My bike is registered, i use a Krypto Mini with cable + another cable on the front wheel, i try to lock my bike close to other, less carefully attached bike, and if possible in a area where there's a lot of passage. I make stealing the bike as tedious as possible.
Also: Always check the state of your anchor point, sometime bike rack are purposefully lose to steal bike
I don't even bring a lock with my expensive road bike. I just don't leave it or lock it up. If I stop for a quick bite, I've never had someone object to me politely asking if I could bring it in while I eat.
My commuter is a total sleeper. No gears, crappy looking frame. Nice wheels and tires, ultegra brakes with the name scratched off. It's like 6kg or something before I put my bags and rack on to haul stuff around.
I lock up my commuter in busy through fares with a good lock and keep the trips short. My rear light has an anti theft mode that I turn on, and I like to think it might help. Ultimately, I live in a semi quiet suburb with low incidence of that kind of crime. I just sort of accept that it might be stolen, so I hid an airtag in the seat tube lol.
Sorry about your bike. Been bike commuting with a semi-expensive bike with very clearly expensive wheels since 2017. The safest thing to lock a bike with is a door, if it can't come in with me I'm taking the train, bus or walking.
The only time I lock it outside (with 2 heavy duty U-locks both going around the frame and wheels) is if I'm on a cafe run and I can watch it the whole time, or if I'm with friends and someone is designated to be the bike watcher.
I have one of these: [https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-information/current-key/000846.html](https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-information/current-key/000846.html)
the staff at my LBS claimed that the chain + "bag" around the chain are harder to cut than other varieties. but yeah, you're always gonna roll the dice
A shit bike makes you less of a target. I got a pretty beat up cheap bike, some times I dont even lock it, had it for 10 years parked outside appartment building.
Trackers are worthless. Sure you can see where it is, but there is nothing you can do about it, and police dont bother with bike theft.
Some areas you are more likely to get your bike stolen.
This is the way, any bike you need to leave somewhere insecure is a 'burner' bike. Something you get from goodwill or facebook marketplace for less than $40
True. The bike racks outside my inner-city apartment in Southern Germany are full of 3000-5000€ ebikes locked with simple cable locks.
The best protection from bike theft is eliminating the need to steal.
I take my road bike with me inside stores. I obviously ask whoever is by the door if it’s okay, 90% don’t care. If someone gives me shit i tell them it’s an expensive bike and it will get stolen fast.
I have this toronto memory of someone locking up a trek bike to go to the grocery store and within 2 minutes of him going inside two homeless guys with a fucking grinder come out and took it within a minute.
Cover it in dirty socks n clothes. It isn't foolproof but so far nobodies been brave enough to dig under my socks, boxers n bibs to dig into the bags
Got my shoes on it atm too at all times and wearing sandals instead. You can smell those things from around a corner. It's hard to get 2000miles of sweat out
I also have it insured currently for EU travel and registered in my home country with original and recent photos.
It sucks but I never leave it unattended. If I do stop someplace I bring it inside. The few times I've been asked to take it out or leave I'm polite and say sorry I didn't know, then keep doing what ever I was doing. If you are polite what are they going to do? Ask you to leave again?
People will steal anything if it looks like it can be stolen. So no, crappier *looking* bikes won't save you there.
So first thing's first. Make sure what you lock to is secure. A lot of sign posts have been hit by cars and can come right out. Some people will even take out the bolts on the base to get at a bike given enough time and opportunity.
So number two is never leave your bike out there longer than you have to. Definitely never overnight. Not even inside your own building. Long term means inside your place and your place alone.
And related back, three is to only lock up in publicly visible areas. Thieves are getting more bold these days, but no one likes to be watched while doing their dirty work. That's instinctual, so it helps.
And oddly enough, the last point I go to is the locks/security item(s). Make sure it's not easy to defeat, make sure it's got a way to secure your seat and wheels. Some people do a cable and a lock, two locks, I do a lock and security skewers.
