Locks
Get a good lock. Choice magazine found that all of the chain locks they tested were broken incredibly easy using manual tools, even the ones with a metal sheath.They recommended two D-locks that couldn’t be broken with manual tools:
TRELOCK BS400 ($89 RRP)
ABUS Sinero ($80 RRP) (pictured right; found in many bikes stores in Sydney)
Get one of these locks!!
If it locks on only one side of the U shape, or you can twist it with some force, it’s a bad lock. Don’t use a light cable or chain, as they’re easily cut with bolt-cutters.
Locking techniques
Your lock is only as strong as the material you’re locking to!
If you’re locking to a metal pole on the street, try to lift it up. If it shifts, choose a different pole. Look up; can your lock be lifted off the pole?
Lock your front wheel to the frame and post, either using a second lock, or a looped cable that goes through your regular lock.
Lock in a well-lit area, and don’t leave your bike outside overnight.
Locking your helmet to you bike only uses your helmet faster and means that in a crash it may fail. Simply because it has been knocked previously by something else that cause cracks in the inside.
Ugly your bike
The idea of this is to make your bike look unique so that it is harder to sell, and to make it look cheaper.
Tactics include:
- Hiding the brand of your bike with electrical tape (on all parts – brakes, hubs, derailleurs, cranks, shocks)
- Covering it with bright stickers and custom paint
- Using fake rust (bought from an antiques store)
For these and more tips, check out this article from Make magazine.
Bicycle lockers
A number of cyclists raise the issue of secure bike parking, more than I expected to be honest. There will never be enough lockers for all 1000 cyclists on campus, so lockers are not likely to ever be free. If you would be interested in hiring a locker, it would be a good idea to let security know, so that they will be encouraged to make it happen. Having said that, they are already actively pursuing bike locker options but it is quite difficult to get the space at UNSW.
If your bike gets stolen
One practical thing we can do to make our bikes more secure is to use this page to share information with each other. If you have ever had your bike stolen or vandalised, especially on campus, please comment below. Write down where this has happened, what kind of bike and what time of day/night. Of course reporting an incident on this page is not equivalent to reporting incidents to security or the police, and you should report it to security as well. Even though this isn’t necessarily going to result in getting your bike back, hopefully we can start to get an idea of how bikes get stolen. If you have some tips about keeping your bike safe, please comment on the forum.
If your bike gets stolen, list it on the internet or on the forum so that others can look out for it.
Taking pictures of your bike helps if it gets stolen; take the serial number underneath the cranks (pedals and gear area).
Where you bought your bike also keeps track of the serial number, they should have it in their files.
Thanks to Julien Radcliffe for much of this advice.
