Locking Bikes @ MSU

Proper Locking of Bikes @ MSU

The photos below should give you some helpful visual clues as to how to properly lock your bike on campus to avoid theft and the DPPS impound lot!

Key Points to Prevent Theft:

If you have a nice bike worth stealing...

1. Get an MSU DPPS permit: you can easily apply for one online, they're free & it'll help police ID it in the event it gets stolen.
2. Whenever possible (especially overnight) keep it locked in your room or bike storage room.
3. Use a strong U-lock to lock your rear wheel and frame to the rack and cable to secure your front wheel. The MSU Bikes Service Center carries a variety of these locks as do any other local bike or sporting goods stores.
4. Replace quick releases on your wheels and seat w/ security nuts (for wheels - for seatpost) or, for a cheaper option, secure with automotive hose clamps to make them harder to easily remove. The MSU Bikes Service Center carries a variety of all these.

Here are more tips to locking your bike correctly courtesy of Kryptonite. Here's another great resource for bike locking tips/ ideas (PDF, see pg. 2), courtesy of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition.

Photos by Tim Potter
7/8/2005
bikes@msu.edu

Return to the MSU Bikes home....

Feel free to reuse these photos anywhere or link to this page. Please send us an email if you though for our reference.

The orange DPPS impound notices blossom in May like tulips. You have a week or so to either move your bike to a rack, fix it, get a permit for it, or lose it.	Also, beware that if your bike doesn't have a permit during the impounding process that even if it didn't have a notice it has a high chance of getting picked up (there's no way for the DPPS staff to know if you didn't just remove the notice to avoid impounding).
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Some locks on campus are quite creative, but not very effective. Stop by the MSU Bikes Service Center or your local bike shop to find a lock that will really work to prevent theft.	Typical bike rack scene in May. These old racks are being replaced around campus by the black horseshoe loops which make it easier to lock your bike and keep them upright.
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	It's a jungle out there; or is it art? (the photographer did NOT alter these bikes, he swears!)
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Someone could get an NEA grant for this!	Typical DPPS permit on one of the Bike Project's 1st year yellow bikes. This IS the correct location for the permit by the way; NOT on the seatpost or some other place on the frame.
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