Midway

I’ve got a couple higher end bikes and nothing more than some cheap cables to secure them.

I’ve browsed a few of the Bike Lock threads and am convinced I need to up my game. I have decided on ABUS. What size ABUS Granit X-Plus 540 U-Lock should I get for the rear wheel/frame to post? Is 9” big enough?

Should I add a ABUS Granit X-Plus 54 Mini U-Lock for the front wheel to frame? Possibly add either a Granit City Chain X-Plus 1060 or both and if yes, what size/length?

All the threads got me this far but no consistent detail of best combinations, options and sizes and ABUS has a few choices.

How do you carry them when on rides?

I will also want to be able to secure my bikes to my Yakima hitch mount bike rack.

Thanks.

greatscott

I don't have any high end bikes but I also use a Abus disc lock with a cable, never had my bikes ever stolen, but I also live in a low crime rate for bikes, the lock is bullet proof, it's somewhere around 40 years old and still works like it did when it was new. Anyway, realize that any lock today no matter how much you spend for it can be defeated in less than 2 minutes with an average of 45 seconds, if you use two locks you may buy yourself as much as 4 minutes at the absolute longest. If you live in a high crime area for stolen bikes then I'm not sure why you would trust locking a highend bike up someplace while your away from it for a while, I would buy a used bike for cheap and lock it up with a cheap $45 lock. But that's just me.

Midway

I've never had a bike stolen either and my past riding never required one but after a hip replacement, I have been advised to stop or limit my running so plan to bike for exercise and after 15 years off the bike while running for exercise due to time constraits and close to retirement, plan on more extended rides. I still need the fitness fix and I anticipate longer rides with stops for lunch etc. and want to secure a bike with less worry. I understand it won't eliminate the threat but need to come up with a better deterent.

Thanks.

Midway

Thanks, I could consider something like that and leave it in the SUV.

tcs

If I thought I needed two Abus Granit-X U-locks to keep my bike and wheels secure, I wouldn't stop there for lunch!

You don't have to outrun the bear, only outrun your buddy.

Cable and strap locks can be cut with pocketable tools, creating an 'opportunity crime' vulnerability.

There's anecdotal evidence that two less secure locks have a better real world track record than a single more secure lock: fuss and bother deter as much as physical resistance.

There's a school of thought that once you get up to the quality and size of u-lock that takes at least a ginormous, sharp, high quality bolt cutter to get through, you're dealing with serious bike thieves who have the tooling required to cut their way through anything, so why pay the money and carry the weight for any resistance beyond that?

There are locking & gravity skewers to retain the front wheel.

What you lock to is as important as your locks.

Use good locking technique.

tyrion

Instead of a second lock for front wheel, you might consider locking skewers. Pitlock is one brand, and Kryptonite makes some too.

rm -rf

I just carry a lightweight, small $7 coil lock. It's just to keep someone from grabbing the bike and riding off. I use it when stopping in a convenience store or a restroom -- but I try to keep the bike in view if possible.
I can usually find a lunch stop where I can sit outside, near the bike, or lean it against the window where I can see it.

Even thick cables are minimal security. Good diagonal cutters can quietly snip a few strands at a time -- it's fast and stealth.

You can remove the front wheel and lock it with the rear U-lock. See these methods.

KraneXL

Consider yourself lucky. But you don't have to learn the hard way like so many of us. Follow the above advice, and always be vigilant. Always keep in mind that locks will only slow them down, and buy you more time. And by time, I mean in seconds. Bike thieves are waiting right around the corner. Seriously, they will be watching you.

avole

Let me put this bluntly: a pro who wants to steal your bike can do so, and in a couple of minutes. That isn't to say you should ignore all precaurtions, not at all, as many bike thefts may be by kids, people who need the money, i.e. anybody but the pros. This was brought home forcibly when the unthinkable happened, and my bike was securely locked to a lamp post when the key snapped in half. By lucky chance I bumped into one of the council workmen, and, three minutes later, I was cycling the bike again. That three minutes included time to get the angle grinder, and drive to where the bike was parked. The lock was an Abu, not the top of the line; but you see the point. A pro has the right tools, and there's not a lot you can do.

