Locking your rig

Submitted by jfrench on April 1, 2010 - 10:49am

Off topic

How do you lock up your bike & what type of lock do you use? I live in a fairly low-bike-theft area of upstate NY, so I can get away with whatever, but I will be traveling a lot this summer and want to not worry about my baby.

This method seems like the best, but U-locks are fucking heavy, and taking the front wheel off is a slightly obnoxious extra step:

April 1, 2010 - 11:22am

jfrench

Seattle

Seriously considering getting a Pitlock set for front axle, seatpost, headset, then locking my frame/rear wheel with a U-lock.

Paranoid? Yes. Worth it? Probably.

the j is for jesse
Troy, NY: 2008 - 2010
Seattle, WA: 2010 - present

April 1, 2010 - 1:36pm

nedderweevil

San Francisco Bike Polo

Here you go - do it like this:

Happy April!

But seriously - you don't need to get the seat tube in with the rear wheel. Get a allen key skewer for the front, and in the rear just get the wheel in the triangle. To swipe your bike a theif would need to cut your rim, both tire beads, and unbolt the farking hub. edit: actually, they wouldn't need to unbolt the hub. But have you ever tried cutting a wire bead? Kevlar might be easy. I haven't tried.

Don't park outside for long periods of time. A good battery powered grinder or sawsall will get through a hardened steel u-lock in 3 minutes. 5 minutes if you buy the extra fat heavy new york branded type.

If you don't like the weight then get one of those aluminum stupid-thief deterrents. The vast majority are stupid and won't explore how easy they are to break.

knock wood.

Devin

--
Credo Quia Absurdum

April 1, 2010 - 3:46pm

jfrench

Seattle

Word, thanks for the input Devin. The rear-wheel U-lock thing makes sense to me, I'm gonna start doing it.

I am pretty damn paranoid though so an allen key skewer does not seem like enough. My wheelset is custom & cost me a decent amount, so spending a bit of extra cash for those crazy CNC machined skewers seems worth it, just in case some savvy thief is carrying an allen key around.

I ride this bike every day to work, and can leave it inside in a secure space. However, I'll be traveling for several months through the US and Europe this summer, where I can't depend on that luxury.

So yeah, just trying to cover all my bases so I don't end up blazed off my ass in Amsterdam, staring at where my front fork & wheel used to be.

the j is for jesse
Troy, NY: 2008 - 2010
Seattle, WA: 2010 - present