Author Topic: Security - locking your bike  (Read 39791 times)

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Offline Melarch

Security - locking your bike
« on: March 06, 2020, 03:30:04 am »
A question- I live in Denver and I must use at least two locks or my bike gets stolen(have lost a few!) is it this bad when touring or just in larger cities. Don't really want to carry 5 to 6 lbs of locks when touring but I guess it might not be an option.
Thanks in advance for any insight
Mel

Offline bobbys beard

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2020, 03:44:34 am »
I only carried a flimsy combination lock for 5 months of touring and never had a problem. I often didn’t lock it at all and happily left it outside supermarkets etc. I did keep a close eye on it in certain areas and I know others have lost their bikes on tour, so perhaps I had some luck. I also had a rucksack with my valuables that I never left attached to the bike unless I was riding.

I do think there is something about a loaded touring bike that gains more respect. Or perhaps it’s just harder to steal with all the luggage...

Offline John Nelson

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2020, 08:12:24 am »
I believe that the risk is much lower outside larger cities, but I don’t have any data to support that belief. I only carry a small, lightweight lock, but I take the bike inside when possible, and try to keep it in view if I can (which is not always possible).

There’s always risk.

Offline John Nettles

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Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2020, 09:43:38 am »
Melarch,

First welcome to the ACA Forums.  Like the others, I use what I call a "deterrent" lock which is basically a 15' length of coated 1/8" wire locked with a more heavy duty (LOL) luggage lock (a local hardware store like ACE or True Value will make one for you probably).  If in small towns (under 3k people), I never lock but like others try to keep an eye on it or ask someone to if they can.  In larger towns (20+k) I always lock unless if just going into a CS.  However, while I tour, I am rarely in a larger town.  If going into a big city, i.e. Washington DC, then I just ride into town, check in at the hotel, and just use public transportation to get around.  Maybe I am jinxing it but in 40+ years of touring, I have not had anything stolen.

Obviously, if you are going solo, it is a bit tougher than if in a group, then someone can stay outside while the others shop, shower, etc.  Plus in a group, if you wrap the cable through a lot of the bikes, they can't just pick up the bikes and haul off, at least not easily.

Tailwinds, John

Offline BikeliciousBabe

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2020, 12:41:50 pm »
And remember that a U-lock can be useless in some campgrounds as there might not be things it will fit around.

And sometimes you have to get inventive if you feel there is an appreciable risk. Last year I stayed in a town park in a small town in Montana. I was totally visible from the street.  That made me a little uneasy. Before turning in I took my 6' cable combo lock and threaded it through the handles of all four pannier and then around the bike and made a pile out of it all. No one was going to walk away with something without an effort that would have likely woken me up.

Offline David W Pratt

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Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2020, 09:59:59 am »
Ironically, the problem seems to be worst in "bike friendly" cities.  The friendliness seems to foster a market for stolen bikes.  Last summer I stopped for dinner in Schenectady while doing the Erie Canal Towpath.  When I came out of the diner, my lock would not unlock.  Fortunately, I was able to break it with a stiff pull; which landed me on my fanny.  Nobody commented on someone apparently stealing a bike

Offline Westinghouse

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2020, 07:38:22 pm »
I always used the least expensive, lightest locks available, $1.00 locks from Dollar Tree store. It protects only from a grab and go theft that can happen in a few seconds. Any cable cutter for brake cables can cut through it in one second. In restaurants I sit where the bike is visible through a window, and keep it locked against a sudden run up and go theft. I would not leave it locked anywhere out of sight for a long time. I stealth camp, and still lock it at night, though the likelihood that Scudgemoe might track me to my spot in the woods to purloin my ride is about zero. I read a story about a cyclist who camped in a wooded area one night. He got out of his tent in the morning. All his gear, bike too, was gone. A manager of a Wendy's restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona told me this story. A guy on a bicycle pulled up. He leaned his bike against the wall outside. He went inside to get something to eat and drink. Sure, there were large windows. The guy had a good view of his bike. Very quickly a man ran up to the bike, mounted, and took off like a bat out of hell. By the time the cyclist was on his feet and out the door, Scudgemoe was half way down the block. The manager told me he did not know the outcome after that, but the thief did get away with the bike. If you ride an expensive bicycle, always lock it wherever and whenever. Some bicycle thieves know what to look for in bicycles. A high end touring bike or any other type is what they look for. And beside that. A lock is good for one thing, and that is to keep an honest man honest.


