[baw]

Just got a new bike today!


I need recommendation on a good lock. Any ideas? Wasn't there a video last year of a popular bike lock getting picked?

[G4ME]

if they want the bike they will get it, no matter what.

just get something that will deter someone enough so they don't want to hassle with it.

with my bike, my thoughts are there are better things to steal then mine, so i got a simple 15 buck lock, works fine.

[CharlesS]

It may be possible to break any lock, but some are going to be a lot harder and more time consuming to break than others. For example, chains are extremely easy to break, and can be done in seconds. If you use a chain lock and you are in a big city, your bike will get stolen almost immediately. I use a U-Lock to lock my bike and rear wheel up, and then use a chain to lock up the front wheel, and within one month of moving to the city I'm in right now, the chain got cut. (Fortunately, the thief apparently wanted the whole bike, not the front wheel, and just didn't see the U-Lock there, because they didn't take my front wheel.)

All the information I've ever heard or read has said that the Kryptonite U-Locks are the way to go. If you have a better lock than the other bikes around you, the thieves are going to go for the lock that's easier and quicker for them to break. If there's some schmuck around who locked his bike with a chain, then his is going to be the one that gets stolen, not yours.

[turbopants]

I was a bike messenger for 3 years in dowtown Chicago, and I used a kryptonite lock. A little more expensive than others, but it did the job quite well. I still have my bike!

[analogika]

The U-Locks that are opened in five seconds with a BIC pen are all those with "tube"-type keys.

The video:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/7796925370303347

Kryptonite at least switched all their locks over to a different key mechanism at the end of 2004, partly in response to that video.

[PB2K]

for the first time in 7 years i will buy a bike too. i 'll buy a rope like lock for it so i can prevent ppl from loading my bike into a van. i have seen how people nick lots of bikes by putting them in a van, the lock becomes a bit useless with this rotten bastard method.

[analogika]

Um, the point of a lock is to lock your bike TO something.

Anything else is completely pointless and wouldn't require anything more than a lockable bolt through the rear-wheel spokes.

Don't you have U-lock-compatible bike stands/signposts where you live?

Germany's full of fixed bike stands that will fit any U-Lock.

[euphras]

Originally Posted by analogika

The U-Locks that are opened in five seconds with a BIC pen are all those with "tube"-type keys.

The video:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/7796925370303347

Kryptonite at least switched all their locks over to a different key mechanism at the end of 2004, partly in response to that video.

Link doesn´t work.

[analogika]

yeah it does - just tested it before posting.

It redirects to http://www.engadget.com/2004/09/14/k...-by-a-bic-pen/

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by PB2K

for the first time in 7 years i will buy a bike too. i 'll buy a rope like lock for it so i can prevent ppl from loading my bike into a van. i have seen how people nick lots of bikes by putting them in a van, the lock becomes a bit useless with this rotten bastard method.

Again, you do not want to use a chain. You want a U-lock. Chains are incredibly easy and quick for thieves to cut. Again, my chain got cut in less than a month, when a thief didn't see my U-lock and thought the chain was the only thing connecting my bike to the bike rack. Use a chain, and your bike will get stolen.

And if you don't lock your bike to something, your bike will get stolen even faster. No matter what kind of lock it is.

[Ratm]

Originally Posted by baw

Just got a new bike today!


I need recommendation on a good lock. Any ideas? Wasn't there a video last year of a popular bike lock getting picked?

that's not a bike...

now this is a bike

[Scott Mackey]

While I don't have much to add to this thread, I'll just support what's already been said. Go with a U-Lock. The steel-cable locks are worthless, I just had my bike stolen from in front of the public library a few months ago WITH a cable lock in place. I was stupid, I knew it wasn't very secure, and I paid dearly for it (this was a $600 single speed project bike).

Get yourself a U-lock with a standard flat-key mechanism. Kryptonite and On Guard are both good brands. If you're worried about your front wheel grab a cable as well and just thread the u-lock through the loops.

This site has some good explanations.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html

[baw]

I haven't been able to get to the bike shop yet. How does the u-lock work? Does it attach to the rear wheel and frame?

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by baw

I haven't been able to get to the bike shop yet. How does the u-lock work? Does it attach to the rear wheel and frame?

Yep. Make sure you get one that fits your particular bike.

[hickey]

man that R1 is so sexy. Ive always loved the underseat exhaust.

[slugslugslug]

I really like the Sheldon Brown strategy. Lets you carry a lock that fits in your back pocket. I have the (now discontinued) Krypto locking skewer in my front wheel and lock the back wheel to a rack/post through the rear triangle, so no fussing with a cable.

Although whether you even need to separately secure your wheels will depend on where you live. Even here in Philly and in my previous home of New Orleans (not exactly low-crime towns), unsecured quick release wheels don't seem to get stolen much, except perhaps on bikes that have been sitting in the same spot for an unusually long time.

[baw]

Thanks for the info!

[SSharon]

Just recently my friend at school had his bike stolen and he used a kryptonite U lock. They are actually pretty easy to break. They took a pole and simply pried it off. They were nice enough to leave the lock so we could see it and the minor damage to the pole it was locked to.

[Ratm]

Originally Posted by hickey

man that R1 is so sexy. Ive always loved the underseat exhaust.

Oh yeah....

Titanium exhaust (drools)