Is there a way to raise locking technique awareness?

A while ago I was near "The Green Mill"/"Crew" and I saw 6 bicycles locked within 15 feet of each other that were locked horribly. Most of them used cheap keyed cable locks securing only their frame or frame and front wheel to rack/post. 1 had the cheapest U-lock possible securing only the frame. 4 out of 6 all had quick releases, the ones that secured their front wheel didn't have quick release.

There were 2 that were exceptionally bad though. One had a knockoff Kryptoflex cable locking his frame and front wheel, the cable was held together with a high school style Master lock to the rack. The other actually had a decent U-lock (not sure of brand) but the U-lock was only secured to the frame, the part that secured the bike to the rack was a very thin piece of cable that was attached to the U-lock going around the bicycle rack. 

The items that I linked aren't precisely the same ones but are very similar items to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

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Permalink Reply by Wolf-Pup on August 9, 2013 at 5:39am

I have some ideas of what NOT to do. Don't lock your bicycle to my (or anyone else's) bike lock or brake cable. I sadly had to leave someone's bicycle unlocked since some fool locked their bicycle to my lock. Not sure if it was intentional... The second time someone locked their lock to my brake cable. Rich S. came to my rescue. This happened downtown Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The person left his/her bike there for days. Fools.

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on August 9, 2013 at 5:51am

I use pinheads for the wheels (I know there's a better German brand, but that's down on my spending list) and a cable for the saddle and an Abus double deadbolt to lock the frame to a secure bike rack. I feel pretty secure, but you really never know.

It's hard enough to find safe things to lock to with just that one place of attachment (my u-lock), but if some of you are advocating u-locking more than just the frame, what are you saying we should lock to?

Permalink Reply by norman kaeseberg on August 9, 2013 at 6:45am

the inside (free space) of my closed and locked Masterlock Ulock is 4 1/8" x 8 1/8". my second Ulock, an X2 power lock, has 4 5/8" x 9" of free space locked, a full half inch wider, enough wiggle room to lock my front wheel and frame to a standard bike rack.  The smaller Ulock goes around the rear wheel and the frame. A cable lock rolled up on the top frame slides through my removable seat. I have a way too fat Trek frame (1 3/4", so this should work for almost anybody's ride. Take a tape measure and shop around. Bigger is definitely better as far as Ulocks go. (I got mine at Amazon)  

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on August 9, 2013 at 8:54am
This is a great thread - would love to hear from h' or Kevin on this one, cuz I've been thinking for the past coupla years that the *smaller* the u-lock, the better, because there's less room to get a tool (jack, etc) in there.



norman kaeseberg said:

the inside (free space) of my closed and locked Masterlock Ulock is 4 1/8" x 8 1/8". my second Ulock, an X2 power lock, has 4 5/8" x 9" of free space locked, a full half inch wider, enough wiggle room to lock my front wheel and frame to a standard bike rack.  The smaller Ulock goes around the rear wheel and the frame. A cable lock rolled up on the top frame slides through my removable seat. I have a way too fat Trek frame (1 3/4", so this should work for almost anybody's ride. Take a tape measure and shop around. Bigger is definitely better as far as Ulocks go. (I got mine at Amazon)  

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on August 9, 2013 at 10:57am
Thanks!


h' 1.0 said:

There's been little evidence over the years that anyone is actually prying open U-locks. And the "freon" trick can fairly be described as an urban legend where Chicago is concerned.

One exception-- some thieves, generally more the "street folk" variety than the "drive around in a van and collect nicer bikes" variety, will try twisting the bike like a giant wind-up key if they think they have a reasonable shot at popping the U-lock that way based on its quality (see norman's Masterlock above.)

So I would say there's a small chance that having more play in the U-lock might increase the ease of this method.

Sarah D. 1-3.3 said:

This is a great thread - would love to hear from h' or Kevin on this one, cuz I've been thinking for the past coupla years that the *smaller* the u-lock, the better, because there's less room to get a tool (jack, etc) in there.
Permalink Reply by El Dorado on August 9, 2013 at 2:51pm

I have a regular size Kryptonite NYC yellow lock. I plan on getting the mini version as well. The steel in these higher end locks are supposedly harder to cut. I read a UK article that it would take around 8 minutes with a grinder to cut through both sides on these monsters. I believe Abus makes very strong (maybe the best) high end U-locks. The Granite I think is the best. However, I wouldn't trust these Links. They look like twisted legos & can probably be snapped apart.

Permalink Reply by El Dorado on August 9, 2013 at 11:20pm

h, if he was using the lock that is attached to his bike then it was a ONGuard. I have read many articles from outside the US that praise the Kryptonite NYC U-locks and chains. Doesn't sawing through a lock with a grinder cause attention? I mean I would imagine there would be plenty of sparks and loud noise.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on August 10, 2013 at 2:53am

Here's surveillance video of an angle grinder theft on North Clinton in June of 2010. For those who don't want to watch all 10 minutes, start watching at 7:45 and stop watching at 8:35. 

That 50-second commitment may change your opinions about whether the presence of surveillance cameras, parking your bike on a "busy street in front of an open business," and the noise and flying sparks of an angle grinder theft are deterrents to bike thieves.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on August 10, 2013 at 2:55am

Eight minutes!?? Your UK article is inaccurate.

El Dorado said:

I have a regular size Kryptonite NYC yellow lock. I plan on getting the mini version as well. The steel in these higher end locks are supposedly harder to cut. I read a UK article that it would take around 8 minutes with a grinder to cut through both sides on these monsters. I believe Abus makes very strong (maybe the best) high end U-locks. The Granite I think is the best. However, I wouldn't trust these Links. They look like twisted legos & can probably be snapped apart.

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on August 10, 2013 at 4:04am
Holy shit.

I'm highly annoyed with the woman for not doing anything, because you see her think about it for a minute...
Permalink Reply by El Dorado on August 10, 2013 at 4:28am

How about engraving the bikes serial number in large numbers on the frame?

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on August 10, 2013 at 4:47am

Well bikes already have serial numbers. A little less than a third of the theft reports to the CSBR include a serial number. The remaining two thirds of victims don't know and have no way of finding out what the serial number of their stolen bike is/was. Not knowing your serial number greatly reduces your chances of ever being reunited with your stolen bike because the serial number is still considered by most law enforcement agencies to be the single most important piece of information when trying to identify a stolen bike.

El Dorado said:

How about engraving the bikes serial number in large numbers on the frame?

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