Am I the only one who sees people locking bikes wrong every single day...

I've been bike commuting in Portland for about 8 years now, and it drives me crazy how many people just lock their frame with a cheap cable lock. I used to do that myself back in 2016 until someone stole my front wheel right off my bike while I was at work. Now I always use a U-lock through the rear triangle and the back wheel, plus a second cable for the front. You see people downtown all the time just looping a cable through their top tube and calling it good. That's basically an invitation for thieves to take everything else. I even saw a guy lock his frame to a signpost but left his quick release seat and both wheels totally free last week. Has anyone else noticed this getting worse or am I just paying more attention now...

2 comments

2 Comments

campbell.robin1mo agoMost Upvoted

Is it weird that I see this same kind of half-assed effort everywhere now, not just with bike locks? Like people at coffee shops leave their laptops open and walk to the bathroom, or they leave their backpack hanging off the back of a chair while they scroll on their phone. It's like everyone just assumes the bad stuff won't happen to them, you know?

wren_rodriguez1mo ago

Agree completely, I see this all the time in Seattle and it drives me up the wall. I had my whole bike stripped once because I used a cable lock through the frame only, came back and the wheels, seat, even the handlebars were gone. Now I do the same thing you do, U-lock through the rear triangle and back wheel, plus a cable through the front wheel and frame. I watched a guy last week lock his bike with a thin cable around the top tube, and I wanted to walk over and tell him he's basically gifting his bike to thieves. It's not getting worse, you just start noticing all the bad locks once you've been burned yourself.