The secret life of the cycle lock

[gaijingirl]

leaving a lock in a public space is a fools game, why not send the thieves a letter in advance telling them what the ideal tools to nick your bike would be and where it will be during office hours? oh what's that? you want to give them some dry run practice? go you!

Probably a good point. In our case there's no pattern to when the bike is left by the gym and at gaijinboy's office it's private, patrolled/secure parking and he works random patterns too. I know when he worked in the city he actually brought it indoors rather than leave it outside.

You certainly do have to think these things through carefully.

 

[gaijingirl]

And on that note - I'm off out to enjoy the sunshine. Have a lovely, bike-theft free day urbanites!!

 

[gentlegreen]

some people at my old work got annoyed if you locked your bike in the place where they'd left their locks, as if they were german beach towels that reserved their places.

I've wondered about that myself - in practice it's like a red rag to a bull for me - and no one would have any difficulty finding out whose bike it is.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

leaving a lock in a public space is a fools game, why not send the thieves a letter in advance telling them what the ideal tools to nick your bike would be and where it will be during office hours? oh what's that? you want to give them some dry run practice? go you!

Belt and braces. I've got two fairly heavy d locks on the one public bike rack I use a lot (the one at my gym). They were cheap, but they're substantial. I also carry a 3rd lock with me everywhere, which I use for quick stops at shops. The hours I'm at the gym vary, and are seldom for more than 2 hours at a stint. So, if someone does spot my bike and keep an eye out for it, they have to break 3 locks. To my mind that should be a fair deterrent, and make it more likely that they'll go for another bike.

 

[paolo]

Yeah - exactly - you're right. that's why the full quote was:

"Actually someone stole the locks in the end - which is a bit odd."

Could they have been cropped off by the property owner? I'm sure this must happen from time to time.

 

[Miss-Shelf]

I think I might leave my spare D lock at the pool as last week I cycled there with just a bag and realised I'd left my hefty lock in my cycle bag at work and missed my swim

I work in upwards of three workplaces though, I just think I'd end up having NO lock with me given my track record with having the right paper work in the right place at the right time

 

[Orang Utan]

you could carry your lock in your bag.

 

[gentlegreen]

D locks come with brackets that clamp to your bike.
Put a basket on the back and chuck the cable in that.

simples.

 

[Orang Utan]

you can't put a d-lock on some bikes though

 

[gentlegreen]

you can't put a d-lock on some bikes though

OK, both things in the basket - or clamped to the side.

Every bike should have a basket ... a bell that rings and things to make it look good ...

 

[Orang Utan]

you can't put a basket on a racer!

 

[Geri]

Baskets are for bikes that girls called Poppy ride.

 

[scifisam]

I reckon a few of the left-behind locks are probably from bikes that were poorly secured, so that a thief could slip the bike through the lock.

 

[dwenfish]

oh, i see. i'd prefer to just get public transport there and back - wouldn't want to carry a bike about when pissed. i'd just leave it somewhere. and i wouldn't want to ride to a pub in a clean t-shirt only to sweat into it. tis best to arrive all crisp and fresh (mind you, a tube journey can be as bad as a cycle ride sometimes)

what's wrong with riding a bike home from the pub? and what's wrong with arriving somewhere a bit sweaty unless you're trying to make a good impression?

 

[Orang Utan]

what's wrong with riding a bike home from the pub?

there isn't if you haven't had anything to drink

and what's wrong with arriving somewhere a bit sweaty unless you're trying to make a good impression?

nothing i suppose, but it's not a very comfortable start to the evening.

 

[gentlegreen]

you can't put a basket on a racer!

Uber-racers, perhaps - but you can get seatpost-mounted racks.

Baskets are for bikes that girls called Poppy ride.

I'd like a Babycham.

 

[Orang Utan]

Uber-racers, perhaps - but you can get seatpost-mounted racks.

kind of defeats the whole point of a racer though

 

[gentlegreen]

kind of defeats the whole point of a racer though

Compared to the drag coefficient of an unfaired human being ...

You could always stick a spoiler on the back.

