I am about to go on a 5 day trip. I will leave my bike alone only when I go into grocery stores or during the night at the campsite, as i plan to camp every night. as a lock, i have this 1,5 meters cable lock from decathlon (earpods for scale, i didnt have a banana near me) and i was wondering if its enough or if i need something more sturdy. I also own a U-Lock but I don't think it will be of much use at the campsite as I cannot tie it around a tree.
by shadowbalance_
18 Comments
Yes, that’s what I use for touring when I’m only leaving a bike for ten minutes. You’re accepting that someone can cut it easily, but no one is walking off with an unlocked bike.
A lock like this stops 100% of ‘I’ll just walk away with this bike’ thieves and 0% of ‘I’ll come back with tools’ thieves.
I essentially have this and it’s more than enough. But to help me sleep at night my bike is also fitted with a vibration alarm. They’re roughly €20 on eBay. I’m the only person that’s ever set it off but it comforts me knowing that it would trigger if anyone decided to start fiddling with my stuff
It depends:
– How long do you desire the lock to last when attacked?
– Where you will be riding? (how if bike theft there?)
– What is your risk tolerance for theft?
– And more I am forgetting
The vast majority of bike locks last less than 1 minute against an attacker who wants your bike.
Of those, most only last a few seconds against an attacker who wants your bike.
Your lock is in the group that will only last a few seconds.
If you’re riding somewhere with low rates of bike theft, it’s probably fine. If you’re riding somewhere with high rates of bike theft, then maybe not.
That’s enough to tell your insurance company that the bike was locked if it gets stolen. Pay attention also to your attached bags if there are any valuables, mine got rummaged while in a train station for 10mins
Nope
Using a U-lock through a wheel and frame prevents the bike from being ridden away.
The cable lock pictured can be snipped silently with a hand tool in just seconds.
I have had a lot of bikes stolen, so I would bring both.
Use the U-lock to incapacitate the bike at night and while in a store, and use the cable lock to tether it to something and/or secure my pannier + helmet to the frame.
Enough for what? To safeguard against opportunistic people about any lock will do. If people are determined to steal your bike about no lock will stop them.
If it is just to get some groceries and locking it to a tree at a rural campsite I wouldn’t be too worried. But realistically, there are no guarantees, this is certainly not a lock that deters many other than the most opportunistic thieves.
This is around 10x the thickness and weight of my lock cable, which I use with a luggage padlock.
It really depends.
Let’s be honest here for a minute you, them and I know this lock is just trash. It will only prevent the run of the mill 13year old from just taking it for a stroll just for the lulz. That’s pretty much it. It won’t stop any thief as it cut withing seconds with no noticeable sound whatsoever.
In a large City (Berlin, Vieanna, Budapest, and so on), I wouldn’t even leave my bike for a minute with that thing. In a rural area supermarket in Slowakia, I would feel fine using it for a few minutes.
So if you are planning to stay in rural not so touristy places, you’d probably be fine. Anything else, I’d go for a decent U-Lock or the more fun approach a partner in crime who can keep an eye on it while you are going shopping.
Definitely not. Anybody who says that this is what they use and it’s been sufficient are either extremely lucky or not traveling/leaving their bikes in areas with a lot of theft.
Cable locks are notoriously the easiest to cut. I’ve watched people do it in five seconds flat. I also had to learn that lesson the hard way when I locked my beloved Cannondale to a wrought iron fence in Brooklyn, NY for 5 minutes, while I ran into a store. It could have been 2 minutes and the result would have been the same.
A bike thief driving by with shears in the bed of his truck can cut it, throw your bike in the back and be gone before you can blink your eyes. Invest in a trustworthy lock. You don’t want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with no bike and a broken heart.
I use something similar but tour mainly along the US Pacific coast and stay at developed camps. When going into a store I try to place my rig in a high-traffic area where it will be very seen, and run the cable thru the wheels and frame in a very visible manner – the casual thief can see my cable and lock and wont bother messing with it in front of a bunch of strangers. Sure, someone carrying a bolt cutter could snip the cable and roll the bike away, but that would be a very rare situation. If you are concerned with the surroundings bring the bike inside the store. At camp I lock the bike the same way around a tree or picnic table next to or very near my tent, and pull-off all bags and removable gear. I also clip on a fishing pole bell, [like this one](https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/1110262-eagle-claw-clamp-on-fishing-bell.html?blaintm_source=bing&blaintm_medium=pla&blaintm_medium=pla&&gclid=cc00c14d09f01ae77db9a978f926b3ad&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=cc00c14d09f01ae77db9a978f926b3ad&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Blains_Search_US_N_Catch%20All_N_Bing_N_N_N_N&utm_term=2332476479856157&utm_content=All%20Products&gclid=cc00c14d09f01ae77db9a978f926b3ad&gclsrc=3p.ds&gad_source=7), as an alarm.
tl/dr: depends on where you are planning to tour, but something like that should be fine for a brief trip into a store.
No, that is so easy to break
For five days, there’s a 98% you could leave it unlocked every time you go into a store and never have a problem.
That lock takes it up to 99.99% safe.
I did 5,000 miles with that exact lock, never had a problem. Unless you’re spending a lot of time in truly impoverished areas, there won’t be a bike thief waiting to pounce the second you look away. Especially if you’re in suburban or rural America, the vast majority of people you encounter wouldn’t even want your bike if you gave it to them.
It’s just not something you need to live in fear of for five days. Take reasonable precautions and enjoy your ride!
obviously not at all useful in big cities, but i think it’s fine for small towns / countryside. at campsites, i usually just tie the bike to my tent at night, so that i wake up if someone tries to take it. but honestly, it takes a pretty brazen thief to steal a bike from an enclosed campground.
5 day trip where? My bike was fine outside of grocery stores across the whole US with a lock like this, then stolen outside of a climbing gym in San Diego. I was always nervous about it and it broke my heart to have it stolen.
Considering you’re asking this in a bike touring sub, not a bike commuting sub, I’d say yes. I have a heavy duty U lock I always bring when I’m at home. When touring, I use an ottolock cinch lock because it’s small, light, and prevents people from walking away with your bike. Unless you plan on locking your bike out of sight in a high theft area, you can usually manage with the lighter lock.
That being said, you need to be a lot more aware of where/what you’re locking to. Ideally, I’ll usually find something in a high traffic area where I can see it from at least some parts of the store. Sometimes, this means things like locking your bike to the shopping cart rack right beside the front door instead of the bike rack around the corner. At night, I’ll lock it to something beside my tent, usually there’s a lot of straps dangling that get tangled if someone tried to walk away with it, but there’s other things you can do like shifting while stopped or tie out your tent to the bike which would make it hard to steal without waking you up.
Which country are you in?