Here at Montague we’re big fans of folding up the bicycle and taking it inside. That’s a bonus of a folding bike, it doesn’t have to be left out in the cold. And not just the proverbial cold, the bicycle doesn’t have to be left in the elements; subject to vandals, thieves, and damage. But every once and awhile your adventures may take you somewhere where you cannot fold up your bike and take it inside, because sometimes there is no inside.
This morning we stopped at Boston’s Bike Friday. A city-morning-cycling-commute event that brings cyclists from all over the city and surrounding towns to Government Center for a delicious breakfast and all kinds of cycling related booths. For this event and many other trips there really isn’t an inside to bring your bike to. We’ve had a number of readers and fans ask, just how do you lock up your Montague when you can’t fold it up and take it with you? The unique folding design, being so different from the traditional double diamond frame, presents a number of creative locking solutions.
Lock It Down
Above is one locking situation in Boston’s Government Center. The cable secures the rear wheel in a loop and connects to a mini U-lock secured to the railing and through the double top tube. The weakness of this locking technique is that the front wheel is not secured by either the cable or the U-lock. Montague bikes come with quick release wheels, so you could potentially remove the wheel and lock in together through the cable. This custom build has bolt on wheels which are more difficult to remove and steal than quick release wheels, but it is always important to secure the wheel to the frame for comprehensive locking technique. (Having bolt-on wheels also makes folding take a little longer.)
Here is another example on a street sign. The cable goes through both wheels to the mini U-lock which passes between the double top tube. When a bicycle has a traditional double diamond frame the general locking technique is to secure both wheels and make sure that the U-lock secures some part of the main triangle. For a Montague passing the lock between the double top tube (for the road/pavement bikes) or through the lower triangle near the folding mechanism (for the continuous top tube mountain bikes) becomes the equivalent securing location.
These images only deal with a mini U-lock and cable, but there are many other sizes of U-locks and cables, many other kinds of locks. We invite our readers to share their innovative locking techniques for those times when there isn’t an inside to bring your bike to.
I appreciate you sharing your locking technique, I started doing the same thing, but I also thread the cable through the detached seat of my Crosstown. I was curious what kind of rear you have ( brand ) in these picture and if it works well?
Locking the saddle as well is a good idea. Hasn’t happened to me before (knock on wood), but my friend’s saddle has been stolen. That rear fender is an SKS Raceblade. It’s very easy to mount to any bike as it basically just straps on to the seatstay. If you do want more coverage, there are other fender options that would extend down the back of the wheel a bit farther. Montague bikes do have threaded eyelets on the rear dropouts to mount just about any model.
Do you have any tips for locking down your mountain bikes? With the solid top tube, I see some challenges there.
Hey Chrispy,
You need to lock through the rear triangle of the bike. I’d suggest a U-lock around there, and an additional cable lock through the wheels if it’s not in a safe place.
I have some issues about locking front fender it is not working well. What can I do? Do I do somerhing wrong?
Please email info@montaguebikes.com and we can send instructions on adjusting the front fender.
Hi, does anyone know where to mount a U-lock on a Paratrooper? The top bar is far too large for the typical cylinder lock mount such as the one below. The lower bar in front of the pedals, the most logical place is flattened and too wide to mount either. Although there are two screws there.
I have yet to find any mounting bracket that fits the two screws however.
Would like to ride the bike, but tired of carrying the lock around! Thanks.
http://media.kohlsimg.com/is/image/kohls/2310293?wid=500&hei=500&op_sharpen=1
How do you lock a Paratrooper?
Putting the lock through the rear triangle or the short “downtube” section just above the crank arms will be the easiest. The frame tubes there are narrow enough for most locks to go through.