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So, I've been thinking.
When you stop at a cafe and have to leave the bike outside, there's always the risk of it being ridden off by some unscrupulous ner-do well. SO to combat this you could lock it up, but a lock that'll withstand more than a pair of cutters to get through it can be a bit cumbersome, and carrying anything bigger on a road bike is a right PITA.
So, how's about using a small padlock (that would easily fit in your jersey pocket) fitted and locked through one of the jockey wheels and mech cage? It would stop the bike being ridden off, and a bike being carried by a plain clothed yobber looks rather odd, don't you agree?
Wouldn't it freewheel down the hill rather well though?
fitted and locked through one of the jockey wheels and mech cage?
more likely result in a ripped off mech with the first pedal stroke. It also wouldn't stop the bike being rolled/freewheeled away
just put it round a spoke on the front wheel.
try to remember before you ride off.
Oh yeah, forgot about the free-wheeling bit.
Disc rotors are ideal, if you're all trendy n' that.
Disk padlock
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if im leaving it out of arms reach but in visibility i tend to click the gears without pedalling so they jam up when an unsuspector gets on it.
sometimes if im on an unvoidable uplanned trip to the shop(for something like a bonk where i need food NOOOOOW where its out of sight i will take the QRs with me into the shop
Disc rotors are ideal, if you're all trendy n' that.
another one that will result in almost immediate damage when they try to ride or wheel it off without noticing.
I know it might be preferable to it being nicked but options that don't damage the bike might be a better idea 😉
Or
1. loosen/remove Qrs
2. Flip the brakes open
3. Helmet clipped through the front wheel and downtube
* remember to sort 1 or 2 out before you get back on, obviously!
Alternatively, put your bike against the wall first so all your clubmates' bikes are on top of it and more likely to be taken 🙂
So, how's about using a small padlock (that would easily fit in your jersey pocket) fitted and locked through one of the jockey wheels and mech cage? It would stop the bike being ridden off, and a bike being carried by a plain clothed yobber looks rather odd, don't you agree?
It would stop someone riding off, but doesn't have any visual deterrent value.
Also I can image, on some cold and go-forsaken day, I would come out of the cafe and forget I'd locked the jockey wheel and destroy the drive chain when attempting to ride off.
take the front wheel with you?
Stop at a pub instead so you can sit with it in the beer garden
Take the front wheel off and the QR into the café.
I've a small retractable combination cable lock with an alarm. You could probably smash it to bits in 30s flat, and cut the cable with wire cutters, but the alarm's loud enough to hear in the cafe.
I once went on a club run that ended at Sainburys in Basingstoke. A total and utter lack of imagination by the leader (and miles from the bike rack)! It's a nice enough ride to get there, but tere must have been a small cafe/garden center/tea room we could have visited. The other weird one is the 'tea room' at the local airport / flying club (costco cake and tea in paper mugs). It's not like Berkshire struggles for places that serve tea and cake, but our club does pick some odd places!
Put your fancy cycling gear on but leave the bike at home and get a taxi to the cake stop. Then sit and chuckle as the scroats walk round the cafe trying to work out where the fancy bike that matches your fancy bike clothing has been put.
I've just got a very lightweight retractable cafe stop lock, you could chew through it I should think but I just park close to more expensive unlocked bikes myself.
I keep a reasonable padlock and chain coiled up in a large water bottle. It's heavy but no more than an extra bottle of water that you might carry if you didn't feel safe leaving the bike to pop in a shop/pub/kebab house.
Why don't cafes that want to attract cyclists just provide some heavy duty 19mm chain locks with CCTV cameras.
A bit of an old skool one but if you have rim brakes then adjust them so the brake is engaged; makes it almost impossible to push or ride until you re-adjust. Good for a quick nip into a shop, I suppose, though I personally wouldn't risk anything other than a decent lock. And a cheap bike...
Steering or calipers lock?
I have either a long cable lock if it is family, or a 1m or so length of old dinghy 4mm spectra rope. Tie up with many wraps and an awkward knot. Weighs naff all. Even a knife would struggle....
Big ring, padlock through chainring would make more sense.
I have a little snowboard lock like the one below if I'll be stopping. Won't stop anyone with tools (or even a lot of force) but fine to stop an opportunist while you pop into a shop or order your pot of tea at a cafe.
Dog poo on handlebars
I usually stick it in top gear and flip the saddle down/pointing backwards... it might give you a few extra seconds to sprint out...possibly...
A bit of an old skool one but if you have rim brakes then adjust them so the brake is engaged; makes it almost impossible to push or ride until you re-adjust.
BB5/7s are good for this, too.
Abus 1200 combination lock sits in my tool bottle. Tougher than the retractable cable locks and smaller too. Colour-coded to bike, obviously 😉
I use it all the time, particularly at Hillingdon, where other nice road bikes are available for non-return.
This is all lovely, but a little cable lock is so much easier!
