In most places bicycle theft is not taken very seriously by the police; even if you spent thousands on your ride the police are unlikely to even try to solve the crime. It is up to you to protect your bike from the thieves who lust after it. Here is how.

U-lock, you lose. An expert thief can get your u-lock off your bike faster, literally, than you can unlock it with the key. Cable locks look like gift wrap to a thief. Various hinged things are just silly and completely ineffective.

If you want to keep your bicycle, there is one company to look at, and that is Kryptonite. Look at their chain and lock combos starting at the New York Chain w/Evolution series 4 Disc Lock and then going up to the New York Fahgettaboudit if you are riding a very expensive bike in a high crime area, which would be dumb in most cases anyway.

Now you have a start of a chance against thieves, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Thieves will also target your seat/seat post and your wheels, and sometimes other parts too. Quick releases are a major vulnerability for a bike and unless you are in a race you do not need to get your wheel off quite that quickly. Kryptonite also made a skewer lock with a dedicated key mechanism that takes the place of the quick release lever. Works great and thieves have no chance of getting your wheels but seems to be off the market now. You may be able to find it in local shops or on eBay. It comes with a locking binder bolt for your seat too, which is good but depending on your bike design may still be vulnerable to being cut. If you cannot find that, the skewers that have Allen wrench ends instead of a quick release are better but you should always lock your wheels with these, with the chain preferably.

There are many ways to secure your seat but the best was made by Innovations in Cycling, the Postmaster, it is also off the market now. If you can find it it has a metal hooking device that you drive into the inside of your seat post which has a wire with a ball attached. The ball keeps the seat in place when the screws for a water bottle holder are above it, acting as an invisible security that thieves will not find. Many bicyclists use small cables threaded through the seat and the frame, but these are readily cut. If you are on a small budget a piece of used bike chain and some duck tape is better than nothing, thread the chain as you would cable and then tape the hell out of it.

Sometimes thieves also target the handlebars

Related posts:

1. Don’t Let Your Bike Be Stolen