Best Bike Lock ?

rs said:

Perhaps off the subject from pure technical issues but what brand/type of bike
lock is the most effective against (scum-bag) bike theives? I assume a U-lock
of a cable lock? And Kryptonite is a big name brand but there were the
problems several years ago with them so I wonder if they're solved all that.
REI locally in Berkeley carries a brand called BullDog (I think).

This is for my around town commuter/cruiser.

Thick-link chain locks with compact padlocks are considered to be the most effective.

rs said:

Perhaps off the subject from pure technical issues but what brand/type of bike
lock is the most effective against (scum-bag) bike theives? I assume a U-lock
of a cable lock? And Kryptonite is a big name brand but there were the
problems several years ago with them so I wonder if they're solved all that.
REI locally in Berkeley carries a brand called BullDog (I think).

This is for my around town commuter/cruiser.

Thick-link chain locks with compact padlocks are considered to be the most effective.

"rs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Perhaps off the subject from pure technical issues but what brand/type of
bike
lock is the most effective against (scum-bag) bike theives? I assume a
U-lock
of a cable lock? And Kryptonite is a big name brand but there were the
problems several years ago with them so I wonder if they're solved all
that.
REI locally in Berkeley carries a brand called BullDog (I think).

This is for my around town commuter/cruiser.

When I have to park for extended periods, I use a Topeak U-Lock and a cable.
The u-lock has one of the new cruciform keys, which solves the Bic pen
problem. I run the u-lock around the frame and front wheel, and run a cable
around the whole bike front wheel to rear wheel. The cable isn't great but
the combination of the two locks should discourage all but the hardcore
thief.

rs said:

This is for my around town commuter/cruiser.

Unless the bike is worth a lot of money, you probably don't need much
of a lock. Cable locks are light, easy to carry, and usually enough of
a deterrent to protect a commuter bike... unless bike theft is terrible
where you are?

-Vee

Hi Dan

Are you sure? I'd rather cut a Krypto. chain & /or small lock than
their better U-locks. (The Evo & NY)
Kryptonite came forward and forthrightly replaced all their somewhat
defective locks. I have 2 replacement U-locks that were obtained w/ a
minimum of fuss & muss. Except for the Ace key glitch, I've always
considered them to be the best. I just paid for one of their Mini
U-locks. So I now have a total of 3.
The best place to get more info about this is @ Sheldon Browns site.
I'm sorry but I can't find the URL for his lock article. Perhaps
another reader of this can find it.

Best, John

john said:

Hi Dan

Are you sure? I'd rather cut a Krypto. chain & /or small lock than
their better U-locks. (The Evo & NY)

The idea with the chains is that you wrap them tight so as not to
allow a long lever to be used in springing them open.

JT

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On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 17:08:54 -0600, [email hidden] (rs)

Quoted message said:

Perhaps off the subject from pure technical issues but what brand/type of bike
lock is the most effective against (scum-bag) bike theives? I assume a U-lock
of a cable lock? And Kryptonite is a big name brand but there were the
problems several years ago with them so I wonder if they're solved all that.
REI locally in Berkeley carries a brand called BullDog (I think).

This is for my around town commuter/cruiser.

What's best depends upon several things.

First, what level of thievery is present in your area for your type of
bike? In some locales, a warded lock and a wire cable will do the
job; in others, an armored and hardened chain and a Master #1 will
only delay the theft for a minute or two. Most people live in places
which fall somewhere between these two points in terms of hazard.

Second, how much can you afford to spend on a lock and/or accessories,
and will that expenditure be adequate?

Third, will locking the bike be enough, or do you need to swap to
non-QR axles and a non-QR seat clamp as well...and will *those*
measures be adequate?

Fourth, would it be cheaper and more effective to get a crummier bike,
ugly it up, and use a cheaper lock to secure it?

All that said, in my experience, in *most* locales, a flat-key
Kryptonite U-lock (with a cable to secure the front wheel and possibly
the seat) is *generally* adequate. Master makes a decent flat-key
U-lock now as well, but good luck getting spare keys for either the
new Master or the new Kryptonite locally; they're weird.

If the risk of theft is high in your area, consult with the local bike
messengers (if that trade exists in your vicinity) for real-world
advice about what's likely to work. Asking the cops might get you a
list of what doesn't work at all, and will almost certainly include
the blanket disclaimer "If they really want to steal it, they'll find
a way."

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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One other observation: Although a cable lock will do the job in many
locales, they're amazingly easy to cut. I frequently get used bikes
brought to me that have cable locks on them for which no key is
available or the combination has been lost. None has resisted my
cable cutter even slightly; one slice, and they're history.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

John, if I were to turn to a life of crime, boosting bikes, I wouldn't
use levers or bolt cutters. It wouldn't matter how tight the chain or
cable was. In fact the tighter, the better. The down side of my methods
is that they both make some noise or attract attention.
I do wonder how long of a bolt cutter it would take to cut a 1/2"
Krypto lock, and if one set of jaws could hold their sharpness long
enough to do the job?
Best wishes, John

Werehatrack said:

One other observation: Although a cable lock will do the job in many
locales, they're amazingly easy to cut. I frequently get used bikes
brought to me that have cable locks on them for which no key is
available or the combination has been lost. None has resisted my
cable cutter even slightly; one slice, and they're history.

What is the thickest cable you have easily cut through? I'm under the
impression that the really thick cables are fairly hard to cut through,
or at least slow a thief down significantly. If this isn't true I would
like to know about it.
Also as I stated above I can't find the URL of Sheldon's article about
bike security. I would like to read it again. If someone would post it,
I would appreciate it.

