Lock it Up!
The other day I witnessed a crime…
The wheels had “quick-theft” levers and the whole transaction was done in 2 minutes. Which made me wonder how many bikes are lost to poor lock-up jobs just waiting for the wrong person with the right tool to come along…
And if that doesn’t happen, there could be another fate waiting…
But in addition to having a strong lock you need to actually lock it to something secure. However that has become much easier here in Somerville lately:
So there is no excuse for this!
I really wish you knew what you were talking about. A bagel works every time for me. Sometimes even a donut if I’m in a pinch.
Blaming quick releases for wheel theft is a little silly. A thief in the market for a wheel is going to walk around with a hex key and a wrench, and will remove a wheel just as quickly with those tools. If you have lock-on wheels then you may have some defense, but otherwise, you should still carry a cable to loop through the wheel that you don’t protect with your Ulock. The quick release allows you to easily solve minor issues out on the road (one that comes to mind is an improperly tuned derailleur limit screw that allows your chain to become wedged on either side of your cassette), without needing to walk your bike home and be late for work.
Also, fellow bicyclists of the world, PLEASE DON’T LOCK TO ACCESSIBLE PARKING SIGNS, pleasepleasepleaseplease. I couldn’t care less what else you lock to (ok, perhaps try not to obstruct fire exits either), but locking to a sign that marks a parking spot for a person with a disability is extremely uncool. I’m all for locking to small children though.