bikiola

hi all
i have a kryptonite chain and an american lock (is this safe?) and wanted to switch to the bulldog mini; however most places here in NYC where i park my bike are trees, light poles, etc, where the mini won't go around. therefore i have to bring the chain; will the mini's shackles go through the chain links?
thanks!

alanbikehouston

The shackles on my OnGuard "Mini" U-lock are too thick to fit through any chain link that I have seen. This month's "Cycling Plus" tested padlocks and chains. The strongest padlock tested was the Abus Granit, which comes in several sizes, to match small, medium, and large chain links. There is at least one Abus dealer with free shipping in the USA.

www.lockitt.com


The padlocks from OnGuard that have shields covering the shackle also did well. After the shackle is covered with the chain, there is no exposed shackle for the crook to attack.

Oddly enough, the padlock supplied with the Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit chain did less well. It is not shielded, and can be cut rather quickly with certain tools. The Fahgettaboudit chain plus an Abus padlock would be a much stronger team.

Kryptonite Lock

Here's the actual write up from the October, 2005 Cycling Plus test on the New York Fahgettaboudit
"Whenever we are asked about home security we always recommend a top quality floor anchor from the likes of Abus and Kryptonite and if you can afford it the Fahgettaboudit chain. At nearly 4kg it's a home use only product unless you're particularly paranoid and currently weight training. 12mm diameter chain links in hardened steel and a double locking padlock show the Fahgettaboudit means business and it comes complete with 3 keys, one with a light. Testing: If ever there was a more futile 5 minutes of effort we've yet to see it. Our five minutes of hammer, axe, cold chiselling and sawing had no effect on this brute of a lock. The padlock is double locking and to cut it (its slightly less tough than the chain links) we had to use power tools. And then only after 3 minutes 56 seconds had we cut one half of 1 side, it took over eight minutes to cut both."
All typos are my mistakes.

bikiola - remember, mixing manufacturer's products may negate any anti-theft protection offer that comes with the lock. Not always - if you are using two forms of lock up it shouldn't matter, but if you are using a chain from one company, but secure it with another company's lock, and the system is violated, it probably won't be covered.

Savas

As to warranty, what if for example the bike is robbed and the shackle was cut through. Doesn't this qualify for warranty despite that it might have been coupled witih another manufacturer's chain?

bikiola

let's say i wanted to hook the Fahgettaboudit padlock wiht my existing chain... what is the actual lock used? the Granit from abus looks good but $60!! i've heard that armorlite is good, is this true?

Kryptonite Lock

Savas.....in Bikiola's case, he'd have to ask the padlock company he's using if they would cover him if that lock was cut (let's all hope it never is!). The first question would be 'do they have an anti-theft protection offer at all'? He's also in New York state, which has their own laws regarding anti-theft protection offers, which is a whole other discussion.

Of course, I'm going to recommend that he goes with the New York Chain & Molly lock, which probably has the same lock on the chain that he's using. Together, it comes with a $3,000 anti-theft protection offer.

One more thing to note about anti-theft protection offers, ours included, please do register for them (in our case the first year on most is free) and please do read them carefully. I know, all that fine print can be a pain, but it really is important. For example, some companies do not cover messengers/couriers (we certainly do!) and some are not valid in New York state. Protect yourself and your bike to the best of your ability!

Kryptonite Lock

bikiola - the New York Disc Lock is the lock that comes with the New York Fahgettaboudit. It is not sold by itself through the bicycle channel only the powersports channel.

bikiola

i have no idea what the powersports channel is.

Kryptonite Lock

Woops...sorry! Guilty of being in my own little 'world' and assuming that everyone knows the same terms we use. My apologies.

"powersports" is the section of our business that services motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles etc. So, you might be able to find a New York Disc Lock, by itself, at a motorcycle dealer.

alanbikehouston

The "actual write up" from "Cycling Plus" indicates that the padlock supplied with the Fahgettaboudit is far less resistent to cutting than the highest scoring padlocks. My personal view is that the Fahgettaboudit padlock is a clear disappointment when compared to the best padlocks.

It seems odd that Kryptonite would combine their "state of the art" chain with a padlock that is inferior to the best padlocks from Abus, and that is inferior to other Kryptonite padlocks.


These are the comments from the "Cycling Plus" editors:

- Abus Granit (Note: the tested padlock appears to be the 37/55 padlock): "....the padlock: it blunted our hacksaw and the battery disk cutter burnt through discs with barely a scratch to the surface."

- OnGuard Beast padlock: "After 15 minutes of powertool abuse half of one side of the shackle was cut, and the metal cutting disc ruined....you are looking at least an hour to get through it".

- OnGuard enclosed shackle padlock: "you just can't get a saw or disc cutter in there..."

- Kryptonite EV Disk Lock: "...after a quarter of an hour we'd got through".

- Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit padlock: "...after 3 minutes 56 seconds we cut one half of 1 side, it took a little over eight minutes to cut both".

SUMMARY OF TIME REQUIRED TO CUT PADLOCK:

- Abus Granite: cutting tools can not penetrate shackle

- OnGuard shielded padlock: impossible to attack shackle with cutting tool

- OnGuard Beast padlock: lasts one hour against power cutting tools

- Kryptonite EV Disk Lock: lasts fifteen minutes against power cutting tools

- Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit padlock: lasts eight minutes against power cutting tools



If you have a Fahgettaboudit chain, and you want to KEEP your bike, forget about "loss of warranty coverage" and start worrying about "loss of your bike". Add an Abus Granit padlock to your Fahgettaboudit chain. Your bike won't get stolen. And, you will never need Kryptonite's insurance policy.

Kryptonite Lock

Alan...I'd just like to point out that, although I didn't mention the other brands tested in my above post that I did retype, word for word, and didn't leave anything out of, the actual write up on the New York Fahgettaboudit. You seem to insinuate that I left something out of the 'actual' write up next to the product. Just wanted to clarify that. They never mention 'clear disappointment'. As a matter of fact, they have mentioned in the past that the New York Fahgettaboudit is the lock that many of the C+ staffers use. I believe that was when they were awarding it security product of the year...

And, not to bust on you, because you are one of my favorite people on the forum because you are a wealth of knowledge about security and share that knowledge to teach those new to cycling about proper security, but...no lock is unbreakable. Why do I mention this? Because, if someone buys a security chain, no matter the brand, they should sign up for the anti-theft protection offer if there is one that applies to them...just in case. If you do that, at least with Kryptonite, you can't mix manufacturers and I'd say to check the other manufacturers anti-theft protection offers for that, too. Just my recommendation.