Locks that work

I've done a mini utfs.
I'm just getting some insurance and reading the small print. Seems that the Krpto Evo is an accepted Sold Secure lock, when the Fagh isn't. wtf? I just sold my Evo to get a fagh which is clearly better.
Gutted. Am going to have to buy another lock.

I have a receipt for my Mini Evo purchased on 21-12-09 if you want it. Might satisfy the insurance people and you get to use the better lock. PM and I'll post it out tomorrow.

Two locks (or more!?!) and no insurance.
Wrangling anything helpful out of insurance companies is like trying to get a note from a spongecake saxophone.

hmm :D ^

^if you use it

bang!

I have a krypto fag mini d lock, and i'm thinking of getting a second lock to go with it.

Anyone use the abus steel o flex 1050?

What i like about it is i can wear it around my waist, so its easy to carry, the reviews for it seem pretty good too.

there was last week or so, a post of that bike stolen with details and pics. used one of those, got coughed on and fell off. get a real chain or go double d.

this is [STRIKE]bricklane[/STRIKE] london my friend!

^if you use it

Thieves were able to cut Simplicissimus's decent U-lock twice with not much noise, wonder if it was the 54 model which gets great reviews:

http://www.lfgss.com/post1226186-3280.html

It was secured with an Abus Granit X Plus U-lock to a proper bike post, around the middle of the frame. The U part had been sawn through in two places very cleanly. Obviously the thieves came prepared - almost certainly local I'd guess. Though out of visual contact I was very nearby yet heard no loud noises - any ideas?

I'm skeptical of the times they say it takes to cut u-locks with an angle grinder. I cut a link out of a Sold Secure Gold **Secure-A-Bike 10mm Chain **using a cheap angle grinder with a metal cutting disc and it took less than 10 seconds to do two cuts, it was good hard metal as a decent hacksaw hardly made a mark on it.

BikeRadar said: Moving onto the power tools, our angle grinder did cut through the Xplus in 59.8 seconds.

Tmysko does it a bit quicker:

YouTube- Cutting Abus u-lock. Easy.

And bearing in mind that you can now buy a cordless angle grinder (albeit a shit one) for £35, the above video is very relevant to your choice of lock

I have a receipt for my Mini Evo purchased on 21-12-09 if you want it. Might satisfy the insurance people and you get to use the better lock. PM and I'll post it out tomorrow.

Cheers mate, that's really kind.
I should have one somewhere too for the one i sold but thanks anyway.
Reading more of the small print. You have to prove you used it. So I guess I need to take a photo everytime I lock my bike up?
Has anyone any experience of claiming?
This probably needs to be in the insurance thread.

It seems the big krypto NY are Sold Secure, but not the Fagh. The NY chains are also. This is wac.

I think I'm going to get an Abus chain for my secondary lock.
More £$%^ing expense but obv worth it.

You need a crime reference number - you can phone the police station or go in person.
Proof you used the lock - bits of the lock or a cut fence, post or whatever you locked it too.
A sympathetic claim handler.

Register your lock with Kryptonite (the form attached to the instructions) and enclose the receipt for your bike or a letter from your LBS valuing the bike. They cover you up to (insert the figure stated on the lock packaging). You may have more luck with them than the insurance company. I cancelled my bike insurance as the Kryptonite one was just as strict, needed the same proof of theft and are far more friendly when you call. You still need to send photos and the remains of the lock for their quality process. My friend had his bike stolen 2 days after buying it. It was locked to 'cycle sucure' railings in the car park at his work with Whatever the size up from the mini Fahg is (3000?) through back wheel and rear stay, krypto cable through the Fahg and weaved through the railings and a mini Evo through frame and front wheel. They cut a section of the railings away to get better purchase on the Fahg which was cleanly cut in two. Kryptonie took ages, but did pay up. I think when he claimed they hadn't even received the paperwork, which I assume accounted for the delay.

I think if you're really protective (which I have been about some of my previous bikes) then try one of these. It may add a couple of kilos to the bike, but it is based on a motorbike lock, and I would challenge a theif to get through that before you've finished your shopping :)

will the Fahgettaboudit u lock fit around more than rim and seattube?
or should i rather take a m18?

it depends how close the two are together.

mkay ... then what are the diameters inside the 'U'

i am in bed, ask ed, his is next to him.

