Pitlock vs. Small d-lock?

I'm bored of taking off my front wheel - or not taking it off and worrying about it. So I'm trying to decide whether to get a pitlock skewer (20£) or one of those small kryptonite d locks (35£). Obviously price says the pitlock - but anyone have any experience with them? Also i guess the d-lock could come in handy if I didn't wanna go out with my full lock, but carrying it is just more weight...

Anyone want to help me swing my mind either way?

A friend of mine put a pitlock on his front wheel and seems to be liking it. the only problem is that if you get a flat, you'll definitely need the little doodah to take the wheel off. depending on how expensive the wheelset is, would even just go with just changing from quick release to bolts. i think that is a £9 option.

Wheels about 120£ so no bolts - got my back wheel with bolts nicked last November which has spurred this bout of security conciousness :(

Cheers for the suggestion tho...

how big is the pitlock thingy?

the pitlock thingy is quite small. i would say about 1.25" cubed? terrible to have your back wheel nicked! where did that happen? had my seatpost and saddle stolen in hackney: luckily it was outside of a bike shop. well...lucky that i could get a cheap replacement immediately.

I see. Hmm i'm thinking of going the way of the pitlock atm.

Wheel nicked outside the business design centre, upper street. It was just a crappy sovos to ma3, butdget sprocket. I was surprised someone had been carrying a 15mm spanner to bother taking it off. Was annoying at the time but it spurred change ;)

You know what I'd like... magentic allen key chunks.

As in... you drop them into allen nuts and bolts, and they stick their using magnetism.

They'd seal up the nut or bolt, making carrying just an allen key useless.

To remove the thing, you just need a stronger magnet.

I just think that aside from making things lovely and smooth, it also makes it immune from opportunist theives.

Of course, the other option is superglue and a ball-bearing.

if the chunks are magnetic and they stick to the metal allen key bit, the only other way to get it out is to pry it out as another magnet would repell instead of attract.

ungh...all this talk of theft and i'm just about to leave my bike near russell square.

Hovis Brown:if the chunks are magnetic and they stick to the metal allen key bit, the only other way to get it out is to pry it out as another magnet would repell instead of attract.

Erm, depends which side of the magnet you used, magnets both repel and attract.

I'm diggin the small d-locks, they fit perfect in your back pocket and aren't too heavy

The best thing to do is go to a toolshop or a builders yard, and get odd-shaped allen keys and fittings. Like, one my other bike, the seatpost clamp has a triangular-shaped allen nut, and since nobody has these funky tools, you should feel alright leaving your front wheel unlocked. It's also the cheapest way, since all you need is one allen key and some nuts.

damnham:I'm diggin the small d-locks, they fit perfect in your back pocket and aren't too heavy

laplusgourmande - thats a good idea, but I don't know if i would feel thats secure enough...

velocity boy:

Hovis Brown:if the chunks are magnetic and they stick to the metal allen key bit, the only other way to get it out is to pry it out as another magnet would repell instead of attract.

Erm, depends which side of the magnet you used, magnets both repel and attract.

damn. you're right. would still be pretty tricky, but doable.

If you have the cash make the splash! Or even if you haven't save up for it. Security in my opinion should not be compromised. I bought all my locks before I even had a bike. Abus + Kryptonite, should take them a while to get through. If you leave your pride and joy outside, just make sure its well secure. I had a bike nicked before and it has taught me, don't use cheap locks, don't leave it in risky areas, never be too far away and check from time to time. I might sound paranoid, but it is for my own good.

That's my opinion too.

What's that thing that new commuters and cyclists are told, 10% of the value of the bike should be spent on locks?

It's a hazy number if you've picked up a vintage bargain, but the idea of setting aside up to £200 for a serious set of locks that can take care of the major components is seriously worth thinking about.

Thankfully London isn't as bad as NYC. The fuckers over there steal seat posts, saddles, brakes, pedals. There's not much you can do when they start taking components. But when it comes to wheels it should be a no-brainer.

I've been running a pitlock front wheel for a long time and I like it. Nice thing is that the 'lock' part is small barely bigger than the bolts on 'non' quick releases.

Other nice thing is that the 'key' part has a 15mm nut so you can just place it in a standard 15mm wrench. As most back track wheels have 15mm nuts - you only need one standard tool.

You get two 'key' parts in every kit and can, if you order at the same time, get all the bolts in multiple kits set to the same key.

