Locks

No, not the political threads...

I'm talking about the kind of lock that lets you temporarily connect one thing to another thing. Specifically, I need to lock my shiny bike in a bad part of town for 8-9 hours each day over the summer. All I have at the moment is a dirt cheap Wal Mart cable lock.

So far, I think the Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit New York U Lock is what I'm going to get. Any tips/tricks/suggestions from veteran bikers? I couldn't find a better reviewed lock online.

I'm willing to go with a not very GRM ($$$) option because ideally a good lock will last a long time, I don't plan on quitting cycling anytime soon, and I hate thieves. I mean, I really, really hate thieves. Like if I see a thief I'm going to lock their neck to a fence and ride away.

Oh, and I know how to properly lock a bike, my seat is already secured (quill seat stem) and it's a fixie so I don't have to worry about brakes or shifters getting stolen. I've got a ball bearing soldered into my stem allen, so I'm not worried about my bars walking away. Anything I'm missing?

Rubber snake.

Sounds like you pretty much got it covered. U lock through the frame, then cable through wheels or lockable wheel skewers.

Curious about how the quill stem is used w/ the seat. Pics? I moved to dc not long ago and will be building a beer bike in june.

The quill stem is simply the product of an extremely weird frame. The seat tube doesn't have a clamp at the top, nor a notch cut to facilitate a clamp, nor enough room to even attempt mounting a clamp. I read up on Bridgestone bikes, and it turns out they actually used quill seat stems. I couldn't even come close to finding one, new or used, so I made one on the lathe out of an old seat and some handlebar stem parts. It came out good, and I think the bike looks cool without a seat clamp. As a side benefit, in order to remove the seat you need a few allen keys and time to contort them into the right position.

I have had my last bike stolen. How they got through a harley davidson padlock (meant to lock the handlbars in one position) and half inch aircraft cable that was looped around my tree, I will never know.

before that, they got my seat... that was a very hard ride home from the trainstation. A mile standing on the pedals gets old

When I was super paranoid, I would take off the front wheel (quick release), put it parallel to the back wheel, and run a u-lock through the front wheel, back wheel, frame, and whatever I was locking the bike to.

http://www.justkryptonite.com/new_york_fahgettaboudit_chain_with_disc_lock_5_ft

This is what I went with. I can lock both wheels and the frame to a tree without disassembling the bike. It's a bit $$$ but my bicycle was pricey enough that paying a little more for a lock was worth it. OTOH, I was locking it up in Appleton, Wisconsin, land of the over-abundant police officers, so I probobly would've been fine with anything.

BTW I didn't order from that website, I got it at a bike shop. That site just had the picture. Actually, why don't I hotlink?

If they want it, they'll get it. However, your best bet is a Kryptonite lock, they used to insure bikes (secured by a Kryptonite) up to 10k or something like that but I'm not sure if they still do, either way they stand behind their product for a reason.

The one I got had the insurance to $3,500, but I had to fill out a dealy and send it in etc... If they're gonna get it either way, at least have a way to get another one!

I had a bike stolen 12yrs ago in 20 minutes with a $100 Kryptonite lock. It was on a college campus with a high rate of theft, they did leave the lock, they used a bolt cutter. Locks only keep honest people honest, pros will get it if they want.

A common way to get through them is liquid nitrogen if I remember right, after they spray it they just tap it with a hammer and it shatters.

Sounds sweet to me.

I was reading something about being able to get into older Kryptonite locks with a slightly modified Bic pen. Just cut it to fit it into the key hole, jam it in and turn.

I've built a few bikes that look like absolute E36 M3, yet ride really nice for this exact reason.

The combination of older good(but not ultra-high-end) components, mixed with cheap but perfectly functional ones, a crappy rattle-can paint job, and taking the time to assemble & tune everything, can make a really nice riding bike that doesn't draw attention.

Example: even my main bike is a low-theft target. I built my mountain bike with a Mongoose frame off eBay. It's one of their higher-end frames, not a wallmart one, but that's still not saying much. I picked up a bunch of used parts from friends, bike shops & eBay, and built a decent trail bike that I can leave almost anywhere, all for less than $500.

My main street cruiser is even better. I took an old 10-speed frame from the 70's & painted it primer brown. Threw on a pair of $40 eBay Mavic MTB wheels with a set of Kenda whitewall tires, grabbed a rusty pair of handlebars/stem/cranks from the parts pile, but used a Brooks saddle I had that's sprung, and bought a $30 pair of repop springer forks. I used good cables for the shifter & brakes, good brake pads, but I'm using bailing-wire to hold the cables on. The end result is a bike that looks like absolute E36 M3 but rides like a dream. It's only around 25lbs, but is versatile enough to cruise or do light trail riding with. 8)

Thanks for the advice, sounds like I'm on the right track.

The BIC pen incident was with barrel key locks, they fixed that.

Joshua wrote: A common way to get through them is liquid nitrogen if I remember right, after they spray it they just tap it with a hammer and it shatters. Sounds sweet to me.

Supposedly that's the one thing this lock can't take. I'm not so worried about scrap thieves and crack whores in Holly Hill trying that out, though.

Can you get a beater bike? Paying a premium for a light bike and then carrying around 15lbs of chain seems...illogical.

In reply to njansenv:

I have a beater, but I have an 11-mile-each-way ride to work. I like riding a nicer bike for that distance. I'll be riding a a fixie with a flat black steel frame, but a shiny new crank, wheels, stem, bars, clipless pedals, etc.

Oh, and I can leave the U-lock at work, too.

My cousins (both brothers) while in Jr. High and High School had high end BMX bikes and there was a high theft rate of bikes in their area. As time progressed, their bikes became more custom and ugly as hell. They would paint the wheels and tires flat black, the frames with red or black primer with marks from neon yard marking spray paint, and every thing on the bikes were high end stuff.

They looked like turds but rode beautifully. They kept those bikes forever.

Lock it in the trunk of a Miata.

Sorry nothing constructive to add.

In reply to bluej:

what is a beer bike?

I think it would be a shame for your fixie to get stolen. It's a really nice bike. With that being said, I think I'd get a Kryptonite lock and work on getting a beater bike assembled. I think I'd want a geared bike myself. Sheldon Brown mentions on his site about converting a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub to a 2 speed fixie hub. I think I have a hub in my shed on a parts bike if you don't have one. One of those on a frame painted up to look like it's about to rust apart would probably be perfect for your sitiuation.

You all are a bad influence. I'm going to look at this tomorrow afternoon. $125 asking, I'll probably snag it for $100, stick my rack, panniers, fenders, and lights on it, and call it a day. I need a second road-bike anyway, as my friend has been asking me to find a bike she can keep up with me on.

Sound like a good plan?

Oh, and I went ahead and ordered that U-lock.

Oh, on a side note, when I come back here a few weeks from now and say "this bike is great, but I should strip it down and paint it" or "You know, I should really throw some Sram red on this puppy" please don't enable me.

In reply to Tom Suddard:

You do not need to ask those questions, you already know the answers.

Wire this up - in place of the "trigger" just leave it open and let the first guy to touch the bike become the switch.

That bike looks pretty clean already. I can't say that I wouldn't want to mod it, but I can try to not enable you.

I found it on CL, and I'm STILL wondering what kind of bike it is.