rudymadethis

I recently purchased a Giant Expressway 1 which I would be using on my 2.5 mile commute to work. I figured I'd just take it with me inside the office during the day, but wanted to be able to lock it up outside when I make stops at the gym or market.

With that said, does anyone know of any helpful tips to locking up folding bikes? How do you go about securing your rides? I live in New Haven, CT (small city/home of Yale), so there is always a chance of theft in a metro area.

Elvis Shumaker

Good advice here: https://www.lockyourbike.org.uk/how-t...-a-bike-guide/

I quite often fold mine before locking too if space is at a premium.

tcs

You gotta love the way this Birdy is locked up in this official Abus Locks photo! Simple hand tools, a few moments, the front fork/stem comes off and the bike belongs to the thief. Always lock a folder through some part of the frame enclosed by welds. In this picture, the black Brompton's frame is locked securely (through a frame triangle) but the tan one is not.

manapua_man

I use four separate locks/cables (of different varieties), and so far each time someone tried getting through them they only made it through one before giving up and moving on.

HGR3inOK

Be sure to read https://sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html.

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

fietsbob

My Bike Friday is the heavy rider option.. it too offers a triangle, to pass a lock through..

Abus Bordo folding link lock, And a steel locking chain, Also Abus,
the chain holds it up better .. since there is no kickstand..

Brompton (also frame triangle). I have an armored cable lock, It stows in the touring bag.. or just over the M bars.

New BF Tikit, it got the steel chain over the HB, toe-strap keeps it from swinging .


[Bikes left loose get nicked, (street druggies) but no one has a wholesale bike theft ring.]






....

cplager

Masterlink cuffs can make it easier to lock many bikes because of the fixed sized cuff.



Note that regardless of what lock you get, anything can be defeated/cut, etc.

Cheers,
Charles

tcs

A lot of good advice, but I disagree with the late Mr. Brown on one major point. He says it's "a lot of work (to cut through a rear tire and rim) to steal a bike without a useable rear wheel" but in reality it would be just seconds with a battery powered sawzall and the thief would have quite a collection of parts (everything but one rim, tube and tire) to sell on Craigslist.

Disagree with Sheldon??? Heresy! Well, after we discuss bicycle security strategies, we get to take our beliefs and theories out on the street and see how they work out.
What Sheldon recomended.
What I would recomend. It's no harder, takes no longer, provides more security, and fills the interior of the lock to prevent jacking.
Make your choice, and I sincerely hope your bike is never stolen!

BTW, I also disagree with Mr. Allen's advice to take a wheel or saddle and seatpost with you when you leave the bike. An incomplete bike looks like an abandoned bike, and real world experience indicates that gives a green light to others to strip its other parts as well.

cplager

Battery powered cutters have come a long way in the last few years. Sheldon hasn't had a chance to update his post.

No matter how you lock up your bike, it is vulnerable. Nothing is fool proof. Just make it less attractive than the bike next to you (and hope the bike thief doesn't have van for all the bikes).

charbucks

That's a really good point! I'd never thought about how the broken window theory applies to bicycles, but I would definitely believe it.

I've become fairly lackadaisical about bike security around Calgary. I have yet to lock up my Brompton for more than half an hour or so, but I will probably end up doing so to go to a bar where it's too crowded to bring it in. Somehow I feel like I own unique enough bikes that, if one were stolen, the thieves would have a tough time selling it without me finding it, at least locally.

I use a chain lock, the kind that's wrapped in nylon. I think it's a pretty good compromise between U-lock security and cable flexibility, though it's probably heavier than both.

tcs

Mr. Allen has updated that Harris Cyclery web page recently, and left the information intact with no disclaimer that it might be out of date.

Security is always a matter of 'spy vs spy', and evolves with time.

But there are better locks, and better techniques, so there's no need for anyone to misinterpret your statement as fatalistic.

Yep - you don't have to outrun the bear, just your buddy.

NeoteriX

I'm not sure if I missed the tongue-in-cheek irony here, but Sheldon has since passed away--

On another note... why aren't people locking the bikes folded up? In many cases you'll have the front and rear wheels overlapping and can lock everything up with one lock (the seat will be an issue though).

cplager

I agree with this, although there are some places (e.g., parts of NYC) where you really have to be very vigilant (they've got bigger bears...).

