ikuyo

ikuyo

@ikuyo

the Curly Brace scholar

33, married, trans. Developer by day, TASer in the night, musician somewhere in between. Married to @amberciera.

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ikuyo
@ikuyo

So about bike locks

I'm about to purchase my first bike as an adult and I wanna keep it secure. I'd love some recommendations for what kind of lock I should look into and such. I'm willing to put some budget behind it of course.

Currently interested in some Onguard ulocks and looking thru lockpick videos for those gives me some calm. I'd love further opinions!

(for reference I live in Chile, so some options might not be readily available for me here)

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hindsightee
@hindsightee

Despite whatever LPL might say, almost no bike thieves are gonna use a lockpick or pickgun to open bike locks. It's either electric/hydraulic instruments or boltcutters.

Where you park it and for how long also matters a lot! and per some of my bike mechanic acquaintances, if the bike and its components look cheap and are well-locked, they'll probably pass it over for a more expensive one

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ikuyo
@ikuyo

I'll mostly be using it for commuting to work, and we have a dedicated bike parking space underground. At home, the building has a parking space for them too. My biggest concern is if I ever use it to go get groceries or something like that, but in those cases I don't expect it to be parked for long.

Yup! Seems like cutting is the more relevant threat. Thanks for confirming that for me.

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Auride
@Auride

There are a few guidelines:

  1. Never leave a bike in an unsecured area overnight, especially outdoors, even if it's well-locked.
  2. You generally want to spend at least 10% or so of the value of the bike on locks.
  3. Use 2+ locks: one to secure the frame and one wheel, and one to secure the other wheel. This is especially important if you have quick-release wheels.
  4. Use a chain lock and a u-lock. Using two different types of locks makes it a little harder for thieves to completely both of them.
  5. Avoid cable locks, except to attach accessories (e.g. your seat/saddle) to the main locks. These are very easy to cut quickly and silently with easily hidden tools.
  6. Lock to a strong solid object rigidly connected to the ground (ideally embedded into concrete). This prevents thieves from simply lifting the bike with thing your locking it to into a truck/van to disassemble elsewhere.
  7. Tie your lock into a closed loop. Even if you lock it to a tall object like a tree or traffic sign, thieves may be able to lift the whole thing up and over without breaking the lock(s).
  8. Try to minimize the (apparent) value of your bike when it's locked up. Remove accessories, remove the battery (if it's an e-bike), secure it near a more expensive-looking and less well-secured bike, etc.. You can even remove a wheel, seat, pedals, etc. if you can take them with you.
  9. Consider getting bike insurance to cover theft. Also, some renter's/homeowner's policies may cover a bike even if it's damaged/stolen somewhere other than your home. Make sure to read the policy restrictions and ask your agent any questions if unsure.

I use this long, heavy chain (https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-information/current-key/000808.html) for my wheel/frame and a random u-lock for my other wheel. I'm in a very safe area, there are few other cyclists around to sustain bike thieves, and my bike is <$1000 USD. There are certainly higher-security options out there if you are at higher risk, including some angle-grinder-resistant u-locks that cost over $200 USD.

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