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Mainstream Press Lock Article
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The guy doesn't know what he is doing.
The most common way to bust a cheap U-Lock is with a 2-3' steel rod. Stick your rod inside the shackle and twist the U part into a pretzel which will pop it apart. Takes maybe 5 seconds.
The other common way to bust a U-Lock is to put a mini jack inside the U and pump the thing apart. Figure 30 seconds.
Plus the author doesn't know how to use a small U-Lock correctly. It isn't used to lock the frame, it is used to lock the rear wheel inside of the rear triangle to a pole or post (you can secure the front wheel with a cable or another U-Lock). With the U-Lock around the rear rim inside of the rear triangle you have secured the frame and rear wheel. If you use a small enough U-Lock thieves can't fit a jack inside it and can't get enough leverage with their steel rods to break the lock.
The guy is no city cyclist but I agree with his conclusions about cables and chains.
MB1
Securing my bikes at work with a Kryptonite New York Chain and Disc Lock
AND a Mini On-Guard U-Lock
Inside a Security Cage
Inside a Guarded Parking Lock
Next to a whole lot of bikes not locked up so well
Don't mess with me
A hacksaw is a waste of time (and a hammer??? who is he kidding? way too noisy). The last thing a bike thief wants to do is draw attention to himself.Val_Garou said:
The most common way to bust a cheap U-Lock is with a 2-3' steel rod. Stick your rod inside the shackle and twist the U part into a pretzel which will pop it apart. Takes maybe 5 seconds.
The other common way to bust a U-Lock is to put a mini jack inside the U and pump the thing apart. Figure 30 seconds.
Plus the author doesn't know how to use a small U-Lock correctly. It isn't used to lock the frame, it is used to lock the rear wheel inside of the rear triangle to a pole or post (you can secure the front wheel with a cable or another U-Lock). With the U-Lock around the rear rim inside of the rear triangle you have secured the frame and rear wheel. If you use a small enough U-Lock thieves can't fit a jack inside it and can't get enough leverage with their steel rods to break the lock.
The guy is no city cyclist but I agree with his conclusions about cables and chains.
MB1
Securing my bikes at work with a Kryptonite New York Chain and Disc Lock
AND a Mini On-Guard U-Lock
Inside a Security Cage
Inside a Guarded Parking Lock
Next to a whole lot of bikes not locked up so well
Don't mess with me
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Data on defeating rear-wheel?
The OP article did get me researching locks a bit and I think I'll be replacing my Krypto Evolution mini with an Onguard Bulldog mini. My commute parking situation is fair. I'm 4 floors up in in a public parking garage with pretty low public usage. Most people in the garage are in-building commuters. I lock the frame with a mini U-lock and run a good cable through the Team Pro saddle rails and both wheels. The bike is a fixie, so the rear wheel is not as valuable as a multi-gear rear.
You & Sheldon make guite respectable voices on this topic. I understand from Sheldon's site the benefit of securing the relatively expensive real wheel and that cutting the rear wheel while under tension is not as easy as people might think. My question is... just how easy/hard is it to cut or defeat the rear wheel compared to beating a good mini U-lock?MB1 said:
The OP article did get me researching locks a bit and I think I'll be replacing my Krypto Evolution mini with an Onguard Bulldog mini. My commute parking situation is fair. I'm 4 floors up in in a public parking garage with pretty low public usage. Most people in the garage are in-building commuters. I lock the frame with a mini U-lock and run a good cable through the Team Pro saddle rails and both wheels. The bike is a fixie, so the rear wheel is not as valuable as a multi-gear rear.
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Get an old wheel and try it.
#1 it is going to take a while to do.
#2 it is going to make a lot of noise.
#3 there are going to be easier bikes to steal.
#4 the thief isn't going to be able to ride the bike away.
What I have decided to do is use the biggest toughest chain I can find and just leave the thing attached to the rack where I park my bike every day (one more thing the author didn't think of). My chain weighs far too much to lug around every day. We actually have locks scattered all over town and rarely need to carry one.
The additional U-Lock I use keeps my bike as the most secure one on the rack (Commuter Guy recently upgraded to On-Guards biggest chain & lock). A pro can get my bike but pros usually have a lot better things to do than steal a bike.
What I would worry about with my bike "4 floors up in in a public parking garage with pretty low public usage" is professional thieves pulling up in a van with power tools and taking the whole rack of bikes. It happens.
Don't forget a thief is going to have to cut the tire as well as the rim to get the lock off.PdxMark said:
#1 it is going to take a while to do.
#2 it is going to make a lot of noise.
#3 there are going to be easier bikes to steal.
#4 the thief isn't going to be able to ride the bike away.
What I have decided to do is use the biggest toughest chain I can find and just leave the thing attached to the rack where I park my bike every day (one more thing the author didn't think of). My chain weighs far too much to lug around every day. We actually have locks scattered all over town and rarely need to carry one.
The additional U-Lock I use keeps my bike as the most secure one on the rack (Commuter Guy recently upgraded to On-Guards biggest chain & lock). A pro can get my bike but pros usually have a lot better things to do than steal a bike.
What I would worry about with my bike "4 floors up in in a public parking garage with pretty low public usage" is professional thieves pulling up in a van with power tools and taking the whole rack of bikes. It happens.
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Test methodology
That's a good idea about trying to do the cut. I think I have a perfect candidate wheel at my ex's... Now to see if I can get that wheel back...
I've cut tires (kevlar beads) with my simple wire cutters to make tire boots, so I have a feel for that. For the wheel I'll try a saw. If I remember correctly, Sheldon's theory is that if you saw from the outside of the rim the tension of the spokes will pull the cut rim together and bind the saw blade. To avoid this I'll try sawing from the inside of the rim. This might avoid the binding issue of sawing from the outside. If not, I'll try cutting a couple spokes with the wire cutters to relieve some of that tenion. I'm not sure when I'll get to try this, but I'll post my test results once I do.
You're right about a van pulling up. The one hope there is that the security cams in the garage would at least ID the vehicle involved. My own little fig leaf of comfort is that there are two lower floors with racks for bad guys to visit before they come up to the floor where I park.MB1 said:
That's a good idea about trying to do the cut. I think I have a perfect candidate wheel at my ex's... Now to see if I can get that wheel back...
I've cut tires (kevlar beads) with my simple wire cutters to make tire boots, so I have a feel for that. For the wheel I'll try a saw. If I remember correctly, Sheldon's theory is that if you saw from the outside of the rim the tension of the spokes will pull the cut rim together and bind the saw blade. To avoid this I'll try sawing from the inside of the rim. This might avoid the binding issue of sawing from the outside. If not, I'll try cutting a couple spokes with the wire cutters to relieve some of that tenion. I'm not sure when I'll get to try this, but I'll post my test results once I do.
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I don't know that's really a trade up. The Onguard lock mechanism is notorious for being a bit finicky at times and I honestly think the Evo Mini is the best lock for the money. I'd love to throw down the cash for a Fahgettaboudit (they're coming out with the mini version soon or it might already be out) but really... that seems like over kill. As long as there isn't any room to try and use a jack/rod to seperate it I think most commuter bikes are safe enough.PdxMark said:
I'd say you're more vurnerable to part theft than theft of the entire bike. I finally used some Shoe Goo to glue some BBs into the bolts on my stem so my bars wouldn't be missing after a long day on campus.
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