Stolen Bike - talk to me about Locks ?

zak3737

So we pulled up to one of our regular Cafe's this morning, Howden in East Yorks, just as a bunch where anxiously trying to chase/find/murder the little scrote who'd just legged it with one of their groups bikes....a Felt,.......but no luck finding I'm afraid.

Now, I'm not sure if it was locked, and must admit, we rarely do lock ours, as its such a sleepy little place on a sunday morning, and we're literally just yds from the bikes when inside, but it just goes to show, an opportunist thief will find the opportunity.
As luck would have it, I did have with me a very old and very small retractable combination lock with me, something I've had years & years, & long enough to interlock and get through 4 bike wheels, so we secured as many as we could at least.

But it got me thinking, - just what kind of locks do the massif all use in these situations pls, - needs to be something easily carried and enough to stop the above ?
Never going to be truly secure I guess, just enough to be a deterent ........?

taon24

I carry a proper d lock on the winter bike, little regard for weight at this time of year.
A club member takes along a kryptonite cable with a small combination padlock, doesn't look too bulky and does for the whole club. If you rotate who's carrying it then everyone shares the load so to speak.

cougie

Never locked in 30 years.
How did the little git get away ? Van ?

northpole

When I go out and stop for coffee, we just use a very light duty combination lock with retractable wire which covers 3 or 4 bikes. If I thought for one moment I would have to carry a 'proper' secure lock I'd either change my route or change my coffee stop tactics. Dreadful that such a thing would happen.

Peter

Wynne G Oldman

I recently bought one of these http://www.wilko.com/bike-parts+accesso ... vt/0286532 after visiting Halfords and thinking to myself that they charged way too much for something similar. I very rarely need to use a lock, but it's in one of my panniers for when I need it. Any lock is only going to stop the opportunist thief, and not someone who's come prepared with bolt cutters etc. Still, it's better than nowt.

on-yer-bike

If you're a bike thief what better than a cafe where cyclists meet? The cafe where my group meet supplies D locks to customers and bars to lock them to. However an experienced bike thief could probably still make off with a £5000 bike or a wheel or two and Im sure this location will not have gone unnoticed.

iron-clover

I always have a little retractable cable lock from Aldi (key operated so you need to make sure you've got the key before you use it!) that I use at a lot of cafe stops even when out in the middle of nowhere- it fit neatly in the saddle bag so I never forget it. I'm sure you could cut the cable with some electrical cable cutters in less than a minute, but as most others don't lock their bikes up and mine is hardly the most expensive there it is more about making life more difficult for thieves and make them go for one of the unprotected ones.

I find it useful to have even on solo rides as you never know if you'll get caught out in a town needing to use the loo so it will keep it safe for 5 mins or less- or if you need to pick up supplies from a shop to get you home (I've done this on every century ride so far).

If in a dodgier place such as the middle of a town I might take a thicker cable lock with me that will need at least bolt cutters to get through, and not left for long, and in cities known for bike crime then I just take the hybrid out on the club run with a trunk bag containing D lock and shackle extender- same as I would use when going to the shops.

Bobbinogs

I just use a simple/light combo lock with integral wire (Kryptonite Combination Cable Lock) which cost me less than £10 and weighs about 150g. It is certainly NOT that secure and I accept that any decent thief with the right tools/know-how and a few minutes to spare could break it easily ...but I reckon it does deter the opportunist thief (sorry if that makes the bike next to mine more of a target but weight weenies pay that price I'm afraid). It also meets my minimum insurance requirements as my insurer does not stipulate lock quality merely that the bike, when left in a public place, must be secured to a standing structure. Hence, I could happily sign a formal police statement to that effect.

I wouldn't leave my bike unattended locked with this weak lock for any length of time but for the odd cup of tea/slice of cake or a natural break it is ideal.

Phil_D

Bobbinogs wrote:

I just use a simple/light combo lock with integral wire (Kryptonite Combination Cable Lock) which cost me less than £10 and weighs about 150g. It is certainly NOT that secure and I accept that any decent thief with the right tools/know-how and a few minutes to spare could break it easily ...but I reckon it does deter the opportunist thief (sorry if that makes the bike next to mine more of a target but weight weenies pay that price I'm afraid). It also meets my minimum insurance requirements as my insurer does not stipulate lock quality merely that the bike, when left in a public place, must be secured to a standing structure. Hence, I could happily sign a formal police statement to that effect.

I wouldn't leave my bike unattended locked with this weak lock for any length of time but for the odd cup of tea/slice of cake or a natural break it is ideal.

There are two really good times for bike thieves to strike at cafe stops. The first is a few seconds after you arrive and you are either walking to the counter or preoccupied with choosing your cake. The other is when you go for a slash. The rest of the time you are likely to be keeping an eye on your bike. Cables take seconds to cut through if you know how.

Bobbinogs

Yepp, wouldn't disagree. My point is really about protecting against opportunist thieves and meeting my insurance criteria (without having to resort to lugging a bloody great D lock around the Cotswolds). Let's face it, even decent locks can get broken fairly quickly by determined and well-tooled thieves.

Man Of Lard

My MO on locking at stops is to make my bike look less attractive to the twoccer than any other bikes there.

1. Any lock is better than no lock
2. Being a tall chap, it's hard for most people to get their leg over in the first place
3. It's harder for them to ride off on a bike without a saddle

tangled_metal

MoL - my defence too. My bikes are the largest sizes in the range so not easily sold on whole. Although they are likely to break it down to parts. Also, doesn't stop a gang with a van. Anyone thought about 4 nice, light road bikes chained together with a cheap chain is going to stop a pro? I reckon if the bikes are good enough you could just lift all in one into the van and offski with thousands of pounds of bike and kit.

My other main defence is the fact I can;t afford a truly decent bike. If I'm with a group mine could be easily less than a quarter of the value of the next cheapest bike. Which one would you nick? having said that when I locked it at work it was the best bike there and got nicked so I think the only true defence is to stay with your bikes. In summer if the cafe has outside seating then post a few there and take turns being guard.

cougie

At one cycling cafe we didnt have racking. All the bikes were leant up against the fence.
So you'd go in for your cuppa or whatever and come out and your bike was now at the bottom of a pile or moved somewhere else altogether. So if you were at the bottom - you'd be as safe as houses !

de_sisti

Put your bike in its highest gear. If you see a thief trying to ride away on it you'll
probably be able to catch them before they get up to any sort of reasonable speed.
Just a thought.