How do you lock your bike up?

[PabloNZ]

I will be using my Levo FSR for commuting as well as supermarket runs, and of course the odd trail, so am on the hunt for a suitable lock.

I'm conscious that a lock needs to be a bit bigger than your average when trying to coax it around an emtb frame and don't have much of a chance to go around the stores with my bike and try them out in different configurations.

So... what lock/s are you using? Do you like them?

 

[jonathan horticulturist]

Abus Granit Extreme 59 is the best lock I am aware of.

Saw one go on EBay for a 100 quid.

The ABUS Granit X–Plus 540 is more affordable.

I think these D locks should fit, but if they don’t, you’d be looking at a chain... which aren’t as secure. But the Abus Granite Extreme Plus 59 is pretty good.

Cheapest I can find at the moment:
Abus Granit Extreme Plus 59 12HKS buy and offers on Motardinn

Personally I have 3 D locks I use in a combination to stop wheel theft.

You need to spend at least 50 quid on a lock in order for it to be any good.

 

[Dax]

Locks are a waste of time these days, Dlocks are easily fixed with a car jack, round keys can be unlocked with a biro and battery angle grinders will see off the rest. Best policy is not to leave your bike unsupervised.

 

[jonathan horticulturist]

Locks are a waste of time these days, Dlocks are easily fixed with a car jack, round keys can be unlocked with a biro and battery angle grinders will see off the rest. Best policy is not to leave your bike unsupervised.

The vast majority of theft nowadays is done with a motorcycle helmet and a van. I still disagree with the pessimistic view that all locks are useless, though.

But you are right: if you can take it into where you work, than all is good.

 

[Kaelidoz]

Axa chain lock

Nah I don't like it, but the insurance wanted one of these. It's too heavy.

I'd like to get some groceries with my emtb but I'd never leave it outside, I'd have to lock both QR wheels, seat post...
It's in the locked shed at work and inside my house the rest of the time.

That's how I go to the bank.

 

[OldBean]

Hiplock wearable chain lock for me.....pretty heavy around the waist but Gold standard .
If I leave bike unattended its chained to very secure railings........hope its still there when I return!

 

[Doomanic]

I’m not taking any chances; I even drag the bike into the bushes with me when I go for a pee mid-ride!

 

[Mabman]

There's an old saying: "Locks only keep honest people honest"

That said for errands and a quick run into a shop I like a small round cable lock that I keep slung over my shoulder and rides against my bag that I use for errands. Just enough for around the top tube and the bike rack pipe and easy access to apply. About the only other time I have to lock my bike is when on my rear hitch mount carrier and for that I use a fat cable secured with a padlock that is able to thread through all wheels and frames of the three it will hold. Sure, easy to hit with an angle grinder but see above.

What I always envision is a motion sensing alarm that spits out 150db of punk rock when someone starts to mess with it and notifies your phone that the music is playing. Hidden enough so not easy to disable and with a GPS chip that in case you had parked in front of a school for the deaf would track its whereabouts. There have been some bikes that have this type of system but I just want a plug and play version that I have not seen one that I like yet. Maybe someone on here has? The blaring punk rock is a must have btw.

 

[jonathan horticulturist]

Axa chain lock

Nah I don't like it, but the insurance wanted one of these. It's too heavy.

I'd like to get some groceries with my emtb but I'd never leave it outside, I'd have to lock both QR wheels, seat post...
It's in the locked shed at work and inside my house the rest of the time.

That's how I go to the bank.

View attachment 3106

There’s locking skewers...

Insurance is a really good idea. One of my locks once registered gives £3000 cover on its own. With E bikes more is needed, so not so useful I guess.

 

[PabloNZ]

Hmm, I hear what you are saying @Dax but where I live I can lock the bike outside the shops and have no major fear of someone getting set up with an angle grinder or a jack in front of people without someone asking him what the fuck he's doing. It wouldn't be a lock to be used for longer than a few hours and in broad daylight/well lit areas. That being said, opportunistic thieves are everywhere and if it wasn't locked up well then I wouldn't put it past someone to quickly snatch it up.

The bike comes up to the office with me each morning, and gets tucked up in the locked shed at night.

Here in NZ my contents insurance covers bikes up to $5k, and it's a nominal extra cost (a couple hundred dollars a year I believe) to add my levo value to the policy. I don't need a particular type of lock for this coverage however I do have to try and deter theft.

I'll have a look around and see if I can find a Abus Granit lock @Ross Gardner , they look good. I don't really like the idea of a D Lock due to the bulk of it to be honest.

 

[Blackbird]

I'm using the same as kealidoz i'm gonna get a folding abus coded to my battery lock. Also full insurance. Just under 7 euros a month.

 

[Dax]

I would love to live in NZ, I can't think of anywhere in the UK where I would leave a levo locked for a few hours. When I lived in town I used a lock I bought for a couple of quid on my singlespeed, it stopped anyone riding away on it.

Theres definitely an argument for having a lock even if you don't leave it places, it means that you get to your bike before someone rides off on it. The current popular ways to steal bikes around here are to follow cars with bike racks on, then steal the bikes out of the shed or garage, show up at trail centers at lunchtime wearing biking gear and just ride off on unlocked bikes, or drive around a trail center car park and grabbing bikes when people are changing. Be particularly careful at bpw.

 

[mark.ai]

Litelok is cool - has Sold Secure rating of Gold and can connect two together to increase the length. Seems light compared to most Gold rated locks. But it's not very compact.