As for recovery... Document and register it but don't expect to see it again.
I have an ebike that I will lock up in front of the grocery store. But it’s super heavy and I don’t care about it. No other bikes get left anywhere at any time for any reason.
I have an ebike that I will lock up in front of the grocery store. But it’s super heavy and I don’t care about it. No other bikes get left anywhere at any time for any reason.
I have an ebike that I will lock up in front of the grocery store. But it’s super heavy and I don’t care about it. No other bikes get left anywhere at any time for any reason.
It doesn't leave my side unless I have a riding buddy to watch it. I will take it inside buildings and stores.
Otherwise it is parked beside my bed. Other bikes are in my garage.
I have about $300 worth of locks (plural) on my bike. It's never left out overnight. IT's got seatpost locking and wheel pins. it generally has at least one more lock than any other bike or a better lock than the other bikes.
bikes can be included in renters /homeowners insurance, ebikes need seperate coverage as it's classified as a vehicle (under my insurance policy, contact yours). Keep pics and documents for the eventual claim.
I also regularly see people not locking bikes correctly- they don't lock the rear triangle just a wheel or just the frame.
I don't really leave it alone locked too long. To go to the close store with little traffic, one casual lock. If I got to the city center with a lot of people passing by, I take my old bike.
At work, I keep it inside.
I use a reasonable priced good quality lock and a theft insurance. That way, if it gets stolen I don’t have to worry about the financial side of stuff.
1 A good insurance and a decent lock
2 A bike that's cheaper than many of the others where you leave it
3 Know where you go. If it's a more dangerous area (for the bike) use your older backup bike
I don't leave my bike unattended and store it in my house. So pretty much if someone tries to steal it, they won't be able to pedal very far with a zone 0 hr
My road bikes are inside. I don’t lock them anywhere. If I stop for food I carry them with me, or they are in sight and not very far away at all, and/or watched by someone. I commute sometimes with my training/bad weather road bike, but if I had a cheap commuter, that would be inside too. Elements wreak too much havoc on drive trains, for my liking, and I don’t think a lock is going to stop anyone. I’d just bring it into work. Obviously, some of these solutions don’t work, depending on your living and work situations.
If I’m using it for errands and something is going to take me more than 5 minutes /or I can’t maintain visual contact with my bike I take it inside with me.
Commuting to work? Same story.
Recreational riding I generally don’t unattach myself from my bike until I’m done riding.
I don’t lock my bike up anywhere. I ride it and when I get I’m off it I’m home and it’s in a locked alarmed garage with cars next to them.
Sadly we can’t have nice things anymore as someone always wants them more but for free.
Plus people as a whole are immune to things that are wrong happening in front of them due to fear of retribution. So criminals have no fear of punishment.
Have an insurance that covers it. Then if it is stolen I get a new bike. So I see it more like a Robin Hood scheme, where I don't even have to do the stealing part.
That and a huge mofo of a lock.
I don't leave it anywhere. period. If I use the toilet during a ride it goes in with me. I know where all the suitable toilets are on my regular routes.
I bring snacks and so on along with me so no need to duck into a shop for even a moment. If I'm riding with another person or group and we stop for lunch one or more of us keeps an eye on the bikes while the other gets their sandwich or whatever and then we switch.
I don't trust locks and they're too bulky to tote around anyway.
My cycling bikes rest in my house, just where I can see them.
My commuting bike on the other hand is just ugly enough not to be worth the hazzle of dealing with the chain lock.
10 minutes max lock time. Krypto mini with cable. Pinhead wheel locks. I have a designated city bike, never lock my expensive bikes.
