Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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13 comments
We know that locks aren't the problem here - people are. Copenhagen: chain and rusty padlock. I'm sure bikes get stolen, but it's not something anyone obsesses over because it's not a significant concern. In CPH, folks leave their babies in pushchairs outside shops while they're inside. What a world we live in.
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Got to say, though, it's very very common to see a big chunky d-lock and a wheel all by themselves...
(Has anyone noticed the locking method which uses sympathetic magic, where the cyclist locks a big heavy d-lock to the Sheffield stand but not actually to their bike...?)
In the bike store at work, where I'm leaving the bike all day, I use a d-lock on the rear wheel/frame/stand and a separate cable lock on front wheel/frame/stand.
Outside, I have a mini d-lock on the frame/bike stand and an extender cable through both wheels and the frame and back to the d-lock.
I also have security skewers (the pentagonal ones, as I couldn't afford proper Pitlocks at the time).
We have these at work and they're excellent:
http://www.cyclepods.co.uk/cycle-storage-products/streetpods/
Fromt wheel is surrounded by the rack so you can't get that off. The metal rail has a small loop for your d lock where it will go through your rear wheel and your frame. It's a really good design.
I just have one Kryptonite New York lock that goes through the back wheel and frame, but this is in a secure underground bike shed at work. If it was outside I'd use another d lock for the front wheel and a cable through the saddle. I rarely see a bike that has the minimum of frame and back wheel secured.
Your bike doesn't need to be particularly well locked; just better than the bike next to yours!
That's actually funny, obviously not for the victim, but...
Rim brakes! That's his problem.
If he had been using disc brakes then the improved modulation might have made locking both wheels less likely.
I'll get my coat..
Locking both wheels and the frame is the bare minimum in London.
I've had the front wheel taken one time I forgot to lock it.
Had the saddle and seat post once.
Had the handlebars, stem and both brakes another time.
Note this is off a piece of crap steel fixie that cost me about £100. It's had more than that spent on Wiggle replacing parts nicked off it, God knows what the junkies/kids do with the bits. Unless it's one guy slowly building up a bike.
D lock through front and frame for quick stops in busy areas. Anything longer and the front wheel comes off and one D lock goes through all 3
For me it's a d-lock through the rear wheel and frame and through the rack as well with a cable round the front wheel, through the frame again and through a different section of the rack then into the d.
Dlock on the front, cable for back wheel, a guy does that outside our office every day. People have no clue what they are doing most of the time, it worries me how they make it through the week.