[Closed] What do people use as a bike packing lock?

I either use a kryptonite retractable cable lock or a mid duty coiled cable lock depending on where I’m going.

i used a brake cable with loops crimped into the ends for a small padlock.

A Knog Party Frank. You can often pick them up for £5-6. Bright colours make them visible which might often be enough of a deterrent if I've just popped into a shop etc.

As for overnight, I don't use anything.

I just bought a lifeventure mini cable lock, at about 60 grams its the lightest I could find.

It wouldn't stop a decent set of cable cutters though so is only any good for stopping the most opportunist of thieves and literally popping into a shop whilst still in sight of the bike. I would maybe remove the front wheel too, to be honest, to stop someone just riding the bike away.

After having my commuter nicked in Leeds a few weeks ago I am very wary of cable locks in general though now. It was a small abus coil lock I had for 'popping into the shops'. I was in the bank 5 mins, bike gone when I got back. Look up on youtube how easy it is to get through a small cable lock with no difficulty at all.

This applies to any small cable lock as equally as the lifeventure one I have just bought. There is no fight against a tooled up theif in either case, and no noise/atention the thief has to draw to get the bike.

So, for commuting duties in Leeds (stopping at shops) and also if I was planning on stopping anywhere a little dodgy whist bikepacking I have also bought a Knog Bouncer. at about 860gr its the smallest /lightest proper D lock I could find. Hiplock do a sold secure silver one that looks a little more secure, but it's another 250gr.

Im tempted to say, ‘if you need a lock you’re doing it wrong ‘

but i can see that if you’re doing a cheeky little kip behind a hedge you might need one.

tie one of your guy lines to your bike or a bit of string to your bivvy bag and bike

I use a padlock thru the chainring as an outside the shop lock but the only lock I will rely on is a 2.5 kilo top of the range kryptonite and lock it to something solid.

Had my two week old PK Ripper stolen from Rom Skatepark in '82.

Guess who's never left a bike out of sight for  the last 36 years!  😀

Not much help but you learn a lesson the hard way. Buy the very, very best lock you can.

something tokenism to deter an opportunist as its really only for when I nip into shops. The type of lock that will work is not the type of lock you can carry so pound shop locks work for me.

the brake cable and a small padlock mentioned above appeals to me

Not used for bike packing but have used a skinny little Specialised combination lock for cafe stops in the past.

Mind you my road bike is such a parts bin ugly pos I doubt even the scruffiest scallywag would nick it.

One useful tip is to drop the chain off the front chainring.  A friend did this in Newcastle - a guy tried pedalling away on his bike - fell off - it didn’t end well!

I'm guessing a small padlock through a disc would be pretty effective. I don't so much bike pack but ride an old mtb with panniers, but it's heavy enough that I can't see anyone walking off with it.

Depends how valuable your bike is or how much you value it but this

https://www.bikefix.co.uk/productdisplay/tigr-mini

or this

https://www.litelok.com/collections/litelok-products/products/bike-lock-litelok-crow-black

Take the front wheel out, and take it in the shop with you - thief won't be able to ride your bike away.

Unless the thief is jez avery

'Hot' pies?

Depends where I'm going obviously but we've a fairly strong cable lock, unsure of how effective it would be against someone with a decent set of bolt croppers but it would slow down most attempts. Then again, it's not just the bike: in my case I'll have several hundred quids worth of kit strapped to it and no lock is going to secure that lot. I'll take my GPS and phone with me but the rest is left with the bike.

Also interested in this - I'm planning a coast to coast staying at YHAs in September, so the bike should be reasonably secure but I was looking at something like the Hiplock Z-Lock which is basically a lockable metal cable tie for an extra level of security, popping to the shops etc.

Wouldn't trust one in the middle of town but remote YHAs and quiet village shops they should be ok.

I was pondering whether you could use your chain

We all have quick links so would it be possible to have a padlock  that then goes through the chain - only extra weight is the padlock - bit of a faff if your chain is greasy mind but hey its about weight saving

flyingmonkeycorps - re the Z-lock. Smart idea but universal keys? so it stops a passer by borrowing the bike, but anyone else keen on taking it may well have the key already (and I bet a paperclip would do the same job as the key...)

Anything else too flimsy can just be pulled off (crimped brake cable, cafe locks etc). They always strike me as tokens so that the thief nicks your mates bike, not yours, from the cafe

My concern is rugged up in green bivvy bag, if anyone notices a bright red bike 'abandoned' behind a hedge, I want it secured somehow (i am think SE england, not middle of highlands)

I guess wheel off/chain off will slow/deter most people.

Cable lock to my wrist might be the best plan - now I'm off to ask the wife where she put the fluffy handcuffs

It's surprising what people don't notice rather than what they do. In summer if you are behind a hedge and it's dark then unless someone walking past on the way home from the pub decides they need a pee and comes into the field  it's very unlikely that anyone will know you are there. Even then they would have to be minded to actually steal your bike or any possessions.