Offline froze

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2020, 10:53:20 am »
You probably know by now that in todays modern world of battery powered tools there is a tool called the angle grinder that when fitted with specific type of blade and that blade is new it can cut through ANY lock in under 30 seconds, so the reality is no lock is safe.

However when you are touring you are usually not that far away from the bike, so all you need is fairly tough lock, but not extremely tough, like a 7 foot long 12 mm thick security cable, you don't want a cable so thin that they could cut it with cheap pocket knife, these cost around $15; with a combination lock (because you don't want to lose the key while touring), like the Master 178D set your own combo lock, these cost about $10.  The cable is flexible so you can loop it in a circle for storage in the pannier, I twist the ends in such a way that I can attach the lock and not have the loop come unlooped; the cable is also obviously flexible enough to go around anything like a park table leg.

Don't go for those cable locks with the built in long style round combo locks, I'm not a remotely a professional thief or a locksmith, but I can open those up in about 30 seconds without tools!  While the lock I suggested in the above paragraph is not that stout keep in mind the cable is less so, so you don't need a real stout lock, plus the stouter the lock is the more it weighs.

So the combined weight of the cable and the lock is just under 2 pounds.

Also any campground that I've ever been at is very safe, I see people with their bikes standing outside next to their tents or trailers all night long with no locks! and I've never heard of a story of a bike getting stolen, but I'm not that trustworthy of others so I lock my bike to be safe.  If you're going with a tour group it's even less likely your bike would be stolen, but again it's wise to be a bit prudent, and the lock I suggest just keeps the rare opportunist from just riding off with your bike in a second. 


https://www.amazon.com/Lumintrail-Heavy-Duty-Security-Coated-Braided/dp/B072B9FPL3/ref=sr_1_24?dchild=1&keywords=thick+bike+lock&qid=1584973321&sr=8-24

https://www.gearhungry.com/best-combination-lock/

0000000000000000000000000000000000

Offline staehpj1

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2020, 05:40:32 am »
I use a very light very cheap lock and don't lock all that often.  I take great care in some places and not so much in others.

There are places that I just won't leave my bike unattended at all. Other times I keep it in my sight when I can.  I have been known to wheel my bike up and down the aisles in a grocery or walmart or park it up front inside by the registers and ask if someone would keep an eye on it.

I tend to be in tiny rural towns most of the time.  In bigger towns or cities I get more careful.  In "bike friendly" towns especially so since there are likely to be plenty of nice bikes and a market for them there and therefore bike thieves.

I figure that it helps me not worry that I ride a bike and own equipment that I can afford to replace if it should ever go missing.  On a long trip the trip would be delayed, but not ended if everything were stolen.  I figure the odds are pretty good that won't ever happen, but I understand that it is a possibility that I have to live with.

Offline BikeliciousBabe

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2020, 11:57:50 am »
I use a very light very cheap lock and don't lock all that often.  I take great care in some places and not so much in others.

There are places that I just won't leave my bike unattended at all. Other times I keep it in my sight when I can.  I have been known to wheel my bike up and down the aisles in a grocery or walmart or park it up front inside by the registers and ask if someone would keep an eye on it.

I tend to be in tiny rural towns most of the time.  In bigger towns or cities I get more careful.  In "bike friendly" towns especially so since there are likely to be plenty of nice bikes and a market for them there and therefore bike thieves.

I figure that it helps me not worry that I ride a bike and own equipment that I can afford to replace if it should ever go missing.  On a long trip the trip would be delayed, but not ended if everything were stolen.  I figure the odds are pretty good that won't ever happen, but I understand that it is a possibility that I have to live with.

+1.

Offline froze

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2020, 11:21:21 am »
If protecting your bike is a huge concern for you, and you don't have much trust in the locks, then get a bicycle personal articles policy (also known as a floater) from your homeowners policy, not only will a bike be covered for theft but also accidents, and there is no deductible.  You would have to check with your insurance company but mine is State Farm and they cover my bikes for full replacement value not depreciated and not stated value and not appraised value; the cost for two of my bikes that total to $5,000 is $125 for the year.

