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Rentlar ,

All depends on where you are. If you have a bike registration sticker program in your area, do that (e.g. 529 bikes, some cities, some police departments have their own service). Get locks with insurance that would cover the full cost of replacing a stolen bike that was properly locked, if available.

Don’t leave it outside over night. Lock it in at least two places if it will be out of your sight in public for more than 20 minutes. Lock it at a bike rack or against a fixed post, one wheel, and frame locked to the rack if possible.

TheRealKuni ,

On top of the various lock suggestions, I added something on my ebike I quite like.

”Hidden” beneath my water bottle holder is a casing for an Apple AirTag. No one is likely to notice it because it’s mounted with the water bottle holder. It doesn’t blend perfectly, but enough to not be noticed unless you’re looking for it. The security screws that are used to mount it require a somewhat uncommon head (not that people don’t have them, just not a normal part of a bike kit), so it’s not easily removed.

So if the bike is stolen, I can hopefully find it again.

This coupled with an alarm lock that attaches to the brake rotor and a standard combination cable lock has served me well so far. Though this spring I might add a folding lock just in case. If I’m spending as much as I did on a bike I shouldn’t cheap out on protecting it.

lemann ,

I carry my bicycle into buildings wherever permitted, and make full use of the free staffed bicycle parking & free bus whenever possible. I also have 24/7 keyfob access to secure basement parking at my local train station (did require proof of address + one time fee to sign up). See if you can contact your local municipality as they may have something similar in operation.

Before that, I experienced one attempted theft. At the time my bicycle was locked with just an Axa wheel plug-in chain combo lock (very rare in this country) which is built in to the frame.

Came back to see it on the floor with the electronics gutted: no camera, lights, or bike computer. It was dark and luckily I had emergency lights in my backpack to ride home safely. Reported to police, I tracked down some of the stolen stuff online, and even the shop they were sold to (called to verify), provided serial numbers, police did nothing.

Since the attempted theft I use two D-locks in addition to the built-in one, and have quick release mounts on all my bicycle electronics. I miss when I was studying at university and could leave my bicycle outside the library all night with just a cable lock, with no worries

doublejay1999 ,
@doublejay1999@lemmy.world avatar

Use the technique

psvrh ,
@psvrh@lemmy.ca avatar

Remove a wheel, seat and/or handlebars when you lock up. A lot, and I mean a lot, of bikes are stolen out of convenience, and not having a wheel means that someone can’t easily ride it away.

This won’t deter a motivated Igor Kenk-style thief that steals tens of bikes a day, but it’ll make you less of an opportunity to casual addicts looking to for a ride for the night or something they can flip for cash or drugs.

Dudewitbow ,

its sorta like the same mindset of driving manual. it wont deter everyone away, but it filters out some of the potential people who can steal it (those who dont know how to drive manual)

Addition ,

Make sure to loop a lock through the frame and both wheels. I use an ABUS frame lock on my rear wheel (never has to be removed) and a kryptonite chain lock for the front wheels and frame.

If you want to get really secure, replace fasteners with tamper resistant versions.

Nothing is ever theft proof, but there’s lots of ways to make your bike very theft resistant.

fiercekitten ,

These are all great suggestions.

OP, You’ll want a heavy-duty D-lock from a company like Abus or Kryptonite, and always loop the lock around the frame of the bike and loop it through a secured bike rack. A bike rack that can be picked up and dragged off is not secure. A bike rack with loose bolts holding it in place is not secure.

A frame lock that goes through the back wheel is also a great option, and the Abus ones (and others i believe) have an option on the frame lock to attach their own brand of bike chain as well. This is the lockup method i use on my $5k bike for any stops under 20 minutes.

For anything longer, i also use a d-lock around my frame and hooked to the bike rack, as well as cable locks around my front and rear wheels. I also have security hex/allen bolts securing my seat and seatpost suspension. People walk by, see 4+ locks on my bike, and never bother it.

