Make Your Bike Unusable to Thieves

Since bike thieves are constantly trying to take your precious ride, you've got to be on your toes when it comes to creative locking solutions. Just in case your giant lock gets trumped by an angle grinder or Sawzall, stay one step ahead with a locking stem like the N'Lock, which disconnects your bike's entire steering column rendering it unridable.

The locking stem is a great deterrent, unless somehow the thief brought a spare stem with him and could conceivably take the time to swap parts in the street and ride away. More likely he'll move on to the next target. This makes locking up your bike just like outrunning a bear — all you have to do is lock it better than the dude next to you.

In addition to the anti-theft capabilities, disconnecting the steering column means that you can store the bike with the handlebars parallel to the wheel, saving precious space in an apartment. While the N'Lock is the only locking stem that we could find currently available on the market, more are coming, as French company IXOW is launching their own version, the "Stemlock" in August, giving you more choices for the road.


Ethan Wolff-Mann is an editor at Supercompressor. He has never had a bike stolen. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann.