Stolen on the first day of commute

[Racing roadkill]

If someone wants your bike, they will get it. It doesn't make much difference which lock you use, there are readily available devices which defeat just about any lock, and these devices are available easily, and cheaply, if you look for them. A cheapo cable lock, will deter an opportunist thief from walking off with your bike, anything more substantial is reasonably pointless, and is merely a placebo.

 

[mjr]

What about removing the front wheel and or seat and carrying it with you?

They just nick someone else's unsecured seat and or wheel and ride off.

 

[mjr]

Battery powered angle grinder, decent cutting disc, I'd the lock cut(Gold Sold Secure) in under a minute. £70 lock gone, but we got the bike home. Super glue in the lock.

Bit more expense and noise to break a good D lock than the cutters needed to defeat a cable lock, though!

So much for Gold SS meaning it withstands many minutes of attack

 

[classic33]

Bit more expense and noise to break a good D lock than the cutters needed to defeat a cable lock, though!

So much for Gold SS meaning it withstands many minutes of attack

The Sold Secure standards are a joke. I've a Gold Sold Secure lock, suitable for a £10,000 motorbike, useless for a pedal cycle. Not even listed as suitable.

Then again why is there an approved lock(Gold), still being sold to that standard, when it was "opened" in under 17 seconds, without the key?

 

[Lonestar]

In 1985 I disturbed a thief trying to nick my bike at a railway station in London.He'd cut through one cable lock and was working on the second.Still not learning my lesson I had a two bikes nicked within the next five years of the 1985 incident.They were the last bikes I lost.I'd never trust a cable lock again.

 

[Lpoolck]

Gutted for you and your son about the theft of your bike. Keep an eye out on Gumtree/eBay etc.

Could any potential future bike not be stored in his appartment? Even with the best lock on the market leaving it out overnight is risky.

 

[MichaelW2]

All bikes weigh 30lbs. You just have to distribute the weight between bike and lock.

 

[Rooster1]

Sorry to hear this. Cable locks are no match for a cable cutter.
A D Lock is the only real way to slow up the thieving toe rags.

 

[mjr]

Sorry to hear this. Cable locks are no match for a cable cutter.
A D Lock is the only real way to slow up the thieving toe rags.

And a good D Lock too. Don't rely on the SS marking, check it for yourself. I can't find a guide, so if I remember correctly:

• See if it's on the LFGSS lists
• I'd want a shackle of at least 12mm thickness, 16mm for London
• Look at the keys of a few locks and estimate how many dip or dimple combinations it has, both size and position - probably at least six bits, preferably eight or more, and it's better if they look like the positions can vary a bit. If two of the locks have the same key pattern, I and walk away
• I don't want either an O key or the lock on the end of the bar - an I or waffle key on the side/bottom is probably better - and rolling combination locks are usually not good as primary security
• Make sure the locking bar's connection to the shackle seems deep enough and tight enough
• Make sure the locking bar connectors (the bits that withdraw when you turn the key to unlock) aren't spring-loaded
• Try to figure out how vulnerable to picking the lock is - including searching online for "LOCK-NAME picked" "LOCK-NAME defeated" and "LOCK-NAME review", plus just searching for the name on cycling forums to see if anyone says their bike was stolen while locked with it - but be slightly sceptical of forum reports, as some people goof when locking (I've even seen a veteran post a "how to lock your bike securely and quickly" picture where they'd managed to lock only their accessories and not actually secure the frame), plus be reasonable: nothing's going to withstand a determined thief with power tools
• Once you've bought it, try a few strokes with a hacksaw on the shackle and any bit of the bar that you can uncover - it should be hardened steel and so shouldn't cut - and try sliding a thin point in anywhere that seems to have space to see if it pushes anything useful open or breaks the lock (don't do it while it's securing your bike, as it might fail shut)

I might have forgotten a few checks. Does anyone have a good guide handy?

 

[classic33]

Yes but you paid for someone to cut it off, it wasnt taken by an opportunist.

I cut the lock. And not challenged when doing so.

Added the below.
The angle grinder: £12
The cutting disc: £3

Still got both.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I really do not want to carry a D lock which is heavier than the bike itself.

If the bike is always going from A-B then is it not feasible to have 2 sets of D lock(s) one for each end? I know it's extra expensive but if he bike is worth it.

