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Bike lock for SB

mammothpunks

Chimp
Sep 27, 2004
87
1
Mammoth
So I will be moving down to downtown SB in a week or two to start college at brooks and I am in the market for a good bike lock. Living up in Mammoth I have never had to use a bike lock because you can pretty much leave your bike out anywhere without having to worry about it. What do you guys use and recommend? I will have my Giant DH Team but i might be in the market for another bike - something cheap and more street friendly for cruising around.
 

mammothpunks

Chimp
Sep 27, 2004
87
1
Mammoth
And I will be keeping my bike inside my own 1 bedroom apartment. I am just looking for something to use when I am cruising around town
 

Grizzle

Monkey
Sep 7, 2005
216
0
La Crescenta, CA
Im not trying to sound like an idiot here, but if you ride that giant around in SB, it will most likely get stolen. People will follow you home, break into your apartment, and steal it. I would get a cheap ass beater bike, get the biggest, gnarliest looking lock i could find, and use that. I know way too many people that have had their 500 dollar hard tails stolen in the same manor, people breaking into houses and such, so there is no doubt in my mind that a Team DH bike would be any different.
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
Get a beater, its good advice. There's no point to riding the good bike around town.

For home lock your DH ride with a good u-lock to something immovable and you should be good.
 

Ciaran

Fear my banana
Apr 5, 2004
9,839
15
So Cal
Dang man, with all the super expensive houses in SB you would think it would be a safer place!
 

punkassean

Turbo Monkey
Feb 3, 2002
4,561
0
SC, CA
I run the MAster "street cuffs" when I ride my Enduro around town. I have bolt-on axles front and rear so I usually just take the seat/post w/me and then hook one end of the cuffs to my frame and the other end to a pole or something. Then I try to keep it in eyeshot at all times. I have had grewat luck with this etup in both Santa Cruz and SB.

The street cuffs are pricey but for an expensive bike it's well worth it IMO.

here's a link to the cheapest place on the web I could find to buy them. Come see me at Velo Pro in SB or Goleta and I'll sell you a set for the same price. http://www.bikeworld.com/components/catalog/product.html?pid=2097&cat=1115&ref=froogle
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
$50 for a lock ain't that bad. Aren't those more towards $80 or so at the shop? If so that's a killer deal. I bought a masterlock chain for home and such but the thing weighs a ton to take with me. For home is one thing, but riding around town is another. I'd almost seriously invest in some crappy bike for riding around town. If it gets stolen oh well.........rather than your good bike get stolen.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
1. A lock is just a deterrent, even the better ones. The bigger the lock, the more likely a thief will move to the next bike.

2. On that note, most thefts I read on RM happened at home or in a vehicle. My friends lock all their bikes to a huge rack inside their own garage. I laughed when I first saw it but they haven't had any bikes stolen either.

3. My own personal trick, if I think about locking my bike, I take the time to do it. I also have a litany of stories about people leaving bikes unwatched and poof gone.
 

Tenchiro

Attention K Mart Shoppers
Jul 19, 2002
5,407
0
New England
AFaceInTheCrowd said:
Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit
Thiose seem to be really nice locks. I wouldn't get a U lock though as even the best one can be popped in just a few seconds. Whatever one you buy make sure it is newly manufactured and can pass the Bic pen test. I would also look for a lock with an insurance policy, just in case the worst happens.

As for a towny, I would just take a decent frame and make it ugly with a can of krylon or maybe some duct tape or copious amounts of stickers. If your bike looks like a hoopdy at first glance chances are they will ignore it.
 

mammothpunks

Chimp
Sep 27, 2004
87
1
Mammoth
Thanks for the replies. I think i might go for the cuff locks - looks like the best protection without carrying a huge heavy hardened chain around. I am getting an upstairs apartment in west beach so hopefully there will be less chance of a breakin. Where is a good place to get a cheap rigid frame I can throw some cheap componets on? I have looked on craigslist but it seems even the ****iest bikes on there are way overpriced. I might also have my old beat up 4-banger down here so that would probebly be less desirable to steal.
 

manwithgun

Monkey
Nov 4, 2004
257
0
Tenchiro said:
As for a towny, I would just take a decent frame and make it ugly with a can of krylon or maybe some duct tape or copious amounts of stickers. If your bike looks like a hoopdy at first glance chances are they will ignore it.
Yeah, this one started out as an evil imperial... in it's newly transformed shape, she's way more fun, provides beverage transportation, and can accomodate two (female) co-pilots...

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blt2ride

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2005
2,333
0
Chatsworth
Ciaran said:
Dang man, with all the super expensive houses in SB you would think it would be a safer place!
No kidding! I didn't know that so many bikes were getting stolen up there. I would agree, though, you should pick up a beater bike to ride around town. It doesn't take a bike expert to know that a DH bike is expensive...

By the way, you will love the riding scene in SB. Mammoth is a lot of fun, but SB is year round...
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
ive never heard of any bikes getting stolen...especially people breaking into houses to get em...
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
wydopen said:
ive never heard of any bikes getting stolen...especially people breaking into houses to get em...
Well how else do you expect a theif to get your bike ask you for it?

Things do get stolen in Santa Barbara. It's not a "crime free" city by all means, just crime is better/worst in different spots. Bringing your bike into your house and damm near sleeping with it is probably the safest thing to do. Second would be to put it in a garage and third is to lock it up in the garage. You never know who is around and such.

I wish there was a better way to lock them up but I've been banned from bringing them in the house. So in the garage they stay. Locked up and all. But if they were being left outside and locked up it's easy to steel them. Especially if it means just cutting a chain and such like I think happened to a local guy here. Sucks either way though.
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
Spunger said:
Well how else do you expect a theif to get your bike ask you for it?QUOTE]


steal it from your truck, when its locked up outside etc...i know plenty of people that have had stuff stolen, mostly not in sb but ive never heard of someone following someone home to steal a bike..just people taking an oppertunity when they see it..
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
also if this were a real problem i guess id be in trouble scence i have 2 dh bikes a short travel bike, 2 xc bikes, 2 road bikes a ht a fifty and a highly modified moto allsitting in my unlocked garage all the time with never any problems...i guess they would probally steal my moms bmw or the other three vehicles that are parked unlocked with the keys in em all the time as well...u just need to be careful about who know what u have, where u keep em and what your schedule is...id say its safe to say that the person who went in the backyard to steal the bike knew the person and the value of the bike...
 

skatetokil

Turbo Monkey
Jan 2, 2005
2,383
-1
DC/Bluemont VA
wydopen said:
also if this were a real problem i guess id be in trouble scence i have 2 dh bikes a short travel bike, 2 xc bikes, 2 road bikes a ht a fifty and a highly modified moto allsitting in my unlocked garage all the time with never any problems...i guess they would probally steal my moms bmw or the other three vehicles that are parked unlocked with the keys in em all the time as well...u just need to be careful about who know what u have, where u keep em and what your schedule is...id say its safe to say that the person who went in the backyard to steal the bike knew the person and the value of the bike...
So . . . what's your address?