Sheldon Brown Locking Method: Potential Flaw?

Big Business Caters For Women Cyclists In London November 8, 2009

There’s something going on, y’know. It seems that this thing where women cyclists in That London are at more risk than men are just refuses to go away. According to this report by the BBC , women account for only 27% of the capital’s bike journeys. Yet of the eight cyclists killed by drivers of lorries, [...]

Damned Suitcases November 6, 2009

Amongst my various searches of the Creative Commons pictures on Flickr this evening, I found this one from Austria: Apparently, it’s a warning for cyclists to watch out for giant suitcases. Or a warning that giants shouldn’t leave there handbags in the street. Probably. Or something like that anyway. Actually, on the subject of Creative Commons p […]

Bring Back The 1865 Locomotive Act November 6, 2009

One of the institutions of British cycling is the British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton Ride . With 27,000 riders heading out to cause traffic mayhem (the roads on the route are closed to proper, tax-paying traffic…) the ride’s about 60 miles, and the event has been run since 1980. But actually, it’s a pale [...]

Friday Caption Contest - Bristol Special November 5, 2009

It’s pretty clear what’s missing from this one, so your task is to think of a suitable caption for this photo from Bristol: As winter is coming, our [virtual] prize this week is practicality in itself - a nice thick pair of woollen socks. These are ideal for keeping your toes warm, or increasing the [...]

Cycling Manifesto In Pictures November 6, 2009

I really, really like the Superhighway Manifesto of the London Cycling Campaign that I posted about at the weekend. The trouble is, the odds are that the people in overall charge of traffic & transport in your (my) local authority don’t actually ride a bike as an everyday mode of transport. So the fine words [...]

Decoy Bike? November 5, 2009

A great way to protect your bike from getting stolen is to park it next to something far more attractive / easier to sell for ready cash. I’m guessing that’s what’s happened here, with these two completely unlocked bikes I saw yesterd

It’s Like Oxford Circus Here! November 3, 2009

Actually this is Oxford Circus. Until now, it’s been a victim of the "keep the people away from the cars by fencing them in" logic that traffic planners love. You know the sort of thing - put fences between the people and the cars, so the drivers feel that it’s "safe" to drive faster than they [...]

March 2009
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Feb		May »
	1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

Sheldon Brown Locking Method: Potential Flaw?

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Karl McCracken

Remember the Sheldon Brown Locking Method? This one:

Well, I thought this article on Commute By Bike showed a potential flaw in Sheldon’s system:

Basically, what the thief’s done is cut every single one of the spokes so they can take the rest of the bike away. Yeah, I know.

However, I’m fairly sure that this is actually the remains of a front wheel. Even with the spokes removed, it’s still not possible to get the wheel rim of a bike through the frame’s rear triangle – not unless you actualy fold the rim up, which hasn’t happened here.

So why would someone go to all this trouble to remove a front wheel rather than just undoing the axle? Who can tell. Maybe the thief had forgotten his spanner (wrench), or maybe the rest of the bikes in the neighbourhood had quickrelease skewers and this one didn’t, and the technology of a hex-nut defeated his intellect. Or maybe it was a really nice bike (that’s a Bontrager tyre after all), with Pinhead Skewers to protect the wheels:

These will prevent someone making off with your wheels. But remember – no lock is completely resistant to being defeated. If someone wants a bike badly enough, they will find a way round.

So in the end, maybe this is another example of the lessons in locking your bike up:

Lock your bike near to other bikes
Make sure your bike is better locked than the other bikes
Make sure your bike doesn’t look as nice / swish / expensive as the other bikes
Always lock up somewhere very public. Cutting this many spokes takes time, and the thief is less likely to risk that if there’s a bunch of witnesses looking on.

Filed under: Bike Security, Bike locking strategy, Bike security tips, Bike theft, How to lock your bike, Stolen Bike