DylinPrestly

Hey everyone. I'm new to this bicycle thing and I'm hopping to get some helpful info from you guys. I just purchased a Merida BIG SEVEN 500 Mountain Bicycle and of course living in New York, bicycle's here get stolen easy. I mainly purchased this so I can ride it when I go off trail in Texas (hometown).

Living in New York, I've seen many bike thefts cutting bicycle locks with a simple bolt cutter. I must have seen at least 4 bicycle's being cut on mid-day and late night with what looks like a simple Home Depot Bolt cutter.

Anybody recommend a lock for a bicycle that's a deterrent from thefts cutting the locks? I know if a theft really wants it, they will find a way. And I always leave it inside my apartment but when I go outside to park it somewhere like restaurant, coffee shop, etc....what locks do you guys recommend? Are there any locks that doesn't cut with a bolt cutter?

erig007

Here
I find the hiplok gold quite interesting but for you the abus granit power XS (1.2m long) would be even better because of your bike frame
The best bike locks and chains - BikeRadar

Put stickers everywhere to uglify your bike a little
No quick release.
Saddle: Old chain + old inner tube
Put some glue in bolts, pedals once you have your bike set properly
Ban from your head this "it's just for a few seconds/minutes"
...

You should probably choose a beater bike (old, ugly, cheap) when you plan to go to the restaurant, coffee shop...

Chris516

While I agree with everything that he said below:
When you say New York, I presume you mean NYC? Not somewhere else in the state? Have more than one heavy duty lock. Intertwine them with your bike frame, back wheel, and the solid immovable surface. Make sure that 'immovable surface, doesn't allow for pulling your bike off something like short pole with a movable circular cement base. Also, Remove the front wheel after locking up your bike, and take it with you.

vol

OP, about 1 hour before you posted, I saw a scumbag (I believe) pedaling away on a bike that was somewhat similar (in size and type) to yours without a seat! It was in Manhattan, on the Hudson Greenway at the Chelsea Piers around 23rd st. I'm almost sure he jus stole the bike (I just posted about it on the Northeast forum). I thought small mountain bike must be cheap, but just realized some of them could be expensive. Since the owner of that bike removed the seat, it's reasonable to suppose it's not a cheap bike.

So ,yes, be careful. Even without the saddle the bike can be stolen.

As for locks, I've known people who had their bikes stolen even when locked with Kryptonite U lock. One tip is to lock the bike with two or more different type locks so that it would require moe than one tool/method to cut/defeat the locks.

Essex

I now lock my very ugly, and old bike with a cable lock. The cable lock could easily be cut with a bolt cutter. What has prevented any bike theft has been the following:

1. It looks old, ugly and busted.
2. I don't keep it outside too long. My errands last less than 30 minutes.
3. I also don't park it near Chelsea Piers, or other hotspots where people park their bikes. I park it in front of places like Zabars, Bed, Bath and Beyond, or crappy alleys where no one really thinks anyone would park a bike.

mozad655

I cannot reccomend the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit Mini enough. It is undoubtly the best bicycle lock on market. You can read about the detailed specs online. I bought mine 4 years ago. It still works as smooth as day one. The catch is that its heavy. My model is also small, but there is also a longer version. If your main priority is theft prevention, then you should stop looking. You will never find a better lock. The only way to cut it is with a noisy angle grinder. Even the damn LED light on the key still works after 4 years.[h=3][/h]

DylinPrestly

Haha stickers everywhere to uglify your bike

DylinPrestly

Thanks for the advice, I think I'll do that...especially having multiple locks & intertwine them on the frame and back wheel. And yeah I live in New York City (Manhattan) area so bicycle theft are very common here.

DylinPrestly

Thanks everyone for the recommendation as I'm new to the bicycle thing. Last time I rode a bicycle was in middle school and I remember someone selling that in a week. I notice the Merida bicycle as a place in the fork where you can put a GPS tracking in case someone sells your bicycle but I'm guess most of the bike theft knows about that & they will just open that up with a T-Screw and throw the GPS away.

Daniel4

Check the discussion called “But my bike was locked up WITH A CHAIN!” in the General Cycling Discussion section.


In this long thread you’ll learn how someone says a bike locked with the best u-lock and chain can be stolen within 15 minutes and with a battery powered angle grinder any bike can be stolen in 5 minutes.