Altor make an even lighter folding lock out of titanium (so should be secure) which was on Kickstarter. It has no Sold Secure rating though so it isn't valid for some insurance policies. Can also connect two together to increase the length. But not sure you can buy it any longer - their website is advertising a newer version in the works but not heard any info on it.

 

[emtbtakeover]

I use the Abus Alarm folding lock but i don't leave it unsupervised for long. I got the bike for hard riding and will not ride it somewhere unless it's in my line of sight.
Unfortunately, there are no companies in Romania that will ensure bicycles, let alone ebikes.
Good luck !

 

[davegixer]

show up at trail centers at lunchtime wearing biking gear and just ride off on unlocked bikes, or drive around a trail center car park and grabbing bikes when people are changing. Be particularly careful at bpw.

Bloody hell!

 

[DEADMEAT]

I don't even own a lock, there is just no way on earth I would ever leave my Kenevo anywhere, ever. Even if I chained it to a ship using the anchor as a lock, some f**ker will try and steal the ship to take my bike!!!

 

[Cooldaddygroove]

Simple. go to a locksmith. They will tell you what the best chain and padlock combination is. Square link chain to start, and a padlock where the two ends of the chain attach are buried. I took my Hiplock to them and said what do you think? They said the chain is great, but they could provide a better lock. As for the "Wearing around your hip" feature, they were like "Meh! We sell sleeves for our chains, and as long as you dont gain/lose a bunch of weight, they cut it to fit around your waist. Total cost? About the same as a hiplock, but with a much better padlock.,

 

[2WheelsNot4]

I've only really locked it at my local supermarket which is really busy and its at the door and cashline point so has a fair bit of traffic, plus theres quite a number of bikes being locked there so anything happening is pretty much zero.
I use an Abus Bordo granit x plus 6500. I'm not insured as of yet. Keep meaning to but just cant get around to it.
If im in the city center and i want to go into a shop i lock it in a busy area, and at the better end and if possible against railings rather than in amongst the rows of locked up bike, reasoning being people are used to seeing people fiddling with bikes and locks in these rows, so keeping it separate its a bit more visible. I also use a kryptonite cable loop to encompass the wheels just so as to porevent opportunists nicking a front wheel. Internally cabled droopper so thats not easy to remove. so I reckon safe.
Stopping off at a newsagent for a can of juice or choccy, especially in a quiet area or the city or west end, I lock it to as close as possible and aim to be in there only a few minutes.
The lock lives on the bike and i'm pretty used to locking it even if i stop to have a can of juice or ciggie. I never ever take a chance and if it cannot physically be with me, then it gets locked.

Sometimes though if in the city center, I'll lock the bike, go into a shop like M&S, but sit at the door and watch the bike from a distance to see if it gets any attention, but thats probably more down to being slightly paranoid given the cost of this bike is 8 times what I'd normally spend on one

 

[2WheelsNot4]

I use the Abus Alarm folding lock but i don't leave it unsupervised for long. I got the bike for hard riding and will not ride it somewhere unless it's in my line of sight.
Unfortunately, there are no companies in Romania that will ensure bicycles, let alone ebikes.
Good luck !

You have a beautiful country, I did VSO there in 1992 in Siret in Suceava County. Quite amazing.
Cheesy cloudy beer was an experience too

 

[Flyfisha]

For anyone following this thread here is a link to a shorter lock made by the same company Kryptonite as I use.

Kryptonite NY Disc Liberty, Yellow/Black : Kryptonite: Amazon.com.au: Automotive

Kryptonite NY Disc Liberty, Yellow/Black : Kryptonite: Amazon.com.au: Automotive

www.amazon.com.au

 

[Alexbn921]

I employ a full proof strategy that keeps my bike from being stolen. . . . . . I don't ever take it some place that I need to leave it unattended.
Get a cheap bike and ride that to the store.
Other than that, get a good U lock and a cable for the wheels.

 

[BigMark]

Securing my Trek Rail 7 as I drive across the USA (destination Portugal) I have a schrade new york style chain, Kryptonite integrated lock and separate cable as well as Two American Lock A700D padlocks. You can see how I loop the Crip around my headtube for traveling...My bike has to go with me, currently 8500 miles in 27 months. Next stop Chicago, YIKES!

 

[Eliadn]

As others have said, it's not smart to leave bike unsupervised for longer periods, whatever security you are using. But that also depends on your location. Here it's usually lowlife scum trying to get your stuff and if they can't break the locks, they will damage your bike in revenge.

I have extensively researched this topic because I commute on my ebike. Layering is the best approach so I use two locks. A huge Abus Granit U lock which I keep at work, and a big folding Abus Bordo. I also have a thick Abus cable, but I don't use that. On the frame I have a sticker that says "gps secure" as an extra deterrence. I tried insuring the bike against theft, but it costs more than car insurance.

You have to realise, that if a thief really wants your bike, he is getting your bike. There's no such lock that can withstand an angle grinder for more than a minute (however there's a U lock from Hiplok that claims it can't be cut with angle grinders). Chains are also very good, but bulky, cumbersome and very heavy. If I had a garage or something, for sure I would use a big ass chain, wall anchor and a camera system.
I suggest you stay away from practices such as tying a chain around your waist or torso like some ammo belt. If you fall, the chance of fking yourself up is dramatically increased. There are also various motion alarms, Hex Lock (for axles, stem, seat post etc...)