Locks that work

Picked up a fahgettaboudit from cycle surgery today for 55 quid thanks to parker international!

Was a pleasure leaving my bike outside in holborn all day!

whats parker international? i could do with minifahg for that price

whats parker international? i could do with minifahg for that price

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/6772/Kryptonite-New-York-Fahgettaboudit-Mini-Lock.html

and if you like. print this off and cyclesurgery will price match it.

wow thats great thanks, will have to save up hope the offers on when i have mula.

wow thats great thanks, will have to save up hope the offers on when i have mula.

Don't worry it will be, they have been selling the lock at this price for ages.

thanks recycled, i just had another look through list and been thinking to myself that xena looks the best bet?

http://www.brooksbarn.co.uk/XENA-BULLET-U-LOCK-ALARM-Stainless-Steel-Body-110-dB-Alarm-Weight-2-920g_AQP74.aspx

it sounds as strong and has alarm, why would anyone get fahg over it? (its better looking to boot)

link above is to cheaper deal, but looks little smaller, 6cms to be exact, is that just like mini-fahg?

Sorry I just realsied this is for locks that work. The only way I can 100% make sure my bike is safe is to have my eyes on it.

edited because It was a lock that didn't work and ga2g requested a edit. :)

The Xena is alright but there's no rubber coating so you might want to cover it in electrical tape if you like your bike's paint...

Also, as stated earlier, the pvc coating protects the lock from freezing attacks and I'd imagine the alarm could easily be a mighty pain in the arse seeing as how bikes are often nudged and moved when on bike racks.

I'd just go with the Fahg, its lighter than the Xena and is still heavy as f***.

The Xena can also be used without the alarm function so it doesn't go off in your bag. Handy.

Seriously though, anything less than a Abus granit x54 or Fahg is just too much of a compromise.
Bike insurance is usually hundreds of pounds per year in London: a proper lock is less than a hundred.

Anyway, you should be using more than one lock. A fahg or granit along with a evo mini or steel-o-flex should be more than enough to put off but the most determined/tooled-up scum.

Does a fagh mini fit through a dodici/H+ rim? I've got a rear dodici and want to get a new d-lock.

I doubt it... It barely gets around an open pro and 34.9mm seat-tube with tight clearances.

I cant get it round a velocity deep v and seatpost, tight clearances :(
slightly annoying, just discovered this today.

how about through the seat stays? thats usually how i lock my bike anyway...

Just tried it, works but if you mean through both seat stays, doesn't give you much length
to play with.

Plus your using a H+, so im probably not the best adviser

Good lock though, small but very sturdy and tough. I normally manage to find some solution to locking up.

Aye, through the spokes and a single seatstay or chainstay is probably the best bet for those of you with deep rims.

For very deep profile rims/wheels, I'd suggest the: (all good, but those underlined get my vote)

Abus Granit Extreme 59 - the daddy, though heavily pricey
Abus Granit Power 58 - excellent, though way over-priced
GRP Superdeals lock - large and strong, but make sure all gaps in lock are filled, to prevent "jacking".
Kryptonite New York M-18 - a longer Mini-Fahg
Kryptonite New York 3000 - does what it says on the tin
Masterlock Streetforce 10 - narrow, but will secure the deepest rear wheel to a bike frame.
*Motrax Disclock Large* - large, wide and strong, but make sure all gaps in lock are filled, to prevent "jacking".
**Oxford Magnum - Large **- a good option, but unremarkable in any way.
Xena XUL 340 Bullet - largest in series, can lock 2 H+Sons wheels together along with the bike frame, with built-in alarm.

Frankie, since there is only one 13mm lock recommended, amongst the sea of 16mm/18mm locks, its obvious that you mean the Abus Granit X Plus 54. Abus do a range of locks that are the same size and dimensions, but its the squared bar that truly identifies it as being the 54. Did you manage to see if the bar was square? Otherwise, it might have been one of the similar but less effective locks from the Abus range.

Abus locks from same range as the Granit X 54:
http://www.abus.de/us/main.asp?ScreenLang=us&sid=424602687074737210120101492545124&select=0104b01&ArtikelGrID=1

Or maybe the Abus Ketaro:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-ABUS-Abus-Ketaro-505--230-mm-D-Lock--Sold-Secure-Silver-Standard-19583.htm

It did look a lot like the 54, but could have possibly been the granit 51, definitely none of the others. The 54 and the 51 have very similiar locking shackles.

But they are both 13mm bars, so why would the square bar shackle be more resistant against cutting? I thought it was just so you couldn't twist the shackle out.

It did look a lot like the 54, but could have possibly been the granit 51, definitely none of the others. The 54 and the 51 have very similiar locking shackles.

But they are both 13mm bars, so why would the square bar shackle be more resistant against cutting? I thought it was just so you couldn't twist the shackle out.

This required a Maths answer, and the man for that is actually Tommy(TheBrick), but since he hasn't seen it, I've had to try to answer it myself.

