Good Enough Bike Lock

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Location
London
Ride a recumbent. No one can ride away on them. No need to lock up.
I know someone not a million miles from this place who had one nicked in London.
Reckons the police did it.
Strange story.

Whoever did it it went in the back of a van I think. Don't many pro crooks use vans? If so, recumbent no protection and they are often of course very valuable.
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I know someone not a million miles from this place who had one nicked in London.
Reckons the police did it.
Strange story.

Whoever did it it went in the back of a van I think. Don't many pro crooks use vans? If so, recumbent no protection and they are often of course very valuable.

Not really.Not the market for them
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
Not really.Not the market for them

Recumbents still have mechanical parts that can be harvested, and given they tend to be ridden by enthusiasts and not just casual mainstream cyclists, they will often be built up using high end quality parts. A penny farthing is probably pretty safe, but I wouldn't get too blase about leaving a recumbent in dodgy locations.
 

Kevin Levites

New Member
I use a few different kinds of locks at the same time.

I use a boron steel Kryptonite 'U' lock, and a vinyl-covered chain coupled with a Medeco padlock.

I also will sometimes take the front wheel with me (via the quick release lever lock) when I go into work.
 
Unfortunately there is very little that will overcome a lithium powered angle grinder that you would be willing to carry for any length of time on a bike due to weight, and on a crowded street virtually nobody will pay attention to even the most obvious theft.

My bike is commuting and leisure, and I will only commute to friends houses or work where I have a very secure hidden parking area under cameras (where I still lock it).

My cycle insurance requires that a bike over £1500 is secured with a minimum of a "Sold Secure Gold" lock, so I got a midrange D Lock that I secure it at work. If it is cut away, I get full payout (or a brand new bike in the first year like for like). Worth checking if you have insurance that they demand a certain level of lock and you have proof of it, otherwise they may not fully pay out if stolen.

I would never, ever leave it in a town centre even with full security. If I were to start cycling to town regularly, it would be the cheapest Halfords Special mountain bike I could buy knowing that it will probably go missing...
 

mikeIow

Guru
Location
Leicester
Beware the ‘not good enough’ lock. Here’s a recent tg3ft in York showing how scarily quickly a cheap one can be defeated.

https://yorkmix.com/caught-on-camer...Cgf7_tG6Ppdx9iJ7B3STIG13UoZ7CIrcEgbjHKmif24VI
A good argument for using proper bike parks (Leicester has one), or using my sub-£15 alarm zip-tied under the seat (still haven't found the remote plipper - may have to buy another, dammit :wacko:).
I'm sure he could still nick it, but the noise it would make WOULD draw attention to him.
 

froze

Über Member
I don't live in the UK so not sure what is available there. But do know this, there isn't a lock made that a battery powered angle grinder can't make short work of...well, there is a new D lock on the market that an angle grinder can't cut, but it's freaking HUGE! Not something you would want to carry around. Google: Altorlocks SAF lock.

However, most bike thieves do not carry angle grinders, a pro might, but they're looking for specific bikes with expensive components, if you have something like that then best not to park it someplace where it can be stolen. If you have an average type of bike and want to make sure when you get off work, or out of class, or out of a store, that the bike is there when you come out, and don't want a great deal of heft to carry around while at the same time not costing as much as the bike you ride, then try this.

Get a Master Lock model 1175RS combination lock, it has a hardened Boron Alloy 1 1/6th inch long shackle that gave a workout to angle grinders, but they did manage to cut it, it just took a while longer than other shackles they tested, and a large bolt cutter could not cut it.

Next get a Abus Security Chain 6KS. The 6KS is the smallest diameter (1/4 inch thick) chain link they make which is good for helping with keeping the weight down, also the links are square not round which is more difficult to get a bite on, but it's still quite stout of a chain, enough so that a large bolt cutter could not cut it. Abus does have thicker chains, the 6KS is their thinnest chain, but with thick links comes more weight which will make it bad to carry around. You can also have the chain custom cut for the size you think you need, they come either 2', 6' or 10', but you can get a custom length of any size, I got a 5' chain, and almost wish I got a 4' instead, but at least I can use the length to wrap it around almost anything.

The weight total of those two items is around 5 pounds for a 5 foot chain including the lock, but the cost is only about $50 for the chain, and the lock is about $30, so for $80 you can have an extremely tough locking system, and with a combo that you set the combination you don't have to worry about losing a key.