 

[keithmac]

"Bike was parked in a gated underground car park in his new apartment."

Unfortunately the replacement will just be begging to get stolen if he leaves it there.

Can't he keep it in his apartment?.

 

[Milkfloat]

And a good D Lock too. Don't rely on the SS marking, check it for yourself. I can't find a guide, so if I remember correctly:

• See if it's on the LFGSS lists
• I'd want a shackle of at least 12mm thickness, 16mm for London
• Look at the keys of a few locks and estimate how many dip or dimple combinations it has, both size and position - probably at least six bits, preferably eight or more, and it's better if they look like the positions can vary a bit. If two of the locks have the same key pattern, I and walk away
• I don't want either an O key or the lock on the end of the bar - an I or waffle key on the side/bottom is probably better - and rolling combination locks are usually not good as primary security
• Make sure the locking bar's connection to the shackle seems deep enough and tight enough
• Make sure the locking bar connectors (the bits that withdraw when you turn the key to unlock) aren't spring-loaded
• Try to figure out how vulnerable to picking the lock is - including searching online for "LOCK-NAME picked" "LOCK-NAME defeated" and "LOCK-NAME review", plus just searching for the name on cycling forums to see if anyone says their bike was stolen while locked with it - but be slightly sceptical of forum reports, as some people goof when locking (I've even seen a veteran post a "how to lock your bike securely and quickly" picture where they'd managed to lock only their accessories and not actually secure the frame), plus be reasonable: nothing's going to withstand a determined thief with power tools
• Once you've bought it, try a few strokes with a hacksaw on the shackle and any bit of the bar that you can uncover - it should be hardened steel and so shouldn't cut - and try sliding a thin point in anywhere that seems to have space to see if it pushes anything useful open or breaks the lock (don't do it while it's securing your bike, as it might fail shut)

I might have forgotten a few checks. Does anyone have a good guide handy?

Exactly this. Plus one addition, learn how to lock it properly, making sure that it goes through the right part of the bike and what you are locking it to. Make sure you don't leave gaps for tools to get access. Make it awkward to access etc.

The link @mjr alludes to is: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/144109/

 

[DaveReading]

And a good D Lock too. Don't rely on the SS marking, check it for yourself. I can't find a guide, so if I remember correctly:

• See if it's on the LFGSS lists
• I'd want a shackle of at least 12mm thickness, 16mm for London
• Look at the keys of a few locks and estimate how many dip or dimple combinations it has, both size and position - probably at least six bits, preferably eight or more, and it's better if they look like the positions can vary a bit. If two of the locks have the same key pattern, I and walk away
• I don't want either an O key or the lock on the end of the bar - an I or waffle key on the side/bottom is probably better - and rolling combination locks are usually not good as primary security
• Make sure the locking bar's connection to the shackle seems deep enough and tight enough
• Make sure the locking bar connectors (the bits that withdraw when you turn the key to unlock) aren't spring-loaded
• Try to figure out how vulnerable to picking the lock is - including searching online for "LOCK-NAME picked" "LOCK-NAME defeated" and "LOCK-NAME review", plus just searching for the name on cycling forums to see if anyone says their bike was stolen while locked with it - but be slightly sceptical of forum reports, as some people goof when locking (I've even seen a veteran post a "how to lock your bike securely and quickly" picture where they'd managed to lock only their accessories and not actually secure the frame), plus be reasonable: nothing's going to withstand a determined thief with power tools
• Once you've bought it, try a few strokes with a hacksaw on the shackle and any bit of the bar that you can uncover - it should be hardened steel and so shouldn't cut - and try sliding a thin point in anywhere that seems to have space to see if it pushes anything useful open or breaks the lock (don't do it while it's securing your bike, as it might fail shut)

I might have forgotten a few checks. Does anyone have a good guide handy?

Abus claim that because the shackle on their high-end locks locates in a square receptacle in the locking bar, a thief would need to cut the shackle in two places in order to be able to release it. Can anyone vouch for this ?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Abus claim that because the shackle on their high-end locks locates in a square receptacle in the locking bar, a thief would need to cut the shackle in two places in order to be able to release it. Can anyone vouch for this ?

Which bit? that Abus claim they have square bits, that they do have square bits, if they have square bits the lock will have to be cut twice or all three?