tommyg

To answer the OP, yes it is quite easy to break the wheel locks and steal a bike off the 1-Up if the thieves are familiar with the system. It's a low risk but it's there! Background: I was staying with my parents in a wealthy Bay Area suburb. Left a <$1000 old road bike and <$1000 old mountain bike on my quick rack at the top of a steep but short driveway facing and exposed to the street. Apparently thieves patrol the streets looking for easy targets and we saw them on security cameras spending about 10 minutes trying to steal the bikes. Fortunately, they did not succeed and finally got spooked off after they set off a second motion detector floodlight and presumably just because it was taking too long. However, the wheel lock took them about 15 seconds to clip with high strength bolt cutters (picture linked below). I believe the only thing that saved me is they did not know how to operate a 1-Up and release the tension on the wheel and they were operating at night without good lighting. They even loosened the quick release on my road bike wheel but did not figure out how to get either wheel free of the rack itself. Note, they tried to cut the second wheel lock but did not succeed as they made contact with the fatter head of the lock, which apparently is thick enough to at least be very difficult to cut with manual, lever-arm bolt cutters (more on this later related to the hitch lock). So, most thieves will probably be fooled by the 1-Up ratcheted wheel clamping system but the wheel lock system itself doesn't do much to experienced bike thieves. I would argue it is only a deterrent to those who are familiar with the system and might otherwise pop your bikes off the rack -- think other bikes vs real thieves. I will not be leaving my bikes on the rack again in an urban area nor will I ever leave the bike rack on the hitch without the lock that prevents access to the tightening hex----I do believe that lock is more secure than the wheel locks. Although they are the same material, there is no slack in the hitch lock and no space to squeeze bolt cutters into. Probably still possible to beak off but thieves would need a high powered tool and or a sledge hammer to break off the fat lock head AND they'd have to be very familiar with the system and have the loosening tool AND have to maneuver themselves into what is probably a somewhat difficult position between the bike rack and hitch and the ground. Seems unlikely unless they are have specialized to the point they are stealing 1-Ups regularly, although still very doable. Broken wheel lock: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DurfiBvkMZRvioNqoy0dAITHVNeZ3sJ0/view?usp=drivesdk Stay safe out there!