Best locking technique for fat ebike...

[papasmurfyogi]

Hello!

I've recently bought a Pedibal Navigata. I suffer with CFS/ME so the cadence sensor and (legal!) throttle are a god send. Very little effort required to get around.

I've only ever previously owned regular bikes. And always locked with a d-lock through the rear wheel and frame, onto the bike rack + cable for front wheel.

However I'm finding this isn't possible with this bike, and I imagine a lot of ebikes! I can't find a decent (gold/diamond rated) that will fit through rear wheel/frame/bike rack....

This must be a common problem....so whereas d-lock-->rear wheel/frame-->bike rack seemed the gold standard with regular bikes, what's the best approach with ebikes?

I've bought two locks. The litelok X1 and the Foldylock 110. I don't necessarily intend to keep both as they're both heavy!

With the litelok (relatively angle grinder proof), I have two options:
1. Rear wheel only to bike rack
2. Frame only to bike rack

Option 1. I like this because it means that nobody can ride away on the bike, even if they cut through the bike rack. But, it leaves me open to somebody just removing the frame and leaving the rear wheel behind. Is this likely? How long does it take/how arduous is it to remove a rear wheel that contains the motor and gears?
Or cutting through rack and carrying bike off.

Option 2 leaves me open to somebody just cutting the bike rack and riding off with the bike.

With the foldylock (not angle grinder proof) I have the above two options, but also the holy grail of:
Lock through rear wheel and frame to bike rack.
However this isn't angle grinder proof so somebody could easily ride off with the bike.

I could of course use both, but that's a hell of a lot of money spent on locks, and 4kg on my back (unless I can find a convenient way to carry them on the bike).

If you're happy to offer your advice, please let me know:
1. What would you do from the above options?
2. What would you suggest other than the options I've offered?
3. What does everybody else do?! Any information I can find online/YouTube just isn't suitable for my bike. How are you all locking up your ebikes?!

I will also get it insured.

Thank you for any advice you're able to offer.

 

[papasmurfyogi]

Just bumping this...

 

[matthewslack]

Are you locking for ten minutes whilst in a shop or overnight outside your house or for a day at a railway station or etc...

Different solutions in different situations.

 

[pedalfettal]

Lovely bicycle. The side-stand is really convenient.

Fortunately these folders aren't very attractive to thieves - not a regular bicycle, it's got mudguards - difficult to sell in the pub.

Otherwise:
* Roll it into the shop. Fold it and lock it shut with D-Lock through wheels.
* Roll it into the office. Fold it and store under desk.

 

[guerney]

Although I bought D-locks, I have only ever left my folding 20" wheeled Dahon Helips P8 folding bike mid-drive conversion locked twice. Once to a tall iron fence on a 2ft wall, with a D-lock through rear wheel and frame, and a cable through front wheel, rear wheel and frame. Not at all ideal, iron fence bars are soft, cables are easily and swiftly cut... but it was locked to that fence in the town square that night for three hours with all four 1800LM and 2400LM lights on flash mode, with my GPS tracker light's "Shock detection" primed to send me a text if the bike was moved, and I was staring out at my bike through a big storefront window pretty much the entire time, ready to pounce through the door and attack roaring like The Incredible Hulk. I find that behaviour always unsettles people. I've toyed with the idea of locking it folded through wheels and frame using a long D-lock (I've never found a long D-lock with a good security rating), then locking the frame through rear wheel to a bike stand using a second D-lock, and possibly a third doing the same as the second plus going through the first, but I fold and take it in with me instead. Fits into shopping trolleys when folded. Easier to lift into said trolleys with it's rear rackmounted battery removed. Fits into most room corners, under things etc. I could carry two or more D-locks in pannier bags, but it'd be a pain. The weight part doesn't matter, my bike doesn't care about weight.

The other time I left my bike locked, it was to a lamp post outside a post office. When I returned a mere 10 minutes later, I had to make my way through a small crowd of gawking women to get to my bike. Turns out my bike's a chick magnet, but not while I'm riding it. Could be because it's shiny aluminium. If those chicks aren't bike thieves, that's ok. Always makes women laugh as I ride by for some reason, on their own or burst into laughter in groups. I've yet to record this, because my GoPro lens and microphones are front facing on my helmet jawguard, and I'm always travelling at 25kph, whether it's hilly or not.

 

[thelarkbox]

Scruff up your bike , add cheap plastic boxes/adornments and let a 7 yr old loose with a couple of sheets of stickers.

Park/lock up next to nicer looking bikes, and always remove and carry the battery away with you.

If targeted your bike is gone, no locks are perfect, but 2x or 3x or more locks can present too much hassle compared to an easier theft in the next rack.

fwiw i use 2 x locks a pretty standard and easy to use d lock and a long oxford kevlar sleeved chain lock (gold rated) from my m/cyling days. I tend to use the Dlock alone when popping into a shop for a quick pick up and Both when leaving the bike unattended out of sight for any length of time.

Weight/mass of locks is significantly less relevant on an ebike
the pita aspect is the time spent locking/unlocking..

An added security feature that cost me circa £10 was to get a Brake cut off Y cable usually used to add a 'gear change sensor' and an extra brake sensor deigned for adding to hydraulic brake levers. I fitted to my bike gluing the sensor out of sight on a steel plate, where i could slide a magnet close to or away from the sensor with a finger. So if stolen the motor wont run for them
If considering similar avoid flat magnets on round tube, - on a tube flat magnets have less contact/attraction and can be moved by shocks and bumps from the rd surface. plan #1 was to house the sensor inside a bike tube..

But if a thief targets your bike specifically, its probably gone, in which case an insurance policy is the only thing that will replace it.

edit- With the D lock I try to lock the frame and rear wheel to something secure, when not possible i settle for either the frame or rear wheel.. the chain gives me the ability to secure to almost anything