(And when did you last see a pro-racer carrying a bag ?)

 

[Herbsman.]

My lock certainly has a secret life now. It fell out of my fucking pocket and I didn't notice it or hear it hit the ground.

 

[sir.clip]

you can't put a basket on a racer!

yeh you can, especially if you want to break free of the constraints of modern
conformities. Break loose dude. Let go.

Get a life, get a basket.

 

[gentlegreen]

I rode what were ostensibly "racers" for the first 10 years - 10 speed / narrow 700c wheels, drop handlebars .. I always had a rack .. somehow managed with cardboard boxes for ages.

 

[gaijingirl]

The sweaty thing - I was just thinking about. I haven't been for an interview for ages but there was a period back there when job hunting when I regularly went to interviews on my bike... I'd tuck my trousers into my socks. I'd wear a t-shirt and carry a non-creasy shirt and jacket in my pannier (I have one of those briefcase style panniers from a stint in the city). Then when I got there I'd find the concierge and toilet (if it was that sort of building), or the nearest pub etc and change. It took a bit of planning but as long as I got there a good bit early to give myself time to cool down - and obviously didn't cane it on the way there, I was always fine. During that stint in the city I'd often cycle from company to company for shareholders meetings etc which I had to do a good bit of. With all these things, it's in the planning really.

 

[gaijingirl]

Could they have been cropped off by the property owner? I'm sure this must happen from time to time.

Well that's what I thought, but it's a public bicycle rack outside a public facility and apparently all the others that are left there were still there except his - so I don't know what happened!

 

[Pie 1]

Sorry slightly of topic, but I need this answered to end a pub disscussion.

They've been having one of their sporadic clampdowns on bad cycling here in Zurich - out of date insurance stickers, one way the wrong way, red lights etc, and drunk riding (which 100's do reguarly, as cycling is the main choice of transport here). Well, here it's common knowledge that the police can actually (and do quite a lot) take away your driving license for drunk cycling if they want. Can this happen in the UK as well? - I really can't remember/don't know.

 

[Orang Utan]

i don't think so

 

[turing test]

I leave a heavy long D lock at work and always carry a light cable for errands.

The bike I commute on is OK but not nearly expensive enough for a thief to scope out my lock. I work at a Uni with thousands of bikes parked there everyday. Anonymity is more important than the lock for me.

A few years ago at a Uni I was working at I lost my cable lock key. I asked the physical plant guys to help me and they came down and sawed my cable off. They never even asked for my employee ID.

Not long after the bike was stolen, while on a D lock.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

has it occurred to any one who's too bloody lazy to carry their lock with them that perhaps there locks aren't being nicked but being ground off by work men who are removing the unsightly litter which some unthoughtful person has felt their can freely leave around the place to 'claim' a parking spot. Carry your locks with you if you can't or don't want to here's a thought walk. fuck me it's the bike equivalent of parking on the pavement ffs...

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

Sorry slightly of topic, but I need this answered to end a pub disscussion.

They've been having one of their sporadic clampdowns on bad cycling here in Zurich - out of date insurance stickers, one way the wrong way, red lights etc, and drunk riding (which 100's do reguarly, as cycling is the main choice of transport here). Well, here it's common knowledge that the police can actually (and do quite a lot) take away your driving license for drunk cycling if they want. Can this happen in the UK as well? - I really can't remember/don't know.

yes, it can although it happens rarely...

If you are caught operating any road going vehicle whilst drunk and have a driving licence you can be done for it and lose your licence.

If you get done for furious cycling (head down peddling hell for leather crashing into something) then you can get 3 points and a fine if you have a driving licence and just a bigger fine if you don't...

 

[Herbsman.]

fuck me it's the bike equivalent of parking on the pavement ffs...

Yes, of course it is. Because bike locks block the pavement don't they.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

fuck me it's the bike equivalent of parking on the pavement ffs...

How the cocking fuck do you work out that a d-lock left chained to a bicycle rack somehow blocks other people using the pavement, or locking their bikes to that rack, or any other such fucking thing?