Never use a cable lock to secure anything you’re not comfortable having stolen. Also bike insurance is a thing and can be really affordable. Finally, there’s an app called 529 Garage that allows you to register your bike into their database to help with recovery in case it gets stolen. Some cities also offer registering your bike with the city to aid in theft recovery. I did it in my city, but honestly i have no idea if law enforcement even checks the city database for recovery.

frankPodmore ,
@frankPodmore@slrpnk.net avatar

I’ve been cycling all over the place since I was a kid and I’ve never had a bike stolen. Either I’ve got lucky or my approach is a good one!

The standard advice in the UK is to have two locks, at least one of which should be a good D-lock. Two locks are twice as good as one, because breaking two locks takes twice as long as breaking one, and thieves generally want to be able to steal bikes very quickly.

By a ‘good lock’, I mean in short, an expensive and usually very heavy lock. I have a couple of D-locks for taking out with me and a couple of very heavy chain locks that I keep for locking my bike up at home. I only take the chain locks out if I’m unsure about where to lock my bike, because they’re so heavy as to be barely worth the hassle!

Ideally, a lock should be secured around a frame and a wheel, and then to an immoveable object. So, extending that idea slightly, the ideal place to secure two locks is one around each wheel and the frame. I personally find that this is often difficult to achieve in real life. But, again, that’s where having two locks comes in: a bike that’s secured to a bikerack with one lock and has the rear wheel imobilised with another lock is difficult to steal.

Regardless of lock type and placement, the best places to secure a bike are those that either have their own security or have lots of foot traffic. Thieves are less likely to operate where there are lots of potential witnesses.

Good luck! Bike theft is sadly common but it shouldn’t put you off cycling if you’re going to be smart about security, which it sounds like you are.

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

Ive been switching to foldable bikes. When I worked in a office, they fit nearly next to my desk.

cooljacob204 ,

Two most important things

  1. Don't leave your bike anywhere overnight.
  2. Don't make a pattern of leaving it locked up in the same place for long periods of time.

A nice lock will help a little bit but tbh if they're determined then they will get it if you slip up and allow them the time.

RobotToaster ,
@RobotToaster@mander.xyz avatar

Use the Sheldon Brown lock strategy. www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html

teft ,
@teft@lemmy.world avatar

I use a Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit lock and chain through my rear wheel and rear triangle with a cable through my front wheel. I live in Medellin, Colombia which is about as theft prone for bikes as NYC is. I’ve never had my bike stolen. I also don’t leave it out at night, only when I’m going into a store or something.

Edit: Be aware this is a pretty heavy chain and lock but I love my bike and don’t want it stolen so I bought the best one I could find.

cooljacob204 ,

I just got back from a trip to Medellin and was surprised how big the bike scene was. Beautiful city.

ABCDE ,

I used to live there in 2013 and it felt super safe. How is it these days as I heard some bad bits about it.

cooljacob204 ,

I felt pretty safe when I was there. I had no issues. I'm a white guy from NYC for some context and I didn't feel unsafe at all. I was in El Poblado for the most part.

I visited to meet a few of my World of Warcraft guild mates in person and eat a ton of Colombian food. So probably not your typical tourist experience in Medellin.

Only wish my Spanish was better... I don't speak much and that was a challenge.

ABCDE ,

Yeah it forced me to buck up and learn a bit, which I maintain to this day. Poblado has always been pretty safe from what I remember; I was down in Envigado and really got along with that place, what will it being it’s open little town.

jballs ,
@jballs@sh.itjust.works avatar

Lock Picking Lawyer says he wouldn’t hesitate to use the non-chain version. That seems like the best endorsement you can get for any lock.

despotic_machine , (edited )
@despotic_machine@lemmy.world avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    Potatos_are_not_friends ,

    Cover/remove any brand name labels. Duct tape and spray paint are ugly. Use them.

    I call it “uglifying”. Maybe it’s luck but I never had my ugly bike stolen. In a sea of attractive bikes, mine stands out like a eyesore. And I always imagine if some one did steal it, it’ll be quick to recover.

    br3d ,

    You can buy very convincing stickers that make your frame look rusty

    tubbadu ,

    Ugly bikes ftw!