Just a suggestion obviously. There are a lot of different bike locks on the market, some cost a lot of money, but a lot of them promise the moon but do not fullfill like the Hiplok Anker that a angle grinder cut through as fast as it did with the system I mentioned except it cost about $180 more! And that Hiplock was the strongest of all the designated bike locks they tested so it got a Gold Secure rating. The Hiplock can be worn around your waist like a belt, I suppose you could do that with any chain lock, I simply put mine in my backpack. LiteLok is another that got a Gold rating, but a guy on YouTube cut through that easily, see:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-On0DGcDlc


All the locks I looked at with a high rating weighed at least 5 pounds, most were over that, and cost at least $120, but none offered the flexibility that a chain allows you, a chain can be wrapped around and though anything, D locks...no, you're limited to how to lock up the bike and to what you can lock it up too. And all the bike specific locks didn't take much effort to defeat them, the strongest one was the Hiplok Anker which put up as much fight as the pad lock and chain I got.
 
I don't live in the UK so not sure what is available there. But do know this, there isn't a lock made that a battery powered angle grinder can't make short work of...well, there is a new D lock on the market that an angle grinder can't cut, but it's freaking HUGE! Not something you would want to carry around. Google: Altorlocks SAF lock.

However, most bike thieves do not carry angle grinders, a pro might, but they're looking for specific bikes with expensive components, if you have something like that then best not to park it someplace where it can be stolen. If you have an average type of bike and want to make sure when you get off work, or out of class, or out of a store, that the bike is there when you come out, and don't want a great deal of heft to carry around while at the same time not costing as much as the bike you ride, then try this.

Get a Master Lock model 1175RS combination lock, it has a hardened Boron Alloy 1 1/6th inch long shackle that gave a workout to angle grinders, but they did manage to cut it, it just took a while longer than other shackles they tested, and a large bolt cutter could not cut it.

Next get a Abus Security Chain 6KS. The 6KS is the smallest diameter (1/4 inch thick) chain link they make which is good for helping with keeping the weight down, also the links are square not round which is more difficult to get a bite on, but it's still quite stout of a chain, enough so that a large bolt cutter could not cut it. Abus does have thicker chains, the 6KS is their thinnest chain, but with thick links comes more weight which will make it bad to carry around. You can also have the chain custom cut for the size you think you need, they come either 2', 6' or 10', but you can get a custom length of any size, I got a 5' chain, and almost wish I got a 4' instead, but at least I can use the length to wrap it around almost anything.

The weight total of those two items is around 5 pounds for a 5 foot chain including the lock, but the cost is only about $50 for the chain, and the lock is about $30, so for $80 you can have an extremely tough locking system, and with a combo that you set the combination you don't have to worry about losing a key.

Just a suggestion obviously. There are a lot of different bike locks on the market, some cost a lot of money, but a lot of them promise the moon but do not fullfill like the Hiplok Anker that a angle grinder cut through as fast as it did with the system I mentioned except it cost about $180 more! And that Hiplock was the strongest of all the designated bike locks they tested so it got a Gold Secure rating. The Hiplock can be worn around your waist like a belt, I suppose you could do that with any chain lock, I simply put mine in my backpack. LiteLok is another that got a Gold rating, but a guy on YouTube cut through that easily, see:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-On0DGcDlc


All the locks I looked at with a high rating weighed at least 5 pounds, most were over that, and cost at least $120, but none offered the flexibility that a chain allows you, a chain can be wrapped around and though anything, D locks...no, you're limited to how to lock up the bike and to what you can lock it up too. And all the bike specific locks didn't take much effort to defeat them, the strongest one was the Hiplok Anker which put up as much fight as the pad lock and chain I got.

The UK has long passed that unfortunately. These are more or less the basic approaches some use here.

1. Higher end bikes that is used for rides with small cafe cable locks kept in the back pocket. You park you bike outside the cafe and it gives you time to react if someone attempts to move it.
2. Commuter and Errand bikes where basic heavy locks are used as you park outside malls and markets or town centre while you do your errands peacefully. The bikes are not worth the effort for someone invests in an angle grinder and wants to draw an income stealing and selling bikes. The heavy locks just deters opportunists.
3. People with expensive bikes pick a cafe or spot where the bike is in direct line of sight placed next to them and therefore do not need locks.

The debate about which type of metal, how long to cut it thru etc are long gone and now moot here. Many have 2 to 3 bikes for various purposes. I have an errand bike that has seen better days but well maintained with a basic d-locks and cable. Not Boron, NASA steel or with graphene compounds.

My lightweight cable locks that in my jersey back pocket for the long rides with my good bikes.

1641713118525.png
 
Top Bottom