As long as you lock your bike up with something you’re doing better than 90% of people who get their bikes stolen. We hear the phrase “I just left it unlocked for a second and it was gone” with depressing regularity.
The other oft repeated mantra that drives us nuts is “There’s no point getting an expensive lock cos if someone wants to take it they will”. Don’t believe it. Buy a solid quality D-lock, and be smart about where you leave your bike and for how long, and you won’t need to worry about it being stolen.
Have a look at this old post from our blog for some good security advice.
A good rule of thumb is to spend at least 10-15% of the replacement cost of your bike on a lock.
We stock a range of cable locks with keys or combination options for around $20 or $30 and basic ‘D’ locks for $45.
Our favourite locks are Kryptonite ‘D’ locks, which are available in a couple of different styles. Aside from their legendary strength and durability, the best thing about Kryptonite is the quality and design of the bracket that holds the lock on the bike – it means that you’ve always got your lock with you when you’re riding, and it’s not rattling around on the handlebars.
The Kryptolok (grey shackle) for around $75 are a great combination of strength and ease of use. It’s got a mid-range security rating, but it’s plenty sufficient for using in Sydney.
The Evolution series (orange shackle, around $140-150 depending on size) is the next step up in strength, and due to the pocketability of the ‘Mini’ size (3.25″ x 5.5″), immensely popular for bike messengers the world over. The small size means that it’s harder to lever open.
The other security device we heartily reccomend are security skewers. Even if you’ve bought a good lock, but left your quick-release skewers in place you’re at risk of having a wheel stolen. Replacing your standard skewers with ones that require a key is a really good idea.
Pitlock skewers from Germany use a randomised key and start from around $150. Pinheads (Gabba Gabba!) are a simpler, but still secure, system from a Canadian company for around $70-$80.
Basic security skewers that use a non-standard (but not unique) bolt are also available for $35.
