Locks that work

How do you find the combo OnGuard Brute LS 8000 + OnGuard Bulldog Mini? I´m moving to London in a few weeks and I was planning on taking this two locks but I´m not sure if the will be safe enough (the bike is a cheapo conversion to FG).

+

If you lock up properly you'll be fine with those.

Good. I´ll go for it then.

Anyone had any experience with these?

It's got the sold secure bronze level if that's reliable...

http://www.abus.com/eng/Mobile-Security/Bike-safety-and-security/Locks/Folding-locks/Bordo-Combo-6100

I'd feel much safer with a Gold rated product.

the bordo and other locks of the same design have a bad rep due to the folding parts being a weak link that can be levered open

do not use unless space is really at a premium and it's in a low-risk situation / secondary lock. and probably not even then since there are good d-locks not much larger/heavier.

plenty of things are sold secure gold that are crap as well - I'd take all ratings with a pinch of salt. the first post of this thread is much more reliable

I'm sure it's been mentioned here before but I'm looking for reccomendations for a padlock for a chain if anyone has any.

Any views on the Abus Super Ultimate 430? it looks like a scaled up Abus mini.

The Abus Super Ultimate seems to be available only in the U.K. and the States, not in Germany.

It is not comparable to the Abus Granit X-Plus 54, e.g. it has a round shackle, the Granit has a square which is much better.

IMO the Granit is a primary lock, the Super Ultimate a secondary.

Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit Mini or Kryptonite New York M-18 ????

Just want to lock it at the station

Mini if you can use it appropriately on your frame - i.e. if you can lock a tube and a wheel with it, and have a decent option for the other wheel, it's lighter and slightly more secure than M18.

Its an old peugeot fixie. Im keen to get the small one. Is that going to be a huge restriction on your average pole?

Cos someone will nick it and unless you're well good at wheelies, you won't be able to cycle home with only a rear wheel.

All bike locking is risk management and obviously you could tell me it's impossible to get home without handlebars, a fork, a chainset none of which are "locked" by the standard two locks method, but these are not commonly stolen components. I'd hazard that the front wheel is the most commonly stolen thing, only ahead of whole bikes and frames/rear wheels because the latter are where most people put their locks.

Tl;dr lock anything you would miss if it was gone

That said in my experience, a poor quality lock will do for a front because most of the time the thief will have totally unlocked ones to steal so won't bother with yours. Hence, although it's not a correct secondary recommendation, I do find that the simple flexi cable or cheap u-lock is more than enough....

That said in my experience, a poor quality lock will do for a front because most of the time the thief will have totally unlocked ones to steal so won't bother with yours. Hence, although it's not a correct secondary recommendation, I do find that the simple flexi cable or cheap u-lock is more than enough....

Thanks, really appreciate the help

Dammit I bought the bike cheap and didnt think the security was going to be almost half the cost of the bike :(

Could I just get two cheapo U locks?? and what would you recommend. I feel the krypton is a bit overkill

The bike might have been cheap but how royally fucked off would you be if you lost it? Up to you.

A lot of people do scale the cost of their locks to the cost of the bike. If you do, it is worth checking what is the minimum level of locking required by your insurer (if you have insurance).

Me, I just take the attitude that it is my fucking bike and I am not going to make it any easier for some toerag to take it.

My personal opinion - you have to go for a locking solution that you're happy with and will use, no point having locks you don't always take with you etc.. obviously it does increase theft risk, but with a cheap bike, the cheaper locks might be appropriate, especially if you take the other steps that cost nothing but help: Don't leave overnight, in a secluded location, try to leave near worse locked bikes of higher quality.

My "bad" bike is locked with an old cheap halfords steel d-lock and a krypotflex cable, it's never had a theft attempt. It all relates to luck and risk - people have had bikes locked with the best available security stolen.

If you're trying to save money, the less well known manufacturers and even unbranded locks can be an option - what matters is the thickness of the steel, and you're hoping to get at least 16mm+. The average poor quality lock is more like 10-12mm. Check ebay, there are a lot of chinese knockoffs that are around the 16mm mark, and a lot cheaper than the equivalent Krypto

How about two of these:

ABUS 40/130HB140 U-Mini U-Lock - Yellow, 143/80/15 mm:Amazon.co.uk:Sports & Outdoors

I've got one of those. Its a nice lock easily carriable in a belt but, and I assume the same applies to the Fahg Mini, its a pain to get round the back wheel, seat tube and any stand.

'Sharia' bike locks are supposed to be rather effective, too bad you can't get them in the U.K.

Thanks, really appreciate the help

Dammit I bought the bike cheap and didnt think the security was going to be almost half the cost of the bike :(

Could I just get two cheapo U locks?? and what would you recommend. I feel the krypton is a bit overkill

Sure you CAN, but this thread is actually about Locks That Work. Not locks that might be okay, maybe I hope.

I had a Klein mountain bike., and it was stolen when I had used 2 cheap u-locks. If your bike has value, get a lock from the list on the first page of this thread. If you don't care about the bike, leave it unlocked. Its the same as buying 2 cheap locks. Its your call.

Anyone had any experience with these?

It's got the sold secure bronze level if that's reliable...

http://www.abus.com/eng/Mobile-Security/Bike-safety-and-security/Locks/Folding-locks/Bordo-Combo-6100

Not good enough for this thread. Not recommended.

Sure you CAN, but this thread is actually about Locks That Work. Not locks that might be okay, maybe I hope.

I had a Klein mountain bike., and it was stolen when I had used 2 cheap u-locks. If your lock has value, get a lock from the list on the first page of this thread. If you don't care about the bike, leave it unlocked. Its the same as buying 2 cheap locks. Its your call.

This simply isn't true - don't be a cock.

All locking is about risk reduction, not elimination - someone with power tools and time can get through any lock.

Of course a good lock, used well, is better than a crap lock used badly. Two cheap locks, used well, will deter a lot of potential attempts, and resist some actual attempts. Whether they're better or worse than one good lock is something I'm not qualified to answer.

Me, I go for one good lock which doesn't appear on your list and that you've dissed here based on a review by folk who obviously didn't grasp how it was put together. I realise it won't prevent all thefts, but it reduces the risk to a point where I'm happy to accept it.

The fact is this thread is fallacious. No lock on the market "works", in that there's no solution at the moment that can't be defeated by a professional thief with a given (small) amount of time to work and appropriate tools.

However it's locks that work to an acceptable margin - here defined as can it resist simple common hand tools, which is a good starting point. However for any given locking scenario the chances of theft depend on location, time, desirability, luck, locking technique... as much as the choice of lock. Thus it is worth addressing these issues as well, and recognising that realistically most people won't lock with an LTW most of the time.