aero bars.

They already thought of that. Thus the warnings all over the instruction NOT to use the lock as
a steering device. My guess is that some bonehead did exactly that and landed on his head
because of it.

-Buck
 
On Sat, 21 Jun 2003 15:54:42 GMT, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> wrote:
>"Jasper Janssen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> On Sat, 21 Jun 2003 00:36:08 GMT, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> wrote:
>>
>> >Another Option:
>>
>>http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=&subcategory=&sku=32
>0
>> >4&brand=
>> >
>> >These work well if you have space for them on your bars.
>>
>> Make it a really big lock, put some handlebar foam on the lock, and presto -- dual function as
>> aero bars.
>
>They already thought of that. Thus the warnings all over the instruction NOT to use the lock as
>a steering device. My guess is that some bonehead did exactly that and landed on his head
>because of it.

Yeah, well, that's why we need to develop this further so it *does* work. I mean, it should be
possible, and it's very elegant, in its way.

Jasper
 
On 20 Jun 2003, Buck opined:

> These work well if you have space for them on your bars.

Alrighty.

So my options:
1) carry
2) inner part of frame
3) side rear of bike
4) under seat
5) on handlebars.

I can see the benefit of them being on the handlebars, but wouldn't they seem in the way?

Any other thoughts on the above, particularly #3. Thanks again, Chad

--
Looking for a pet? Adopt one! ** http://www.petfinder.com Info for a healthy, happy dog? *
http://www.dog-play.com

You'll go to Heck if you don't believe in Gosh.
 
On Sat, 21 Jun 2003, Eric S. Sande wrote:
> I've seen messengers use a lock holster on a belt, that pretty much does it for no bike mount and
> no backback as you spec'd.

Plenty of hip kids in Philly and NYC seem to do just fine sticking their U-Locks in the back
waistband of their pants. Their lack of bags or really anything but deck foam hats implies that
they're not messengers, but it seems to work...

-Brendon
 
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