Part of owning a bike is knowing what to do when you're not riding it.

The sad reality of owning a bike in a city is that theft is a very real concern. Just in the past week I talked to two different customers who had their wheels stolen off their BIKES. Plus two other folks had their bike right out of their garage. Thankfully there’s still PLENTY you can do to protect your ride & make it less of a target.

Choosing the Right Lock

Locking your bike correctly starts with getting a good bike lock and the right bike lock is going to vary depending on your situation. If you ride to a coffee shop and stop to sip a mocha with your bike in view, you don’t necessarily have to get the strongest lock ever. However, if you commute downtown & leave your bike outside all day on State St, you’re going to want to invest in something stronger. The tradeoff is always going to be weight & price vs. strength. Stronger locks need more material to resist power tools which means they will be heavier and cost more. Lightweight locks are easy to carry, but also easier to cut through.

A strong u-lock from a reputable brand is a good start; Kryptonite locks are popular but our shop carries Abus, a German security brand that makes all manner of locks & safety systems to keep everything of yours secure. When locking up my own bike I like to use an Abus folding lock — the Bordo 6000, which sounds like a sci-fi weapon but is just a really good lock. Folding locks are made from the same hardened steel as u-locks so they offer a comparable level of security but because they fold up, they’re far more convenient & flexible with the ability to secure your bike to a wider variety of objects. Plus, in my experience installing accessories on bikes, I find that the folding locks will mount onto a frame far easier than u-locks and won’t move around as much while riding. If I’m going to be leaving my bike unattended for hours, I bring an additional cable lock to loop in my wheels. More info on that in the next section.

How to Lock Your Bike

Getting a sturdy lock is just the first step to protecting your bike, the next is knowing how to use it the right way. The main thing to remember is the 3 main parts of your bike that need to be secured: frame, rear wheel, and front wheel. Each of these three parts can be separated, and on many bikes, a thief doesn’t even need a tool to do so. So in addition to a sturdy u-lock or folding lock, it’s a good idea to get something to make sure everything is locked up to the rack since one lock will only go through 2 of these on a good day. I like to bring an additional cable to tie everything together, but I know some cyclists who ride around with 2 u-locks since they are way sturdier than just a cable. Click through the below examples to see a couple of wrong ways to lock up. Check out our Tiktok to see just how little time it takes to steal things off an improperly locked bike.