emayex

Im getting tired of not being able to lock my bike up, and dont feel like blowing money on some pad lock until kryptonite replace sthe lock at came with my ny chain. Does anybody know of any ulocks that are still safe besides the krypto ny locks that are wayyyy to expensive?

Cynikal 

I just bought a On Guard and have been happy with it. I paid about 25$ for it (it is the lower quality one) at my lbs. I think performance had the middle level ones on sale right now. The only issues are the keys are weak and the mechanism is clunky. just be careful to read the instructions for the keys and you should be fine.

Jesse M

i've got a generic u-lock that i got from nashbar a long time ago, and the locking mechanism is too big for a bic to fit into it...

46x17

Onguard keys even snap when you try to open the lock. It is an added safety feature.

habitus

abus locks

i just got one of their hefty cable locks from cyclesurgery.com in england. but lockitt.com sells abus u-locks in the US.

SSSwede

Agree, Abus U-locks seems to be solid, and with a good (complicated pattern) key also.

alanbikehouston

Both ends of the shackle must be fully seated into the crossbar before you turn the key. When the "feet" are seated, the key turns with just moderate effort. If the shackle is not seated on both ends, and you try to twist the key forcefully, the key could break. When both ends of the shackle are fully seated, and facing in the correct direction (facing the bolts in the crossbar) the key turns smoothly.

AND, the key must be fully and deeply seated before you begin turning. If you turn the key when it is not fully seated, you will misalign some of the seven to ten "plates" inside the key passageway. The key will turn, but, the lock will not open or close. If that happens, you must use the key to carefully realign the "cutout" in each plate with the plates above it and below it until the "cutouts" in every plate are realigned. (This is also true of the 2005 Kryptonite flat key locks).

OnGuard provides five keys with their locks, so if someone breaks a key or two before learning how to use the lock, there are still three spares.

The "best buy" lock is the OnGuard 2005 Bulldog Mini U-lock for $24 at REI. It is big enough to lock the rear wheel (just behind the seat tube) to a two inch wide pole, but too small for crooks to insert tools for a leverage attacks. The Bulldog Mini's two pound weight makes it much easier to carry than the four pound and eight pound "mega" locks, yet it offers a similar level of security against leverage and breaking-type attacks when properly attached to the bike.

kurremkarm

I own a kryptonite combo u-lock-- no keys. Seems adequate, and one less thing to lose or break.

fixedfiend

Are you suggesting he buy another Krypto after putting us all in this sh!##y situation? F. them! This is exactly what they want us all to do. Be so inconvenienced that we all go out and buy locks in the meantime so we don't bother them for a replacement. Don't let them get away with this. Everyone should start bothering the hell out of them to move their ass. This is their fault. They robbed everyone out of money and they're going to lull everyone with a promise of a free replacement?
When? Those replacements will also probably be cheap as hell. Pickable, breakable because you know they did this thing in a rush and to make it cheap so it doesn't break their bank. Krypto. Never Again!

skitbraviking

Seconded on the On Guard. It has weak keys but it's run by the guy who started Kryptonite and it's a heavy f-ing lock. Nobody's gonna f with it.

bostontrevor

Ah, didn't know about OnGuard Krypto connection. I did think it was interesting that Krypto was located in Canton, Mass. and On Guard HQ'd in Foxboro ("home of your 2005 New England Patriots!")

Anyhow, I dig my Ultimate Mini (2004 style with square cross-section shackle). It's tough enough to foil anyone who doesn't get at it with an angle grinder.

econobot

When you go to the innercity theaters, do you buy popcorn? Is it a Loewe's theater?

chimblysweep

actually, here in dc, today and tomorrow, one can go to the new regal cinema at "china"town for $1 movies, and $1 popcorn. sweet.

econobot

Yes, I am with Special Olympics and anyone going today will be supporting the organization.

mpatrick

is there anywhere on the internet to purchase the onguard locks, i cant seem to find one anywhere that has any of the 2005 models. or at least not the brute models.

alanbikehouston

The April 2005 issue of the UK magazine "Cycling Plus" has answered the NEXT question: "How good are the new 2005 models "BIC proof" bike locks?"

They tested a bunch of U-locks against the actual types of manual tools used by crooks, and then against portable, battery operated power tools.

The winner: the Kryptonite New York 3000. Unbreakable with manual methods. Lasted ten minutes against power tools. That is two minutes longer than the "top of the class" Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit chain, that weighs twice as much.

Best "bargain" lock. The tests indicated that the OnGuard Bulldog Mini U-lock ($24 at REI) protects as well against "manual" leverage and breaking attacks as the hefty, expensive, Kryptonite New York 3000. However, the OnGuard Mini lasted under two minutes against portable power tools, so it is NOT the lock to put on a $2,000 bike in Manhattan, where power tools are sometimes used to steal "high end" bikes.

invisiblah

unless you're too drunky

invisiblah

i tried the keys on a bike guard mini magnum on another mini magnum from the same rack, and the key opened it.

pista_chica

aha bahah haaa, that's great! i always hated carrying excessive amounts of keys.

ofofhy

That same article also recommended locking your rear wheel behind the seat tube, but not passing the lock through the frame. The reason being that the newer locks are so strong against manual prying that the frame actually fails before the lock. It seems to me that this method of locking defeats the whole 10 minutes against portable power tools thing. I am sure a dremel will go through a rim in less than 1 minute.

peripatetic

Someone posted this awhile ago, too. If you want to use the round-key U-lock, a trick they suggested (maybe it's one of these posters) that sounded quite viable was oiling the key hole. Poster said that makes it impossible for a Bic pen to get any purchase in the hole. If this actually works, seems like it'd save you a lot more money...

I figure if someone's taking a dremel or saw to my back wheel, they've rendered my beater fairly worthless, as that's the only part of my crap-ass bike that's worth more than 20 bucks.

South Fulcrum

I think I said it in a different thread, but I'll say it here again. I gave my OnGuard Mini to a friend after I got my new lock from Kryptonite. He came home one day to the lock open and on the ground and his bike gone. Sucks.

alanbikehouston

An OnGuard Mini can NOT be broken with manual tools, leverage attacks, or breaking attacks. Tests by "Cycling Plus" verify that. Sad to say, if there was no damage on that lock, your friend simply forgot to lock the bike, or had the crossbar on backwards, preventing the bolts from engaging.

To break an OnGuard Mini requires power tools. Noisy power tools. And that will leave the lock in pieces, not laying "open and on the ground".

The "top rated", heavy, and expensive Kryptonite New York 3000 uses a high security dual bolt design, and is the strongest U-lock available in the USA. But, the $24 OnGuard Bulldog Mini also uses the dual bolt design, and it can resist leverage attacks just as well as the New York Lock. That makes the Bulldog Mini the "best buy" lock for folks on a budget who need "serious" security.

South Fulcrum

alanbikehuston,

Are you on OnGuards payroll?

South Fulcrum

Further more, according to Performance's listing of the Kryptonite New York 3000 Lock has a "bent foot for easiery lock-up." If this is true (don't know if it is maybe needs updating) would that not make the highest rated lock no better than rope?