Well there is. People like new bikes, so insurance is a good idea. However, as the bike ages, the worth decreases, to the point where insurance isn't worth continuing. That may take several years, especially if you buy a brand wth a good reputation. You should use the best lock you can anyway, but especially as your bike ages and the likely thieves descend the professional ladder and the insurance payout may not get you something of equal worth. The police may have schemes to register your bike, so go for them. Finally, look where you are leaving your bike, and always lock securely.

Once I had an expensive Trek MTB, my pride and joy. Took it to an unnamed, if notorious city for a tour, and, on the first morning, decided to drop into a café to buy some more mineral water. Bike was locked to a lamp post outside with two chains and a U lock. Went inside for a couple of minutes, but all that was left of my pride and joy when I departed were the locks. The next bike, bought a couple of days after, was a bright purple hybrid. Registered it with the police, who seemed rather amused by the colour and the thought one of their thieves might have the bad taste to steal it. I still have that bike, somewhat weathered now, never insured. It raises eyebrows when I take it for a spin.
In the end, as mentioned, a professional who wants your bike is probably going to get it. However, many are not, especially now the scooter/electric bike market is taking off.

avole

As far as I'm aware, and it isn't something I follow closely, it either isn't available (or not quoted) here, or the maths indicate you'd have been better off puttinhg that 20 years worth of insurance premiums in a high interest savings account. Happy to hear if I'm incorrect, by the way, but bear in mind many people living in France do not have a positive view of insurance companies and even the police warn you to take care.

Midway

I appreciate all the advice and through searching the forum, have read most of the points repeated here. I'm not disagreeing with any of them and for most riding won't even bring a lock but there are times I travel with the yakima hitch and want to take my bike or go wine tasting or go on a leisurely ride with family where the weight won't bother me. Yes, it will get stolen if a pro wants to steal it but I want to add some deterrent regardless.

That said, I would appreciate just the answer to my question with the given I am looking to buy a lock or two. I really just want to know the preferred size and combo of my preference to purchase ABUS. I was thinking the 9"ABUS Granit X-Plus 540 U-Lock would be long enough and I think I could attach it to my Yakima Hitch rack. The Granit X-Plus 54 Mini U-Lock and or a Granit City Chain X-Plus 1060 I'm undecided on. The chain might help attaching the frame and front wheel to a part of the hitch that would be more difficult to take apart.

Thanks.

CliffordK

I vary locks a bit. I have a standard size Kryptonite NY Lock. Whew, is it heavy, but nobody messes with those.

I am usually just doing daytime shopping, and normally only lock 1 wheel + frame + bike rack or post.

I'd do a cable for the front wheel if leaving in a bad area all day.

tcs

If you don't know what you'll be locking to (like you would riding to work and your favorite store), the extra length is nice. If you lock to something small (but still robust), fill up the shackle (I believe this is the 4"x8" size)



rather than leaving empty space.

tcs

Old school! I haven't had a problem doing this in the 40+ years since I bought my first (Citadel) u-lock, but one can always make a fork protector out of an old quick release and a 100mm length of PVC.

fietsbob

Abus Bordo 6500, in pouch on top tube of my R'off Disc Bike Friday. ... Same keyed the longer link one I can link then for longer reach
(It's carry scheme not as nice as the shorter one)
these are Heavy..

the 6000 is lighter you can buy a 2 pack same keyed, and an 8 link vs a 6 link. for further reach..




also have a security chain & integrated lock, On the Tikit hanging from the bars,,..

tcs

The escalation continues. I recently upgraded from U-lock+cable to U-lock+U-lock, the second being the aluminum RockyMount Carlito. It's only 40g heavier than the cable I've been carrying, can't be cut by wire snips, would require two cuts since both sides of the U have locking bars, and provides a 'two beefy U-locks, not fooling around, almost any other bike would be easier to steal' visual deterrent.

Reynolds 

If my bike required 2 max security padlocks I'd be concerned about someone taking it at gunpoint.

CycleryNorth81

Cutting Abus u-lock. Easy.

