Bike Lock

I never rode my bike to school when I was younger, but this was something my brother did almost every single day. I guess more boys like the idea of riding to school, as they don’t seem as concerned about getting dirty as girls might as they get older. We lived in a small town, so bikes were always welcome. However, any student who rode their bike to school had to have a bike lock on it just to keep it safe.

It is still a good idea to have a bike lock, now more so than ever. Even if you have your bike on a porch in a relatively safe neighborhood, you still have to be concerned with theft. It is not usually hardened criminals that want a bike, it’s usually teenagers messing around. That doesn’t mean a bike lock is not needed. Those who take them to mess around may not end up returning them, or they may break them. Having a bike lock keeps the bike where it belongs.

There are a few different types of bike locks, and a child does have to be able to use it. If they aren’t old enough to use the lock, they probably aren’t old enough to ride their bike to school anyway. However, you could take that time to teach them to use the bike lock so that they know what they are doing when the time comes to let them ride off to school on their own. Not only do they have to be able to open and close the lock, they have to know where to put it.

Some make the mistake of putting the bike lock on the tire and around something else, like a bike rack. That might seem logical, but the tire is easy to remove. If someone really wants the bike, it is easy enough for them to go out and find a new tire off of someone else‘s bike. Instead, make sure the bike lock is wound around the frame. When you do that, there is no way to remove the tire to get the bike. The very best thing to do is to have a lock that can wind around all tires and the frame. That way, no one can steal the bike, and they can’t take a tire either. If your child knows how to do that, you don’t have to worry about getting a tearful phone call from school from your child explaining that they can’t seem to find their prized bicycle.

Summary

Bike locks are a necessity if you are a student riding to school, or even riding to work. The key to using them effectively is to make sure the lock is wrapped around the bike itself as well as the tire.