KlibanQat

I've had loiterers watch me pop the cheap U-lock on around back tire and frame, and then lose interest when I add the extra-long decent padlock around the front chainring. Bonus, because it's a folder it has that little dipsy-doodle poking out near the chainring to rest the bike upon when folded, so when I get lucky and can catch that in the padlock as well, it's completely immobilized. Sometimes I just don't want to wrestle with the cable, but never skip the padlock and U-lock.

noteon 

Possibly too obvious to mention, but:

Lock within line-of-sight of someplace where you can see it from inside the gym or market, and glance over every few minutes.

pacificcyclist

If a thief wants it, they will take it! With modern power tools, they can cut through anything.

But I do agree with Mr Allen's advise to take the front wheel, saddle and seatpost off seemingly because those are the ones they steal if they realize you have a good lock. Imagine a $150 Thudbuster seatpost sticking out of your Dahon with just an easy flick on the quick release. Wouldn't you take that away knowing that it is a $150 seatpost? Sure you will. But what then will become your folding bike? Green light for people to strip parts?!? Yeah. You see, no win situation. They want it, they will steal it.

The point is that, no lock nor location would guarantee your bike safety. If they want it so bad, they will get it. Pure and simple. And in this recessionary economy, people need money and will become more desperate and daring. A good lock and good locking technique is a deterrent to theft. That's all. It's not a guarantee. Every time you lock that bike, you roll the dice.
If you really need to go downtown riding and into areas with high crime rate, get a cheap bike and be prepared to loose it. Why worry about something you have no control of and stress about?

pacificcyclist

And live a life as a slave to a material possession?!?

pacificcyclist

Just been to NYC this year before Sandy hit and I saw bikes locked securely outside that had only the frame. Everything else was stripped clean! The locks they use are more serious that the ones we use here in town. Bigger bears for sure!

pacificcyclist

Better locks and better techniques DO NOT guarantee being theft free. More or less attractive bike next to you make no difference either. We had a local newspaper guy who wrote an article last year about this and concluded that nothing is fool proof and he had a security expert and a local masked bike thief expert doing the demo with people watching and did nothing. Not one called 911 either. The "it's not my problem" group mentality that make locks pretty much useless because if locks are used as deterrent, the deterrent comes from people on the street who will do the right thing. If they don't care, then where's the deterrent?? And people who kept saying that better locks with better techniques are the ones who hadn't gotten ripped off yet. They are in denial (or the expert called Cloud 9 effect) until they themselves get ripped off.

tcs

Excellent point.

chaadster

I think that is the best advice for the OP (if the security need beyond a frame lockup exists). Simply folding the main frame hinge should work to capture both wheels with the right lock.

On my Dahon I use a lightweight TiGr lock strapped to the boom. It's easy on/off, and long enough to do the fully folded lockup when needed, and no lock is lighter:

charbucks

Ooh, how do you find the TiGr lock? I had my eye on it when it was on KickStarter, but I concluded that it might not be flexible enough for locking to random objects. I'm also not too keen on having things strapped to the top tube.

chaadster

On the web at www.tigrlock.com.

True, the TiGr is not so flexible that it's recommended for using on random objects, but for meters, signposts, and bike racks-- the kinds of things we typically lock to, it works great, and is certainly more flexible than a U-lock. A long chain would offer ultimate flexibility, but with the penalties of greater weight and reduced ease of use.

I suppose there are other ways to carry the TiGr on a folder aside from on the main beam, like perhaps strapped to the handlepost, or perhaps looped through the seatrails and strapped to the seatpost, neither of which I've tried since the boom placement has been trouble-free for me. Of course it could be strapped to a rack or pannier, or stuffed in a backpack or messenger bag if you wanted.

TiGr has mentioned producing other models, too, maybe a shorter one which could be stowed even more discreetly yet.

Abus Bordo locks have a tidy carry pouch that bolts to the water cage bosses, but then you lose the ability to carry water there. Everything has tradeoffs.

BassNotBass

And why would that be, cplager? (rib rib, wink wink)


+1

noteon 

Only until you forget to do it.