Bikerdave222

Thanks

gmm213

I use a Kryptonite KC890 HD from Walmart Kryptonite KC890 HD Chain Lock - Walmart.com

It works for me. My area is low bike theft, all the crackheads go to the colleges next town over where the fancy kids leave there $1000 bikes locked to bike racks with cheap cables (I hear about it constantly). Plus my bike is never out of my site for long, it gets brought in at night and I can see it at work from my desk. My wife uses a cheaper krytonite cable lock but hers is either in the house or locked up on the Navy base so we dont really worry about it (that and hers is a $150 beach cruiser). Both of ours are covered by renters insurance (I made sure that my bike and my camera are both covered)

Maelochs

This is important ... so you can give a good description of the thief to the police.

gmm213

Ah my desk is only about 30ft from my bike, plus I always sort of wanted to see someone expect to free wheel on my bike and eat it. Man Id laugh so hard

Robert C

I forgot to lock my bike yesterday while i was at work. It was still there at the end of the day.

Maelochs

Excellent news.

Based on that I'd say don't even bother locking it. less to carry less hassle, and you cannot forget to do something you don't do anyway.

Ummm .... what kind of bike is it, where do you work and what hours?

MuddyBikeRider

I use just a standard cable bike lock and have bike insurance. My thoughts were that thieves can cut through anything so if they want your bike they will get it and someone who's not a professional won't be able to get through a cable lock and will pass by. With bike insurance, no matter what the way it got stolen was, I'm covered. I have mine insured for $5k and it's like $300 a year I think? It's a lot, I know, but the piece of mind is well worth it. I use Velosurance.

rekmeyata

Not sure how Velosurance works but some of those types of plans won't cover you if they feel your lock was inadequate as would be the case with a cable lock, so you may want to check that. Also they do have a deductible of at least $250 so your homeowners or renters insurance would cover theft if you have those polices so why pay for something you already have? Your homeowners policy pays replacement cost on the bike just like Velosurance. So you're going to pay the value of your bike in insurance cost in 16 years (assuming no premium increases over that time which will happen so probably closer to 12 years) that if you have home or renters insurance your already covered for.

So now I hear your next argument that the bike through Velosurance is covering the bike for accidents as well, ok great, except you could do the same thing through your home or renter policy by getting a Personal Articles floater on the bike for around $75 a year on top of your home insurance premiums that would cover the bike no matter what happens to it including accidents. So if you get a floater you'll be saving at least $225 a year.

If you rent and don't have renters insurance you can buy renters insurance for about $15 to $30 a month add on the bicycle floater and then you would have not only your bike covered but your personal contents against the usual fire, theft, etc problems that would be darn near what you're paying now just for the bike only coverage!

Peace of mind? Do you have peace of mind that you're spending more for insurance than you need to?

I don't have my bikes covered because insurance is a lot like gambling, the house is the insurance company and the odds are in their favor that they'll win, knowing this I take some of that risk back knowing that I'll win.

MuddyBikeRider

Yeah, I think that my home owners probably covers it as well in some form or another, but bike insurance also covers things that home owners doesn't. For instance, if I crash it and damage something on the bike, it's covered. So for me it works. I suppose it's like car insurance for a bike. Is $300 a year worth it for peace of mind for me? Yeah. Before I used to really really worry about my bike, say if I stopped some place to eat. Now I really don't care. Plus, I don't have to haul around a 10 pound lock. =D

Doctor Morbius

I just got a scorching deal on a used ED-209 to guard my bikes.

Crewchief911

A dog that goes homicidal if anything or anyone comes near, and a .44...haven't lost a bike or anything else yet.

rekmeyata

Right, but with homeowners insurance you don't have to haul around a 10 pound lock either. Crashing is also covered by most homeowners policy if you schedule it, as I mentioned before, on a floater, but you do need to first check with your insurance company before you take some dopes advice on a forum. So neither of your points you mentioned deem it necessary to have a Velosurance type of expense. The floater on a bike will either be scheduled under bicycles or under sporting equipment depending on the insurance company, you'll need the serial number of bike, maybe a copy of the sales receipt, total value of the bike and all the accessories you have on it. The only downside of a floater is that it covers only current market value of bike at the time of loss, except in the cases where it's covered by the regular homeowners provisions like theft then it's replacement for new covered, but most LBS's would be more than happy to appraise the bike at a higher level because they know you'll buy another bike from them. Also don't forget too that you have a deductible to pay plus the savings you saved by not paying for a Velosurance type of policy will more than make up the cost difference should your bike get crashed and your at fault in the accident.

You have home insurance, you should look into it to learn more.

goraman

My chain and lock can also be used to defend against mountain lions.

sv500

I use a master lock u with cable, but any sold secure gold rated lock would be fine. They are damm heavy though.

General Geoff

Abloy PL 350 and Pewag 3012 12mm traction chain, hardened to HRC 63. Have a set of pitlocks coming so I can just loop through the frame instead of having to worry about both wheels and saddle as well.

I can put a third link into the shackle to reduce the space that a bolt cutter can get into, though I'm not too concerned about even high end bolt cutters being able to cut through that 14mm shackle.

hollywoodeskimo

I pretty much have the same situation. Maybe even better. People regularly leave their bikes out in their front yards all day and night and they don't get stolen where I live. I don't do that. I keep it in the garage. I have a cable lock that I use for short stops while biking. Probably the thing that offers the most security is that my bike looks like crap. It's mechanically sound and that's what is important to me. I sometimes get rude comments about how bad the bike looks. But I like the ride and prettifying the bike will only make it more attractive to thieves.

hollywoodeskimo

Talking about hauling stuff around, I saw this a few days ago.

erig007

+1

1989Pre 

U.S.-made Master d lock (frame)
U-Haul 3.5" disc lock with 10mm shackle and Trek 4' long 10mm wide cable (frame to front wheel)
Bell 850 Ballistic 4' long 20mm wide cable lock (saddle rails to rear wheel)

This is my in-the-city setup. Most of the time, around town, I just use the Master.

molten

A U-Lock that I bought online from the UK. As I been saying in B-F --- the UK has items that USA online bike-shops don't have.
Add value.

goraman

We went for a 12 mile family ride and stopped for a late lunch.
I decided to only carry 2 large chains this trip.
The 2 chains weigh as much as my whole bike.
I also did something today,I thought I'd never do.
Bought a helmet.
Seems my 6 year old didn't feel he needed one cause Dad never wares one so I bit my tong and put one on.

General Geoff

Good job on leading by example, Dad!

Mighty fine lock job there, an opportunist could still steal your water bottles though

digibud

I'm with Happyday. I don't carry a bike lock. Ever. I don't leave my bike unattended. Ever.