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My bicycle security system consists principally of a heavy-weight six-foot chain and a mini U-lock; it's not a complex system but it does require some regular maintenance: oiling the lock and, when the time comes, replacing it.

Today I replaced my Master-brand mini U-lock. I went back to the same Locksmith where I bought it a little over a year ago and bought another Master mini U-lock -- off the same wall hook display -- it may have been one of the other ones hanging on that same hook when I bought the first one, like I said, a little over a year ago.

Anyway it's identical to the lock it replaces, except for the cost.

A year-and-some ago, the lock cost $24 plus tax. Today the lock cost $39.00 plus tax -- a $15 increase in the sticker price. With taxes, the new lock cost me $43.68. I don't know what else to say about it except to say it seems a steep increase.

But I have to be glad I could get one. I think it's a good-quality U-lock.

Unfortunately, in my experience, no matter how well locks are made, they wear out. The act of locking and unlocking gradually grinds away at a lock's internal components. Grit and or water in the mechanism increases wear.

You should oil locks regularly, and, ideally, keep them away from water (easier said than done). But all you can do is prolong their useful life. Basically, the more you use them, and the more they're exposed to the elements, the faster locks wear until they wear out.

When the key starts getting hard to turn, that's a sure sign to lubricate the lock, and not with WD-40, which can increase wear!

At the first sign that lubricating the lock doesn't stop the key from sticking, replace the lock.That's what I was doing today.

I had stopped using the old lock when it became unreliably sticky and switched to a spare U-lock some weeks ago. Click the image to enlarge it.

Today's front page story in The Vancouver Sun is on how bike theft is one of the few crimes on the rise in Vancouver. This suggests at least two things to me: Most bike locks are a joke to most bike thieves, and there's a big demand for bicycles somewhere. Maybe the thieves are selling the bikes they steal back to the people they're stealing them from. But that doesn't explain why bikes seem so easy to steal.

[caption id="attachment_2542" align="alignnone" width="497"] The bike racks outside MEC on West Broadway, today. Click the image to enlarge it.[/caption]

I earn money by binning. I use a bicycle, with a bike trailer, to collect beverage containers to recover the deposit -- keeping my ride is a matter of being able to support myself,  so naturally I take bike security seriously.

Some basic suggestions:

• Make your bike less attractive to steal than someone else’s.


• Choose a security routine you can follow like a second nature.


• Lock both wheels -- Use a long, 11-inch U-lock and a chain, or two short U-locks. Whatever.


• Ask at a decent bike store about locking bike skewers, which can make it that much harder for thieves to take your wheels.


• If you lock your bike up outside overnight, get six feet of transport chain and a mini U-lock, which always stays locked to the railing or pole where you lock the bike.


• Don't leave easily removable do-dads on your bike, like lights, unless you are in a gift-giving mood.