How to Choose a Bike Lock

Bike locks come in a variety of styles. When considering your options, expect a bike lock to cost around 10%-15% of the value of your bike.

Once you own a bike lock, never neglect to use it, no matter how briefly you plan to leave your bike unattended. It's also smart to seek out well-lit public spaces for securing your bike, and lock it to an immovable object in an area where other bikes are locked.

Which Bike Lock Is Best for You?

It doesn't matter where you live or work: Invest in a bike lock—or 2. All bike locks can be broken, but with a good lock and secure setup you will reduce the risk of your bike being singled out by thieves.

Here's a look at popular styles of bike locks:

• U-Lock: The most widely used in the cycling market, its horseshoe shape can limit leveraging—provided it's not oversized for the bike. The goal is to reduce the amount of space in which a thief can insert a crowbar and leverage enough oomph to pop it apart. The bulky locking mechanism resists hammers, chisels and the like. Also known as D-locks or U-bars. Some, such as Kryptonite, offer warranty programs.
• Chain: Tough enough for high-crime areas, these locks use a specially designed chain link which disallows leveraging and resists hacksaws or chisels. Be sure to invest in a padlock that's just as sturdy—thieves can easily cut through thin locks, no matter how sturdy the chain.
• Cable: Cable locks have seen the most strides in theft-deterrent designs. Some now feature sliding sizing or an armored coating. Cables are versatile and adaptable, and a good choice to use in combination with another style of lock.
• O-Lock: A fairly recent innovation in lock design, O-locks are built to fit a specific part of the bike. Modeled after the concept of wheel "boots" placed on illegally parked cars, O-locks clamp around a certain area or combination of areas of the bike. This makes leveraging impossible, hacksawing too time consuming, and chisels or hammers ineffective.
• Bike Club: Modeled after the Car Club, the Bike Club follows the same principle. It's basically a bar that's wedged across the wheel and frame and locked in place. Hard to leverage or cut. However, if it is used improperly (across the spokes, for example), the bike part itself can be cut away or the wheel removed.
• Cuff Locks: Just as the name implies, cuff locks can quickly attach your bike to a secure post. The middle hinge is specially built to resist tampering.

Shop REI's selection of bike locks.

How to Lock Up Your Bike

One-Lock Method

• Remove the front wheel of your bike or make sure your lock encircles the rim, not the spokes, of the wheel as well as the bike frame.
• Lock your bike to a fixed object that cannot be easily broken, cut or removed. Some thieves go so far as to remove bolts from sign posts. Once you've locked your bike around a seemingly secure pole, the thief simply lifts the post out of the ground and slips off the lock.
• Position the key entry so it faces the ground.
• Position your lock as high above the ground as possible to make it harder for a thief to find leverage and to make the lock obvious to passersby.
• Remove unsecured bike parts, such as the seat.

Multiple-Lock Method

• All locks can be broken. Your job is to present an illusion of above-average resistance, convincing a thief that stealing your bike will require too much effort.
• Use a maximum U-lock or chain lock in conjunction with a cable lock. Chances are a thief will see 2 locks and move on to another victim.
• Set up the U-lock around your front tire, frame and some fixed object.
• Then snake the cable through your rear wheel, saddle rails, frame and the U-lock. You may still walk away feeling wary, but you'll know that you did the best you could.

Bike Lock Dos & Don'ts

• Do mark your bike and take a photo of it for future identification. Then register or license your bike at the local law-enforcement office. This process may involve a fee.
• Do choose a lock that offers theft-protection. Do not neglect to mail in the paperwork. You'll sleep better.
• Do choose a lock that leaves as little space as possible between the lock and the bike. A small space means thieves can't use leverage to break off your lock.
• Do lock your bike to something solid in a visible place. Don't lock your bike through a chain-link fence—anyone with a set of wire cutters can easily snip the fence and steal your bike. Don't lock your bike to wooden railings—thieves can break them.
• Do use underground parking lots with ample video surveillance cameras—cameras are excellent deterrents.
• Don't park your bike in dark alleys. Do select highly visible locations such as busy streets or in front of stores. Thieves likely won't bother with your bike if it's locked out in the open.
• Don't lock your bike in the same spot each day. Thieves "case" behavior patterns and thrive on predictability. Do lock your bike in a different location each day.
• Do lock your bike next to other bikes where possible.
• Do keep an extra key to your lock in a safe place. If yours is a combination lock, keep the number in a secure place.
• Don't let your lock rust. A frozen lock is simply dead weight. Periodically give your lock a squirt of a Teflon-based lubricant to keep it in good working order.
• Do remember that an ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure. The few moments is takes each time to lock your bike will save you the time and money it would take to replace it.

Craig Wright has worked more than 20 years in the cycling industry, serving in retail, distribution, manufacturing and product development. He is now a cycling inventory analyst at REI headquarters in Kent, Wash.

Back to Top