Originally Posted by
rekmeyata
You don't know a lot about tools do you? The two best locks for bicycles can be defeated within two minutes with the cheapest battery powered angle grinder.
http://gizmodo.com/5922074/the-best-bike-lock More expensive battery powered angle grinders cut a lot faster.
The lock I mentioned is not covered in the article... and I actually own a couple different battery powered angle grinders (both a harbour freight cheapie and a more expensive dewalt) and neither are going to automatically shear through a lock like people seem to think. The cheap ass one might cut through it in 10 minutes (for one side) with a fresh blade and the dewalt will probably do it in half that. Both are likely to destroy the frame the lock is wrapped around while doing it... and in that time span there is a likelihood of burning up the blade and/or motor in the tool. I would honestly be more afraid of someone hacksawing the bike rack faster/safer than angle-grinding my lock (cutting galvanized pipe with a hacksaw is no amazing feat).
And then there's picking, something that happens quite a bit in Europe but is slowly catching on here in America, and a good picker will have the best lock undone in 30 seconds. And the whole time he's doing that it just looks like he's having trouble with his key.
Methinks the average bike thief is not that dedicated. We're not talking simple locks that can be easily raked... and that bic fiasco is over.
And bike theft is a $200,000,000 dollar a YEAR crime!
...and there was a ring of thieves who were breaking into houses and stealing people's bikes based on CL posts and Strava data... but this is a rare occurence. I'm not going to stop buying nice bikes because someone may break into my house and steal them either.
So if someone has a $4,000 bike and needs to use it for commuting and parking outside why do that? When you could find a nice used bike or decent Walmart bike for under $250 and still have a decent bike to commute on and a really nice bike for the weekend without fretting if the $4,000 bike will be there when you're finished with work. Thus my logic is you still have the nice bike, which is what I said that you freaked over because you failed to read, but you're using a lessor quality bike for high risk parking and leaving unattended. Keep another thing in mind too, thieves are also stealing bike components, those you can't lock up unless you buy special bolts. Again why spend $250 for a lock, couple hundred more for locking bolts and skewers then have to hassle with all that crap to fix something on the bike? I think it's nuts, sorry. But if I had to park a bike outside my place of employment I would take my least valued bike that I didn't care a whole lot about if it got stolen, or buy a low value bike.
So I should piss away money on a cheap unreliable bike to get myself to work every day? One with **** brakes and cheap components that are prone to failure? Nah, I'd rather not risk my life or job security, thanks.
They actually have picking contests in Europe to see who can pick the most pick resistant lock made the quickest called DEFCON; this sport is growing here in the US now.
Uh... DEFCON is a security conference, not a lock-picking contest (though most years there are lock picking workshops)... and it's held in Las Vegas every year... not Europe. Perhaps you meant the Chaos Communication Conference? Which used to hold the annual German lockpicking championships (but hasn't done so in over half a decade)? Again however, it is not a lockpicking contest, it's a security conference.
Obviously, you're talking out of your ass... but yes, there is some manner of risk to locking a bike up outside in public. The question has never been one of "should I lock up outside?" it has been one of "What is the best lock?" and the OP has been answered. Both the Abus and Kryptonite lock are best-in-class u-locks.
If you're going to commute to work with a bike, the "best" solution is to bring it indoors with you, but if you have to lock up outside, I wouldn't settle for anything less than the above mentioned locks as they will stop all but the most dedicated of thieves.