Get some mates - then one watches the bikes while the other gets the beer (or whatever it is you get from cafes)
its rare my bike leaves my arse once I'm out of the house with it.
Park my bike next to a pile of really nice bikes is a start.
Little cafe locks can be helpful.
Don't leave it alone if you can't tolerate losing it.
A Rottweiler in a wicker basket on the handlebars works quite well.
This is getting a bit like Viz Top Tips 🙂
I ride with a Lithuanian ex-pro wrestler and he looks after my bike when I go into the caff. Rides can be a bit slow and the conversation's not great but no-one's nicked my bike yet, so it works for me!
I just carry a really lightweight cable lock, yes it can be snipped but I wouldn't be leaving the bike out-of-view. It's just to stop someone just picking it up and riding away.
Why don't cafes that want to attract cyclists just provide some heavy duty 19mm chain locks with CCTV cameras.
+1 Whistlestop Café Innerleithen - they have a number of combination locks and wall-bolted rings.
Better than most Viz top tips 🙂
If we're out somewhere we/I don't know or trust we/I use these. A couple linked together and through the rear stay and to a fence or another bike.
If you don't do them up tight, just unzip them, if you do and they lock, just ask for a knife to cut it..
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I ride with a Lithuanian ex-pro wrestler and he looks after my bike when I go into the caff. Rides can be a bit slow and the conversation's not great but no-one's nicked my bike yet, so it works for me!
In a bottle cage or in your backpack? No wonder rides are slow. I bet he's quite heavy. Have you considered converting him to tubeless?
How easy are those Abus 1200 locks to carry in the real world? Roadie pocket?
And why are they half the price on tool websites vs cycle shop websites?
BB7s - just screw 'em right in when you stop
*... if you stop, that is - we all know they don't work 🙄
A deep enough padlock might work round the seatstay and through the back wheel maybe...
Although We just alternate turns to get a round in/guard the bikes...
I have a disclock alarm. Bike moves 120db hits them. It easily fits in a pocket too.
I am always amazed at the number of very high end road bikes, say 8k that are left unlocked around he cafes at Hampton court whilst the guys sit inside having a coffee.
I use a cheap abus cable lock, my thinking is less about it being nicked but more about it being insured if it is nicked. Thankfully I have never had to put it to the test.
Bit like disc brake locks for motorbikes, this- they do **** all to prevent a real thief but they can slow an opportunist.
Sounds like finally a good reason for road discs!
A padlock the right size to hold the brake lever to the bar (mtb) would be good.
Although I use a cable tie instead as I always carry them anyway.
Won't stop anyone for long, but if I'm not far away it makes me feel better.
Take the chain off using the quicklink and thread it through wheel and frame?
Use a better class of Cafe.
I have a nice small retractable cable lock with an alarm on it. I'd never leave my road bike out of sight for more than a few mins but this always makes me feel a bit less nervous as I order my coffee 😉
I send my bike in to get the drinks while I lie on the pavement
Single use cable ties are not very environmentally friendly. They are the co2 canister of bike security.
The thin cable locks are fine. You can't break them with your hands and they will easily withstand normal pliers, such as those found on a Leatherman. That accounts for opportunists, which is all you really need.
If somebody is out to steal bikes 'professionally' they will probably be carrying something more substantial than a pair of pliers, but then again they aren't going to start hacking away at bikes outside a busy cafe expecting not to be noticed. They'll be hiding in dark alleyways.
Rid with friends?
That way someone can stay with bikes while you order. Or get a very small cable lock that fits in pocket.
Small cable locks are better than nothing, but they can be snipped in a second with a pair of small cable cutters - which doesn't buy you any time at all while you are paying for a hot beverage of choice and slice of something nice in a busy cafe pitstop. A smaller D lock is probably a better proposition as it buys more time but it's a hassle to carry.
When I'm on my own I don't bother to take a bike lock of any type and the bike stays with me at all times. When riding with others the bikes are attended while someone goes in to get the refreshments.
Who is walking around carrying cable cutters though?
This guy he hides in dark alleys.
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http://hiplok.com/index.php?route=common/home
I have tried one of the original ones. Bit big for a club ride but the weight really does disappear when its on your body.
Opportunist bike thieves looking for an easy, lightly secured target. Small one handed cable cutters make easy work of light cable locks.
As theft protection I use an elaborate system of lenses and mirrors to make the wheels appear to be 26" in diameter
My Abus 1200 sits at the top of my Elite tool bottle. So very easy 😉
Opportunist bike thieves looking for an easy, lightly secured target. Small one handed cable cutters make easy work of light cable locks.
The kind of person wandering round with cable cutters, bolt croppers, angle grinders and bottle jacks isn't an opportunists. An opportunist is someone with slightly fewer morals than average poping into the garden center for a bag or two of ready mix tarmac repair and walking off with an unsecured bike.
Also after spending £8k on a bike you're hardly likley to want to weigh it down with it's own weight in ABUS chain are you?