4 ms·

But in London the thieves are using cordless angle grinders. I'm an avid cyclist, but I wouldn't touch this lock. Here's what I would use: http://www.lfgss.co

by buro9 16y ago

But in London the thieves are using cordless angle grinders. I'm an avid cyclist, but I wouldn't touch this lock. Here's what I would use: http://www.lfgss.com/thread17938.html http://www.lfgss.com/thread17938.html And sure, this one is lighter, but stopping my bike being stolen is far more important to me than how much it weighs.

SwellJoe 16y ago
I'd be curious to see how this lock holds up to similar testing. It's probably not going to compare favorably to much heavier/thicker U-locks, unfortunately, though it does have some advantages...I use a U-lock through the rear wheel plus a rope cable to attach the front wheel. The front wheel would be easy pickings if it had significant value and a thief with a bolt cutter happened upon it. I've seen people use two U-locks, but that's a lot of hassle. Anyway, it's a cool idea, but I have to agree I wouldn't trust it without some evidence of its abilities to withstand modern bike thieves with power tools.
Lewisham 16y ago
End of the day, locking your bike outside is a losing battle. Whether it matches up to an angle grinder or not is not really the point, it just prevents opportunist theft. The goal of locking your bike is to ensure bits don't go missing. However, what you're really trying to do is protect your investment. Locks stop bits going missing, but they don't protect the investment. My bicycle was locked overnight at Bristol Temple Meads train station (which I wrongly assumed was a secure-ish location). The thieves didn't manage to break the lock, so instead they just vandalized the bike so that I couldn't use it either. I sort of wish the lock had just given way, at least that way the bike might have provided some value to someone, somewhere.
- barkingcat 16y ago
  True - In Toronto downtown, locks don't do anything. Thieves come fully outfitted in hex key sets and pedal wrenches - and they steal everything - from rims to forks to pedals to front shocks, and chains (who steals chains??? - apparently the thief had a chain tool handy to break the chain). Anything less than encasing the whole bike + lock + secure post in a steel case (like a bike locker) won't ensure that your bike will stay in tact.
  - tlear 16y ago
    The answer is to have a shitty bike with a good lock, been using a $200 beater for 4 years and it still got everything except the saddle got stolen once
    - there 16y ago
      why not get an ugly girlfriend, too? then you don't have to worry about her cheating on you, right?
      - jcampbell1 16y ago
        Some people have no sense of humor. Thanks for the laugh.
  - pmccool 16y ago
    >who steals chains??? - apparently the thief had a chain tool handy to break the chain). Reusable joining link? No tools required. As to the point of doing it, well, I had the QR skewers stolen off my bike once. Stealing a chain makes at least as much sense.
  - buro9 16y ago
    The solution to having components stolen is being made by a British company at the moment in co-operation with Royce: http://atomic22.co.uk/ http://atomic22.co.uk/ They have a Pitlock solution, but it works for everything from Saddle down to chain rings. With 1 key doing the whole bike.
- ldite 16y ago
  I've been locking my bike up at Temple Meads for years without any problems - I (cynically) always try to lock it up next to a much more expensive looking one, or one with a weaker lock. Failing that, as deep into the centre of the mass as possible.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
eli 16y ago
A co-worker had a vespa stolen by thieves who apparently drove up in a van with power tools and cut down the parking meter it was chained to. Not a whole lot you can do about a very motivated thief.
- moe 16y ago
  His chain must be very big if the thieves chose to cut the parking meter instead. Most chains (even the big looking ones) can be cracked in under a minute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck
  - eli 16y ago
    Yeah, got me. Seems like it would also be worth more without a pointless chain hanging off it. Perhaps they'd honed a technique for cutting down parking meters quickly? I also wouldn't rule out the thieves being stupid.
  - dsl 16y ago
    ...or the parking meter contained something of value.
    - veritgo 16y ago
      This is brilliant, and made me laugh. I can just see a thief looking at the vespa, the chain, the parking meter and thinking 'It's a crime anyways, may as well get the 15$ in change'.
burgerbrain 16y ago
I think more important than anything else about a lock is the ratio of "how heavy does the lock look" to "how expensive does your bike look". Light but tough locks are worthless, they're just going to make your bike get thrashed. You want a lock that says "don't even bother trying".
- davidw 16y ago
  > "how heavy does the lock look" to "how expensive does your bike look" Bingo. For around town, your best bet is a an old, anonymous looking city bike. Faded paint and maybe even a bit if rust can be plusses. No gearing is a plus too (I don't mean fixed gear bikes though). Many of the fancy locks listed in the guy's comment above cost more than my town bike itself.
  - buro9 16y ago
    One of the sayings I find amusing is that "Your lock gets heavier as your bike gets lighter", an acknowledgement that lighter bikes cost more and require heavier locks. I lock my (very expensive) bikes out on the street fairly often, though never overnight. I only ever use 1 lock and a component protection system. I use the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit it secure the frame to some fixed street object of equal strength (newish iron railings are good, otherwise some London lamp-posts will fill this lock so perfectly that there's no leftover space for a leverage tool). https://www.kryptonitelock.com/OutletProducts/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?cid=1001&scid=1000&pid=1095 https://www.kryptonitelock.com/OutletProducts/Products/Produ... I pair that with Pitlock to protect the wheels, though will be moving to Atomic 22 when that system is fully released. http://www.pitlock.com/ http://www.pitlock.com/ http://atomic22.co.uk/ http://atomic22.co.uk/ And my saddle is secured by a chain that goes through the rails and chain stays. http://www.lfgss.com/thread52914.html#post1705205 http://www.lfgss.com/thread52914.html#post1705205

