Good U-lock..?

[andyoxon]

Recommendations a decent u-lock? 

For a commute (mrsao) & leave new bike on stand outside place of work (industrial estate) - non secure, but lowish risk.  The ceramic layer £150 locks are prob OTT, but looking for a serious u-lock, perhaps with each end of the U fixing, so that both sides would need angle grinding.  Weight not too much of an issue as commute is ~10km each way, rack pack/pannier to put it in.  Would replace an old Citadel u-lock ~30yrso.

[De Sisti]

Recommendations a decent u-lock? 

Choose from this link?
https://www.bikelockwiki.com/the-strongest-bike-locks/

[Paul H]

Halfords own brand look like good value for rating, I have the £50 Advanced which is SS Diamond. As always, two locks are better than one, I pair the D lock with a decent chain.

[ravenbait]

I recently got the Hiplok DX in a sale at Wiggle, Pretty small, but about as secure as you can get without needing a tractor to carry the lock around.

Sam

[quixoticgeek]

Abus 540 D lock.

Highly recommend. I have 5 Abus locks with the Granit X Plus core, which are all key'd alike.

J

[andyoxon]

Thanks all.   

ETA.  Guessing that for the expensive angle grinder protection locks - probably easier to cut through bike stand.

[Polar Bear]

Thanks all.   

ETA.  Guessing that for the expensive angle grinder protection locks - probably easier to cut through bike stand.

And the bastards will if the opportunity presents.

In 2012 we had the worst kind of burglary.  Six bikes individually locked and looped together with a hefty Pragmasis chain.  The bastards cut through the frames of five bikes to haul off the sixth with the hefty chain and lock still attached.  I hadn't got a ground anchor fitted at that time and it is my one regret in life.

The Pragmasis kit is clearly the dogs bollox and in my innocent naivety I had never considered that they would simply destroy everything else to get one bike.  The stupid thing is the bike they took was only the third most valuable there.

[andyoxon]

cut through the frames of five bikes to haul off the sixth

Good grief - what a nightmare.

[phantasmagoriana]

Krytonite New York Fahgettaboudit. Not cheap and very heavy, but also strong. I currently leave one of my bikes in a communal car park with one of these & a diamond-rated chain lock (which weighs even more and would be overkill for carrying around, IMHO). I'd couple it with a decent cable to loop around the front wheel.

[orienteer]

One additional idea is fit removable pedals, such as MKS, so the bike can't be ridden away.

[quixoticgeek]

And the bastards will if the opportunity presents.

In 2012 we had the worst kind of burglary.  Six bikes individually locked and looped together with a hefty Pragmasis chain.  The bastards cut through the frames of five bikes to haul off the sixth with the hefty chain and lock still attached.  I hadn't got a ground anchor fitted at that time and it is my one regret in life.

Now that's an attack model I had not thought about. Yikes.

J

[De Sisti]

One additional idea is fit removable pedals, such as MKS, so the bike can't be ridden away.

Easier to take the chain off (and put it in a plastic bag, if the chain has a quick-link)?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Krytonite New York Fahgettaboudit. Not cheap and very heavy, but also strong. I currently leave one of my bikes in a communal car park with one of these & a diamond-rated chain lock (which weighs even more and would be overkill for carrying around, IMHO). I'd couple it with a decent cable to loop around the front wheel.

In that situation I'd add security skewers and cables for saddle, seat post, stem, etc.

[quixoticgeek]

In that situation I'd add security skewers and cables for saddle, seat post, stem, etc.

I have pitlock skewers on my bike. I've been very happy with them.

J

[D.A.L.E.]

In that situation I'd add security skewers and cables for saddle, seat post, stem, etc.

I have pitlock skewers on my bike. I've been very happy with them.

J

You can undo them incredibly easily with a pair of pliers. Or a hammer and punch. Whichever one you have to hand I guess.

[quixoticgeek]

You can undo them incredibly easily with a pair of pliers. Or a hammer and punch. Whichever one you have to hand I guess.

Yep, everything is about slowing them down, not stopping them outright.

J

[L CC]

I use this:

https://mobil.abus.com/uk/Consumer/Bicycle-locks/U-Shackle-Locks-Bike/Ultimate-420-150HB140-bracket-USH-steel-cable-Cobra-10-120?type=pdp

for outside the pool in downtown Stanley. I also have a cable but tend to just use the U through frame and rear wheel to the Sheffield stand as the wheels aren't QR.

Still got a bike.

Outside work (bonded site with CCTV covering most of the site) I use the D lock through the wheel & frame but don't have anything to lock it to, bar wheelbenders which are too long a walk for me.

Still got a bike.

A persistent enough thief will get through anything, but I find this is enough to put off a casual scrote.

[Kim]

If there's in-sewer-ants, then whatever standard they require.

Otherwise, it's all about finding the sweet spot between convenience, security and expense.  And avoiding obvious stupidity like locks that will engage without the presence of the key.

My old Trelock thing (bought on account of being the cheapest that met the needed sold secure rating) has been keeping my bike un-nicked for well over a decade now, not that I'd particularly recommend it, on account of the key being overly fiddly.  Of course, no longer living in That London helps a lot, as do butterfly bars and parking next to anything secured with a poundshop cable lock round the top tube.

Is Pragmasis still going?  Apparently so.  These seem good:  https://securityforbikes.com/proddetail.php?prod=DIB

[vorsprung]

I recently got the Hiplok DX in a sale at Wiggle, Pretty small, but about as secure as you can get without needing a tractor to carry the lock around.

Sam

Me too, it's a nice little lock

[fruitcake]

One additional idea is fit removable pedals, such as MKS, so the bike can't be ridden away.

This is a good idea. I imagine thieves like to make a quick get away, and they do not want to have to push the bike from the scene of the crime.

I suspect there's as much to be said for using two £50 D-locks (at different places on the frame), as one £100 D-lock. Even more to be said for using two different types of lock. A chain and a D-lock, for instance.

A chain can make locking up with a D-lock easier; the chain - tightly wrapped round the frame and Sheffield stand - will hold the bike still while you do the fiddle and faff with the D-lock. That's what I've found anyway.   

[Jurek]

Two good locks.....

[fruitcake]

... as the man famously said.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I think it's not entirely true that thieves don't want to push the bike away. Some are happy to push a bike with one locked wheel through town in daylight. Some want to ride away, some sling it in a van.

[L CC]

....as do butterfly bars ...

This is a level of anti-theft that no sane person can countenance.

[Tim Hall]

If the lock is only/mainly going to be used at your place of work, can you leave it there, maybe locked to the sheffield stand?   This would lighten your commuting load and possiobly let you get a bigger, heavier (and hopefully better) lock.