Locked and Loaded

A bicycle was stolen in Philadelphia on Wednesday. But unlike any other cyclist who can only file a police report and hope that maybe it will be recovered. The effort to find and arrest this thief will receive the maximum effort that the Philadelphia Police Department can afford. For this was not just any bike, this was a Philadelphia Police Department bike. In other words it was an official police vehicle. Stolen at 12:00pm at Broad & Moore the miscreant rode the bike for three miles and abandoned at 13th & Girard where it was recovered.

This is not the first time this happened to the Philadelphia Police Department. It just goes to show you that no matter what kind of bike you ride if you don’t lock it up someone will steal it.

Its moments like this when I have to ask myself; What grade would Hal Ruzal give the Philadelphia Police Department when they lock their bikes?

Hal Ruzal 2014

Over the years Hal Ruzal, bike mechanic and co-founder of New York City bike shop Bike Planet, created a series of videos grading people in New York City on how well they have locked their bikes. I posted two of the videos here.

Now he has a new video out and as usual he is at his finest, even when recognized by tourists. Have people gotten better about locking their bikes? You'll have to see for yourself. My personal favorite as the fixie that got a “D”. I see plenty of bikes like this and I am never surprised when I see them stripped.

Hal Grades Your Bike Locking 2014 (Part IV) from STREETFILMS on Vimeo.

Lock your bicycle - Winning

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It seems the only way to get the local media to report on the issue of bicycle theft is when it happens to one of their own, 6ABC reporter Brian Taff, we get an in depth report.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=8373535

After watching this video I can understand why Brian's lock got cut, it was never intended to be a primary lock in a city environment. It's the type of lock that could be cut with the scissors they used to give us in kindergarten. While its effective to lock a rim or a seat, I would never use it as a primary lock for any bicycle.

The error is compounded by the advice given by Lee Rogers, owner of Bicycle Therapy. Given the cost of replacing a rear wheel, a minimum of $140.00, I would never lock a rear wheel with any cable. All it takes it some bolt cutters, a little bit of muscle, and you have a set of rims.

But instead of pontificating, I would rather bring in an expert of my own, Hal Ruzal, founding partner of Bicycle Habitat. In 2003 Hal did a video where he walked the streets of Manhattan with a camera crew rating how well people had locked their bicycles.

This lead to to two more videos, the third leads off with Hal showing you how he locks his bicycle before he goes on a tour of the streets.

So what grade would you give yourself on how you lock your bicycle?