bicycle locking strategies?

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

Quoted message said:

Do you have any other ideas?

Here's some links:

http://www.mechbgon.com/lock/
http://www.missinglink.org/Pages/bike_locking.html

The biggest problems I see is that they do not focus on the
strength of the item the bike is being locked to.

Most parking meter poles can be cut with a portable
sawsall in a matter of minutes, and it is very cheap to
rent these tools. They can cut the head off the parking meter,
lift the bike off the pole and thow it and the meter head
(which is full of money) into a van and off they go.

See here:

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=7525665

Once at a shop, a compressed air cut-off wheel will
cut through a U bike lock like a knife through butter, no
matter how hardened it is.

Another trick is with people who lock bikes to the
same pole or whatever all of the time. Thieves who
cruise around, casing places, will come back late at
night, cut the pole at the base, insert a slipper inside
the pole, then replace the pole. Next day the bike
appears locked to the pole the thieves come by and
lift up the pole and [censored] the bike.

Still another trick is a small oxy/acetylene torch, a
thief skilled with a cutting torch can cut through any
lock in a few minutes.

A last hazard is, of course, the government. In some
jurisdictions it's illegal to lock bikes to meters, and
the city will come along with their own locks, and lock
the bike to the pole. To get the bike free you have to
pay a ticket.

All in all your best bet is to take the bike indoors if
your not simply going to be gone inside a store for a
few minutes.

Ted

Ablang said:

Do you have any other ideas?

Here's some links:

http://www.mechbgon.com/lock/http://www.missinglink.org/Pages/bike_locking..html

It's been a long time since I had to lock a bike, but back in NYC in
the 80's, we would lock our bikes up high someplace like the top of a
fence, or a store-front cage, scaffolding or similar. The idea was
that having the bike up high would make working on breaking the lock
more difficult, and the theif would thus choose a different target.

Joseph

Ted Mittelstaedt said:

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

Quoted message said:

Do you have any other ideas?

Here's some links:

http://www.mechbgon.com/lock/
http://www.missinglink.org/Pages/bike_locking.html

The biggest problems I see is that they do not focus on the
strength of the item the bike is being locked to.

First item, first article:
"Lock the bike to something that is very strong, very securely anchored,
and cannot be disassembled by thieves, such as a parking meter."

Quoted message said:

Most parking meter poles can be cut with a portable
sawsall in a matter of minutes,

If someone's going to dehead a meter to get your bike, there's almost
nothing safe to lock to. I'd guess that almost 100% of locks are easier
than meter posts, though.

Quoted message said:

Once at a shop, a compressed air cut-off wheel will
cut through a U bike lock like a knife through butter, no
matter how hardened it is.

Or an electric angle grinder. I went through a typical u-lock in 10 min,
with a Dremel. Hardened steel stops most saws but not abrasive cutters.

Quoted message said:

Another trick is with people who lock bikes to the
same pole or whatever all of the time. Thieves who
cruise around, casing places, will come back late at
night, cut the pole at the base, insert a slipper inside
the pole, then replace the pole. Next day the bike
appears locked to the pole the thieves come by and
lift up the pole and [censored] the bike.

A lot of signposts are telescoped into a base tube, typically secured
with only a bolt.

Quoted message said:

Still another trick is a small oxy/acetylene torch, a
thief skilled with a cutting torch can cut through any
lock in a few minutes.

Grinders and torches make a lot of noise and/or sparks. Less obvious
tools like compound cutters and even prybars are more commonly used.
Cable and light chain locks are popular and easily cut.

Quoted message said:

All in all your best bet is to take the bike indoors if
your not simply going to be gone inside a store for a
few minutes.

The most effective strategy if you have to leave a bike outside is to
ride a beater and watch where you park it (park it near nicer bikes).

I have an original Kryptonite, made from flat stainless bar stock, using
a vending machine lock. It hasn't failed me in >35 years. Of course it
weighs almost as much as the bike, but that's the way bike locks go.

Almost as bike a problem as bike theft is component theft. These days,
with removable faceplate stems, it's a quick job to walk away with a
handlebar & brifters, suspension forks are easy, too.

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Ablang said:

Do you have any other ideas?

Here's some links:

http://www.mechbgon.com/lock/
http://www.missinglink.org/Pages/bike_locking.html

I subscribe to this man's approach:

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

Ablang said:

Do you have any other ideas?

I try to park next to nicer bikes that are less securely locked.

Peter Cole said:

I have an original Kryptonite, made from flat stainless bar stock, using
a vending machine lock. It hasn't failed me in >35 years. Of course it
weighs almost as much as the bike, but that's the way bike locks go.

Might be time to replace it, if it has a cylinder key. Didn't you hear
about the Bic pen trick?

I replaced my 20-year old U-lock when I discovered I could open it
that way.

Peter Cole said:

The most effective strategy if you have to leave a bike outside is to
ride a beater and watch where you park it (park it near nicer bikes).

Or at least a bike that looks like a beater. My commuter bike is an old
Italian club racer frame with a flat white paint job. It's nicer than
most of the other bikes I see locked up but does look fashionable and
doesn't attact attention.

--

John ([email hidden])