Effective Bicycle Protection Tips for Daily Commuters

December 26, 2019

If you are a daily bike commuter, the chances are you already know about the bike theft scenario in the United States. Every year, thousands of bikes get stolen across the country, the majority of which weren’t either locked properly or not at all. As a daily bike commuter, the first preference should be to invest in the best bike cable lock or U-lock so that thieves cannot steal and ride away with your bike.

When it comes to choosing a bike lock, you have three different options to choose from, including:

Cable Lock
U Lock
Chain Lock

All these different types of locks are designed to solve a different purpose. To understand more precisely, let’s discuss each of these bike lock types in detail:

Cable Locks

Cable locks are probably the most basic type of bike lock available in the market. In addition to being inexpensive, cable locks are less-durable at the same time. It means that if you are looking for a solid bike lock, cable locks aren’t the right option.

These types of bike locks are only suitable for riders who park their bikes indoor or in dedicated indoor parking. The best bike cable lock can also be used as a secondary lock (along with a U lock or a chain lock) to lock the wheels with the frame.

Chain Locks

Chain locks are a minor upgrade over the simple cable locks. A chain lock has iron chain links that are more durable than a regular cable lock. However, that doesn’t mean that chain locks are the most durable bike locks on the planet.

While buying a chain lock, make sure to pick a lock that has strong chain links as they would be more difficult to cut with a hacksaw. The one disadvantage of using chain locks is that they add more weight to your backpack.

U Lock

U locks are the best bike lock option for riders who park their bikes outside in open. Even though U-locks are slightly expensive, they are worth the investment as they offer extreme durability. It is next to impossible for a thief to break a U-lock, which means your bike will be completely secure if you lock it with a U-lock.

These are the three popular bike lock options you can use to lock your bike on your daily commute.

How to Lock Your Bike Properly

Keep in mind that having the best lock is not enough as no lock offers 100% safety. To completely secure your ride, however, it is important to have the best tricks up your sleeve so that no one can steal your bike.

So, here are the best ways to lock your bike that’ll help you protect it from potential thieves.

Choose a Solid Object

Always lock your bike with a solid object. Why? Because it doesn’t matter how solid lock you have used, if the object isn’t solid enough, someone would easily break the object and ride away with your bike. The best option is to look for dedicated bike posts.

However, if you cannot find a bike post, look for objects that have a loopy structure. Avoid tree branches, park benches, and poles at every cost. These are movable objects and aren’t the right option to lock your bike, even if you are using the best bicycle U lock.

Look for Secured Locations

A thief is less likely to steal the bike from a spot that comes under the coverage area of a nearby security camera. It means that you should park your bike in these types of secured locations so that it becomes the last target of the thieves.

There’s another benefit of locking your bike in a place that comes under the coverage area of a security camera. Even if it gets stolen, you’ll easily have an identity of the thief and it’ll become much easier to catch him and get your bike back.

Don’t Just Use a Single Lock

Instead of locking your bike with a single bicycle U lock, use multiple locks so that your bike becomes the last target for thieves. Lock the frame of your bike with the solid object using a U lock. Use two cable locks or chain locks to lock the wheels with the frame.

Locking the wheels is as important as locking the frame itself. The reason being if you leave the wheels unprotected, there’s a huge chance that someone may steal both the wheels and walk away.

Install a GPS Tracker

If you are actually into cycling, we recommend installing a GPS tracker on your bike. These small devices can make your bikes extremely secure. The GPS tracker is connected to your smartphone and shares the live location of your bike 24x7. So, even if your bike gets stolen, you can track its live location all the time.

These are the 5 tips that you should always remember while locking your bike every day.

Wrapping Things Up

Commuting on a bike to work is one of the best things you can add to your daily routine. However, it is also important to keep your bike safe with the best type of bike cable lock and U lock. Browse our collection of bike locks and protect your bike from thieves. At Via Vel Lock, we offer a wide variety of bike lock to meet specific requirements of different riders.