I’m thinking about commuting by bike from home to my french classes, but the thought of my bike being stolen worries me and I’d like to hear your opinion.
I think that Onguard’s Pitbull 8003 U lock would be good enough for my current situation, since my class only lasts about an hour and my bike would be inside the school.
I paid around $450 for my bike years ago, it’s an aluminium road bike with shimano sora shifts. Would you say that it could eye catching?
I’d be glad to hear your thoughts!
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So as a former Buyer for a chain of bike shops, the majority of locks are just to keep honest people honest. Never lock up what you are unwilling to lose.
A $450 bike is probably not worth much second hand. Your risk will have more to do with the local culture, motivations, and finances of the area.
The lock is not as important as the techniques of attaching some kind of strap through the rear rim, frame main triangle, and front rim while looping them around an object that can not fail in some fundamental way.
A thief would need to air down both tires, cut the rims and bend them. If you are thoughtful, and use 2 cables, you can force them to cut the frame while being unable to get a single wheel and the drivetrain. Any way you look at it, the drivetrain is easy to steal with a hex key set. Forks, bars, seatposts, saddles, and anything else you’re attaching are easy pickings too.
The specialty security fasteners are not very effective and you’ll likely create far more issues for yourself when you have a flat or other issue while commuting.
So you’re not really able to secure much in total if you really think out the possibilities. For that reason, get something that is light weight but can fit around rims and frame as mentioned. That will at least secure the important stuff, and do the main job of keeping honest people honest. No chain or heavy lock will prevent even a half witted determined thief.
This is why fixies are/were popular; you’re building a minimalistic and cheap commuter without all the extra vulnerable componentry, while also staying light and flexible enough to actually ride hard core as a serious commuter. Getting that gear choice right is a challenge at first, but the weight loss makes up for a considerable amount of the difference even for a commute noob.
I live in a city with a pretty high rate of bicycle theft (I actually had a bike stolen a couple years ago).
Now, whenever I leave my bike somewhere, I always put two different types of locks (a U-lock and a chain lock) and never leave it outside overnight.
Get it dirty, put ugly stickers on it, etc. Make it look unappealing, it’ll help.
The best thing to do well be taking it with you, even into the back of the class. Might feel weird, but it’s how I kept my road bike safe all through my years living in various parts of NYC.
Your locking technique is more important than the lock you use
