At one point you will be out with your Brompton and you will have to lock it onto something.
Which bicycle lock do you use with your Brompton? (internetphoto, not my Brompton)
by Lorien93
At one point you will be out with your Brompton and you will have to lock it onto something.
Which bicycle lock do you use with your Brompton? (internetphoto, not my Brompton)
by Lorien93
17 Comments
I‘ve got one like yours. But usually I‘ve got my bike close by my side and don‘t need a lock.
The one pictured… my hands. (The cold dead ones)
None, I always take it with me
Hiplok DXF. It’s one of the lightest diamond standard locks. It fits through the frame and standard bike lock stands.
I also have bike insurance and this lock is sufficient to mean I’d be covered in an event of a theft.
All that said, I generally look to keep it with me rather than locking it
Lock? 😂
So you need several defenses to protect your bike.
Park in a well lite area, near other bikes, find one that is of more value than yours and park near it, preferably with a easy defeatable lock, that way they take that first.
Use a Litelok X3 it’s angle grinder resistant and the lock is not easily picked with a bic biro. Downside is the 2.1kg weight.
Get it insured.
Finally never leave it out of your sight for longer than 5 minutes, everything is defeatable, so throwing stars are quite good in that they normally come with a Ninja who can silently appear, neutralise the thief and then slip back into the shadows. 🥷
Get ready for the answer to be “take it with you or don’t go there!”.
I use a good D lock with a cable lock through the saddle rails as I have a telescopic seatpost where the top section can be taken out easily.
I only use my Brompton for commuting to work. At the moment I lock whichever bike I choose to use for that inside a secure yard as well. Plus I’m one of about 25% of cyclists using that on site bike shed who actually use any lock at all. Most locks used at work are cheap cable locks or D locks with so thin arms than a pair of scissors could slice through them (not actually, just hyperbole to make a point). Either way a £650 when new 9 years ago road bike in unpopular colours from a less popular brand bike that’s locked with a kryptonite evolution series 4 D lock vs a Cannondale road bike that looks stylish and fairly new without any lock. All inside a secure yard. I think my Brompton is safe.
Of course if I had to lock it anywhere else I’d still use the D lock and cable for the saddle too. However I don’t actually do that in the other places I take it, namely short, quick rides from my house into the village centre to get something quicker than the 10 minutes walk it would take. In the village I just tuck the rear wheel under and drop the post before going into the shop. It’s a low crime area.
Most other rides out I’m using my road bike anyway and I’m usually on the bike riding or sat right next to it on a roadside bench taking a quick break.
So D lock works well but be aware of specification issues like telescopic seatpost creates. A chain can be good on most bikes but IME a chain that’s as highly rated as the good D locks are too bulky to fit thru the Brompton spokes. Perhaps the v small triangle but then you’d have to bring it out through the gap between the folds as it won’t go all the way through.
So a D lock is my advice. Get a standard one not a mini so you can lock your helmet to the bike to fill the lock up. A smaller one might not work with all locking up points.
There’s also good tips out there for how you lock the Brompton up too. There’s a few different ways to do it, some unique to the design.
İ would never leave it anywhere besides next to me.
Kryptonite Lite Mini 6
The fold and carry locking option…
As others have said, best just to keep it with you. I have a 15 year old Abus chain lock that I sometimes take with me if I know I need to pop into a shop for 10 mins and don’t want to wheel the Brommie inside – but I’m not leaving it unattended for prolonged periods.
I’ve got a kriotonite d lock. I use it for long haul trains
Litelok x3. There are just some places where it’s not possible to take and it’s better to be prepared just in case
I bought a Brompton so I wouldn’t need a lock, no bike is safe left in a public space and Bromptons are particularly targeted, if they cant take the entire bike they strip it of what they can and vandalise the rest
Trick question. Don’t leave your Brompton outside locked or otherwise.
Litelok X1, if I don’t take it with me
I never found a way to lock it securely. All anyone needs is a bike took and they can disassemble it in a few minutes.