    Boozilla ,
    @Boozilla@lemmy.world avatar

    Apologies for the lazy answer, but Lock Picking Lawyer on YouTube has a number of videos on bike locks. In addition to the lock itself, you want to secure both wheels with a chain or cable if possible, and take the bike seat with you if you can (or secure it in some manner). Thieves will remove any bike part they can quickly remove from the bike. Obviously take any bags or water bottles with you, too.

    NuXCOM_90Percent ,

    LPL is not a great resource on this since people aren’t going to be discretely picking locks to not show signs of tampering. They are going to pull out a bigass pair of bolt cutters (and if you cut the pocket out of a pair of jeans you can fit some REALLY chonky bolt cutters in your “pocket”) and cut through the cable.

    In terms of protecting your bike from an actual attack? That is going to very much depend on where you live. Growing up, basically every thug had some good bolt cutters so chains and even cables were worthless and you needed the big fucking bar locks. I was visiting my sister on a business trip a few months back and saw someone literally pull out a battery powered angle grinder (ryobi) and slice through a bar like it was butter while I gassed up at a Wawa’s.

    Which is why all you can really do is lock your bike on crowded well traveled bike racks and hope that someone brought the road bike out.

    Boozilla ,
    @Boozilla@lemmy.world avatar

    You’d be surprised. Some locks can be picked very quickly, and you underestimate a bike thief’s ability to casually look like they are just messing around with their own bike while they pick the lock. Most passerbys are not paying attention / don’t care about bikes on a rack.

    NuXCOM_90Percent ,

    Of course most passer-bys don’t really give a shit. But that is true whether someone is trying to look nonchalant while they mutter “binding on two” or if they are doing a smash and grab. Except the smash and grab says “Don’t fuck with me” whereas someone holding on to a lock is how you get an owner starting to yell.

    Which kind of sums up a lot of the, quite frankly nonsense, that LPL’s channel is. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching him pick locks (and wince during his semiannual libertarian dog whistling) but all of the “masterlock is bad, lolz” meming kind of ignores the reality. MAYBE a thief will pick a lock to sneak in the back of your house or your shed. More likely they’ll just smash a window, listen for an alarm, and then steal shit. And I know LPL knows this because of his commentary on really cool shit like the military base locks where it is very much about just having a chain of custody and being a slight deterent.

    I dunno. I am always reminded of a Discovery (?) Channel show. “To stop a thief”? or some crap. Premise was former burglars run a security company. They inspect a family’s home, upgrade every lock and install a security system, and come back a few weeks later to rob them as a way to reinforce good practices. The vast majority of episodes boiled down to “Yeah. you didn’t lock the door, you dumbfucks” or “You have a giant tree right outside your daughter’s window and she left the window open”. But one episode that really stuck with me was where the family actually did follow every good practice. All doors and windows were locked, the trees were trimmed, etc. So they just crowbarred a window and got in that way.

    Because Felicity and Perry Mason will pick a lock to photocopy some documents without you ever knowing the hot chick who banged you last night is actually a spy. The vast majority of thieves will just smash a window, grab what they can, and be gone long before the cops come to check on your alarm going off. And that is why “just don’t leave shit on the seats of your car” go such a long way to prevent break-ins. Because, no matter the target, it is really about getting in and out before anyone tries to stop you. And you don’t need a Covert Instruments 9000 lockpick set when you can just sparkplug a window.

    DrRatso , (edited )

    Iirc he also tested bypassing the lock as well, at least for some locks.

    I.e. Bolt cutters, grinders and pneumatics

    boatswain ,

    A combination of a good lock (I think those Kryptonite New York locks are well reviewed) and having a bike that doesn’t look desirable. If your bike is obviously high end, it’s a target. If it looks like an old beater, thieves probably won’t bother. As often, anyway.

    PlasterAnalyst ,

    I have an old "NEXT" bike that I pinned the front fake shocks because they're really only springs. I did the same with the rear one by taking out the spring and replacing it with a piece of pipe. It rides good, it's still a POS that I got for free.

    Slovene ,

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=SpVOTEOMRuE

    B_DL ,

    This is the correct and only answer. If it’s good enough for the LPL it’s good enough for me.

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