ColonelSanders

This will be a thread I will add to as time goes on, so it will hopefully serve as a useful repository of information about how easily or not, certain Bike Locks and/or Chains can be broken or cut or defeated.

It would be good for other people to add any relevant videos or articles they find on the subject too.

I find that seeing a video of a certain lock you hold a high opinion of, being cut through relatively easily, does help bring some clarity to one's thoughts on bike security.

In the video below, whilst a number of locks are defeated, the two that stand out for me are the highly rated and regarded Abus Granit X Plus 54 U Lock and the New York Fahgeddaboutit.

ColonelSanders

As I find the video's in opening posts often obscured by ad placements, here is the above video again.

Retro Grouch 

On a ride yesterday a woman had a cable made from vinyl coated garage door cable with an eye loop at each end. It was very convenient being light in weight and easy to pack in her saddle bag. Her theory was that it is enough to force the thief to bring a tool with him. If he has a power grinder, like the one you've shown, he's going to get her bike anyway.

MRT2

I wonder how the Abus folding lock compares with the best U locks?

MRT2

In low crime areas where a lot of folks don't bother to lock their bikes at all, a lightweight cable might be OK for a quick bathroom break, or to run into a place for coffee. The theory isn't so much that the lock will force thieves to get tools but rather, play the odds that thieves will take the unlocked bike over the bike locked up with a cheap lock.

That said, I used to have a lightweight cable lock that broke, and I had to cut it off my son's bike. I was shocked how easy a time I had cutting it off the bike. Just a quick cut with some garden sheers did the job.

Darth Lefty 

Be warned, this sort of thread makes some people uncomfortable and hostile because it seems like giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

That said, in the past I've found videos of the Abus folding lock defeated with extra large bolt cutters, in a couple of ways. I think the lock has had a new generation since then that was supposed to help.

MRT2

I think as bike lovers, we all agree bicycle thieves are the scum of the earth.

ColonelSanders

The top of the range Abus Folding lock the GRANIT X Plus 6500 will hold up to a bolt cutter quite well and you will need an angle grinder, but lesser versions like the 6000 and below can be got through with bolt cutters.

The problem with her theory is that bolt cutters and other cutting tools would be far more prevalent than an angle grinder, yet she appears to be working on the basis that a thief will always have an angle grinder on him.

I'm pretty sure that video was of the Abus 6000 folding lock and not the 6500 which is thicker and tougher.

blue192

I personally work on the bigger idiot theory. That theory is: I lock up better than the one next to mine that way the thief steals the other bike and leaves mine alone. Having said this I also use a heavy duty u lock + an armored cable lock at the same time.

Miele Man

When I worked in security the very first thing we were taught is that NOTHING IS SECURE just more or less secure. The idea is to make your stuff so secure a thief moves to a less secure item. However, there are always those thieves who find the more secure item a greater and more rewarding challenge. Or the thief simply swipes the easily fenced items like deraillers and shifters.

Posting videos of locks being defeated is in my honest opinion very bad.

Cheers

Cheers

Sy Reene

If you were a bike thief by trade, why would you ever go out on the job with a 2ft long pair of bolt cutters? An angle grinder is much easier to carry and conceal (ie. small backpack), and has an obviously more guaranteed success rate. So I'm not sure what you mean by prevalent? You can probably buy either just as easily at the local Home Depot or on Amazon.

blue192

I suspect that the thieves found a source with bolt croppers with telescopic handles. That way they fold them in to store in a bergen and take out to extend only takes a few seconds. But I suspect most thieves just want to get in and out as fast as possible hence small wire cutters with the cable style locks. If the thieves want your bike they will steal it you can only delay it so much to waste their time and hope they do not have time or the patience to defeat the lock(s).

Cougrrcj

I don't consider ANY lock to be 100% effective. A lock is a deterrent. The thief has to expend time/effort. Hopefully enough that they move on to easier pickings. If they want my 40-year old bike that bad, they're going to get it. Or let's really get ridiculous and say you have a 16-pound weight weenie CF bike - and then you're going to carry around a 10 pound lock/chain???

Look at it this way, you can put ten deadbolts on the door to your house. Steel door, steel frame, yadda-yadda... BUT all it takes is one brick/rock to a window and they're in. Or just run through the wall - Yes, run. Vinyl siding over styrofoam with some fiberglass insulation, then a 3/8" wallboard. Yes, hitting a stud will slow you down, but then you know where the stud cavity is...

Retro Grouch 

The problem with that theory is that you never know what kind of lock the guy next to you is going to bring with him.

Honestly, I seldom use any lock on my bike. It's unusual for the folks that I ride with to use one either. Somewhere down in my bike room I have a 15 year old Kryptonite U-lock still in it's box. I'm glad that I live where I do.

ShadowGray

The way I approach bike locking is never to lock a bike that I can't afford to get damaged or lost. Also, don't lock up a bike in a place where it's the nicest bike.



As a rule of thumb, if you don't feel comfortable leaving a bike there with a cheap lock, you probably shouldn't be locking it there in the first place.