You don't necessary need to lock it together with the seat tube, the seat stay is more than enough.

there is room, but depend on the object that it'll be attached to.

...I'm skeptical of the times they say it takes to cut u-locks with an angle grinder. I cut a link out of a Sold Secure Gold **Secure-A-Bike 10mm Chain **using a cheap angle grinder with a metal cutting disc and it took less than 10 seconds to do two cuts, it was good hard metal as a decent hacksaw hardly made a mark on it.

BikeRadar said: Moving onto the power tools, our angle grinder did cut through the Xplus in 59.8 seconds.

Erudin, I am pretty sure that such tests are GUIDES as to performance of products. But cutting a lock isn't a science, and there are really too many variables, so that I might cut an identical lock, using the same tools, slower than you would.

***1. Are you suggesting that a 13mm diameter squared section of hardened steel, should give a similar performance to a 10mm section? More mass would mean more time required to cut. ***

2. Are you also suggesting that the Secure-A-Bike chain has the same steel formulation for hardness as the ABUS Granit X-Plus? I don't think so somehow. Therefore we can imagine that the two types of steel have different levels of hardness, and I'd put money on the ABUS being quantifiably superior.

I think that ABUS, Krytonite, XENA (stainless steel), and possibly On-Guard, are all at the top of the tree for using superior steel formulations for their top-of-the-range locks.

A 10mm lock/chain link diameter is too easily defeated. Only 16mm diameter (and thicker) locks and chains (link diameter) are recommended in this thread, and I think you can probably see why. More secure, absolutely...but no security system is infallible.

This from Sold Secure:

The product called Krytonite Evolution Mini was removed the middle of last year from our approved listings as the product was not put In for annual audit , there is a new product by Krytonite called Kryptolok series 2 mini which is a small D shackle which will be on our approved data base shortly, The product you inquire about (THE FAGH) was pedal cycle silver rated

But my insurance company said the Fagh are on the list so their fine. I think they're confusing it with the NY 3000 though.

Either way, I've bought the Abus steel o flex 1000.

What a joke. The steel o flex is about as secure as a pair of shoelaces.

Sold Secure are crooks, plain and simple. Many of the tests Kryptonite, Abus et al. do are far more comprehensive than Sold Secure's but because it costs an arm and a leg to get approved by them, they are understandably loath to shell out for tests they can do better, simply to get their stuff marketed better.

Edit: Sorry, realise that first line may seem offensive. No locks are secure, the steel o flex is the best of its type, and I don't blame you for wanting a lock that the insurance company will deal with, but my point still stands.

Totally agree, it's a farce.
I had to buy that £65 lock for my insurance to be valid, but will obv use in conjunction with my fagh.
Could have gotten a cheaper D lock but wanted a chain.
Some of the locks on the insurers list where a joke.

Chain/cable locks are shit... How many times have we been through this FFS...

***1. Are you suggesting that a 13mm diameter squared section of hardened steel, should give a similar performance to a 10mm section? More mass would mean more time required to cut. ***

2. Are you also suggesting that the Secure-A-Bike chain has the same steel formulation for hardness as the ABUS Granit X-Plus? I don't think so somehow. Therefore we can imagine that the two types of steel have different levels of hardness, and I'd put money on the ABUS being quantifiably superior.

I too thought the Abus would resist cutting better, but the video shows the angle grinder going through it like a knife through butter (6 seconds for one cut, so 12 for the two required), the Kryptonite fahg seems to have a better resistance to angle grinders from the tests I've seen. Unfortunately Simplicissimus lost his bike even though he was not far away, maybe a disc alarm and thicker u-lock would have stopped the theft. I was thinking of getting an Abus 54, but now would get a NY Fahg or Abus 59 as minimum.

Another reminder to any of you who use the british library: use plenty of locks!

Bikes are being nicked from there on an extremely frequent basis - there's mention of it earlier in this thread and a relative just saw one being taken.

We are entering the age of the cordless angle-grinder, people.

Some-one should make a lock that does this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc

http://www.milanofixed.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/idea.jpg

posted in the wrong thread guys!
i obviously wanted to post it in the "locks that dont work"...
sorry
and dont try it at home!