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Comment by jlg23 | Hacker News Reader

How does this lock to actual bike stands found in a lot of cities (at least in Europe)? Most provide a frame for a tire but no central metal bar this bike could be locked to. Examples:

* http://c.tutti.ch/big/4724274679.jpg

* https://res.cloudinary.com/bohmeyer-schuster-gmbh/image/uplo...

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These kind of bike stands should be retired anyway because they offer little protection. It's trivial to take a wheel off the bike, don't even need tools because most bikes use quick release levers.

I agree about its design, but it's not necessarily designed to lock the bike to.

It's pretty standard in some European countries to simply immobilise the bike by locking its rear wheel to the frame (some bikes come with a simple integral lock for this purpose).

This absolutely wouldn't prevent many modes of theft - but in some places, bike theft isn't such a major industry as it seems to be (anecdotally) in some cities (and in the US).

Here in the Netherlands only bikes that are used for leisure 'racing' have quick release levers. But these have no locks at all, because you only use them on biking trips, not to go into the city, go to work, school, or visit some friends. I have never owned a bike with quick release levers and I have been riding a bike more than fifthy years.

That's why you never attach the chain to the wheel, but to the triangle made from the frame.

Ah, my old enemy: this useless bike stand that damages your front wheel, it's hard to lock the frame (not just the wheel) to it, and even if you do it correctly the thieves just take the whole thing including the locked bikes.

Is there any secure way to lock to those?

Sure, you ignore them and lock on a nearby pole. Those bike racks are useful if you're sitting outside drinking a coffee and just don't want to keep your bike upright, but completely useless if you need to leave your bike unattended.

Luckily cities (at least where I live) are coming to their senses and very slowly starting to provide decent infrastructure.

Only if you have a long lock. You'll sometimes see a lone front wheel locked to the stand, where someone ran with the frame. Most people don't lock their bike to the stand, they just use a frame lock.

I usually carry a big lock to be able to get all the way to the frame. But this design is definitely my least favourite one.

Rear wheel in, lock through wheel and frame.

I avoid those stands even in a totally safe environment after watching a friend with heavy panniers warp his front wheel in them.

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