Good Enough Bike Lock

[slowmotion]

I don't think any lock, however expensive, will stop a thief who wants your bike. They usually carry the tools that will defeat the lock on their chosen prey. A battery angle grinder with a thin cutting blade will defeat anything and they don't care if passers-by look suspicious. If they look nasty enough, nobody's going to stop them.
I put my bikes on my home contents insurance. It doesn't cost very much, certainly a lot, lot less than the bike-specific policies. They may stipulate a certain level of Sold Secure lock rating but, more often than not, they don't. Also, they tend not to have all sorts of weasel clauses for not paying out if it's at a railway station, etc etc.
I have a Gold rated lock that's eleven years old, cost £18 at the time. I wouldn't dream of leaving my bike for more than 45 minutes on a busy street and always expect that it won't be there on my return, but the insurance makes it less stressful.

I have no idea if they will pay out if it gets nicked but it goes a long way to stop worrying about it.

 

[simongt]

D locks...no, you're limited to how to lock up the bike

Indeed. I went back to a D lock recently, but after the faff of having to cope with different height & thickness bike stands, have reverted back to my motor bike standard chain lock. Heavy, but decent quality.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

When I lock my ebike up outside for more than a minute or two I have at least 2 locks on it - one of which is a Sold Secure Gold
the other is a decent combination lock that I always have on me when riding - just in case I want to stop

my basic concept is to make it as inconvenient for a thief to take it
on the High Street most other bikes are either not locked at all or are locked up with cheap cable locks that could be cut far easier than either of mine
So if I make mine inconvenient they will move onto the pretend MTB leaning against a tree 20 yards away

And - whenever possible - I take the battery off the ebike as well - makes them difficult to sell as a bike because you would need to spend about £500 to get it to work properly - just not worth it for a thief or fence

I have also checked with the home insurance - they say they are happy as long as it is locked. AT home as long as it is locked and in an enclosed shed that is fine.
Whether or not they would say that if both bikes got knicked from the shed is another metter - which is why I have pictures of how they are normally locked up - steel bar bolted to the shed and ground anchor and all that.

 

[Drago]

But do know this, there isn't a lock made that a battery powered angle grinder can't make short work of..

Not really true. 20 minutes, 5 cuttings discs, a vice and full 360° access, and a mains grinder...

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GMg6zVdYI0g


Hardly short work!

And then there is the Altor SAF range, took 2 x batteries and 4 cutting discs and near on half an hour to breach. Again, hardly short work.

And there are plenty of others similarly robust.

Even the fattest copper should have little difficulty wobbling up tonthe scene of a crjme in orogress within 20 minutes.

 

[Drago]

If they look nasty enough, nobody's going to stop them.

If I came across Johnny Sheetbag having a go a someones bike and they threatened me id give them a lesson in what nasty really looks like. I used to slap their likes for a living armed with nothing more than a useless small stick and an assertive voice, and some little turd with a hoodie and an attitude is going to get a shock if they think they can intimidate me.

 

[froze]

And stay well clear of “ The Lock Picking Lawyer “ 😁

Did you notice he doesn't show his face?! Hmmmm!

He also had this new device that what like a hammer gun, but focused the energy into a very small area, and he bunched a hole into the side of an expensive very high security pad lock which blew the tumbler guts right out of the lock, and this thing is battery powered. No lock is safe from that thing, and it only takes a tenth of a second instead of grinding away for 30 seconds or so making a lot noise, just pop and the lock is dead. It's great they come out with stuff like that to make us all feel so secure about our locks.

Ramset Cobra+ Lock Breaker​

 

[froze]

Not really true. 20 minutes, 5 cuttings discs, a vice and full 360° access, and a mains grinder...

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GMg6zVdYI0g


Hardly short work!

And then there is the Altor SAF range, took 2 x batteries and 4 cutting discs and near on half an hour to breach. Again, hardly short work.

And there are plenty of others similarly robust.

Even the fattest copper should have little difficulty wobbling up tonthe scene of a crjme in orogress within 20 minutes.

This is a brand new lock, still in the kickstart program, so once it get on the market there will be those that will use all sorts of stuff to try to defeat it and they will eventually find something, and I have a feeling that something could be the Ramset Cobra + Lock Breaker.

 

[classic33]

Even gold rated locks are no guarantee, beaten with a spoon!
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/litelok-and-security-marking-questions.197969/page-4#post-4833601

 

[rogerzilla]

Keeping a good layer of grime on a bike is a useful deterrent!

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Best defence is a good insurance policy

and you get a new bike!!!


OK - you do end up having to get the bus home

 

[TheDoctor]

Ride a recumbent. No one can ride away on them. No need to lock up.

I probably could...