Bicycle Lock Recommendations

[fossyant]

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It's not a cheap bike though. I've had it since new, and kept the components or upgraded to similar vintage gear. It cost me about £200 to build the wheels, as mint XT hubs are fetching decent prices used. It's also had a re-spray a couple of years ago, so looks rather good.

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

Well regarded/equipped 90s MTBs are defintely not cheap bikes .... not unless they are wrecked or the seller doesn't know what they've got.

 

[geocycle]

There’s always compromises with security. If you’ve no choice in leaving a bike in a high risk area on a regular basis then having one you can afford to lose makes some sense. But, I would rather the bike I ride most often be a nice one if I can manage the risk.

in terms of weight,I see the small diamond secure ones are now 1-1.5 kg. I guess there is a compromise on size and usability if you can’t get your frame very close to a structure.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning

I bought some locks in an online auction,

The cable locks are good basic ones, 12mm threaded cable that will stop a casual theft and the D locks carry a Sold Secure Diamond logo, but I haven't ever used them.

This is because I can't find anywhere to use them, anything that is thin enough to be locked to always seems to be mild steel that would last a lot less time than the lock.

Locking wheels to the frame is fine for stopping a ride away but if the bike is just chucked into a van then this is a simple problem to be solved in private, as well as advertising that this bike is worth taking.

I am not too sure about the idea of getting a very good lock and chain and leaving it somewhere, partly because it is unsightly but also it is an invitation for someone to cut it when there is no bike attached. Even the people who might challange an angle grinder on a locked bike might just assume that it is the council tidying things up.

Bye

Ian

 

[geocycle]

I leave a heavy lock in the bike shed at work where it is unlikely to be tampered with but I’d not leave one long term in public place as Ian says above. I just checked my smallest d lock and it’s an Abus mini gold secure at 20 cm and 1 kg. I’d not want anything smaller as there are times I struggle to find something it will reach around.

 

[froze]

My son doesn’t drive so cycles everywhere, and good bikes are left at home, but we never pay anymore than £30 for a pub bike. In fact his current Gary Fisher which has seen continuous daily service for a couple of years cost the princely sum of £15.

A Brompton is the answer here in Oxford because you take it everywhere, no need to leave it locked up.

In STUPID America, you can't even find a crappy beat up mess that needs a ton of work for $25! A person here has to spend a minimum of $150 to get something that doesn't need more money than it's worth dumped into it for repairs.

People have gotten lucky, including myself, and have found pretty decent bikes that needed some minor repairs inside dumpsters. Americans will throw away stuff that's perfectly fine except it might need something small to get it to work, but we don't want to be bothered with fixing it, just throw away and buy a new one. I have several bikes at the house I saved from the trash man, and they were in their time nice bikes, but they were made in the late 70's and 80's, everyone thinks parts are not available anymore so they dump them. One of the bikes I found I used for a commuter bike, instead of my good ones, for about 10 years before I retired.

So, my price example is based on what I experience here in America, if you can easily get good bikes for $25 then that would change my response to buying a cheap $25 bike and lock it with a $20 lock.

 

[Gunk]

Good morning

I bought some locks in an online auction,
View attachment 745468
The cable locks are good basic ones, 12mm threaded cable that will stop a casual theft and the D locks carry a Sold Secure Diamond logo, but I haven't ever used them.

This is because I can't find anywhere to use them, anything that is thin enough to be locked to always seems to be mild steel that would last a lot less time than the lock.

Locking wheels to the frame is fine for stopping a ride away but if the bike is just chucked into a van then this is a simple problem to be solved in private, as well as advertising that this bike is worth taking.

I am not too sure about the idea of getting a very good lock and chain and leaving it somewhere, partly because it is unsightly but also it is an invitation for someone to cut it when there is no bike attached. Even the people who might challange an angle grinder on a locked bike might just assume that it is the council tidying things up.

Bye

Ian

If I do lock up one of my better bikes for a few minutes I use a Gold rated D lock and the wheelset uses Allen key security skewers (although I have forgotten to remove the tool bag from the saddle before, so they’d be fairly easy to steal)

We are fortunate in Oxford to have the use of a secure cycle storage room in the Westgate Shopping centre, at least it has secure entry and the bikes are away from prying eyes.

 

[Alex321]

Why would they carry bolt croppers when for £10.00 more they can have a battery operated angle grinder?. You can get them off Ali express really cheap. They are not bothered about noise, they will just threaten anyone who says anything with the grinder. The main bike thieves will carry these, they wont be messing about with bolt croppers.

The vast majority of bike thieves are not that brazen. They ARE bothered about noise, and are trying to steal nikes without being noticed.

The ones carrying around angle grinders do exist, but are only a small minority.

The rating systems of those locks are worth absolutely nothing.

Well they mean your bike is covered by insurance in many cases, when using one without an appropriate rating would not be.

 

[Gwylan]

Have an OnGuard d lock. Rated diamond - they say.
Satisfies the insurance company, as long as you use it. I take a photo when I have to leave my bike in dodgy areas.
Weighs a tonne. But mine came with a mounting to attach to the bike

Keep the key slot clean and avoid the buildup of crap
They make all sorts of claims of insurance on the label. Seems the small print is there for a reason.
Also their distributor in UK seems to have gone bust.
But it is robust, claims diamond rating and satisfies the insurance company. Not my first rodeo with them.

 

[Alex321]

Of course, what we have to remember here is that there isn't much point having a lock which is signoficantly stroinger than what the bike is going to be locked to.

Most of the "sheffield" bike stands are made of material that an angle grinder will go through like a knife through butter.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Most of the "sheffield" bike stands are made of material that an angle grinder will go through like a knife through butter.

But since that’s a small minority in very few areas, not worth worrying about.

 

[Alex321]

But since that’s a small minority in very few areas, not worth worrying about.

It seems to be a large majority of public bike stands on the street (pavement), or those outside supermarkets.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It seems to be a large majority of public bike stands on the street (pavement), or those outside supermarkets.

The angle grinder carriers is a small minority

 

[Alex321]

The angle grinder carriers is a small minority

Agreed - I even stated that myself above.

I misunderstood what it was you were saying was the small minority there.

What I was trying to say is that there isn't much point having a lock which is significantly better security than what you are going to lock it to.

 

[Dadam]

Of course, what we have to remember here is that there isn't much point having a lock which is signoficantly stroinger than what the bike is going to be locked to.

Most of the "sheffield" bike stands are made of material that an angle grinder will go through like a knife through butter.

Very true, but what can you do about it apart from be picky about where you lock up? And what do you class as a good stand?
A Sheffield stand is about the best you can do in many places but yes they are mild steel tube. Lamp posts are good if your lock will go round but apart from that it's railings etc. As mentioned it's about assessing the risk. The time it's there, the exposure (how public), how fancy the bike looks, how good the lock is. Exposure cuts both ways: more scrotes will see it but too much public exposure will reduce the attractiveness