And since you are in NYC, it’s probably a good bet someone will carry around an angle grinder and use it in broad daylight with everybody else walking past.


But you still should
1) lock your bike with more than one good lock and locking types (u-lock and chain);
2) park your bike within eye distance you can reach within 5 minutes;
3) park near other bikes locked not as well as how you locked yours;
4) not let paranoia get the better of you

DylinPrestly

Oh thanks, I will definitely check out that discussion thread!

yashinon

Bike thefts are crazy this summer! I don't know maybe because I am paying more attention and belong to a local community ride group, I am hearing more about it.

A couple of informative things that were done locally:

The Record : After record bike thefts in 2014, this year?s bike thefts are increasing at an alarming rate

You may not be able to see this but this is a video made by a local college police dept:

https://www.facebook.com/UBPolice/vi...c_location=ufi

vol

When Citi bikes came out, I thought that would help decrease bike thefts, since many people who cannot afford to buy bikes can afford to ride the Citi bikes. With so many Citi bike stations everywhere, so convenient, why would some still want to steal bikes? Well I forgot many thieves steal bikes to sell.

Daniel4

Are Citi bikes good quality bikes? I would think if the city would be flooded with cheap bikes like those in China during the Mao era, they would hardly be desirable to steal and sell but good enough to get anybody from A to B.

Furthermore, if anybody were to ride around in a stolen Citi bike, where would he park and lock it? If it's not locked in a station, it would really be suspicious since there would be stations everywhere. And if it's locked in a station, it's like returning the bike to its rightful owner.

LGHT

With the amount of thieves in NY if they want to steal it it doesn't matter what lock you have. I have seen pics of just about any lock defeated with saws and torches. Bottom line is you can't really own anything of value in NYC without worrying about it being stolen one way or the other. I know a guy who held up and robbed for his shoes in broad daylight by a kid with a gun.

squirtdad

Been a long time since I lived in NYC, but one thing to remember is that some people will steal a bike with nice parts and part it out. in that case you can cut through any frame in seconds, wheels also if needed. Lot to be said about using a beater bike or making you bike ugly and anonymous

Chris516

Another thought is, how much are you willing to lug around? I bought a key lock made by Giant a while back. After I had to have a combination lock cut off. I figured with a key lock, how could I go wrong. But the keys were cumbersome, in and of themselves. I eventually misplaced the keys(thankfully not when I had the lock on my bike). The circumference of the coiled lock(not in the coiled position), was about the same size as a thick rope(not necessarily good to carry on a road bike). I went back to using a combination lock that is coiled and not thick like the size of a big rope.

DylinPrestly

Yeap that's NYC for you lol

ModeratedUser

You are talking about non-cable locks right? Cable locks shouldn't even be sold. Use two good U-bolt locks and try to park where you can keep an eye on the bike. What I recently purchased and like are these anti-theift bolt kits. Yeah a thief could have a key for the bolt, but I'm betting he'd just pass on messing with it and move to the next bike.

Toona

In a perfect world there would a underground bike culture of vigilantes. They would plant attractive bikes outside of places......and wait to see who comes to steal the bike. They could make special sucker bikes...... like the large tubed 90's era Cannodale's.....you know....large enough to conceal Lo Jack tracking devices.

And when a POS comes out to take the bike....

BOOM!!

Nail the bastard. Some things simply cannot be tolerated. Now all joking aside it would be a fun activity for local bike clubs to endeavor in...the making of special bikes like that to rid the town of scum.

Personally I find bike theft most egregious. And I would love to see the steps suggested above become the norm for towns with a sizable bike culture and clubs that could assist in such projects.

So that's my best advice. Drop the suggestion to your local police force and have a fun project for them to do, while making the decent cyclist in your town feel somewhat more secure about their bikes.

Grillparzer

mr_bill

Bait Bikes.

-mr. bill

Toona

YESSSSS!

That was the best thing I have seen in a while. Exactly as I imagined it going down too. Talk about perfection! And a made to order link. Thanks Mr-Bill!! To see swift justice is a true joy. Now the only thing is smaller towns need to get in on the act.

CliffordK

I used to remove the front wheel so I could tie it in with my single Kryptonite lock.

I haven't done that for a while, but I usually am not parking my bike all day now either.

Anyway, I wouldn't make your bike look like it has been abandoned and half stripped. Someone will undoubtedly finish the job for you.