What locks do you use, chain or D.

joe_b does anyone have any suggestions for bike lights.
i want those rubber knog things but need bright ones for being on unlit roads.
the bigger version is good but the bastard things run out and you cant replace the
batteries??? i want something quite minimal

Dinotte from http://www.on-one.co.uk. Start saving.

if thats what you think i hope you havent got a great bike because it will get nicked. those newyork noose/abus chains are nothing like normal chains u buy at a hardware shop, thats why they cost so much

Absolute Rubbish.....if you believe that then you're a muppet who deserves to be ripped off....do you think that cyclists are the only people who require high security, super-strong chains or locks? I'm not talking about the stuff you might use to make a garden fence you know....exactly the same chain AND super tough padlocks can be bought at SOME hardware stores and builders merchants for about a third the price.....put a fabric sleeve on it and recognized name and Brand-obsessesd "you get what you pair for" mantra chanting idiots will pay through the nose.....(cyclists)

I was a courier for six and half years and never had a bike nicked, so that's what I'm basing my opinion on....

You only think that major name bike locks are stronger because they've told you so in their marketing spiel (marketing is a huge part of the cost of your lock)....big whoopy flip....loads of people have had bikes nicked whilst locked with Abus, Krypto etc...

Quite a few people had a go at my bike (come out of the pub to obvious damaged rims, scratched frame, etc) but they never managed to release it....my chain and lock combo cost £7.50 eight years ago and It's still working fine....sorry if that doesn't fit in with your perception.

winston [quote]if thats what you think i hope you havent got a great bike because it will get nicked. those newyork noose/abus chains are nothing like normal chains u buy at a hardware shop, thats why they cost so much

Absolute Rubbish.....if you believe that then you're a muppet who deserves to be ripped off....do you think that cyclists are the only people who require high security, super-strong chains or locks? I'm not talking about the stuff you might use to make a garden fence you know....exactly the same chain AND super tough padlocks can be bought at SOME hardware stores and builders merchants for about a third the price.....put a fabric sleeve on it and recognized name and Brand obsessesd "you get what you pair for" mantra chanting idiots will pay through the nose.....[/quote]

thanks, could you tell me of any hardware stores or builders merchants in london that stock these chains?

i was planning on buying a new lock tommorrow and i dont have much money,

Buck and Ryan...used to have them when they were still On Tott Court road, they have since moved to Southampton Row.

^i know the place i'll check it out. thanks.

it's as much about "how" you lock your bike, not what you lock it with anyway....

• if leaving bike more than 10 mins take front wheel off
  
• lock it somewehere visible...if possible where you can see it as well as passing public
  
• lock in an inaccessible place (up a lampost, high up a fence, wrong side of fence, in a tight gap)
  
• lock with your mates and use as many locks around as many bikes and and as many anchor points as you can.
  
  

never take it for granted that your bike is safe, no matter how expensive your lock....part of the reason my bikes have never been nicked is probably due to this attitude...buying an expensive lock might give you false confidence and at the end of the day a dtermined thief will still break a "top" lock.

i was looking at yale padlocks. they were the strongest ones they did for £12 then
im probably gonna head to b&q to see what i can find there.
i cant believe that krypto chains are any better than a bad boy one from b&q.
i can believe their d-locks are good though. but £60!!!

http://www.abloy.com/ locks are the best padlocks out there bar none, check them out with a secutity expert.

Yeah I am with winston a good chain is avalible from hardwear stores it's just not all hardwear store. Do you think a contractor with thousands of pounds worth of tools (no to mechion their livelihood) would lock up with a crap chain?

Great security chain available from builders supplies. The type they lock compressors and digger up with...£70 for 1.5m
http://www.ashleychains.co.uk/security_chain.php?gclid=CMjWvoXIpI0CFSfxEAodlmxwug

buy one, angle grid it into two between two or three people

pip Two dodgy things about that video:

1) They didn't buy the chain so theres no guarantee its a krypto fug chain. They were given it by their customers.

2) Even if it is a Krypto fug chain, the age of the chain is not mentioned. Krypto fug chains have been seriously upgraded in recent years.

Still the video shows why D-locks are better than chains, but chains are damn easier to use. In the cycling plus test Krypto links to, the chains only lasted 1 minute 19.6 seconds against power tools.

True. But they break a lot of equally good, brand new chains (e.g > £100 Abus ones) that are rated the same as Kryptonite chains. Can't believe that Kryptonite have access to chain making technology that no one else has and so I imagine that results would have been similar with a new NYC chain.

I think the thing to remember is that all locks can be defeated but that the better ones are more hassle. If there is an easier target than your bike then the thieves will go for that instead. I think that following follow Winston's advice is the best way to avoid a bike being stolen.

joe_b i was looking at yale padlocks. they were the strongest ones they did for £12 then
im probably gonna head to b&q to see what i can find there.
i cant believe that krypto chains are any better than a bad boy one from b&q.
i can believe their d-locks are good though. but £60!!!

Stop for a minute and think though that the chain you're buying in B&Q is cut to length with what...? A pair of 1ft long hand bolt croppers. So what's the thief going to do? Cut the chain with a pair of 1ft long hand bolt croppers.

Go to your locksmith and get them to order you a length of chain made to length if you really don't want to buy a Krypto chain.

£60 for a d-lock? Is that really that unreasonable considering how much you might have spent on your bike and the inconvenience of it being nicked?

check out my lock

my method will be locking a spoke to the chain.

winston it's as much about "how" you lock your bike, not what you lock it with anyway....

• if leaving bike more than 10 mins take front wheel off
  
• lock it somewehere visible...if possible where you can see it as well as passing public
  
• lock in an inaccessible place (up a lampost, high up a fence, wrong side of fence, in a tight gap)
  
• lock with your mates and use as many locks around as many bikes and and as many anchor points as you can.
  
  

never take it for granted that your bike is safe, no matter how expensive your lock....part of the reason my bikes have never been nicked is probably due to this attitude...buying an expensive lock might give you false confidence and at the end of the day a dtermined thief will still break a "top" lock.

The only thing I would add to that is to use two locks of different types. I have a chain and a folding lock. Each requires a different set of tools to break.

I have two RFID swipe card entries, a 'hidden' electrical cupboard, a krypto D-lock and a security team..

i have given up on locks i am hiring my bike security

lpg check out my lock

my method will be locking a spoke to the chain.

dude, you can cut that with scissors

lpg - I really doubt that that will stop your bike being nicked...

Use Fahg Mini for frame/rear wheel, cable for saddle, mini evo for front wheel, if in town for a while use a 14mm by Xena chain with Xena Bullet Lock as well. The bolts holding down the small bike stand I use at work were easy to undo so have replaced them with allen bolts with ball bearings superglued in.

My Work Bike Locking Set-up:

Fahg Mini (locks frame and back wheel), Xena Disc alarm, Evo mini (locks front wheel), ball bearings glued into stem bolts and saddle cradle bolt, Kryptoflex Cable 2.5' and Zefal Lockn'Roll Seatpost QR to protect saddle and seatpost.

dude, you can cut that with scissors

lpg - I really doubt that that will stop your bike being nicked...

so even in the beginning people took humour wrong!