Thanks, John

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html

Mark

john said:

John, if I were to turn to a life of crime, boosting bikes, I wouldn't
use levers or bolt cutters. It wouldn't matter how tight the chain or
cable was. In fact the tighter, the better. The down side of my methods
is that they both make some noise or attract attention.
I do wonder how long of a bolt cutter it would take to cut a 1/2"
Krypto lock, and if one set of jaws could hold their sharpness long
enough to do the job?
Best wishes, John

I many places, it matters not how noisy the thief is:
http://neistat.com/pages/video_holding/bikethief_holding.htm

--
Ted Bennett

john said:

Werehatrack said:

One other observation: Although a cable lock will do the job in many
locales, they're amazingly easy to cut. I frequently get used bikes
brought to me that have cable locks on them for which no key is
available or the combination has been lost. None has resisted my
cable cutter even slightly; one slice, and they're history.

What is the thickest cable you have easily cut through?

10mm in one hack is common. That's 10mm of wire, not a 10mm diameter
plastic tube with 7mm of cable inside. It wasn't even hard to cut it.
Most bike lock cables of my experience are readily severed with one
squeeze of the handles on my Park der and brake cable cutter. For
larger cables, I haul out the old blacksmith's shear, though some
heavy-looking cables can be cut with much more mundane implements.

Quoted message said:

I'm under the
impression that the really thick cables are fairly hard to cut through,
or at least slow a thief down significantly. If this isn't true I would
like to know about it.

Unless the cable is made of something incredibly tough (which tends to
also make it rather inconveniently stiff), it's not going to be hard
to cut in my experience. Some of the thicker, more flexible ones can
be hacked with garden pruning loppers. Some of the less flexible,
tougher cables will resist a bolt cutter to a significant extent, but
few can stand up to a cable shear for more than a second. Many thick
cables can still be defeated with the pocket-size Park cutters by just
taking several nips.

Bike thieves are aware of the fragility of cables. A recent surge in
thefts of bikes on a local university campus was stopped when the
campus cops caught the thief red-handed after a tipoff by an alert
student. Among the tools in the thief's pockets were a cable cutter
and a collection of ball-point pens with mangled ends on the tubes.
The tools of the bike theft trade are neither exotic nor costly. A
cable lock deters only the casual thief, not the experienced one.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

john said:

Are you sure? I'd rather cut a Krypto. chain & /or small lock than
their better U-locks. (The Evo & NY)

U-locks don't have to be cut. They can be broken with a scissors jack
or sometimes even a long piece of pipe. You can't usually pry or jack
a chain open.

The cycle messengers around here (Seattle) use Kryptonite New York
Chains or similar arrangements to protect their bikes.

Chalo Colina

Ted Bennett <[email hidden]> wrote in news:tedbennett-
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I many places, it matters not how noisy the thief is:
http://neistat.com/pages/video_holding/bikethief_holding.htm

That's gotta be the funniest/saddest thing I've ever seen. Thank God I
don't ride in NYC.

Chalo said:

john said:

Are you sure? I'd rather cut a Krypto. chain & /or small lock than
their better U-locks. (The Evo & NY)

U-locks don't have to be cut. They can be broken with a scissors jack
or sometimes even a long piece of pipe. You can't usually pry or jack
a chain open.

The cycle messengers around here (Seattle) use Kryptonite New York
Chains or similar arrangements to protect their bikes.

I remember standing in line in a tool rental shop here in Boston while a
couple of young kids (12-14?) in front of me rented a compound
chain/bolt cutter for the day. Maybe the NY chains would withstand them,
I don't know. Friend's motorcycle chains haven't been lucky.

What's the old joke about all city bikes weighing 40 lb -- the lighter
(more expensive) the bike, the heavier the chain.

I have on of the very original Kryptonite U-locks (circa 1969) made from
welded flat stainless bar stock, vending machine lock. Weighs a ton, but
I don't think anybody remembers how to beat it anymore.

Chalo said:

john said:

Are you sure? I'd rather cut a Krypto. chain & /or small lock than
their better U-locks. (The Evo & NY)

U-locks don't have to be cut. They can be broken with a scissors jack
or sometimes even a long piece of pipe. You can't usually pry or jack
a chain open.

The cycle messengers around here (Seattle) use Kryptonite New York
Chains or similar arrangements to protect their bikes.

I remember standing in line in a tool rental shop here in Boston while a
couple of young kids (12-14?) in front of me rented a compound
chain/bolt cutter for the day. Maybe the NY chains would withstand them,
I don't know. Friend's motorcycle chains haven't been lucky.

What's the old joke about all city bikes weighing 40 lb -- the lighter
(more expensive) the bike, the heavier the chain.

I have on of the very original Kryptonite U-locks (circa 1969) made from
welded flat stainless bar stock, vending machine lock. Weighs a ton, but
I don't think anybody remembers how to beat it anymore.

"rs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Perhaps off the subject from pure technical issues but what brand/type of

bike

Quoted message said:

lock is the most effective against (scum-bag) bike theives? I assume a

U-lock

Quoted message said:

of a cable lock? And Kryptonite is a big name brand but there were the
problems several years ago with them so I wonder if they're solved all

that.

Quoted message said:

REI locally in Berkeley carries a brand called BullDog (I think).

This is for my around town commuter/cruiser.

Doberman wearing a spiked collar.

"rs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Perhaps off the subject from pure technical issues but what brand/type of

bike

Quoted message said:

lock is the most effective against (scum-bag) bike theives? I assume a

U-lock

Quoted message said:

of a cable lock? And Kryptonite is a big name brand but there were the
problems several years ago with them so I wonder if they're solved all

that.

Quoted message said:

REI locally in Berkeley carries a brand called BullDog (I think).

This is for my around town commuter/cruiser.

Doberman wearing a spiked collar.