Do you take a lock on your ride?
 

I usually only stop occasionally for a bathroom break and take the bike in the stall but now Idk if my usual bathroom is even open. I’m starting to take longer rides and was wondering what you guys do.

usually. i've got the medium-sized ottolock and frequently run that around the frame + the helmet through the spokes of either tire simultaneously
even if i think i'm not going to use the restroom/maintain direct visual contact with the bike 100% of the time parked. you just never know.

had an opportunistic thief try to abscond with my '85 pinarello treviso about 7 months ago while outside a tasting room where i was enjoying a beer. i was on him in 4 seconds
and simply asked "would you like the lock combination? it'll be easier that way." he cursed me out and medium-speed, shuffled away down the street.
didn't seem like a pro...more like a crackhead but when your bike gets stolen, it doesn't matter.

if you can swing it, it's always better to take it, and use it. you never know when you'll be distracted just long enough. attractive/flirty person. payment/tech issues paying the bill,
engrossed in the latest kuwtk drama on your phone, conversation with a nearby patron, mapping out the closest bike store to borrow the shop pump, textarguing with the significant other,
putting in a (potentially winning) bid on a possible n + 1 in the closing seconds of an auction...etc.

No, I'm never really in a situation where my bike is left alone. My rides are pretty structured and the chance of me not being more than 10 feet away from it let alone out of site.... just really isn't happening with me right now. If there happened to be an emergency where I needed to access a bathroom and my bike wouldn't fit I would remove the quick releases and open the brakes and make it virtually unable to move without some work.

Never.

2 things to help prevent getting stolen. 1) Remove your helmet and loop the straps thru the front wheel and frame and buckle it together. A thief has to remove the helmet for the bike to roll anywhere. 2) As you are about to stop, shift to big ring and smallest cog. That makes it hard for a thief to get up to speed as they hop on and try to roll away.

I only leave the bike to go into a convenience store for a drink and it’s never out of sight.

No. The only place I stop to pee, I take my bike in the door.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ditto

The CCPlague has made it hard to predict which parks pee stops will be open though.

Lol at the distractions. Glad you stopped him, he was mesmerized by it's beauty.

Not always, but trying to get better at it. No excuse not too as I can easily and securely loop the cable on the back rack or put it in the back rack luggage box. Bike is really not worth stealing except by unknowledgeable opportunists... meaning most of Atlanta inhabitants....

On longer rides, I carry a drawstring backpack for snacks and a little tire pump, and I have a couple of those zip-tie kind of cable locks I bring with me in there. They’re no match for someone with a pair of bolt cutters, but if I stop at a liquor or convenience store to refill my water bottles, it keeps it from being too easy to walk off with my Tarmac. I also do the big chainring/smallest cog trick like Steve B suggested, to slow down a potential thief a little more. I try to put it where I can see it if I have to wait in line to check out. A friend of mine only stops for fluids at supermarkets, and he just takes his bike in with him, never thought of that. If I need to pee, I look for public parks, construction site porta-potties, or if I’m in Ventura County, farmland porta-potties (usually on trailers for use by the farm workers). I rode up to Ventura a couple weeks ago and as it happened, the route I took was devoid of any kind of facilities. I was starting to wonder if I’d make it to the nearest park when I looked up as I was riding by the Buenaventura shopping center and saw they were setting up for some kind of event, and there, as if by magic, were two porta-potties they’d just set up. I climbed the dirt embankment up from Main St., stuck my bike between the two units, and found blessed relief. By the time the workers saw me, I was riding away with a smile on my face.

Thankfully, I’ve never had a near-theft or actual-theft experience. I hope my luck continues to hold.

don't be a victim. i know it's a pita to employ a lock, helmet straps through front wheel/downtube and/or shift into impossible gear/loosen wheel skewers
but we live in interesting times. you never know when some bro walks out of a pub and sez to his buddy on a drunken dare that he's gonna throw your
pretty bike into the back of his buddy's truck just because his life sux.

doubtful. opportunistic thief. that's it. bike coulda been spray-painted a neon matte hodgepodge. dude just needed to score before he could score.

Decades ago, when I was doing centuries (and ate sugar and lots of carbs then), I'd stop and wheel my bike in to make my purchase. This was in Japan and seven eleven type stores. My favorite was Wagashi (azuki bean confections) and rice balls with sweet mayo tuna in the center - or ume.

On ride where I know i'll be out of sight of my bike, I bring a Abus cable lock. It's about the size of a deck of cards.

It won't stop a determined thief but it will keep honest people... honest.

Nope. I rarely stop when I ride with the rare exception of a bathroom break and that's usually behind a cactus in the middle of nowhere lol.

Yep, always. Its just a simple lock and cable to prevent opportunistic theft, 'keep the honest people honest', doesn't weigh all that much. If a pro thief wants my bicycle he/she is going to get it regardless of the locking mechanism I use.

No locks for me. Ever since I had my Schwinn Varsity stolen circa 1980, my bikes go in the restroom with me. Otherwise, I do not stop anywhere unless in a group for outdoor dining like the Grizley Cafe in Wrightwood. I plan routes that include verified outdoor water refill sites. I self-support even for longer rides and have no need for stores. Just how I roll. I cannot afford to replace a $2,000 bike.

Have you seen the plastic loop-type bike locks? That would be the best solution when out riding and you need to pop into a store or take a bathroom break.

Not if I am doing a recreational road ride. I sometimes run errands and when I do I lake a backpack with a hefty cable lock in it.

I recently picked up an ottolock hexaband, which is a bit heavier than the original but not too bad. It's basically a keep honest people honest type thing but it's a little clunky to carry in a jersey pocket - where do you stash yours?

i have the medium size ottolock. it was about $60. been using it for two years now. it can lock two bikes to a medium-sized pole such as your usual street sign pole. posted pics on a sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper for perspective. one pic showing maximum expansion of locking capacity.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...84f0ba0a6.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bdbc6b041.jpeg

been happy with the lock but haven’t employed it for more than two minutes unattended/out of sight lines. as you say, more of a keeping people honest lock. i usually fit it in a jersey pocket but if pressed, i can wrap and tighten it around the saddlebag. rattles a little bit tho.

I don't normally take a lock with me on my rides. I ride on the road mostly and don't use anything other than a small bag that sits under the saddle. A lock and cable would add some weight for sure and I'd have to figure out where to put it. If I were mountain biking I'd easily just put it in my back pack that houses my "stuff" and water bladder.

Only occasionally. My errand bike/dog taxi has a Dutch AXA frame lock. Kinda like a car's ignition key: insert key--rolls. Remove key--stops.

Someone can still easily pick up my beloved dog taxi and throw it in the back of a pickup, but the only time I'm ever far from my bikes are when I'm riding one of the other ones. My other bikes are protected only by a bloodthirsty psychopath with two strikes (so far) and nothing left to lose.

http://www.calamarichris.com/wp-cont...7-live3axa.jpg

And to answer your specific hypothetical, I never completely finish when taking a restroom break. I always save an eager residual for the unconscious thief who tried. You know those survivalism enthusiasts who can't wait for the worst to happen? That's how I am about my bikes being stolen.

Oops, I misread the Thread title. I saw it as Glock, not lock. I do carry one of them.... :innocent:

I use one like that too. Maybe even smaller.
It's just strong enough that normal scissors would not be able to cut the cable, but gardening shears probably could.