Bike Lock Survey (Please Help)

93col15

Hi,

I'm a student currently undertaking research in bike lock design at Loughborough university, with the aim of improving bike lock design. Please fill in my survey by clicking the link below it'll only take a few minutes.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MZK6PCD

Massive thank you and a happy new year.

Colin

shouldbeinbed

Some wooly questions and assumptions but done as best I can

93col15

shouldbeinbed wrote:

Some wooly questions and assumptions but done as best I can

Hi thanks for your feedback it's very useful and i've made some small changes to the survey on the back of it.

I'm sorry some of the questions might seem silly but I hope they will prove a point and what people need. please feel free to post anything else that could be of interest.

Many Thanks

nicklouse

to sum up, the best bike lock is what the insurance company say.

it is often easier to cut the frame than the lock.

a good lock maybe worthless if there is an easier way to make money.,

EssexSuffolk

Just filled that it.

My example: I ride a bike I got for free (abandoned), but have probably spent £100 on improving. My lock costs £45, which may seem excessive as a percentage, but the cost/hassle of replacing even a "free" bike makes it worth it.

walkingbootweather

Done.

looks like there may have been a bit of an agenda (to promote a lock that would be permanently fixed to bike). Apologies if this is not the case.

I suspect that many other forum members, like me, have several bikes and numerous locks; using different combinations according to circumstances. I would try to avoid using one of the better bikes if it meant leaving unattended in a less than ideal location for long, and would use even greater measures to secure my bike if I was to leave in a less secure location. There is always a balance to be sought between convenience of using a bike and desire to minimise risk.

As general rules of thumb:

It is impossible to prevent a determined thief with the right tools from taking a bike You can make your bike less attractive to steal and hope criminals take someone else's instead (or better still find an alternative way to make money) Cheap locks are often a waste of money Never rely on a single lock

Good luck with your research

crossborderreiver

The wording of question 4 is particularly odd. Why not just say 'commuter'.

93col15

walkingbootweather wrote:

Done.

looks like there may have been a bit of an agenda (to promote a lock that would be permanently fixed to bike). Apologies if this is not the case.

I suspect that many other forum members, like me, have several bikes and numerous locks; using different combinations according to circumstances. I would try to avoid using one of the better bikes if it meant leaving unattended in a less than ideal location for long, and would use even greater measures to secure my bike if I was to leave in a less secure location. There is always a balance to be sought between convenience of using a bike and desire to minimise risk.

As general rules of thumb:

It is impossible to prevent a determined thief with the right tools from taking a bike You can make your bike less attractive to steal and hope criminals take someone else's instead (or better still find an alternative way to make money) Cheap locks are often a waste of money Never rely on a single lock

Good luck with your research

Hi it does appear that people aren't very keen on the idea of a lock permanently attached to the frame for a number of good reasons. bearing this in mind and that lock user don't like bulky or heavy locks do you think the best idea to reduce theft would be to improve, change or totally redesign the Sheffield stand?

walkingbootweather

Nothing much wrong with a Sheffield stand if you can find one in the place you want to park your bike. When commuting you want to park your bike at your destination (not necessarily where the 'official bike park' is located. Ideally you don't want to invest in (and have to carry) heavy expensive locks, but we have to accept that some low lifes will take attractive bikes.

Sorry, I don't have a good solution to this. In practice I take my best bike when I'm riding (not parking), and have an old Rayleigh Radonneur tourer, that looks unfashionable (but is actually great to ride) for when I need to park. Some people I know deliberately make their commuters appear unattractive by giving them a bad paint job or by covering in tape or old tubes.

Sad to say that other people leaving shiny, fashionable bikes, poorly locked in vulnerable locations offer the rest of us some protection by virtue of thefact theirs are more attractive and easier to take.

93col15

Making your bike unattractive to thief's is definitely the best option in the short run as you can never 100% guarantee against theft even with the best lock. I ride an old Brian Rourke and have never had any problems despite a rubbish lock.

Have a look at these schemes which don't improve locks but make bikes much more secure. there the best solution I've seen yet, but there still limited.

http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/servi ... tion/wasp/

http://www.soton.ac.uk/~bikeuser/secure_sheds.html

walkingbootweather

Both look worthwhile schemes. We have something similar close to where I work called 'The Hub' http://www.stockton.gov.uk/citizenservices/transport/thehub/.
This is good in that it offers both secure storage, but also a sense of community with helpful advice and things like free bike safety checks. One day I cracked a crank (I know - I'm just too powerful for my own good ) on my way to work and they lent me a spare crank and tools then even helped me to fit it. Some enlightened employers will also offer true secure facilities, and I do believe that CCTV can be a deterent.