About the only bad thing to say about it, is that the parts are small so you have to be careful not to loosen it up too much so it all falls apart (did this once, while drunk in the dark - not fun) and its a little bit of a PITA if you have to take your wheel off regularly (eventually you'll need to buy a new serrated washer, as this part will wear out).

I like 'em. I'm a big fan of Pitlocks. Damn site easier than carrying two locks or lugging around a massive chain. Just use a Abus granite and this to protect my bike.

They do make a track version but I wouldn't rec it for the rear if you do much skipping/skidding.

Skidding is my only way of stopping, so I guess I wont be using the pitlock at the back.

On my bike, the back wheel is less prone to getting stolen... the axles are set all the way in on my dropouts, so without a chain-breaker tool it might be a bit difficult to take off the wheel, but I always loop the abus 1000 through it anyway. As for the front wheel, I will consider using the pitlock.

Lets make a product testing discussion and post any results of useful accessories or components to better aid and educate our fixed gear experience.

If you use pitclock on the front instead of a lock thieves can still nick your fork, bars, wheel and brake/s as it’s not locked to anything! Then it’s just a matter of breaking the pitlock at their leisure once away from the scene.

It’s more difficult to get a fork out of a frame which is tethered to the wheel/frame with a lock and probably not worth going for the handlebars and levers alone.

£35 on a second d-lock is a bit rich IMHO if your first lock is good enough lock to make an opportunist thief think before going for the frame. The Abus Sinus is £20ish.

Knucklehead:If you use pitclock on the front instead of a lock thieves can still nick your fork, bars, wheel and brake/s as it’s not locked to anything! Then it’s just a matter of breaking the pitlock at their leisure once away from the scene. It’s more difficult to get a fork out of a frame which is tethered to the wheel/frame with a lock and probably not worth going for the handlebars and levers alone. £35 on a second d-lock is a bit rich IMHO if your first lock is good enough lock to make an opportunist thief think before going for the frame. The Abus Sinus is £20ish.

my sentiments exactly, a couple of allen bolts and you can easily be away with someone's whole front end.
my current set-up is: abus steel-flex 1000 thing, and a small and very cheap d-lock for front wheel to frame. also all my vunerable allen key heads are filled with sillicon sealant. not perfect but hopefully act's as an added deterant.
it's been all of 2 months since they've got away with anything!! (fingers crossed)

True. 35£ - that was for the smallest one i could find (Kryptonite Evolution Mini) - the Sinus looks a bit big just for front wheel to frame, having to carry that around all the time.

i'd be after something relatively small and light - 1bhp what's your d lock and how small is it?

what's silicon sealant? how'd u get it out?

rkn:True. 35£ - that was for the smallest one i could find (Kryptonite Evolution Mini) - the Sinus looks a bit big just for front wheel to frame, having to carry that around all the time.

i'd be after something relatively small and light - 1bhp what's your d lock and how small is it?

what's silicon sealant? how'd u get it out?

with track frame and road forks, it just gets a CXP33 front rim and the downtube in.
quite light and very cheap, does the trick as a deterrant more than anything

silicon sealant's that rubber glue stuff in big tubes for sealing baths to tiled walls etc.
check which variant you've got, I've used a translucent flavour, (will check details later) you can pick it out with tweezers or sharp screw driver.
is a fiddly 5 mins job but worth it in my opinion, once again not 100% secure though

damn thats really cheap! Might just get that + a pitlock - cant do any harm.

Right i know what u mean with the sealant!

rkn:damn thats really cheap! Might just get that + a pitlock - cant do any harm.

yeh the more different types of security you've got the better i reckon,
won't ever use it just by itself or for holding a set of phils!
but it's just an extra thing for them to have to think about, which has got to be good

And just to show you how easy it is, and for the people that missed it at the Bicycle film festival.

The Neistat brothers http://youtube.com/watch?v=5TNTq3nhuh0

Nice story though. When I was riding towards Lverpool street station earlier this year with a bike in hand I got stopped by the police. I told them I was bringing the bike to the station to pick up a friend of mine, which they believed. Dropped and locked the bike and went to pick up the second bike (I had 2 people coming)
After I picked up the second bike and made my way again to the Liverpool street station I was stopped by the police, again.
So what's your story now sonny...... Damn same policecar.......
Stuck to my store and let them check my bag, so they let me go. There where no tools or grinders in there anyway.

Just to show that they do care (a little)

Given that this thread is two years old, what's the current wisdom on locking the front wheel with a pitlock vs a small d-lock?

I was tempted to get one of these:

£10 on ebay, and presume it's pretty light. Not sure if it'd fit tho.