this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2024
21 points (95.7% liked)
Bicycles
3127 readers
13 users here now
Welcome to [email protected]
A place to share our love of all things with two wheels and pedals. This is an inclusive, non-judgemental community. All types of cyclists are accepted here; whether you're a commuter, a roadie, a MTB enthusiast, a fixie freak, a crusty xbiking hoarder, in the middle of an epic across-the-world bicycle tour, or any other type of cyclist!
Community Rules
-
No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia.
-
Be respectful. Everyone should feel welcome here.
-
No porn.
-
No ads / spamming.
-
Ride bikes
Other cycling-related communities
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
So as a former Buyer for a chain of bike shops, the majority of locks are just to keep honest people honest. Never lock up what you are unwilling to lose.
A $450 bike is probably not worth much second hand. Your risk will have more to do with the local culture, motivations, and finances of the area.
The lock is not as important as the techniques of attaching some kind of strap through the rear rim, frame main triangle, and front rim while looping them around an object that can not fail in some fundamental way.
A thief would need to air down both tires, cut the rims and bend them. If you are thoughtful, and use 2 cables, you can force them to cut the frame while being unable to get a single wheel and the drivetrain. Any way you look at it, the drivetrain is easy to steal with a hex key set. Forks, bars, seatposts, saddles, and anything else you're attaching are easy pickings too.
The specialty security fasteners are not very effective and you'll likely create far more issues for yourself when you have a flat or other issue while commuting.
So you're not really able to secure much in total if you really think out the possibilities. For that reason, get something that is light weight but can fit around rims and frame as mentioned. That will at least secure the important stuff, and do the main job of keeping honest people honest. No chain or heavy lock will prevent even a half witted determined thief.
This is why fixies are/were popular; you're building a minimalistic and cheap commuter without all the extra vulnerable componentry, while also staying light and flexible enough to actually ride hard core as a serious commuter. Getting that gear choice right is a challenge at first, but the weight loss makes up for a considerable amount of the difference even for a commute noob.