(As is evident from Jamie’s post yesterday, and the Facebook feedback we have heard there are bike thieves on the loose. It seems in the last 48 hours 6-9 bikes have been stolen. Please read pt. 1 and 2 to this post, and please share this information online and off)
A large rider base here in Provo is based around BYU campus. A lot of st udents, facility, and staff ride to work/school on a daily basis, and we hear back from them from time to time about their good and bad experiences. One of the most common issues that we hear about concerning locking up goes two ways; “I was a little late for class today, and locked up in a hurry when I got back to where I locked up my bike was gone! I went to campus police to report it, and they had it. They said that I had put my lock through the bike I locked on top of, and that they had to cut my lock to get the other bike out,” or, “Today I came out of class a little late for work. The racks where packed, and when I unlocked my lock I found that someone else had locked my bike up while locking theirs. I was not sure what to do so I called campus police, and they came to cut the other lock off so I could go.” Now, neither of these situations are verbatim, but they are very common, they may have even happened to you (see the picture at the top). In this final installment we are going to look primarily at how to properly lock up on campus so that your awesome new lock does not get cut.
The first thing you need to know about locking up on campus is that YOU MUST LOCK UP TO OFFICIAL BICYCLE RACKS. If you lock up anywhere else Parking will come along  cut your lock, and take your bike. Granted this is much better than some thief making off with it, but why waste all the time of trying to find out if they have it, and then going to pick it up if you can prevent the whole thing by locking up in the proper place.
Racks get full at BYU, it is something that they have to deal with every year, and it is a good problem to have. The regular locking techniques we showed in the previous post will work wonders for you while on campus when racks are not overflowing. However, when racks are overflowing their are some special considerations to make.
Locking up on top of another bike while not ideal is permissible if you are willing to follow three simple rules. First, make sure there are absolutely no open spots on the rack. Two, be very gentle while locking up your bike. Even if someones bike does not look like much to you it may be their baby, and scratching someones baby is never nice. Three, double make sure your lock does not go through any part of their wheels, cables, or frame. Extra lock up security is always nice, but is really only effective if you have the key/combo to the extra lock. I know I said there are only three rules so this last one is a recommendation from the guy who’s bike may be under yours, leave a little thank you note. I know it sounds silly but if you did happen to scratch someones bike a little thank you note could go a long way from you not coming out to flat tires. Check out the pictures bellow on how your lock up should look.
Over the top tube. This is one of those times that cable lock is really nice to have. The only down fall is worrying wether a nefarious character will come along and clip it.
Under and around for maximum safety. Now that we all know how to lock up properly lets play a little game.
When I rode out a few days ago to take pictures for these posts my main goal was to locate the different types of racks and situations you will find yourself in while locking up around town. While I found what I was looking for I also found a few reasons why so many people’s bikes have been taken. Click through the images below, and find the all to common mistakes (front wheel lock is really common). Remember a well locked bike is a happy bike. Ride safe, and lock well.
