Bike security recommendations

[renaldo]

Does anyone have any recommendations for good bike locks? Mainly for home garage use and occassional use in town when shopping etc for short periods of time.
Having a quick look online I was surprised how expensive some are now, you can pay over £200 for some Abus D-locks. Are they worth the extra money? And are brand names like Abus and Kryptonite worth paying a premium for over say Halfords own name brand, or does it depend on a lock for lock basis?

 

[ishaw]

Re:

I always go for gold secure locks. All manner of brands as you've mentioned. I'd not pay £200 for a lock though. I lock all my bikes up in the garage with gold secure locks, just for extra peace of mind. Never lock them up anywhere else, never leave my sight unless in the garage.

 

[Tootyred]

Re:

Ive always favoured locks and chains over d locks. You can force a d look with a small Jack and they can be quite easy to smash with a big hammer. I also find it easier to chain bikes to something than try to get a d lock round.

Saying that a top quality d lock will be fantastic, but for 1/3 of the money you can get a cracking lock and chain.

Anything to slow the buggers down and corner them in the barn whist I get the gun and a spade.

 

[reindeer]

Re:

I would also consider their weight. Top end locks are safe but heavy, D-locks are lighter than chains and 2 locks are better than one.

On longer rides I always have a light (600 g) folding lock with me, for short stops at the cafe, etc. Plus a D-lock (1.6 Kg) in the city.

Even mid range Kryptonite get good reviews in consumer reports.

 

[d8mok]

All locks can be cut with the right gear but it’s about slowing them down or preventing them from even trying.

If the bike is only worth a few hundred I’d go with a cheap lock. If it’s 1k the slightly better and so on

For home security Almax 17/19mm chains with squire locks and ground anchors is the best bet.

 

[Tootyred]

Yes. I second the anchor point idea. I have a row of wall anchors on the brickwork in the garage to chain stuff to. Make sure they have covered bolts and security screws so that you cant undo them or get a grinder to the bolts.

I work on the " slow em down, make em make a noise " theory.

Sadly if determined any lock can be breached.

The only good advice I got from the local plod was keep locks off the floor. They are much easier to break with a hard surface behind them.

 

[bigzeke]

Re:

I was always a proponent of the two lock method, a combination cable lock and a d-lock have always worked for me. They don't have to be super expensive when there are two locking devices on your bike. It makes the potential thief work harder to defeat two separate locks.

 

[bikesandwatches]

Re: Re:

Ive always favoured locks and chains over d locks. You can force a d look with a small Jack and they can be quite easy to smash with a big hammer. I also find it easier to chain bikes to something than try to get a d lock round.

Also, you often see warped frames because lowlifes try to break dlocks using the frame as a lever :facepalm: Can't do that with a chain.

 

[greencat]

Crap looking bikes & mahoosive Abus cycle lock has worked so far for me. It has managed to resist a couple of angle grinder attempts by low lifes (didn't get past the outer plastic coating ).

I make a point of never owning a bike worth more than £500 - and try to make sure they look like they are worth less than that.

Most locks can be overcome by a determined thief within a minute or so. The trick is make it look like it's not worth the bother from an effort/reward perspective.

I would never put a combination lock on anything you want to keep - inc the lock. Most are very quick to break, require no special tools and can even be broken with your back turned to the lock.

 

[renaldo]

Re:

Well I've bought a Kryptonite New York D lock, chain and anchor. They seemed a good balance between security, weight and price. I only keep a cheap-ish shopping bike in my garage, and I very rarely leave any bike locked outside for more than 15 mins and most of the time that is broad daylight in busy areas, so hopefully that will be more than enough.
Looking into this it seems the weak point is often the lock itself, and that if someone knows what they are doing just about anything can be picked pretty quickly.