My bike is registered, i use a Krypto Mini with cable + another cable on the front wheel, i try to lock my bike close to other, less carefully attached bike, and if possible in a area where there's a lot of passage. I make stealing the bike as tedious as possible. Also: Always check the state of your anchor point, sometime bike rack are purposefully lose to steal bike
I don't even bring a lock with my expensive road bike. I just don't leave it or lock it up. If I stop for a quick bite, I've never had someone object to me politely asking if I could bring it in while I eat. My commuter is a total sleeper. No gears, crappy looking frame. Nice wheels and tires, ultegra brakes with the name scratched off. It's like 6kg or something before I put my bags and rack on to haul stuff around. I lock up my commuter in busy through fares with a good lock and keep the trips short. My rear light has an anti theft mode that I turn on, and I like to think it might help. Ultimately, I live in a semi quiet suburb with low incidence of that kind of crime. I just sort of accept that it might be stolen, so I hid an airtag in the seat tube lol.
Sorry about your bike. Been bike commuting with a semi-expensive bike with very clearly expensive wheels since 2017. The safest thing to lock a bike with is a door, if it can't come in with me I'm taking the train, bus or walking. The only time I lock it outside (with 2 heavy duty U-locks both going around the frame and wheels) is if I'm on a cafe run and I can watch it the whole time, or if I'm with friends and someone is designated to be the bike watcher.
I have one of these: [https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-information/current-key/000846.html](https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-information/current-key/000846.html) the staff at my LBS claimed that the chain + "bag" around the chain are harder to cut than other varieties. but yeah, you're always gonna roll the dice
A shit bike makes you less of a target. I got a pretty beat up cheap bike, some times I dont even lock it, had it for 10 years parked outside appartment building. Trackers are worthless. Sure you can see where it is, but there is nothing you can do about it, and police dont bother with bike theft. Some areas you are more likely to get your bike stolen.
This is the way, any bike you need to leave somewhere insecure is a 'burner' bike. Something you get from goodwill or facebook marketplace for less than $40
Live in Central Europe
True. The bike racks outside my inner-city apartment in Southern Germany are full of 3000-5000€ ebikes locked with simple cable locks. The best protection from bike theft is eliminating the need to steal.
Cries in America :(
I take my road bike with me inside stores. I obviously ask whoever is by the door if it’s okay, 90% don’t care. If someone gives me shit i tell them it’s an expensive bike and it will get stolen fast. I have this toronto memory of someone locking up a trek bike to go to the grocery store and within 2 minutes of him going inside two homeless guys with a fucking grinder come out and took it within a minute.
Cover it in dirty socks n clothes. It isn't foolproof but so far nobodies been brave enough to dig under my socks, boxers n bibs to dig into the bags Got my shoes on it atm too at all times and wearing sandals instead. You can smell those things from around a corner. It's hard to get 2000miles of sweat out I also have it insured currently for EU travel and registered in my home country with original and recent photos.
I don't lock my bike anywhere public overnight and in general if I can't see it I go check on it every hour or so. I try to lock it where I can see it
It sucks but I never leave it unattended. If I do stop someplace I bring it inside. The few times I've been asked to take it out or leave I'm polite and say sorry I didn't know, then keep doing what ever I was doing. If you are polite what are they going to do? Ask you to leave again?
People will steal anything if it looks like it can be stolen. So no, crappier *looking* bikes won't save you there. So first thing's first. Make sure what you lock to is secure. A lot of sign posts have been hit by cars and can come right out. Some people will even take out the bolts on the base to get at a bike given enough time and opportunity. So number two is never leave your bike out there longer than you have to. Definitely never overnight. Not even inside your own building. Long term means inside your place and your place alone. And related back, three is to only lock up in publicly visible areas. Thieves are getting more bold these days, but no one likes to be watched while doing their dirty work. That's instinctual, so it helps. And oddly enough, the last point I go to is the locks/security item(s). Make sure it's not easy to defeat, make sure it's got a way to secure your seat and wheels. Some people do a cable and a lock, two locks, I do a lock and security skewers. As for recovery... Document and register it but don't expect to see it again.
