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BIKE TO WORK BOOK
in a locksmith and you’ll be surprised how quickly he can gain entry. Using a slim, specialist tool and some deft jiggling he can bypass what you thought were super-secure locks. Professional house-breakers use these secret locksmith tools. Common or garden house-breakers use bricks. A bike lock – even the most expensive in the shop – doesn’t guarantee security, it buys you time. If a bike thief scans your security and sees it will take more than a minute to breach your system, he’ll look for an easier target. Use one or more of the security tactics below and always lock your bike close to other bikes. It allows the thief to see there are bikes easier to steal than yours. Tough on the poor saps who have their bikes nicked but that’s not your problem.
SECURITY TACTICS
There are twelve measures you can take do to reduce your chances of having your bicycle stolen.
1. Don’t ride a bike
This is a very secure option. If you don’t have a bike, it won’t get stolen. But don’t think this is just a bike problem, even ultra-secure, luxury cars are stolen. No amount of security systems guarantees immunity from theft.
2. Ride a trashy bike
Or one that looks trashy. Thieves are on the look-out for easy touchs, bikes they can steal easily. But they are also on the look out for bikes they can shift on eBay or on the street market. Branded mountain bikes are the easiest to sell on. So, keep your sexy MTB for your weekend warrior trips, cycle in town on a hack bike. This can be a genuinely crap bike – rust is your friend – or a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Disguise a good bike with tatty tape on the frame tubes or clever ‘rust stickers’, but to go the whole hog you’ve got to disguise the components, too. Could you really bear to take a rasp to your Shimano XTR rear mech? If your rubbishified bike still has the basic shape and look of a mountain bike, it could still be nickable. One of the best security devices on the market is the drop handlebar. Thieves, on the whole, give these a wide berth: less of a market for them. However, in those cities with a lot of fixed-gear bikes, a dropped handlebar is no longer much of a security feature.
3. Marry your machine
Travel light, forget the lock, take your bike with you wherever you go. This is a very secure option but can limit the places you’ll be welcome in. A folding bike can increase your chances of slipping under the radar.
4. Use a lock
Even one you can cut with a Leatherman is far, far better than no lock at all. Yes, blindingly obvious, but thieves are, by definition, sneaky. You can’t trust ‘em. Here’s a sorry tale, repeated across the world every day: a law abiding cyclist nips into a shop “just for a second”, keeps a beady eye on her unlocked bike, turns away for a moment and then, poof, her bike is gone. Locks aren’t just for long-term parking. Clunk click every trip. There’s also a good case for locking your bike to an immovable object when it’s stored in a secure place such as your garage or shed. Fit a ground anchor and make the local no-goods sweat to get your prized possessions.