The problem is that we love bikes because they are so flexible, allowing us to get pretty much anywhere. This flexibility is compromised if we can then only park in limited places. I do believe that Local Authorities might do more to help us (and discourage potential thieves?) in the promotion of secure parking. I suspect in many town centres there are some places that are better to park than others, and in many cases these will be within a hundred yards or so of where you need to be. Levels of security could be based upon secure stands, cctv coverage, monitored locations etc. and community police, enforcement officers etc. could make a point of visiting such locations on a regular basis. Posters could be put up informing the public what to do if they see anything suspicious (it might not merit a 999 call, but what number should you ring - maybe the security centre that operates the cctv?)

As I student project you might consider the psychology of the thief. What makes the criminal attack a particular bike? Is it driven primarily by ease of crime, or by perceived value of bike? How much more effort or risk are they prepared to take to target a more attractive but better protected steed?

Good luck.

walkingbootweather

Some useful discussion on locks and related matters here (http://www.lfgss.com/thread17938.html).

Might help in understanding which types of lock do / don't work. The concept of using both primary and secondary defences makes sense to me at least.

It might be interesting to do some work on locking strategies. Apparently there are lots of people who have good locks but fail to use them appropriately. I'm an advocate of the Sheldon Brown method (especially for securing my Rolhoff geared bike where the greater value is in the rear hub) see http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html. This method is probably pretty effective, but I sometimes wonder if a thief might make an attempt because intuitively not covering the frame with a lock might seem weaker. What is the value of a lock as a physical barrier (stops bike being removed), and what is the value as a visual deterent (stops thief from attempting to remove)?

shouldbeinbed

93col15 wrote:

walkingbootweather wrote:

Done.

looks like there may have been a bit of an agenda (to promote a lock that would be permanently fixed to bike). Apologies if this is not the case.

I suspect that many other forum members, like me, have several bikes and numerous locks; using different combinations according to circumstances. I would try to avoid using one of the better bikes if it meant leaving unattended in a less than ideal location for long, and would use even greater measures to secure my bike if I was to leave in a less secure location. There is always a balance to be sought between convenience of using a bike and desire to minimise risk.

As general rules of thumb:

It is impossible to prevent a determined thief with the right tools from taking a bike You can make your bike less attractive to steal and hope criminals take someone else's instead (or better still find an alternative way to make money) Cheap locks are often a waste of money Never rely on a single lock

Good luck with your research

Hi it does appear that people aren't very keen on the idea of a lock permanently attached to the frame for a number of good reasons. bearing this in mind and that lock user don't like bulky or heavy locks do you think the best idea to reduce theft would be to improve, change or totally redesign the Sheffield stand?

I really think you're solving an insoluable problem, theres nothing to wrong with sheffield stands - what were you thinking for them? Integrated lock & cable? Several obvious issues with that much the same as the in-bike lock. Simple fact is decent locks are heavy and we have to make a value judgement between inconvenience of lugging a heavy quality lock or inconvenience of having your bike easily stolen.

The solution to bike security doesn't lie in bike/stand/lock design as much as in punitive punishment for bike thieves and thats never going to happen

lockyourbike

I completed the questionnaire!

93col15

Hi guys,

I've just created a new survey based on gathering additional opinions on locks as a component of a bicycle such as dutch style locks. Please can you fill out the new survey. Thank very much for all your feedback it's very helpful.

here's the link
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NGS8JHY


Colin

walkingbootweather

Completed the new survey.

Whilst the dutch-style locks may prevent someone hopping on and riding away I fail to see what would stop someone putting a bike in the back of a truck and removing the lock at their leisure, or simply stripping off the parts they want.

I can see some potential in having widespread boxes or stands with hinged sections so that bikes could be secured at multiple points (both wheets and frame at least) and securely locked with a single top quality padlock or mini-lock which would be lighter and more compact to carry.

Call me old fashioned but I like to have different bikes which I use for different things and personally I can't imagine going anywhere that I intended leaving any bike without at least a top quality D lock as primary and cable as secondary.