The jungle of locks
Hi;
I don't want to cart my bike lock around to work and back, and last night went to look for a lock that I could leave at work. I stoped by MEC, Urbane Cyclist, and Duke's. All three strongly recommended a U-lock, with a cable lock as a secondary (to keep the front wheel from being stolen, for example). Urbane even showed me a $100 U-lock, which was very nice and light, but still, $100.
I was a bit taken back, as I figured that another cable lock would work. My downtown parking is in an underground parking garage. Not the most secure--I use the car ramp to access, and it's open during the work day--but not exactly in sight.
Thing is, I've been using an old MEC 2m cable with a keyed lock at one end. It's at least 15 years old. It's probably as thick as the thickest cables, and the locking end seems quite solid. Anyway, I've used it to lock my bikes in many places, including locations downtown and at the CNE, and sometimes for good lengths of time--up to the full day (when I was on jury duty). No problems. (Heck, no one has ever stolen the full bottles of wine I sometimes have in the panniers or my utility bike.)
From listening to the bike stores, cable locks are being snipped "by garden shears" right anbd left, every minute of every day, or something. Have I been lucky? Will a U-lock be the magic bullet? Is anything a magic bullet? Do I need a magic bullet, anyway???
If you plan on riding regularly for the foreseeable future, I'd say spend the $$$. Once you average the one-time cost of the lock over its lifetime, the price differences lose importance, and you're left with two things: how safe you feel and how long it lasts. Also, if you plan to upgrade your ride at some point, you might as well get a good lock now.
The $$$ is going to a bike-friendly company, so even if you feel like you're overpaying a bit, it's not the end of the world. Not like you're giving your $100 to Monsanto or Lockheed Martin.
I subscribe to the "cheap bike, expensive lock" school of thought--my lock is worth more than my bike.
Last year during the film festival I had my bike locked up down the street from the Paramount with a Kryptonite cable, and they neatly cut thru it and took my bike while I was at the film. This was in the early evening too. I really would go for a good U-lock, they are harder for the thieves to deal with and they'll go in search of something easier.
Get a heavy and expensive u-lock. Lock it tightly as possible to ring and post - running the lock through the frame and rear-wheel at some point.
Cable locks are great, but can be cut easily. U-locks are great but often are not used properly - too loose and the perp sticks a hydraulic pocket jack in between the post and the lock - bang.
Using a combination of locks is good, sometimes thieves only carry the cable snips.
pinhead locks are good for securing components.
if a thief is smart or dedicated - they will get your bicycle or trash it in the process. I only lock stuff up outside which if lost would not be budget breaking.
Make sure the ring and post or whatever is secure to the ground. Give it a good tug - if it's loose move on.
If you lock in a high traffic area watch out the the perp waiting and then putting his own lock on your bicycle so he can come back at 4am and work on it.(police will do nothing for you there)
Anyways, good luck. I usually have a bicycle that is cheaper than the lock, that way i don't have to worry.
Main reason I'd consider Bixi is so I could run bike-errands in this unpoliced town. I have three bikes, but none of them are cheap enough not to worry about: they stay inside at home, or locked up inside my school staff room. I do errands on foot, or by Autoshare, and by TTC if I think I'll win the streetcar-wait lottery (and usually regret).
Also, if you see a guy with a bag standing near some bikes, and you're not in a rush to be anywhere, stand somewhere nearby just to intimidate him, because today he might be eying someone else's bike, tomorrow, it could be your bike. Don't think they're all crackheads. Some antisocial university students probably do it as well.
At work I have a secure patio area to keep my bike, but with trying to use it as my main mode of transportation, I wasn't sure about the real risk everywhere else. I have an extremely thick cable lock too...knowing that if someone REALLY wants my bike, they can get it regardless of how its locked up. Looks like I'll be investing in a U-lock...and looking to buy/build a cheap commuter bike. I like the idea of having a bike worth less than the lock. I wouldn't mind having 2 bikes either, for when friends come to visit. Does anyone use the bike stations like at Union Station?
~Cori
"Also, if you see a guy with a bag standing near some bikes, and you're not in a rush to be anywhere, stand somewhere nearby just to intimidate him"
Making friends everywhere you go?
All those suspicious "guy with a bag" types. They are probably all using those "bags" to carry their "things" haha or so they would have us believe!
They don't fool me, righteous people carry their belongings in a small dirigible woven from heliotrope fibers. Lighter than air. Why burden yourself?
And don't get me started on those antisocial university students GRRRR. Last week I was waiting to board a trolley. I saw one of those antisocial U-students looking sullen and moping around a bike rack. It was then I noticed.. it had a BAG!
I knew I was onto something big, but the trolley arrived and I had to board. I needed the air-conditioned interior to help me extend the tasty life of the soft-serve cone I had just purchased.
It probably stole a bike, after all, it had a bag and was also clearly an antisocial U-student based on my observation of it's t-shirt which held an ironic message about Steve Jobs and Marilyn Monroe.
Last year I caught someone halfway through my thick Kryptonite cable, in broad view. He looked like a regular cyclist and no one had any clue. When I got home, I also experimented sniping through the cable with some beefy snips. It takes a few minutes and a strong arm, but it can be done. On that day I spent $100 on a higher-end Kryptonite ulock. From then on I bring 2 locks with me to my work. I don't notice the extra weight (hauling a backpack with stuff anyways) and the extra hassle is neglible. I am pretty fast with locking now, don't notice it. I get the advantage of locking my wheels, and having the option to lock to telephone poles or larger objects. Now I bask in very thorough security. For short or social trips with no bags, I just have my ulock.
I looked, and most of the other bicycles in the rack at work were going with the U-lock and cable combo. A few were using the really heavy Kryptonite chain sold at MEC. Honestly, unless the bike was a new exotic something-or-another, that seems like gross overkill. (But then, do you want to be the hardest bike to steal, or the easiest? Mind you, that way can lie madness.)
When MEC gets more U-locks in, I guess I'll get one, and a cable (don't want my front wheel stolen). The rack is one of the wide ones with a lot of triangles, with good room for bicycles. (I think the rack in front of MEC is similar design.)
I can't say I agree with the concept of a lock more expensive than a bicycle. That makes no sense to me. Any decent bike will be worth more than $150, and even the most expensive lock and chain might be that all told. Besides, I'd rather have less stuff rather than more. A bicycle lock is (obviously) pretty far down on my list of "Stuff which I really Have to Have".
Actually, I have no idea if my 1987 Steve Bauer Chinook is worth more than $100, but it surely functions a lot better than any new $100 bike. The salmon frame colour, with bright yellow handlebar tape and bottle cage -- priceless blast from the '80s, when music videos were worth watching, and I when I would go up hills several gears higher than I do now. (And shouldn't a bike called "Chinook" be a....salmon.....colour??)
If you use a chain, wrap it tight to the bicycle and keep it and the padlock away from the ground.
Cable locks are all "low security" ... so lock appropriately.
I'm surprised that no one has laid claim to a bike rack and sat there all day watching over the bikes, for a fee. Bike Security might be a new fangled job for someone, its easy, its good pay. Just think, $2.00 a bike times 50 bikes? Guaruanteed not to have your wheels messed with while I'm watching them. You park your bike, you lock it up and for a twoonie I give you a claim check and off you go. When you come back, you give me the claim check and I let you unlock your bike. Just like a coat check.
$100 bucks a day? Good money. I think I'll start on Tuesday!