If the circular bar has a diameter of 13mm, we can Imagine this:

But if the bar is square shaped then the 13mm width (as claimed by Abus) would give a through-diameter of 18.38mm (approx). The width of the square finds the diameter by multiplying the 13mm side by the squareroot of 2 (1.41421356...).

So even though the sidea are all 13mm, cutting at any angle at all, encounters 18mm of hardened steel.

I think I*** *need a lie down, preferably in a darkened room.....and to keep taking the tablets****.

Does anyone know this quote?

I'm sure this question has been asked before but I was just wondering before I order it. Is this strong enough for a primary lock?

Kryptonite Evolution Mini Lock with Bracket: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure

Many would say no.
After reading and seeing evidence I would say no too.
My flatmate only uses one mini evo on his beater and it's been fine. Mixture of luck and undesirable bike (to the layperson at least).
I like my bike a lot so I use a mini evo and a NY 3000, but looking to upgrade to a Fahg mini come payday. Plan to donate the NY 3000 to girlfriend for her to use as primary lock on her clattery dutch bike as it's still a very decent lock. Logic is: bigger bike + bigger lock + bonus of having a pannier = far more sensible.

So even though the sidea are all 13mm, cutting at any angle at all, encounters 18mm of hardened steel.

Thanks for explaining all of that in such detail, I did actually think afterwards that it would be difficult to cut the 13mm shackle on the square edge unless you were using an angle grinder.

I'm sure this question has been asked before but I was just wondering before I order it. Is this strong enough for a primary lock?

I'd tend to say ''No'', but read posts 16, 18, 20..........on the first page of this thead.......then you make up your mind.

Thanks for the quick replies, however I think I am going to go with the Evo Mini. I wont be leaving my bike out for hours on end through the night, and I will mostly be locking the bike up at college so it should be sufficient. I should have explained that first haha.

If the size is important, then I'd recommend the Onguard Brute X4 Mini, or ABUS Granit Plus 54, which are both better/stronger locks than the Evo Mini.....

This required a Maths answer, and the man for that is actually Tommy(TheBrick), but since he hasn't seen it, I've had to try to answer it myself.

If the circular bar has a diameter of 13mm, we can Imagine this:

But if the bar is square shaped then the 13mm width (as claimed by Abus) would give a through-diameter of 18.38mm (approx). The width of the square finds the diameter by multiplying the 13mm side by the squareroot of 2 (1.41421356...).

So even though the sidea are all 13mm, cutting at any angle at all, encounters 18mm of hardened steel.

I disagree.

The hardened steel encountered when cutting through the lock shackle is a volume of material which has to be removed, effectively the dimensions we care about are the cross-sectional area of the shackle and the width of the cutting tool. Assuming both are cut with the same cutting tool then we can unitise the width of the material removed and consider the cross-sectional area for comparison.

In this case, the cross-sectional area's are Pi * r^2 for the circle (3.14159 * 9^2) = 254.5mm2 and 13 ^ 2 for the square section shackle 169mm2.

So, for the same steel then for locks with the dimensions stated above, the round cross-section shackle should be tougher to cut through.

If you find this difficult to believe then consider cutting through both with a hacksaw (from a corner on the square i.e. cutting through the 18.4mm diagonal). Cutting the round section shackle you quickly encounter a greater section of material and your cutting rate will slow faster than cutting through the square section. Superimposing scale drawings of the two cross-sections should help elucidate.

So, at a cross sectional area of 132.7mm the Kryptonite Evo Mini has 80% of the hardened steel of the very tough sounding Abus Granit-X Plus 54. Seems to me that the lock manufacturers have managed to find a way to charge people more and use less material. Smart.

I disagree.

The hardened steel encountered when cutting through the lock shackle is a volume of material which has to be removed, effectively the dimensions we care about are the cross-sectional area of the shackle and the width of the cutting tool. Assuming both are cut with the same cutting tool then we can unitise the width of the material removed and consider the cross-sectional area for comparison.

In this case, the cross-sectional area's are Pi * r^2 for the circle (3.14159 * 9^2) = 254.5mm2 and 13 ^ 2 for the square section shackle 169mm2.

So, for the same steel then for locks with the dimensions stated above, the round cross-section shackle should be tougher to cut through.

If you find this difficult to believe then consider cutting through both with a hacksaw (from a corner on the square i.e. cutting through the 18.4mm diagonal). Cutting the round section shackle you quickly encounter a greater section of material and your cutting rate will slow faster than cutting through the square section. Superimposing scale drawings of the two cross-sections should help elucidate.

So, at a cross sectional area of 132.7mm the Kryptonite Evo Mini has 80% of the hardened steel of the very tough sounding Abus Granit-X Plus 54. Seems to me that the lock manufacturers have managed to find a way to charge people more and use less material. Smart.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^ is precisely why I often just love this forum.

Excellent retort my friend. I love a big brain.