Bike locks and dissuading thieves from nicking my bike!

SubLuminal

Just wondering, if anyone can reccomend tips when it comes to buying a chain or lock for my bike, and any general tips to dissuading thieves from nicking my bike. I'm just getting back into cycling and have done up my old frame with some shiny looking parts, its not worth lots but it looks kinda cool, am a bit worried it'll attract the wrong kind of attention.. tips, hints, suggestions, reccomendations?

Thanks!

Captain Havoc

Get a good lock being the obvious one. You could put rust decals on it making your bike look like it's not worth nicking.

DirkVoodoo

If you're getting back into cycling then I think your first port of call should be the wiki stickied at the top of the page:

There is a section on locks here.


The rest of the cycling wiki with lots of useful information on common topics.

abcdggs

Arguably the best lock you can get for the money, this is the cheapest i've come across it. Provided you use it correctly no-one's gonna steal your bike.

and sheldon ftw

CramCycle

I agree about this lock (Kryptonite New York) I got one and they are incredible. One diagreement with Sheldon is the not getting the upright in with the tyre. While he is right that it will put off all intelligent bike thieves, alot of the thieves in Dublin will try if they don't see the frame hooked as well. Trust me, they beat the **** out of my old Raleigh Racer destroying it beyond repair trying to get the locks off. I put my kryptonite New york through the rear tyre and frame, although be warned it is a pretty tight fit so it may not fit your bike to most posts, immovable objects etc. It will fit to those bike racks in town but anything bigger is near impossible. You might want a slightly bigger one for convienience (not big enough to fit a car jack between though, a popular tool to bust U-locks on quiet streets).

I use a similar one to this http://www.parker-international.co.uk/9795/Kryptonite-Keeper-2011-Armoured-Cable.html for my front wheel and frame and for quick in and outs to spar on the way to work (though not exactly the same so I won't vouch for it).

Also thanks to abcdggs for this site as it's well cheaper than anyone else I normally get stuff like this from.

Beasty

My advice is to go for a cheap crappy lock - then the thieves are more likely to go for your bike, and leave mine (with its strong and expensive Kryptonite) alone:)

tomasrojo

CramCycle wrote: »

One diagreement with Sheldon is the not getting the upright in with the tyre. While he is right that it will put off all intelligent bike thieves, alot of the thieves in Dublin will try if they don't see the frame hooked as well. Trust me, they beat the **** out of my old Raleigh Racer destroying it beyond repair trying to get the locks off.

That's interesting. Someone voiced just such concerns here a few weeks back, but I don't think anyone had any concrete evidence that thieves had tried hard to steal bikes locked the Sheldon way.

I always use the Sheldon method myself, with the Fahgettaboudit minilock, but I also have a Kryptolok securing the front wheel and, via a Kryptoflex, the frame. So I have more than one point by which the bike is locked (though one of the points is easily overcome by bolt croppers).

CramCycle

I may have just been the victim of the most angry and mentally inadequate bike thief in Dublin. That said I can appreciate that in the majority of situations the Sheldon way is fine. Again it's just that some bike thieves won't think it through (even if it is obvious) and make an attempt, then they ruin the love of your life.

I should have taken pictures, after damaging the wheels so that I couldn't cycle it to work, I left it there, thinking there is no point moving it now. They came back later with a sledge hammer and put it straight through the crossbar on the frame. Sob. I loved her so much.

Robertd_07

Funny that this thread has come up now.
Was just about to order the Kryptonite Evolution 4"x9", having figured that thieves would just wreck your bike trying to get the lock through the rear triangle.
Just saw this one though, Kryptonite New York 3000 4"x9". Is it worth the extra €30 for a bike (brand new trek 1.5) that'll never be left overnight on the street?

tomasrojo

CramCycle wrote: »

They came back later with a sledge hammer and put it straight through the crossbar on the frame. Sob. I loved her so much.

There are some awful gurriers out there.

tomasrojo

Robertd_07 wrote: »

Is it worth the extra €30 for a bike (brand new trek 1.5) that'll never be left overnight on the street?

I think so, yes. You're buying time with a better lock. E30 isn't that much more. Depends, of course, on how much better the more expensive lock is, but the yellow range of Kryptonites are all rated as excellent.

silsean

Robertd_07 wrote: »

Funny that this thread has come up now.
Was just about to order the Kryptonite Evolution 4"x9", having figured that thieves would just wreck your bike trying to get the lock through the rear triangle.
Just saw this one though, Kryptonite New York 3000 4"x9". Is it worth the extra €30 for a bike (brand new trek 1.5) that'll never be left overnight on the street?

I just got a Trek 1.5 recently myself. I will never lock that baby anywhere!

CramCycle wrote: »

You might want a slightly bigger one for convienience (not big enough to fit a car jack between though, a popular tool to bust U-locks on quiet streets).

