4 Tips for Locking Your Bike to Bike Racks

We see an increasing number of bike racks on our streets as more people take to the road on their bikes. Cycling is a great way to get around; it’s also environmentally friendly and a fantastic way to promote health in the community. However, a bike can represent a significant investment and bike thieves are an ever-present threat. Even the best bike rack is ineffective if the rider doesn’t use it correctly. In this article, we present four tips to properly lock your bike to an appropriate bike rack.

1. Lock the Frame

The frame of your bike needs to locked to an immovable object; ideally, this would be a steel bike rack. Don’t secure the bike by locking it only through the front and rear wheels because a thief can simply remove the wheels and walk away with your bike frame. This is a common occurrence, and the bike frame is usually the most expensive part of any bike and the hardest to replace. When you lock, use a pair of u-locks at the front and rear, thread through both the wheels and the frame to make it secure. Before you leave the parked bike, try to pick it up and give it a little shake to ensure that you got the u-locks positioned correctly.

2.Keep the U-Locks High

When you lock the frame and wheel with the u-lock, position the lock so that it’s higher up and off the ground. If a lock is lying on the floor, it will make a tempting target for a potential thief. A lock on the floor is easier to hit with hammer and thief will have more leverage to remove it and take your bike. After reading this, you may be tempted to lock the top tube of your bike, and this is also a crucial mistake that you need to avoid. If the top tube is locked, a bike thief can lift the bike up and twist the frame to snap the lock off. The ideal u-lock position is high up on the downward tubes and/or around the seat tubes and through the wheels.

3.Limit Space in the U-Lock

A good quality u-lock fitted correctly at the front and rear is a significant obstacle to a passing bike thief. However, if there is a lot of free space inside the lock, it’s easier for the thief to push in a bottle jack and then force the lock open. If there is a lack of room inside the u-lock space this is impossible, so try to fit the lock as close to the frame and wheels as possible.

4.Make Lock Access Difficult

This will be a pain when you return to unlock your bike, but it’s an excellent way to make your bike harder to steal. Position the keyholes in hard to reach areas, always face them downwards, and this will slow a potential thief down.

if you’re looking for Perth bike rack, feel free to contact Image Bollards for expert advice.