Carrying a lock

[LadyinWhite]

Well - since I only have the one bike, it's the one I ride. LOL!!

I'd hate to lose it. In fact I'd be heartbroken. That being said, it's not that great of a bike so I can't imagine anyone bothering. I think a solid chain & lock (not a cheapie from walmart but a city one) left on the bike rack will work for me. These chains are way too heavy to carry in any sort of pocket or seat bag and I don't wear a camel or back pack of any kind. No need to really, nothing to carry. Well except a chain and thus we are back to the beginning.

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

T.

[Duck on Wheels]

I always have a backpack, at the very least a camelback with a bit of storage space. That's where the lock goes when I'm on the bike and in motion. I never trust the thieves to skip my bike because it's grungy or cheap or the neighborhood where I'm riding is safe. You would not believe how grungy and peculiar my first bike was when it got stolen -- rusty old 50's Schwinn one-speed, painted shrieking green with orange pasted-on flowers. And this was in a town with about twice as many bikes as inhabitants, so there were tens of thousands of better bikes to steal and pretty much nobody ever locked back then (1969). Still ... it got stolen, never to be recovered. My very first bike that I bought with my own savings at age 9.

[Geonz]

Even in Madison County I *might* lock things up just to take temptation away from those Jenkins boys or MOselys or whoever [I'm remembering names... *not* making statements about families!! There are so many Jenkins' and Moseleys ... some of them must be 12 year old kiddos who might be tempted...) Around here when we ride out to the little towns we just lean, tho' a few folks have locks and use 'em. I tend to use my kickstand and put my big old bike in front of a newer one.
IN town, as in campus... well, I try not to park on campus. Bikes get swiped, stuff gets swiped off bikes, etc. Out at teh community college it's not so bad - twice I have forgotten to lock the bike at all. ONce (in four years) I've had a computer swiped off my bike.
I carry my lock in my big fat saddle bags or backpack. Of course, on the Gazelle the lock is built in... you can't ride it without the "key in the ignition."

[pooks]

I always carry a small "latte lock" in the pack behind my seat. .

What is a latte lock?

Pooks

[Eden]

What is a latte lock?

Pooks

a little cable lock that is enough to lock up your bike while you run into the coffe shop for a latte.....

[pooks]

I wonder if that's what I have. A cable with a combination lock on it. The combi-lock is a long bar and you twist the numbers to the right sequence.

[mary9761]

sounds like you have the same type I have pooks. I don't know if you all can see in my avatar pic, but I wrap the lock around the head and top tube on my Navigator and that's where it stays. I've been known to take the bike into the vestibule at Kroger's and lock it right up to the freebie magazine/flyers rack while I pick up a few groceries etc. I alway make sure it's wrapped around the frame AND the handlebars though to make it a little more complicated for an HONEST person well, doggonit, I'm trying to insert a photo and it won't open the pic for some reason, but if you click on the link it's a bit of a closer look.
Gotta be careful with the combo bar locks though, there's a little button so you can CHANGE your combo and if you accidently click that I've had to have a lock CUT OFF because I did that and get a new cable lock that bites and is embarassing to have happen (at least I was right in the same shopping area as my LBS)

[uk elephant]

I also just have a cable lock with a number combination thingy on it. The cable is tripple layered kevlar so theoretically should take some time to cut through, and it is fairly heavy. But I just throw it in my bag (or attach to the outside of my bag) when I take it along. If I am going somewhere where I need to lock my bike up, I will generally also have a bag with me of some sort. Otherwise I guess I'd wrap it around by waist. At work I leave the bike in my office. When I'm at Uni, I bring the lock (and every other day I forget the lock, realize half way there and have to turn around). So far I've been lucky. No stolen bike even the day when I didn't lock the lock properly and realized 10 hours later when I was about to head home. I do strip everything else off the bike though such as lights or computer. And I make sure the lock goes through both wheels and the frame and the bike rack.

[Ebet]

I carry a U-lock in a side pannier and also have pit locks (I believe they're called) on each wheel. They lock the wheels and open with a key. The U-lock definitely adds to the bike's weight but it adds at least a little sense of security.

[HipGnosis6]

I have three locks:

A Kryptonite cable lock - it's a little heavier cable than what I've seen described as a latte lock, and uses a key instead of a combo.

An armored cable lock - this thing actually has some sort of metal covering over the cable. It weighs an effing ton, and the key looks a lot like my house key.

A U-lock of the new variet that isn't pickable with a ball point pen.

I never use all these locks at once (that would be just plain silly); in fact, most of the time I have just the regular cable lock. It lives on my seat post, and yes it rubs up the paint a bit. I don't care, my bike's a fairly inexpensive bike that was intended to get me places and not to look pretty. I'll swap that out for the armored cable if I'm not sure where I'm going to wind up for the day. If I know I'll be somewhere where I have to leave my bike unattended for more than a half hour, I throw the u-lock into my backpack and keep the lightweight cable on the bike - when I'm at lockup, I make sure the cable runs through my rear wheel as well as the frame. If I have to leave my bike overnight, then I do the same but with the armored cable AND I take my lights and computer off of the bike.