Reynolds 

I don't understand why they keep ruining good expensive locks to prove for the 100th time what we all always knew - an angle grinder can easily cut hard steel!

canklecat

Check out the Lock Picking Lawyer channel on YouTube. While he has defeated every lock so far, through picking or cutting, he admits some are better made than others. And they don't necessarily need to cost too much. Some of the On Guard locks appear to be as good as the Abus.

greatscott

I know what you mean, I would be worried if I had a uber expensive bike and locked it to some pole while I go into a library for a few hours I don't care how expensive or how heavy of a lock I had...but having a heavy lock being carried around would be a huge pain in the arse. There is a lock called LiteLok while not cheap it iss lightweight, flexible, and got high reviews. There's also the a titanium lock made by TiGr that seems interesting but it too is expensive. But after I looked on the internet the best lock for the money, not the best of the best just for the cost, was the Kryptonite Evolution Mini 7 that is a U or D lock that incorporates a cable.

I would stay away from those locks that notify you if someone tampers with your bike, I was watching a news thing out of Chicago where they were purposely baiting a bike with one of those systems, and the cop and news crew had to hurry to keep up with the cyclist because in the city it only had about an 1/8th of a mile range, if it got outside that range then it would be luck if they stumbled upon the frequency and got the location again. Then I read where a had guy attached one of those finder locks to his bike and it got stolen like the first week he had the finder lock, he found the just finder and not the bike! LOL!!!!

I read on another forum that those theft insurance plans on some locks like Krypto rarely pay a claim because needed information is rarely completed correctly because of the impossibility of obtaining the stuff Kypto requires. So really the only real good insurance to have is your homeowners and even then there will be some requirements, though not nearly as much as Krypto, and you have to pay your deductible. Some insurance companies offer what's called a floater (? I think that's what they're called) that you can list the bike separately and then there is no deductible if it gets stolen, but again you'll need at least a police report or something saying you contacted them.

CycleryNorth81

If it is a uber expensive bike, do not lock it up, take it with you. Thieves are clever. I remember going to a hardware store in the 80s and a very expensive Kline aluminum bike was lock to a sign post. Kline bikes at this time were handmade, thus expensive. After I came out of the hardware store I saw a guy standing where the bike had been looking lost. I had a feeling he was the owner of the bike and that it had been stolen. I saw the guy and sign post but no bike. The thieves stole his bike by un-screwing the nuts/bolts holding the post to the base. Learn from his lesson.

greatscott

Quite true, sometimes it's easier to cut whatever the bike is locked to vs the lock, like a chain link fence. There have been stories of people locking their bike to a pole and thief simply lifted the bike up and over the pull, or a person that locked his to a water down spout, (an eve) and the thief pulled the spout away from the building and slide the locked bike off the spout and was gone. Or they locked their bike to a small tree and the tree was simply snapped in two or cut. I heard a group of guys who unfastened a bike rack from the cement, and took the bike rack with around 6 to 8 bikes on the rack, threw the rack and bikes into a small flatbed pickup and took off! All the while students at the college where this happened didn't think anything odd was happening? So sometimes the weakest link for locking a bike isn't the lock but what the lock is fastened to.

tcs

But remember these cats are lock picking hobbyists, not actual cycle security gurus. Youtube lock picker BosnianBill said he'd trust his bike to an 'unpickable' Forever Lock v.2. Angle grinder, single cut, 20 seconds max, say 'bye' to your bike, Bill.



And as it turns out, easy to defeat.



https://youtu.be/D-On0DGcDlc

Quote:

There's also the a titanium lock made by TiGr that seems interesting but it too is expensive.

Sadly, easy to cut, as several independent tests have shown!

canklecat

Yup, every video I've seen by the Lock Picking Lawyer shows him either picking the lock or using a hydraulic bolt cutter. A cordless grinder/cutting tool would be more portable and somewhat less noticeable -- other than the sparks.

My solution? Don't ride a bike I can't afford to replace over a weekend of browsing on craigslist. If I don't want a bike to be stolen, I don't even carry a lock so I'm not tempted to think it's secure while I go inside a store or coffee shop. If my bike isn't welcomed inside that fast food joint during their off-peak time when there are few or no customers, I don't go back to that restaurant.

My road bike rides are all out and back. I have a couple of inexpensive hybrids that I take for errands and casual group rides where we might stop at a restaurant or pub. I can replace those bikes for $200 or less. My medium size On Guard and small Kryptonite U-locks are good enough for that. Some of our usual pub stops welcome cyclists so we take 'em inside.