Candy Cranks

Bike crime is a big problem in London, especially these days as more and more people are getting on their bikes and taking to the roads.  The problem is, there are people out there who will always buy stolen bikes, whilst there is demand – there will always be supply. I know of quite a few friends who have had their bike stolen and found it for sale the next weekend at Brick Lane market, where they have luckily claimed it back with the help of either a few friends or some threatened d-lock justice. Sadly bike crime is not a priority for the police so unless we take steps to make it really hard for the thieves the problem will just keep getting worse.

I always lock my bike with two locks when in London, a Krypto Mini-Evo on the front and either a Krytpo New York Chain on the back and frame or a Krypto New York D-lock. Most of the time when I’m around town I will only carry a Mini-Evo on me, which although light its quite small, small enough so a thief can’t use the car jack method on the lock.  Still, at my workplace recently we have had a spate of thefts from the car park, plus I am going camping/touring in the Netherlands next month, and want something to secure my bike when I haven’t got anything to lock it to, but when I’m within earshot.

A friend of mine suggested a disc alarm lock, so I took the plunge and picked one up for £30. It’s designed for motorbikes but also fits disc brakes on bicycles. I bought it with the intention of putting it on my chainring. Turns out it works a treat. It also acts as an immobiliser of sorts and emits an ear piercing 110db if the bike is moved in any way. It is also pocket sized and weighs no more than a Krypto Mini-Evo D lock. Whilst this is no substitute for a couple of good locks in London, it’s the ideal pub lock or in my case, camping lock.

The model I bought was a Xena XZZ6 Disc Alarm Lock.