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Another solution is having a proper bicycle lock. Yes, they’re heavy but I bike around with Kryptonites largest and thickest U-lock, as well as sometimes with a

Another solution is having a proper bicycle lock. Yes, they’re heavy but I bike around with Kryptonites largest and thickest U-lock, as well as sometimes with a 25-lb 18mm motorcycle chain for the bicycle. I do think the food delivery model should only work for customers willing to pay delivery people $25+/hr, especially considering you’re not just paying what should be a living wage for labor but also renting the capital that the delivery person brings to the job (car, bicycle, locks, etc)

simiones 3y ago
No lock can withstand a determined thief.
- Zambyte 3y ago
  But there are locks that can withstand a determined thief who has a budget lower than the value of the bike for a few minutes.
  - simiones 3y ago
    Would these locks actually cost less than the bike itself?
    - runnerup 3y ago
      I usually spend more on my lock and chains than I do on my bicycle. The bicycle may only cost $100-300 but I don’t have to buy it 4+ times if it’s never stolen.
passwordoops 3y ago
If you're paid per delivery, then you don't want to faff about wasting time locking and unlocking a bike every single time
- bombcar 3y ago
  And if you're a thief (not all thieves are just random people walking by) you will KNOW that someone who just jumped off a bike and locked it will not be back for a certain time, and tossing the bike into a truck, lock and all, could be a moment's time. So now you need to lock it to something, causing even more time lost.
  - reaperman 3y ago
    That's what I did when I did bicycle deliveries. Yes it was a pain, but I considered it part of the job. But I was working for an individual pizza shop which did a good job making the job worthwhile overall and paid me well enough for my time and this sort of "extra effort".
    - bombcar 3y ago
      And you likely had "downtime" when waiting at the shop for an order to deliver; these delivery people are often servicing an almost infinite number of orders and shops, and the next order is just an app click away.
      - reaperman 3y ago
        Sort of. I'd help out around the pizza shop if there wasn't a bicycle delivery to be done. I could handle any of the other positions in the shop as well. But yes, there was generally plenty of downtime, other than maybe a 2-4 hour super rush period around lunch or dinner some days.
        bombcar 3y ago
        Much of the current "labor complaints" in general come from the maximization that doesn't "exist on paper" - jobs often involved "downtime" (even if you have slogans like "if you can lean, you can clean") and a few hours each day of absolute panic crunch-time. Now we're becoming quite capable of optimizing it so that the panic crunch-time is the entire shift (and if it isn't you make less than minimum wage) via these "Silicon Valley gig apps".
ch4s3 3y ago
Kryptonites largest and thickest U-lock gives way to a battery powered angle grinder in about 2 minutes.
- runnerup 3y ago
  I didn’t realize that. Thought it was 5-10 minutes. Thanks. Sounds like the bicycle delivery system is fundamentally broken then.
- hacoo 3y ago
  True but, angle grinders make a lot if noise and very conspicuous sparks. Of course thieves will still do it if they can get away with it, but it’s not a very quick or stealthy method. Picking the lock, in the other hand, is pretty fast and won’t attract much attention. Thief just needs to be sophisticated enough to have the correct picking tool and practice with it a bit.
dahart 3y ago
> I bike around with Kryptonites largest and thickest U-lock Oh you might want to visit the Lock Picking Lawyer’s YouTube channel today… he’s tested all the U-locks and picks them open in 30-60 seconds. https://youtu.be/fckVKa4K4Ps?si=Rwujt_k-QF-QYs4w https://youtu.be/fckVKa4K4Ps?si=Rwujt_k-QF-QYs4w https://youtu.be/jZtNEC1uGg4?si=KMZJnogntWmMB_fA https://youtu.be/jZtNEC1uGg4?si=KMZJnogntWmMB_fA
- runnerup 3y ago
  I do follow LPL, love the channel. I’ve never been worried about bike thieves picking locks, I’ve never seen or heard of them doing that. I’ve only seen/heard of them them using destructive methods, typically bolt cutters. If the average bike thief gets as good at picking locks at LPL, we’re very screwed!
  - itslennysfault 3y ago
    I haven't heard of this being common (sorta surprisingly), but you can get a battery angle grinder for $40 these days and it'll go through literally any bike lock that exists in seconds. Maybe it's not common because it is VERY loud and sparkly.
    - reaperman 3y ago
      I feel like it would be pretty tricky on an 18-22mm thick chain without clamping them in some kind of vice. These are nearly impractically heavy (30-40 lbs for a 6' chain), but I have carried them around on my bike sometimes, and will often keep one at the rack at work and one on the rack at home, and haven't seen anyone try to get into them. I think if a chain that thick wobbles it would just break the angle grinder blade?

simiones 3y ago

No lock can withstand a determined thief.

