The Chainlink

What do you do when you forget your lock?

Yesterday I forgot my lock.  Luckily one of the staff at Julius Meinl let me lock up to her bike (thank you) while I got my morning coffee and did some work.  Normally I would have rode home quick but I had to get online for work and had a dentist appointment.  My awesome dentist also let me bring my bike in to his office.  

I don't like to inconvenience people but what else could I have done?  What would you do?  Do you find people receptive to bringing your bike in to their establishments?

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on March 30, 2012 at 8:31am

I usually get lucky and people let me bring in my bike in if I'm honest and tell them I forgot my lock.

I forget my lock more frequently with my road bike since I don't have a place to carry it like I do on my commuters.

Once in a while, I will have to buy another lock.  Which can be an expensive habit, but I can always use more locks :))

Once or twice I did the unspeakable, and locked my frame to a pole with my helmet and prayed.  This of course was not downtown and I was not gone long.  

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on March 30, 2012 at 8:53am

I have a lock for every bike and lock them up even when indoors so it is pretty much impossible for me to forget a lock unless I leave it lying on the floor when I leave home.  True it is a little expensive but another u-lock is cheap compared to another bike and the way I look at it is that if I can afford another bike I can afford another u-lock.  The key situation is a little annoying bit I am planning to switch over to Abus locks as I need new ones or old ones fail and they allow you to get locks keyed alike so I can not only protect my whole fleet but I can only have one key.

Permalink Reply by Melanie K on March 30, 2012 at 9:40am

Many places will let you bring it inside.  Although this may not be proper etiquette, I will usually just roll it inside and see if anyone says anything-I have found that many places do not care if you bring it in. If someone makes a stink about it, I leave the store or restaurant since a cup of coffee or bagel isn't important enough for me to leave the bike outside. I usually do not forget my locks, but sometimes I'll switch bikes and/or bags, and it does happen. I can bring my bike inside at work, so that isn't a problem (and I have a spare lock at my office, just in case I want to run some errands at lunch). 

Permalink Reply by Casey Carnes on March 30, 2012 at 9:50am

You can always use your helmet straps between your front wheel and frame to secure to a pole/rack, and just tighten down the brakes so it won't roll.  This is what I typically do in the burbs and low crime areas when I'm just running into someplace I can still watch the bike.  I also try to carry a small lock in my bag at all times just in case I forget the U-lock.

Best bet is to just ask and bring the bike in with you.  If you can't, maybe its time to patronize another business...

Permalink Reply by JeffB on March 30, 2012 at 10:55am

Doesn't hurt to ask.  My lock mechanism seized up on me once preventing me from using it and I asked at Eddie Bauer on Michigan and they let me bring it inside. 

The helmet strap trick may work too.  I once left my bike unlocked at the rack in front of my building in the loop for the whole day by accident and it was still there. 

And then there was the time at Lollapalooza when I was getting my bike from the cluster of bikes locked to the temporary racks/barriers and I overheard this conversation: "I can't believe it, they're still here".  "I told you nobody would notice they weren't locked"

Permalink Reply by Tim S on March 30, 2012 at 12:04pm

I have had pretty good luck with businesses no having a problem when I have brought my bike in. Most are okay w it... at least in my experience. Otherwise when on a group ride I have been able to find a fellow rider who is willing to lock me in w them.

Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on March 30, 2012 at 12:08pm

 I'm probably in the minority in that I only have 1 bike, but I can understand occasionally forgetting to carry a lock. Stuff happens.

 And like virtually everyone here I am all for cyclist's rights, etc., but don't expect any non-bike business to allow me to bring mine inside. They'd have to let everyone do it all the time and that would be a PITA.

 Big fan of mounting the U-lock to the frame as it's a necessity, not an accessory.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 30, 2012 at 3:20pm

I have 4 bikes and more than 4 locks.  The keychain situation is ridiculous.   I'm afraid to not carry all my keys as I'm more likely to leave the key behind than the lock as the locks stay with the bike.

My tweed bike is irreplaceable so I really never take it anywhere but tweed rides.   I'd hate for it to be stolen and there aren't enough locks in the world that would make me feel comfortable locking it up for more than a few minutes.  I can't go back in time and give my pre-teen dad more money in 1954 to buy another one. 

I would never do the helmet-strap trick on any of my bikes.  I'd just ride home if I forgot my lock and I couldn't bring it inside where I was going. It's a hassle but not nearly as much of a hassle it would be to replace a bike. I'm not made of money or time. 

Permalink Reply by Casey Carnes on March 30, 2012 at 3:40pm

Obviously the helmet strap is not the most secure solution, but if you're somewhere where you can't just ride home or bring the bike in its better than nothing; some of us tour and ride outside the city limits you know.  

James BlackHeron said:

I have 4 bikes and more than 4 locks.  The keychain situation is ridiculous.   I'm afraid to not carry all my keys as I'm more likely to leave the key behind than the lock as the locks stay with the bike.

My tweed bike is irreplaceable so I really never take it anywhere but tweed rides.   I'd hate for it to be stolen and there aren't enough locks in the world that would make me feel comfortable locking it up for more than a few minutes.  I can't go back in time and give my pre-teen dad more money in 1954 to buy another one. 

I would never do the helmet-strap trick on any of my bikes.  I'd just ride home if I forgot my lock and I couldn't bring it inside where I was going. It's a hassle but not nearly as much of a hassle it would be to replace a bike. I'm not made of money or time. 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 30, 2012 at 3:47pm

Take the boy out of the city but you can't take the city out of boy...

I was up on the Green Bay Trail a few days ago and couldn't believe the way some people leave their bikes "locked" up at the metra stations.   They aren't "locked up" -they are gift-wrapped!  It's a different world up there, of course. If I were a bike thief that's where I'd look -right under the Christmas tree in the burbs. 

Permalink Reply by Marc-Paul Lee on March 31, 2012 at 1:12am
This happened to me a few years ago when I was working at the Merc. Building management was not sympathetic and wouldn't let me bring my bike in the building, even on the freight elevator, nor could I leave it in the underground garage. I was so pissed. I wound up waiting until 10am when Kozy bikes opened and bought a new lock. The great guys at Kozy's offered to loan me one but I figured that with four bikes maybe I needed an extra lock just in case.

In other times and situations I've also used the helmet strap trick and thanked the universe when my bike was still there when I returned.
Permalink Reply by jennifer james on March 31, 2012 at 8:32am

It's great to remind everyone about the Millennium Park bike valet/station.

In terms of the too many keys thing...It's possible to order locks from a manufacturer's dealer that all are keyed to one key. Abus, Kryptonite, Onguard all do it and though there's a wait there's no fee. Or in some cases - you can contact a locksmith - they can rekey your existing locks to the same key. See Chicargobike for a long post with options. 

Most are not rekeyable but if you use a bike every day or are in a family where more then one person is switching off on using a bike that carries kids, or you want to unlock the kids' bikes at school, it can save plenty of headaches. We love heavy chains and Viro moped locks ordered keyed alike. We lock all our bikes in our garage to a steel beam - and having one key is especially helpful to keep one of us from being unable to take a bike out by accident. The kid's locks all key to our keys so that if they lose theirs we can get all the bikes unlocked anyhow.

Having fewer keys simplifies some of the locking stuff so it's easier to keep our bikes safer.

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