I'm lucky enough to say i've never had a bike stolen on me. Would anyone care to explain how a bike lock is broken and are there various methods? What tools do they use? And what areas lend themselves to a robber for robbing a bike? locking a Trek 1.5 at the top of Grafton street during the day is probably ok??

blorg

Bolt cropper on cable locks, jack or angle grinder on U-Locks. Or a bic pen if its an old one. :pac:

CramCycle

silsean wrote: »

I'm lucky enough to say i've never had a bike stolen on me. Would anyone care to explain how a bike lock is broken and are there various methods? What tools do they use? And what areas lend themselves to a robber for robbing a bike? locking a Trek 1.5 at the top of Grafton street during the day is probably ok??

These have pry been done before but quickly, here are a few:
U-locks: Carjack between either the straights of the U or any part of it and a solid fixture, most ones under 50euro will bust under 2 minutes pumping. To prevent this you should have as little free space with in the U of the lock.
Diamond tipped blades on a circular saw. Takes awhile to get through, 20 minutes to an hour and the blade will pry shatter if its a good lock. Rarely used but it has happened up at UCD.

Chains: Boltcutter for the thin ones takes a few seconds. Hacksaw will go through most, depends on the thickness of the chain or padlock as to how much time it will take 5 minutes up to 45 minutes. Sheaths on the chain are believed to make them more difficult to get a groove to cut but I have no idea if that is true.

Cables: Thin ones again take 5 seconds with a bolt cutters. the Thick ones, IMO, hold up better than a chain as they have consistency throughout and therefore no obvious weak points.

The lock is nearly always the weak point. The ones with the square shaped I have heard can have their Barrel put out with a screwdriver and a club hammer. If its really cheap a drill with the right bits could go through many locks (rarely actually open them though) in about 2/5/10 minutes depending. If you have a fancy crim he could clamp your lock parts with a vice and use a wedge to bust them a part but these are highly unlikely, I know garage owners who do it if you lose your keys but you should report it to the Gardai first so it doesn't look like your nicking it.

To be honest, I think visual deterrent is the best start. A big, well known lock, like the kryptonite ones are the way to start. After that it's a matter of location, time of day, traffic numbers nearby(pedestrian/car/cyclist) as to whether or not you'll have your day ruined. But even after all your hard work you just get shafted sometimes by some t*ssp*t with an attitude problem or a drunk who just wants to f*ck stuff up.

Dunno bout the top of Grafton St. during the day as I am rarely there.

spoonface

SubLuminal wrote: »

Just wondering, if anyone can reccomend tips when it comes to buying a chain or lock for my bike, and any general tips to dissuading thieves from nicking my bike. I'm just getting back into cycling and have done up my old frame with some shiny looking parts, its not worth lots but it looks kinda cool, am a bit worried it'll attract the wrong kind of attention.. tips, hints, suggestions, reccomendations?

Thanks!

Personally I wouldn't leave my good bike (Gary Fisher) anywhere coz even if they don't steal it, they can stomp on the wheels and I'm not up for that.
So I bought a cheap run around for about 90 Euro and I happily leave that at the station with a cheap enough lock coz it's not worth a fiver to anyone.

My cousin lives in Amsterdam where bike theft is huge - she told me it's standard there to buy a big chunky motorbike lock rather than a bicycle lock and it wouldn't be unusual for people to spend more on this than on the bike it's protecting.

cdaly_

abcdggs wrote: »

Arguably the best lock you can get for the money, this is the cheapest i've come across it. Provided you use it correctly no-one's gonna steal your bike.

GBP54.81 on Amazon with free delivery.

Oh, and should I supplement that with a cable only (benefit only one key) or a separate lockable cable like my current one?

abcdggs

cdaly_ wrote: »

GBP54.81 on Amazon with free delivery.

thanks for that, and delivery is much cheaper

electrogrimey

Very comprehensive list here:
http://www.lfgss.com/thread17938.html#post563834

I'm currently locking my shiny new Langster Steel in town with an Evo Mini from the frame to the post, and an Oxford cable lock around the rear wheel, fork/frame and post. Is that reasonable enough security?

I came back to my old bike, which was locked with the same kind of cable lock, with axemarks in the lock, frame and a bent wheel, but they didn't get through the lock. I just hate the idea of someone getting frustrated at not being able to get through the lock and trashing my bike

SubLuminal

Bought a cheapie €4.99 lock today because I wanted to take my new bike to tescos - knew I was locking it inside so it couldnt be tampered with too much (I actually locked it to the railing thing that surrounds the little CCTV bit where the security guard sits) - Was fine, did my shopping, came home and cooked and eat, then sat to see how good the cheapie 4.99 Ulock is - grabbed a scalpel, locked it onto bike, popped it off using the scalpel as a shim in under 10 seconds. U-lock now in bin. Can't afford any of these fancy locks, so looks like I'll be keeping my bike inside or at friends houses when I cycle it anyplace for the forseeable future!