Zambyte 3y ago
But there are locks that can withstand a determined thief who has a budget lower than the value of the bike for a few minutes.
- simiones 3y ago
  Would these locks actually cost less than the bike itself?
  - runnerup 3y ago
    I usually spend more on my lock and chains than I do on my bicycle. The bicycle may only cost $100-300 but I don’t have to buy it 4+ times if it’s never stolen.

passwordoops 3y ago

If you're paid per delivery, then you don't want to faff about wasting time locking and unlocking a bike every single time

bombcar 3y ago
And if you're a thief (not all thieves are just random people walking by) you will KNOW that someone who just jumped off a bike and locked it will not be back for a certain time, and tossing the bike into a truck, lock and all, could be a moment's time. So now you need to lock it to something, causing even more time lost.
- reaperman 3y ago
  That's what I did when I did bicycle deliveries. Yes it was a pain, but I considered it part of the job. But I was working for an individual pizza shop which did a good job making the job worthwhile overall and paid me well enough for my time and this sort of "extra effort".
  - bombcar 3y ago
    And you likely had "downtime" when waiting at the shop for an order to deliver; these delivery people are often servicing an almost infinite number of orders and shops, and the next order is just an app click away.
    - reaperman 3y ago
      Sort of. I'd help out around the pizza shop if there wasn't a bicycle delivery to be done. I could handle any of the other positions in the shop as well. But yes, there was generally plenty of downtime, other than maybe a 2-4 hour super rush period around lunch or dinner some days.
      - bombcar 3y ago
        Much of the current "labor complaints" in general come from the maximization that doesn't "exist on paper" - jobs often involved "downtime" (even if you have slogans like "if you can lean, you can clean") and a few hours each day of absolute panic crunch-time. Now we're becoming quite capable of optimizing it so that the panic crunch-time is the entire shift (and if it isn't you make less than minimum wage) via these "Silicon Valley gig apps".

ch4s3 3y ago

Kryptonites largest and thickest U-lock gives way to a battery powered angle grinder in about 2 minutes.

runnerup 3y ago
I didn’t realize that. Thought it was 5-10 minutes. Thanks. Sounds like the bicycle delivery system is fundamentally broken then.
hacoo 3y ago
True but, angle grinders make a lot if noise and very conspicuous sparks. Of course thieves will still do it if they can get away with it, but it’s not a very quick or stealthy method. Picking the lock, in the other hand, is pretty fast and won’t attract much attention. Thief just needs to be sophisticated enough to have the correct picking tool and practice with it a bit.

dahart 3y ago

> I bike around with Kryptonites largest and thickest U-lock Oh you might want to visit the Lock Picking Lawyer’s YouTube channel today… he’s tested all the U-locks and picks them open in 30-60 seconds. https://youtu.be/fckVKa4K4Ps?si=Rwujt_k-QF-QYs4w https://youtu.be/fckVKa4K4Ps?si=Rwujt_k-QF-QYs4w https://youtu.be/jZtNEC1uGg4?si=KMZJnogntWmMB_fA https://youtu.be/jZtNEC1uGg4?si=KMZJnogntWmMB_fA

runnerup 3y ago
I do follow LPL, love the channel. I’ve never been worried about bike thieves picking locks, I’ve never seen or heard of them doing that. I’ve only seen/heard of them them using destructive methods, typically bolt cutters. If the average bike thief gets as good at picking locks at LPL, we’re very screwed!
- itslennysfault 3y ago
  I haven't heard of this being common (sorta surprisingly), but you can get a battery angle grinder for $40 these days and it'll go through literally any bike lock that exists in seconds. Maybe it's not common because it is VERY loud and sparkly.
  - reaperman 3y ago
    I feel like it would be pretty tricky on an 18-22mm thick chain without clamping them in some kind of vice. These are nearly impractically heavy (30-40 lbs for a 6' chain), but I have carried them around on my bike sometimes, and will often keep one at the rack at work and one on the rack at home, and haven't seen anyone try to get into them. I think if a chain that thick wobbles it would just break the angle grinder blade?