Bike and Lock Shopping

I'm shopping for new bike, since my old one was stolen from Penn Station in Baltimore about two weeks ago. The Specialized dealer called yesterday and said they have a bike in that they ordered for me to try out. I'll go do that as soon as I hit the "save" button under this post. But a couple of decisions have been made.

I had thought about going with a "two-bike" solution. A beater to leave at the train station, and a good one to ride for recreation. That would work, but then I would have to maintain and store two bikes. Also, a bike would have to be really beat to look bad next to the other bikes at Penn Station. Many Baltimoreans who bike to Penn Station have embraced the "not worth stealing" strategy.

"So what about just locking it right, dumb**s?" ask my friends. (Isn't it nice how friends support you in times of trouble?) The problem at Penn Station, as with so many other public places, is that there aren't enough bike rack spaces for all the bikes. And there are no parking meters right around the station. I had a U-type lock with me, but nowhere to use it. Hence, I locked the bike to a lampost with a cable lock. Hence, it was stolen, along with my never-used U lock.

But while shopping for a new bike, I also found a new kind of lock. (New to me, anyway.) It's a chain lock from Kryptonite. Other companies make similar products. Kryptonite rates it their most secure -- harder to defeat than their U locks. It will work on bike racks, but also on lamp posts. You can get one long enough to go around a telephone pole. It's not as good as a U lock for locking to a parking meter, but I don't think I've ever done that, as it turns out. The lock is very heavy (9 lbs., I think) but I don't have to take it on recreational rides.

So I'm going with one bike and the chain lock. Kryptonite says they'll guarantee my bike won't be stolen, and I'll be sure to hold them to it.

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Joe Chapline is web manager for Arlington County Commuter Services

Comments

[Joe]

I had the quick release spindles in the wheels replaced with spindles that require an allen wrench to remove. And I bought a cable long enough to go around the stanchion and through the frame and both wheels. The actual lock part of the chain lock has a shackle big enough to accommodate the cable ends as well as the chain. I even bought a little cable to lock the seat to the main lock.

[Richard Layman]

I think the beater bike idea is good. Had I gotten a job in Baltimore, that's what I would have done.

But you should probably have two locks. One to affix to some type of stanchion. The other for the rear wheel.