thanks for that Sara....
Should I get a better lock (or just get over myself)?
- Thread starter Kumquat
- Start date
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Not really practical to have it in my room, as I'm on the 3rd floor with no lift, plus my room is tiny and most the the space is taken up with other sports stuff. For next year, I've managed to negotiate the biggest room in our shared house, which also happens to be on the ground floor.
vickster
Legendary Member
What city are you in? If I were leaving a bike anywhere in a public area unattended overnight, I'd want the best D lock and a motorbike chain, but you're looking at £100-150 for the two. That said, they'll be worth their cost if they stop your £250 bike getting nicked, they should last a lifetime in a dry environment
Southampton... TBH I'm ok with leaving it overnight, the shed is locked, only a limited number of people have access, and of course my bike is locked up to a rack anyway. I was more worried about leaving it in the city centre for an hour or so during the day if I want to go shopping at the weekend or whatever.
I have just ordered a gold solid secure D lock.
Went with the Onguard Brute in the end, the main negative reviews were people saying it was heavy, but I can deal with that. It seems to have done pretty well in testing, not quite up there with the abus granite or krytonite fahgettaboudit, but perfectly respectable and probably the best you can get for the price. As people have said, pretty much nothing will stop a professional thief, this is to stop it getting nicked from outside tescos as it would need an angle grinder.
Cable already sorted, and bike already marked + registered
anotherDave
Regular
It's like you said earlier, there are plenty of people with nice bikes, secured with rubbish locks. You just need your bike to not be the easiest option in sight.
S.Giles
Guest
I don't have an expensive lock (or bike, for that matter) but maximise my lock's effectiveness by threading the chain through the frame and front wheel and locking the padlock shackle around a spoke. A thief would have to cut through the security chain in two places to make the bike ridable, and even then would be left with a padlock hanging off one of the spokes unless he cut through the padlock shackle itself. I don't know how viable it would be to ride a bike with a padlock locked onto one of the spokes (I've never tried it), nor how difficult it is to cut through a £5 padlock shackle. I suppose the thief could cut through the security chain and spoke to get the padlock off, but would probably prefer to steal a bike he doesn't have to damage to get hold of.
As mentioned above, the bike doesn't have to be impossible to steal to keep it safe, just slightly more difficult to steal than the next bike along (which reminds me of the notion that an antelope doesn't have to run faster than a cheetah to stay alive, just slightly faster than the slowest antelope in the herd!). This is only true if all other things are equal, of course. If the bike in question is some £2000 piece of confection, then all bets are off.
As mentioned above, the bike doesn't have to be impossible to steal to keep it safe, just slightly more difficult to steal than the next bike along (which reminds me of the notion that an antelope doesn't have to run faster than a cheetah to stay alive, just slightly faster than the slowest antelope in the herd!). This is only true if all other things are equal, of course. If the bike in question is some £2000 piece of confection, then all bets are off.
Hello everyone, I thought I'd post an update/review for future reference.
I bought the Onguard Brute which arrived on monday. I went for the standard length, as I sometimes have to lock up to random objects when out and about and thought that might not be possible with the mini. Also exists in a "long" but I didn't want it to be too huge. The standard suits me fine, and its small enough to easily "fill" the lock, making it harder for anyone to lever it open.
Yes, it's pretty heavy, but not as bad as I was fearing. I nearly always take a rucksack with me anyway so I just shove it in there (it does come with a frame mount, but I haven't put it on yet). Even with shopping etc, I'm not going to win any speed prize but its comfortable enough.
The locking mechanism (so far) is smooth and easy to use, although at first I didn't realise that you have to physically lock it with the key, not just shove the two parts together as you do on my other locks (don't worry, I didn't leave it like that!)
The main thing is the extra peace of mind, it's nice to be able to leave it somewhere and not have to rush/constantly check it's still there
I bought the Onguard Brute which arrived on monday. I went for the standard length, as I sometimes have to lock up to random objects when out and about and thought that might not be possible with the mini. Also exists in a "long" but I didn't want it to be too huge. The standard suits me fine, and its small enough to easily "fill" the lock, making it harder for anyone to lever it open.
Yes, it's pretty heavy, but not as bad as I was fearing. I nearly always take a rucksack with me anyway so I just shove it in there (it does come with a frame mount, but I haven't put it on yet). Even with shopping etc, I'm not going to win any speed prize but its comfortable enough.
The locking mechanism (so far) is smooth and easy to use, although at first I didn't realise that you have to physically lock it with the key, not just shove the two parts together as you do on my other locks (don't worry, I didn't leave it like that!)
The main thing is the extra peace of mind, it's nice to be able to leave it somewhere and not have to rush/constantly check it's still there
jefmcg
Guru
This a feature, not a bug. It's to reduce the likelihood of you locking up the bike when you don't have the key.
Yeah, I figured, I just wasn't expecting it as my other locks don't do that