MRT2

There is a guy I met a couple of years ago, he was kind of a spiritual advisor to one of my clients. After a court appearance with this guy, I start walking towards the exit of the courthouse and I ask the guy if he is parked nearby or if he needs a ride somewhere. No, he says, I rode my bike here. Now, the courthouse is in a sketchy inner city neighborhood, the kind where I would not want to leave my bike unattended at all, or at the very least, secure it with a U lock and a couple of thick chains. So we walk outside to where he has his bike parked, and he has his bike secured with the thinnest cable lock I have ever seen. Looks like you could cut through this thing with a scissors, or at most a steak knife. But as we got closer, I realize why he isn't too worried. He is riding a seriously beat up frankenbike. Literally looks like a bike coop put it together with whatever they had laying around. And that is what this guy told me, that if some thief steals his bike, he will just go back to the coop and get another one just like it for $100 or less.

jefnvk

Couple years old, dunno if it has been strengthened since then, but the Fahgeddaboutit took all of 11 seconds to defeat with proper bolt cutters (like locks, they come in everything from Harbor Freight to much more quality variants). Apparently they went through 500# of locks in a cumulative 99 seconds of effort. Video also shows how little an average person going about their day care about bike thieves.


Bingo. I view locks as nothing but something to keep honest folks honest, to prevent a grab and run. I like the quote from the old lady above that it stops someone without tools, and if they've got them they're going to get her bike anyhow. My bikes aren't left outdoors for long periods of time, and generally are in an area with bike enthusiasts, bars with bike clubs, etc., who would probably speak up if they someone walking around with cutters or grinders.

GerryinHouston

I met a guy in NJTransit from NYC to New Brunswick with a similar philosophy. He was commuting to NYC everyday and had one bike in NB and one in NYC parked at the station.

He bought his bikes in garage sales for $50 and had an inexpensive U-Lock. He lost one bike a month and he considered it as part of his commuting cost.

bransom

All this makes me curious: so you're out on a long ride and need to stop at a gas station or somewhere to use the restroom or refill water bottles. What do you do with the bike?

Big Grove

It makes me laugh to read reviews where people say this lock or that is a POS because of some video showing it being defeated by 48" bolt cutters or a cutting wheel.

My favorite videos are made by the guys who created the TiGr titanium lock. They are pretty honest about their product but it does take longer to cut titanium than steel.

Hacksaw Attack

Bolt Cutter Attack

Angle Grinder Attack

That said, I ended up getting an Abus Bordo 6000 purely for the convenience of storage since it's so compact and attaches to a water bottle mount. Now if TiGr would make something like the Bordo out of titanium (and it didn't cost the earth) I would buy that.

TheIndiePlaylis

Anyone used the Skylock yet?

ColonelSanders

Professional thieves don't want to be noticed and will often go back to the same location.

I was reading an interview with a professional thief who said that he only targets Universities and Colleges and he didn't use an angle grinder as he doesn't want to be noticed.

Similarly when you see Youtube videos where it is a Police sting, none of the thieves there ever have an angle grinder on them, so yes I will stand by my notion that theft by angle grinder makes up a very small minority of bikes stolen.

That is a great video, so thank you for posting that.

What I would say is that a distinction should be made between the New York Fagheddaboutit U-Lock and their chain offerings, as the chain is "only" 14mm thick, whereas the U-Lock shackle is 18mm.

Also a 42inch bolt cropper probably doesn't get used that often in bike thefts and the chain was also on the ground.

Nonetheless it still shows me that I would not go with that particular chain and would look to something tougher.

jefnvk

Oops, didn't know there was a difference I ride old C&V bikes, which to anyone but someone who knows what they are looking for, are just "old 10 speeds", a cable lock (or sometimes even a cheap freebie pistol lock) is all I ever bother with. Just stopping the snatch and grabs! If someone is brazen enough to steal bikes off the rack at the microbrewery, they're going after the $4000 CF mountain bikes, not my 32# 38 year old Schwinn!

Although, one thing I would say: if I were stealing bikes from a college or university, I'd just shop the local thrift shop until I found a facilities-looking shirt, toss it on, and give yourself some legitimacy. You're just removing abandoned bikes from the racks! No one would question a facilities person with bolt cutters or a grinder, and I know the piles of bikes that get removed by facilities on a regular basis, my student org shared a storage facility with them.

In any case, if you are a professional thief targeting high end bikes, it wouldn't be hard to work with a partner, drive around in a car with the cutters, jump out and cut it, toss the cutters back in the car, and ride off on the bike.

TheIndiePlaylis

Skylock video. I have to admit these look pretty sweet. Anyone use them yet? https://youtu.be/6gyLPjDakAc

indyfabz

I have been locking bikes on the streets of the 5th largest city in America for more than 30 years. Never had one stolen. I am pretty clear on that, but I cannot tell you how many times I have fallen asleep in a tent without locking my bike to anything. Ironically, the only place I have had one stolen is from my house, while I was home and awake.