Theft warranties you see on locks are worthless!  in order to get a claim approved you have to jump through a lot of hoops which means you have to read the fine print on the box the lock comes with, and even then they don't tell you some things so you have find out more on their website, all in attempt not to pay a claim, and lock companies rarely pay out a claim for someones bike that was stolen, the most you will get is a new lock!  I know Krypt. lock requires that you send them the original receipt, but at the time of loss you have to send them the original receipt?  Huh? so you need to make sure that the place you bought it from prints out two original receipts because they won't accept a copy.  You also have to register the lock, you have to keep the original packaging, you have to make sure you pay for renewing the coverage, but after 5 years you have to buy a new lock because they won't stand behind after that time period.  At the time of loss you have to have a police report, but large cities no longer do reports on stolen bikes, so you're screwed; you also have to have detailed photos of the undisturbed crime scene including what you locked the bike up to, if they disagree with what you locked the bike to you're screwed, pics of the area to make sure it had adequate public viewing and lighting if not you're screwed; you have to send back the broken lock, if the lock is missing you're screwed; if you have homeowners insurance they'll only pay the deductible; lock companies will find any excuse they can find to prevent paying out for a stolen bike.

So it's better just to have a floater attached to your homeowners insurance, it's a lot less hassle, while the insurance company may require a police report they will also accept a call number which they give you either over the phone without going out to see where the crime took place or when they come to you to discuss the theft, because insurance companies know that police reports aren't always going to be done. But all the other hassles the lock companies want done is gone.

Edit: I was going to buy the bike floater from State Farm but they quoted me the wrong price, for two bikes totaling $5,000 in coverage the cost was going to be $315 a year with a $300 deductible, I declined.  Instead I went with Velo Insurance who covered the Lynskey for $3,400 with a $300 deductible, and the Masi for $1,500 with a $200 deductible for $126...a huge difference in price over the State Farm policy.  I have a lot insurance with State Farm from all my personal stuff to my all my business stuff and thought I would get the bike insurance cheaper than $315 they ended up at.  SO IF any of you want coverage for a bike check out Velo Insurance, they are a broker for Markel insurance, but Dave at Velo knew a lot more about what he was talking about then the rep at Markel, and Dave was able to change the deductible from $300 for both to $300 and $200 for the same price as Markel quoted.  Dave was big help.  Anyway go online and look at the coverages they offer, I didn't take any of the medical, or liability provisions, or the stupid roadside assistance, or the world wide coverage; I have all of medical and liability stuff and insurance companies won't pay twice on that, so I declined all of those items and got just the basic coverage.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2020, 12:19:28 pm by froze »

Offline Inge

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2020, 02:16:15 am »
I use a ring lock https://www.trelock.com/en/lock/locks/ring-locks/ring-locks/rs-453-p-o-c-az-balloon  - have to for insurance purposes. And have with me also a flexible cable (Knog ringmaster) I can attach to the lock/ the real world and to the bike (again).

The above is my main setup but besides that I also carry a very small lock (AXA Unisex's Roll Bike Cable Lock) as a second lock to add as ana extra deterent when I go shopping or to attach my bags to the bike. Even though it is cut through quickly it just gives a tad more protection, expecially if you place it in such a way that it is not obviously visible.

Offline Patco

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #12 on: May 07, 2020, 11:08:11 pm »
I have not taken a lock on my tours. Like many on this forum, when I stop for food I try to keep my bike in sight and what I do is I shift to the easiest gear. So, if there is a possible crime of opportunity they will be trying to speed away with a loaded bike and spinning like crazy, which theoretically should give me time to knock them off the bike. Also, I use speedplay pedals, so it is very hard to pedal without being locked in. Depending on the area, occasionally I have loosened the quick release on the rear wheel under the same principle that under power the wheel will drop from the rear drops and the bike will not be going anywhere, giving me time to recover. So far, no issues. Of course, now that I have said no issues, the bike gods may decide to slap me down.

Offline Inge

Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2020, 02:15:30 am »
I like the idea of putting the bike in iets smallest gear. Am going to copy that  8).

Offline John Nettles

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Re: Security - locking your bike
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2020, 09:23:30 am »
I use a ring lock https://www.trelock.com/en/lock/locks/ring-locks/ring-locks/rs-453-p-o-c-az-balloon  - have to for insurance purposes. And have with me also a flexible cable (Knog ringmaster) I can attach to the lock/ the real world and to the bike (again).


Inge,
What are the differences between the Trelock ring locks?  I went to the website and there are several variations of the same model, i.e. RS-453 POC (AZ, NAZ, Balloon), etc. 

Tailwinds, John