With it having been 'Ride your bicycle to work day' in London this week,I thought a quick shedpost on bike locks might be appropriate. Around 20-25,000 bicycles are stolen in the city every year. But there are a few things that every cyclist can do to decrease their chances of it happening to them.
Firstly, use a good lock. DON'T use one of those flimsy rope/chain things with a tumbler like this (below). While they may deter an opportunistic amateur scallywag, they are ridiculously easy to crack; I can open one in about 30 seconds, and so can any bike thief worth their salt.
Get something like a D lock (below). Or better still, a D Lock and a substantial chain or rope lock:
Now use them to make it as bloody difficult as you can for the bike nicker - remember, a golden rule of crime prevention is that the more aggravation you can cause the bad guy, the more likely they'll leave you alone.
Take any easily removeable parts, like pumps, lights etc., with you; many people even take the saddle. Then get busy with your locks. The advised method of tying up your bike may look like the illustration from a BDSM manual, but it does deter all but the most persistent thief.
Or, if you really want to go for it:
Of course, you can go over the top ...
But that's better than what happened to this poor sod ...
Particularly when you see which building it was chained up outside. Oops.
