Hi Folks,
I am in need of rapid transport across campus and I have two unicycles between which to choose. An inexpensive sun 24 and my coker.
What are your thoughts on locking unicycles up? It will be about an hour three times each week. Do they get vandalized? I am really worried about someone twisting the Coker rim just because it is different AND conspicuous.
Does this happen or am I just being paranoid?
thanks!
Blake
As long as you use common sense you should be fine. Lock them with other bikes is good because it will be mostly bikers that will go through there, or lock it onto high places where people can see it easily enough without having to pick it up or anything.
I have locked both my 29er and my trials unis in some rather dangerous places and nothing has happened to them.
In a planter at the corner of Rideau street by the Rideau center in Ottawa during the Christmas rush on a friday right infront of a Chapters (this area is crazy busy during normal time so then it was insane)
onto bike racks infront of my high school. not only are these racks light enough to lift off the ground, move, and flip. my wheel also doesnt fit in them and they are often precariously stacked ontop of one another.
Both times it has left them unscathed and both times they were left in there for at least an hour.
I ride my uni to class everyday and keep it locked up. So far nothing bad has happened to any of the ones I’ve locked up, and our campus is by no means bike vandal free. It’s probably because they’re only outside for hour-long stints at a time and only in the daytime.
One thing I’ve realized is that with the style of bike racks my school has in many places my 29er doesn’t quite fit because it’s too big. This means I have to lock it up sideways, thus having my unicycle paradoxically taking up the space of two bicycles.
i was once at a summer camp at a university and i locked my unicycle up for 6 hour a day. nothing happined to it while it was locked up but the seat got trashed (more so) once people found out it was mine and there was a line on 20 kids all wanting to try it. 
LOL
That happened to my unicycle seat when I took my uni to school years ago!
I have never had any objections to bringing the uni inside with me–stores, classrooms, etc. No problem.
I used to bring my bicycle into classrooms too, and though a prof mentioned it once, there were no objections.
That’s the safest bet.
Billy
I’ve locked my coker to bike racks loads of times, never had any damage done to it. I try to use bike racks that are in a “safe” place and are used by cyclists, but I’d rather lock it to anything ( street lanp, fence, drain pipe etc) than leave it unlocked in a dodgy area.
If I’m using a long chain I put it through a pedal as well and wrap round the frame so the frame can’t be lifted and dropped. If I’m only carrying a short chain I just go for through the wheel and round the frame. I have a short Cable with intergrated lock that I carry wound round the seat post which is the chain I use most often for unicycles.
Sarah
The only uni I’ve had stolen WAS chained up, but it was chained to a nice MTB and nothing else. I think the gits wanted the bike and not the 4 cokers.
I ride my 29er to school and leave it in the bike stand cos it’s far too big to fit into a school locker.
I have a friend who told the head of music that he was learning an instrument so that he could get a locker big enough for his unicycle
I keep my fencing gear in my cello locker at school!
I think I will take my Sun until people get used to seeing a unicycle around. Sarah’s story about the 4 cokers was heartwrenching. 
Thanks folks, for all your input!
no issue here with my coker in the bike rack.
even throughout the winter when my coker was the only thing at the bike rack.
I dont think it is really vandalism but the thing that got me fuming was they let the AIR OUT OF THE TIRE. I hate high school kids(except for my cool self)
Wow, you guys are gutsy. I haven’t locked my bike in a rack for about the past 10 or 15 years, and I wouldn’t lock my unicycle in a rack, either. If I can’t take it inside with me wherever I’m going, I don’t ride it.
Of course, part of the reason for that is that my road bike is a Trek 5200, which is probably worth more than my car at this point.
Rich
Who wants a unicycle? I have heard of a few incidents of unicycles being nicked in the UK but can’t remember if they were locked up at the time. I bring a cable lock with me on long rides sometimes that will lock up six Cokers. I’ve left mine outside unattended for 90 minutes in plain sight before. Neighborhoods vary, though. My concern would be vandalism more than theft. As Billy mentioned before, I take 24" unicycles into stores with me with no objections. The wheel never touches the ground so the merchants don’t seem to mind.
This would actually be a good RSU post rather than Just Conversation. This is a unicycling issue that probably affects many people differently.
Harper brings up a good point - what would be the point of stealing it? It’s not like they could use it, or probably sell it for much, unless they got lucky with their client.
Oh yeah! I actually put my 29" in the shopping cart at the supermarket. No one ever says anything. Of course, they have been my fans since I used their parking lot to practice for UNICON in Seattle. Heck, I was representing the USA against all those other smaller nations!
Harper, this is usually said much more forcefully and rudely, like: POST THIS SOMEWHERE ELSE, [insert rude name here]. I know you don’t have it in you to do that, which I like about you.
Billy
hmm… i guess i would trash the seat too if i didn’t know any better…they look so funny to a non-uni rider:D
But anyway you should be fine, at school last year people would somtime do somthing to ur bike like let the air out of your tire or crap like that but nuthing serious, although some bikes did get stolen:o
Since when have people needed a ‘point’ to do something other than they thought it would be a laugh or it seemed a good idea at the time? Look at us.
Cathy
My first real unicycle was stolen off my front lawn. 
Maybe that’s why I am paranoid.
he brings up another good point, if someone did steal it, and sell it on ebay most likely, there are some people on here that check ebay alot for unicycles, and if yours was stolen we would easily catch the guy and get you your uni back, so no worrys
I leave mine in the software engineering lab at school… Actually, 4 of us tend to do that 
But when I have taken it to class, there have been no problems. 24" muni, not a coker though…