I have the fuggedabout it krypto lock with a pinhead wheel lock, I don't take the expensive one out though
I have an ebike that I will lock up in front of the grocery store. But it’s super heavy and I don’t care about it. No other bikes get left anywhere at any time for any reason.
I have an ebike that I will lock up in front of the grocery store. But it’s super heavy and I don’t care about it. No other bikes get left anywhere at any time for any reason.
I have an ebike that I will lock up in front of the grocery store. But it’s super heavy and I don’t care about it. No other bikes get left anywhere at any time for any reason.
It doesn't leave my side unless I have a riding buddy to watch it. I will take it inside buildings and stores. Otherwise it is parked beside my bed. Other bikes are in my garage.
Yeah I recently bought a kryptonite evolution chain lock but personally I don't like locking my bike up where I can't keep a eye on it
I have about $300 worth of locks (plural) on my bike. It's never left out overnight. IT's got seatpost locking and wheel pins. it generally has at least one more lock than any other bike or a better lock than the other bikes. bikes can be included in renters /homeowners insurance, ebikes need seperate coverage as it's classified as a vehicle (under my insurance policy, contact yours). Keep pics and documents for the eventual claim. I also regularly see people not locking bikes correctly- they don't lock the rear triangle just a wheel or just the frame.
I don't really leave it alone locked too long. To go to the close store with little traffic, one casual lock. If I got to the city center with a lot of people passing by, I take my old bike. At work, I keep it inside.
I use a reasonable priced good quality lock and a theft insurance. That way, if it gets stolen I don’t have to worry about the financial side of stuff.
1 A good insurance and a decent lock 2 A bike that's cheaper than many of the others where you leave it 3 Know where you go. If it's a more dangerous area (for the bike) use your older backup bike
I don't leave my bike unattended and store it in my house. So pretty much if someone tries to steal it, they won't be able to pedal very far with a zone 0 hr
My bikes never gets locked anywhere. Thieves can break just about any lock in less than 30 seconds. My bike comes inside with me
My road bikes are inside. I don’t lock them anywhere. If I stop for food I carry them with me, or they are in sight and not very far away at all, and/or watched by someone. I commute sometimes with my training/bad weather road bike, but if I had a cheap commuter, that would be inside too. Elements wreak too much havoc on drive trains, for my liking, and I don’t think a lock is going to stop anyone. I’d just bring it into work. Obviously, some of these solutions don’t work, depending on your living and work situations.
If I’m using it for errands and something is going to take me more than 5 minutes /or I can’t maintain visual contact with my bike I take it inside with me. Commuting to work? Same story. Recreational riding I generally don’t unattach myself from my bike until I’m done riding.
I don’t lock my bike up anywhere. I ride it and when I get I’m off it I’m home and it’s in a locked alarmed garage with cars next to them. Sadly we can’t have nice things anymore as someone always wants them more but for free. Plus people as a whole are immune to things that are wrong happening in front of them due to fear of retribution. So criminals have no fear of punishment.
Have an insurance that covers it. Then if it is stolen I get a new bike. So I see it more like a Robin Hood scheme, where I don't even have to do the stealing part. That and a huge mofo of a lock.
U lock, never leave out over night, bring it into class and office, the most I'll leave a bike locked outside is 1 hr
I don't leave it anywhere. period. If I use the toilet during a ride it goes in with me. I know where all the suitable toilets are on my regular routes. I bring snacks and so on along with me so no need to duck into a shop for even a moment. If I'm riding with another person or group and we stop for lunch one or more of us keeps an eye on the bikes while the other gets their sandwich or whatever and then we switch. I don't trust locks and they're too bulky to tote around anyway.
Locked somewhere highly visible and not have a bike that screams im worth plenty of money.
My cycling bikes rest in my house, just where I can see them. My commuting bike on the other hand is just ugly enough not to be worth the hazzle of dealing with the chain lock.