"Best Bike Lock" article on Gizmodo

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Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on June 29, 2012 at 10:12pm

Another vote for BikeRegistry chains like Kevin's. I like the Viro Blocca Catena lock if you can find one because it's lightweight and it's enough to protect a Vespa in Italy. You can put a 1 meter chain (better would be 4 feet = $28 at BikeRegistry) around Chicago lampposts and still get a wheel and the frame usually. But the best of all is bring it in and stick it next to your desk at work if you can. And still lock it. 

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on June 30, 2012 at 2:44am

Cutting a chain with a grinder is a cake walk even if you can't get it on the ground.

Nothing is safe.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 2, 2012 at 11:02am

Any material that can be made can be unmade.  The issue with U-locks is that they need to be easily and economically manufactured so that they don't cost >$100 each or people wouldn't be as likely to buy them. The fewer people who buy them the more the price goes up as economies of scale decrease.

i'm sure there are high-tech methods to treat steel using laminates that would make it more difficult to cut but working this material becomes much harder by definition.  

An angle-grinder is a brute-force attack and it has the capability of employing a lot of brute force to a focused point.  Bike security depends on the belief of bike owners not thinking about how easily these locks can be defeated, and the bike thieves not having an easy access to the tools to quickly do that job.  It's too bad that cheap cordless angle-grinders are so available these days with discount tools coming from Asia.

My personal security "solution" is of the "Bear & The Running Shoes" variety.  I carry 2 OnGuard Brute locks -one with a long shackle and one with a regular shackle.  One is the older flat key from a couple of years ago and the other has the newer flat key that just came out.  They weigh 5lbs each.  That's 10lbs of locks to carry around but that is the price of Moderate Security. 

kiltedcelt said:

It seems like what would work best in terms of several factors would be some type of U-lock with a coating that becomes friable and would severely gum up a grinder blade rendering it useless. The same thing could work for hacksaw blades. And, of course the shackle material would be stout enough to resist standard bolt cutters. I use only one U-lock right now. I have one of those On-guard Pitbull locks and it's damned heavy enough as it is, let alone having to carry two or one and a giant chain. If I have to lock up anywhere for longer than a few minutes, I dismount my front wheel and lock it up alongside the rear wheel. Of course this prevents someone from stealing my front wheel, but still won't deter an angle grinder wielding thief. You just have to hope some other bike looks like an easier target. I've been thinking about adding an ABUS Bordo lock because it would be slightly less weight than adding another On-Guard Pitbull. Either that or getting one of the short shackle Kryptonite locks and using it Sheldon Brown style by locking through the rear wheel rim and the ON-Guard through the frame and front wheel. I just generally don't run too many errands on my bike so I don't lock up very often. Most often just outside my local grocery store.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on July 2, 2012 at 12:04pm

they no longer sell the bike registry chains.  

you can order lengths of hardened chain from website like this though. 

http://lockitt.com/Lockitt/product/SPCH12/CHAB12MS.html

Allen Wrench said:

Another vote for BikeRegistry chains like Kevin's. I like the Viro Blocca Catena lock if you can find one because it's lightweight and it's enough to protect a Vespa in Italy. You can put a 1 meter chain (better would be 4 feet = $28 at BikeRegistry) around Chicago lampposts and still get a wheel and the frame usually. But the best of all is bring it in and stick it next to your desk at work if you can. And still lock it. 

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Permalink Reply by Josh.E on July 2, 2012 at 12:19pm

Or with compressed dye that shoots out and paints the person kinda like the banks do.  Not only does it spray the person but also the bike might make it easier to spot a stolen one.

Duane Waller said:

I always thought that an interesting deterrent might be a u-lock with a hollowed-out 'u' that is filled with something "surprising"; say, for instance, acid. Or gunpowder. Or methylene chloride.

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Permalink Reply by April on July 2, 2012 at 12:19pm

Well I was glad to see that the better u-locks stood up to hand tools at least.   At least we know that the average thief will be deterred by one or more of these babies.   Only the pros with the power tools to worry about.  Regardless of the lock(s) you use be sure to register your bike and keep the serial number handy.  The National Bike Registry gave me a wallet sized bike ID card that is very nice, for example.

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