CABLE LOCKS ARE WORTHLESS
Thread started by
JB at 04.2.09 - 1:19 am
Most of you already know this, but frankly, cable locks are worse than no lock at all.
Why?
Because if you go out with no lock at all, you're not going to let your bike out of your sight or leave it somewhere it's going to be stolen. (Unless you go on a big ride and decide that you can trust everyone, in which case you probably won't do that with your replacement bike).
But a cable lock provides a false sense of security, so people lock their bikes with them and wander off, forgetting or not realizing that it takes less than 5 seconds longer to cut through a cable lock and ride off than it does to ride off on an unlocked bike.
If you're going to ride, you either have to bring a U-lock (preferably with a cable as well to lock the front wheel / seat / helmet, etc.), or make sure you don't let your bike out of your sight.
Seriously, it's a bummer to see fellow ridazz losing their bikes, don't be one of them.
Cable lock = stolen bike. It's about that simple.
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I read caps lock vs no lock for the majority of the thread.
aksendz04.2.09 - 1:27 am
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Agreed.
Bike Factory
Woodman and Burbank
Kryptonite lock for $28.
rayrayray04.2.09 - 1:28 am
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what a fantastic picture choice for this occasion
meow04.2.09 - 3:41 am
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yeah but what if you have a master skeleton key wich can open all u lock locks! Now that would be Bad!
pporras04.2.09 - 10:30 am
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home depot has shitty masterlock u-locks for like $11. there is also a 99c store on midvale and venice where you can get shittier ones even cheaper.
because the shittiest u-lock you can buy is better than a cable lock.
i have a ultralight cable lock which i sometimes use when i leave my bike unattended for less than a minute. i hope that it deters bike thieves, or at least delays them, and for that it does the job.
just dont expect any more than that if someone does try to steal your bike. as the saying goes:
the most expensive u-lock you can buy costs less than a new bike.
oodlesofpoodles04.2.09 - 11:18 am
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oh my god how do people leave their bike cable locked or worse unlocked completely!
Here is my bike properly ulocked to my ikea bookshelf in pacific palisades:
I would never ever ever leave a bike unlocked anywhere!
Yes i even got a pedal, you dont know who's home those thieves will break into for pink t-mobile spd-sl pedals!
larsenf04.2.09 - 1:41 pm
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Sorry i should post a caution, one of my pedals and saddle is still unlocked which worries me, i still need to get a kryptonite cable lock for those.
larsenf04.2.09 - 1:43 pm
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In Austin, we cut through a cable lock with a pocket knife.
nathansnider04.2.09 - 2:21 pm
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i tore through one with a pair of mini Chinese made vise grips.
larsenf04.2.09 - 2:25 pm
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One thing to add:
Not all U-Locks are created equal.
The really shitty "Master Lock" ones are way too thin.
I've seen them in pieces at the metro station.
You can cut through them with the same cutters they use for cables.
Get a good u-lock. OnGuard or Kryptonite.
Don't buy it at wal-mart.
Also the really big u-locks are vulnerable to attack with a car-jack.
Make sure you buy a small u-lock that makes it hard for the thieves to get a car jack between your lock and the pole.
stillline04.2.09 - 2:27 pm
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You can also ride a foldie and take the bike everywhere with you! They can't take what they can't get to!
User104.2.09 - 4:27 pm
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whats wrong with walmart
other then outsourcing
jabier04.2.09 - 6:52 pm
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i saw two guys locking up some beautiful vintage tommasini's outside of my work today with some cable locks that were thinner than the kryptoflex i use for my front wheel. if i rode one of those bikes i'd be using a ulock+ a fahgettaboudit chain, but i guess some people have money to blow.
coldcut04.2.09 - 7:12 pm
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even when i have my u-lock i bring my bike into many establishments...I've even gotten away with bringing it into sit-down restaraunts, just by acting like it was normal and not making a scene. Coffee, 7-11, food....we're pretty much attached at the pedal.
Spare no expense. Your bike is your life, no?
kryxtanicole04.3.09 - 12:37 am
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Drooby had his bike jacked today in silverlake with a cable lock.
Cable locks don't do anything.
stillline04.3.09 - 2:22 am
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I still feel bad for everyone that has their bike stolen, but not quite as bad when person after person says that they only used a cable. What is it going to take for people to listen? If you read these forums at all, you all should know better.
theroyalacademy04.3.09 - 1:22 pm
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The cheap U-locks at walmart and big5 are just as bad as cablelocks. The metal they use isn't hardened steel and it is much thinner than a real u-lock. You can cut it with the same bolt cutters they use for the cable lock.
I've seen them cut up at metro stations.
stillline04.3.09 - 1:26 pm
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Spending $40 or $50 on a good u-lock is cheaper than replacing a bike.
theroyalacademy04.3.09 - 1:28 pm
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No kidding! And the time and expense they go through to try to get their bikes back could have been better spent buying a u lock in the first place.
