The Chainlink

Cross Country Bike Rack Theft Deterrent Suggestions?

For those of you who have traveled cross country with a bike rack, have you been able to lock the bike to the car or rack for extended periods of time (for racks that attach to the bottom of the car)? 

Here is an example of the type of rack (may be smaller and only fit 1 or 2 bikes).




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Permalink Reply by Michael A on July 13, 2010 at 11:23am
My roof rack has a locking quick release where the front fork attaches to the rack. But with any lock I would not trust a bike outside for too long. If you were just going into a place for a meal using a solid cable and lock would secure all the bikes together, locking it to the trailer hitch rings would keep them somewhat safe. Anytime I travel overnight I always bring my bike into the room with me.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on July 13, 2010 at 11:27am
Haven't driven cross country, but when we take a bike on trunk rack, I rarely leave it out of sight for more than a minute. When stopping for lunch, we usually get a table at a window, so we can keep an eye on it.
If we have to stop at a store typically one of us will stay with the car. And overnight the bikes go inside.
It's probably overkill, but we never had any trouble with our bikes either.
Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on July 13, 2010 at 1:21pm
I have a rack very similar to that pictured. I have a locking bolt that attaches the rack to the hitch, and then a cable lock that attaches the bikes to the rack. While this setup does not give me the confidence to leave my bikes unattended overnight, it has stopped several attempts from people that tried to just jack the bikes from my rack while I was getting chow.

When overnight, I typically bring the bikes into the room with me, or have taken them off the rack and locked them to a bike rack.
Permalink Reply by mike w. on July 13, 2010 at 2:35pm
If you can do it conveniently, you may want to bring the rack in at night as well if you can't lock it to the car. i know Yakima racks have an optional locking system , but they're pricey. Probably worth it though as Yak Racks are so damned overpriced...
Permalink Reply by Larry Mysz on July 13, 2010 at 6:20pm
We have a Saris rack, like the one pictured, that we use on a sedan, but ours is configured for only two bikes rather than four.

We do not have a hitch lock, but do chain the bikes to the rack when we travel. I feel comfortable with the bikes chained to the rack for short stops, but they are always brought into the room at night.

Joe Studer said:
I have a rack very similar to that pictured. I have a locking bolt that attaches the rack to the hitch, and then a cable lock that attaches the bikes to the rack. While this setup does not give me the confidence to leave my bikes unattended overnight, it has stopped several attempts from people that tried to just jack the bikes from my rack while I was getting chow.

When overnight, I typically bring the bikes into the room with me, or have taken them off the rack and locked them to a bike rack.

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