by buro9 16y ago

SwellJoe 16y ago

I'd be curious to see how this lock holds up to similar testing. It's probably not going to compare favorably to much heavier/thicker U-locks, unfortunately, though it does have some advantages...I use a U-lock through the rear wheel plus a rope cable to attach the front wheel. The front wheel would be easy pickings if it had significant value and a thief with a bolt cutter happened upon it. I've seen people use two U-locks, but that's a lot of hassle. Anyway, it's a cool idea, but I have to agree I wouldn't trust it without some evidence of its abilities to withstand modern bike thieves with power tools.

Lewisham 16y ago

End of the day, locking your bike outside is a losing battle. Whether it matches up to an angle grinder or not is not really the point, it just prevents opportunist theft. The goal of locking your bike is to ensure bits don't go missing. However, what you're really trying to do is protect your investment. Locks stop bits going missing, but they don't protect the investment. My bicycle was locked overnight at Bristol Temple Meads train station (which I wrongly assumed was a secure-ish location). The thieves didn't manage to break the lock, so instead they just vandalized the bike so that I couldn't use it either. I sort of wish the lock had just given way, at least that way the bike might have provided some value to someone, somewhere.

barkingcat 16y ago
True - In Toronto downtown, locks don't do anything. Thieves come fully outfitted in hex key sets and pedal wrenches - and they steal everything - from rims to forks to pedals to front shocks, and chains (who steals chains??? - apparently the thief had a chain tool handy to break the chain). Anything less than encasing the whole bike + lock + secure post in a steel case (like a bike locker) won't ensure that your bike will stay in tact.
- tlear 16y ago
  The answer is to have a shitty bike with a good lock, been using a $200 beater for 4 years and it still got everything except the saddle got stolen once
  - there 16y ago
    why not get an ugly girlfriend, too? then you don't have to worry about her cheating on you, right?
    - jcampbell1 16y ago
      Some people have no sense of humor. Thanks for the laugh.
- pmccool 16y ago
  >who steals chains??? - apparently the thief had a chain tool handy to break the chain). Reusable joining link? No tools required. As to the point of doing it, well, I had the QR skewers stolen off my bike once. Stealing a chain makes at least as much sense.
- buro9 16y ago
  The solution to having components stolen is being made by a British company at the moment in co-operation with Royce: http://atomic22.co.uk/ http://atomic22.co.uk/ They have a Pitlock solution, but it works for everything from Saddle down to chain rings. With 1 key doing the whole bike.
ldite 16y ago
I've been locking my bike up at Temple Meads for years without any problems - I (cynically) always try to lock it up next to a much more expensive looking one, or one with a weaker lock. Failing that, as deep into the centre of the mass as possible.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

eli 16y ago

A co-worker had a vespa stolen by thieves who apparently drove up in a van with power tools and cut down the parking meter it was chained to. Not a whole lot you can do about a very motivated thief.

moe 16y ago
His chain must be very big if the thieves chose to cut the parking meter instead. Most chains (even the big looking ones) can be cracked in under a minute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck
- eli 16y ago
  Yeah, got me. Seems like it would also be worth more without a pointless chain hanging off it. Perhaps they'd honed a technique for cutting down parking meters quickly? I also wouldn't rule out the thieves being stupid.
- dsl 16y ago
  ...or the parking meter contained something of value.
  - veritgo 16y ago
    This is brilliant, and made me laugh. I can just see a thief looking at the vespa, the chain, the parking meter and thinking 'It's a crime anyways, may as well get the 15$ in change'.

burgerbrain 16y ago

I think more important than anything else about a lock is the ratio of "how heavy does the lock look" to "how expensive does your bike look". Light but tough locks are worthless, they're just going to make your bike get thrashed. You want a lock that says "don't even bother trying".

davidw 16y ago
> "how heavy does the lock look" to "how expensive does your bike look" Bingo. For around town, your best bet is a an old, anonymous looking city bike. Faded paint and maybe even a bit if rust can be plusses. No gearing is a plus too (I don't mean fixed gear bikes though). Many of the fancy locks listed in the guy's comment above cost more than my town bike itself.
- buro9 16y ago
  One of the sayings I find amusing is that "Your lock gets heavier as your bike gets lighter", an acknowledgement that lighter bikes cost more and require heavier locks. I lock my (very expensive) bikes out on the street fairly often, though never overnight. I only ever use 1 lock and a component protection system. I use the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit it secure the frame to some fixed street object of equal strength (newish iron railings are good, otherwise some London lamp-posts will fill this lock so perfectly that there's no leftover space for a leverage tool). https://www.kryptonitelock.com/OutletProducts/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?cid=1001&scid=1000&pid=1095 https://www.kryptonitelock.com/OutletProducts/Products/Produ... I pair that with Pitlock to protect the wheels, though will be moving to Atomic 22 when that system is fully released. http://www.pitlock.com/ http://www.pitlock.com/ http://atomic22.co.uk/ http://atomic22.co.uk/ And my saddle is secured by a chain that goes through the rails and chain stays. http://www.lfgss.com/thread52914.html#post1705205 http://www.lfgss.com/thread52914.html#post1705205