It’s not that hard to not get your bike stolen. Here are the official Scenic Routes+Natalie’s tips on how not to get your bike stolen:
TL;DR: bike theft is a crime of opportunity. Much like with a bear, if your bike is a little harder to steal than the bike next to it, it’ll be fine. These are the things we recommend, and neither Jay nor I have ever had a bike stolen.
A tale as old as time, I’ll illustrate it with a dialogue we’ve had many times:
“Fuck dude, my bike got stolen”
“Where?”
“Cole Valley”
“Where in Cole Valley?”
“Outside insert bar here”
“You went home with someone and left your bike there?”
“yeah”
It doesn’t matter where you are, leaving a bike locked up outside overnight is a guaranteed way to get it stolen, and your hot date from the bar won’t last, and isn’t losing your bike over (probably).
I’ve been using Kryptonites for a couple years and like them. The smaller the lock the better. Big locks may seem tempting for the convenience of locking to anything, but they make leveraging the lock open a lot easier. We like the KRYPTOLOK MINI-7. If you’re feeling extra, throw a second lock on or a cable through your front wheel. A cable-only lock absolutely does not cut it. If you want some of that premium rush swag, you can use a big thick chain lock.
Give whatever you’re locking to a little jiggle. If the bolts on the bike rack are loose, be careful. Also, I don’t care how tall the pole is, if there isn’t something solid at the top that’s wider than your u-lock, don’t lock to it.
Don’t ruin your life over it:
Embrace it if it happens. File a claim with your renters insurance and don’t become a resentful and vengeful person. Bike theft sucks, but it’s not the end of the world, and it’s not worth living a life of fear over. Living an enjoyable life is about making risk calculations. Sure, I could ask every business if I can bring my bike inside, and never lock up on the street, and my bike would probably never get stolen, but to me that’s not a worthy trade. I’d rather not live in fear. I’ve had bottles stolen off my bike, but I continue to leave them on there when I lock up, because that extra step and extra paranoia just isn’t worth it to me.
Garages are rough, and at least in San Francisco, are often a target for bike theft. If you want to do something about that, you can sink a rack or anchor into your garage floor, and lock to that. Or just bring your bike inside and stop treating it like a 1920’s dog. If you’re cold, it’s cold, bring it inside.