Lesson in Locks: Keeping our Pedegos Safe
My husband and I have been a proud Pedego owners for about two months now, and we have learned a lot about the responsibilities of owning a high-end eBike. When you spend $3,000+ on a bike, you want to make sure to take care of your investment. Because we planned to travel with our Pedegos, it was important for us to be able to lock our bikes to our vehicle bike rack and walk away from them confident they would still be there when we returned. And of course, we also needed to lock up the bikes when we were out and about. Finding locks that fit our needs, however, was a bit of a challenge.
Pedego does sell its own folding lock that can be mounted onto their ebikes. And our Pedego dealer in Delta, BC Murray Pratt did ask if we needed locks. But I admit to suffering a little sticker shock when we bought our ebikes, so spending more was not something I was prepared to do at the time. We also needed to test our ebikes on our rack to determine exactly what we needed. So, we passed on the Pedego locks.
We needed locks that were long enough they could attach to our bike rack, so we thought this eliminated all u-locks. We also needed locks that we could carry with us so they had to come with a mounting device that would fit on our bikes. But weight was also a consideration, we did not want to add any unnecessary extra pounds to our load.
My husband, who is far more patient than me, spent hours searching the internet and reading reviews about different locks. We eventually settled on a lock similar to the Pedego lock. It is a folding lock described as, “Heavy Duty Alloy Steel, with Strong Anti-Theft Security.” It is more compact than the Pedego lock and was long enough for our needs. It was also less than third of the price of the Pedego lock (sorry Pedego, but budgets always factor into decision-making).
However, this blog is entitled “Lessons in Locks” and we definitely learned a few lessons. When the lock arrived it appeared okay, but right way we questioned how secure it really was. It looked like it would be very easy to cut with bolt cutters. But we loved the compact size, and the small links made it easy to manipulate around our bikes and rack. We decided the two we purchased would do the trick.
We loaded our bikes onto our camper van and headed to Tofino, BC, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The journey from our home takes about 8 hours, including an almost two hour ferry ride, and driving some very steep, winding, and narrow roads. We strapped the bikes down to our rack, locked them in place, covered them with a new travel cover, secured that with bungee cords, and hit the road.
It is about an hour drive from our home to the ferry terminal. Forty-five minutes into the drive I turned to my husband and asked, “you remembered the keys to the bike locks, right?” We had separated our campervan keys from our car keys and left the car keys at home. In doing so, we both forgot our bike lock keys were attached the car key portion of our key rings. We had both forgotten our bike lock keys at home. There was no way for us to turn around at that point, we would have missed our ferry reservation. We were left with no choice but to break our brand new locks.
Our first stop off the ferry was to Canadian Tire to purchase bolt cutters. $75 cost. Because we were going to break our locks, we also needed to purchase new locks. Between purchasing the first locks and leaving for our trip, we had learned that bike locks come with security ratings. They are rated on a scale of one to ten, one being almost no security, and ten considered the ultimate security. It turns out the locks we purchased only had security rate of five. If you want your lock to have a security rating of 10, you must purchase a u-lock. No other style of lock can provide this level of security. The problem with u-locks is that they have limited reach and no flexibility. Most heavy chain link or steel folding link locks fall between 5 and 7 security rating. Ultimately, we chose one u-lock with a security rating of 8, and one covered chain link lock with a security rating of 7. Cost of two new locks, $110.
When we arrived at our campsite, we went to work to set our bikes free. My husband and I were stunned how easily the bolt cutters sliced through the folding locks. One quick snip and our locks were garbage and bikes free. L
Leaving our keys behind was frustrating and not the best way to start our vacation but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. The first locks we bought were clearly not secure enough for our expensive new Pedegos. Our forgetfulness might have saved us a future theft. So, although frustrating, and a little expensive, we learned a lot and feel better about our new locks.
Take away for readers is to make sure you check the security rating on your bike lock. I would not recommend purchasing anything lower than a 7 rating. And make sure you have a bike lock key on all your key chains and your key with you before you lock your bike!
FYI, the only lock we could find with a security rating of ten is the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit. It weighs 4.5 lbs, but the only thing that can cut through it is an angle grinder.
Stay tuned for my next blog about how our Pedegos "Fanny and Duke" saved the day! Until then, ride on!
*Please note I received a small incentive for agreeing to blog about our Pedego bikes. However, the opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way by Pedego, its resellers, or representatives.
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