User104.3.09 - 1:33 pm
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Not sure how this worked, but it looks fubar...
Eric Hair04.3.09 - 1:36 pm
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Brian,
Best places is ebay, Performance Bikes, and then places like REI or your LBS. I did find my second to the last u lock at Helen's on sale.
User104.3.09 - 1:51 pm
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In addition to cheap U-Locks being worthless, also beware of old round key-style U-Locks, since those can be picked very easily.
theroyalacademy04.3.09 - 1:56 pm
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this is probably the wrong thread for this,but i couldnt help to wait any longer to post this hahaha
madmike04.3.09 - 1:56 pm
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"In addition to cheap U-Locks being worthless, also beware of old round key-style U-Locks, since those can be picked very easily."
True, but if you have one, you can send it to Kryptonite with a check for $18 and they'll send you a brand new one. (Kryptonite locks only, obviously.)
JB04.3.09 - 2:01 pm
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yeah sheena lost the key to her coil lock down here and we cut through it with a knife in a matter of minutes....
coil lock=fail
widowmaker04.3.09 - 2:25 pm
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There has got to be a way to get Bulldog and Kryptonite to sell U-locks for cheap to LA ridazz, especially during this crime wave.
urbanpedal04.3.09 - 2:42 pm
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"There has got to be a way to get Bulldog and Kryptonite to sell U-locks for cheap to LA ridazz, especially during this crime wave."
http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=kryptonite+u-lock&oe=UTF-8&scoring=p
Dude, how much cheaper than $19.99 do you need?
JB04.3.09 - 2:50 pm
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"but fuuuckkkkkkkk i could buy so much beer with that money!"
ruinedbyidiots04.3.09 - 2:53 pm
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U can pick any kind of round key lock with a pen. like a plastic papermate. Just jam the end in and the plastic molds itself to the tumblers and away U go.
I caught a guy trying to get my Trek like that. With practice U can open the lock as fast with the pen as with a key.
petemoss04.3.09 - 3:15 pm
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just went to good will for like an hour, cable locked my bike and then i went outside, and and and....
meow04.3.09 - 3:23 pm
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it was still there!
meow04.3.09 - 3:23 pm
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Just jam the end in and the plastic molds itself to the tumblers and away U go.
not even close.....and away U go...to wikipedia.......
Eric Hair04.3.09 - 6:56 pm
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"U can pick any kind of round key lock with a pen. like a plastic papermate. Just jam the end in and the plastic molds itself to the tumblers and away U go."
Yeah, that's why they stopped making round key U-locks several years ago.
JB04.4.09 - 2:23 am
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From what I can gather, a tubular lock that can be picked by a pen or other anonymous cyclinder (not a tubular pick) is likely of poor quality or, if of good quality, has been worn away by improper maintenence and is now more receptive to picking.
A lock should be lubricated with powdered graphite in order to maintain a friction-free operating state. Graphite, unlike oil, will not attract grit that will, in time, wear down the precision surfaces of the internal mechanisms.
While I don't doubt that there were a fine collection of ulocks easily pickable with a pen, I would wager that much of what motivated ulock companies to switch back to traditional, linear pin locks, was the marketing department discovering that their target consumers had stopped trusting tubular locks, they couldn't market them.
Eric Hair04.4.09 - 12:28 pm
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Bump. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html
JB04.11.09 - 10:44 pm
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Yes, do invest in Ulocks. I never thought it would happen to me, and now I'm one mtn bike short.
jericho1ne04.12.09 - 3:28 pm
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There have been at least 2 more bikes stolen this week because they used cable locks.
CABLE LOCKS ARE WORTHLESS!
http://midnightridazz.com/forums.php?searchType=title&showThreads=1&keyword=stolen&topicId=8859
http://midnightridazz.com/forums.php?searchType=title&showThreads=1&keyword=stolen&topicId=8663
"But I have a Kryptonite cable lock"
They're still cable locks and easy to cut:
http://midnightridazz.com/forums.php?topicId=9044&pgnum=1
"But I have a thick cable lock"
Not thick enough:
http://midnightridazz.com/forums.php?topicId=9057&pgnum=1
There are lots more:
http://midnightridazz.com/forumSearch.php?title=Search&searchType=title&keyword=stolen
Look folks, you can buy a U-lock for $19. It's a lot cheaper than a new bike.
JB04.24.09 - 9:55 am
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but what happens when you lose your U-lock key?????
batgirlkarla04.24.09 - 10:30 am
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"but what happens when you lose your U-lock key?????"
a) You get a friend with a sawzall.
b) You go home and get your spare.
c) You knew you were likely to lose stuff, so you bought a combination U-lock.
JB04.24.09 - 11:01 am
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Ridazz Roulette!
proper locking technique