Do you live in a part of the country where bike racks and other bike storage is rare or non existent. In these cases a U-Lock may leave you stranded with no where to lock your bike.
In theses cases a cable lock may be the perfect choice for to ensure a place to lock your bike every where you go.
I live in a city where cycling as a way of life is quite the oddity. The only place in town I frequent that has a bike rack is the Krogers a quarter mile from my house. It used to be in front of the store and now it’s around the side. Obviously not anchored down.
But at least they have one, no where else in town does. Coffee shops, book stores, grocery stores, etc… no places to specifically lock you bike.
So you have to get creative.
I’ve locked my bike to, among other things, trees, light posts, fences and cart returns.
This is where a cable lock is the perfect thing to carry with you. I used to carry a U-Lock and several times got stuck leaning my bike at the front of the store and hoping no one walked off with it because I had no where to lock it.
The Pros
- There is always a place to lock your bike
- Coils down to the same size as a U-Lock
- You can run it through several components of your bike to secure the whole thing
The Con
- Not as secure as a U-Lock. The Kryptonite cable lock gets a security rating of 5 while their U-Lock gets a 9
I tend to think that these go hand in hand. The places where there aren’t a lot of bike facilities are probably places where bike theft is not that big of a problem. In fact, in my city, what few bikes I see around town are usually just left with the kickstand down in front of the store. No lock.
While that’s much to trusting for me (and I’m usually riding bikes that are a bit higher end), the cable lock has proved to be the perfect security for me.
What kind of locks and security do you use to keep your bike safe?
Check out the line of Kryptonite cable locks.
