Kryptonite U-Locks (New York, Evolution 4)
 

Is there a significant difference in the security afforded by the New York U-Lock and by the Evolution 4 U-Lock (both manufactured by Kryptonite)? I don't mean "lab. results," but "real-world"? (I'm not sure how to assess this, then, but perhaps someone else will be.) The former is heavier and more expensive, but do you feel its (added) reliability justifies those drawbacks?

Other U-Lock options (from Kryptonite) are the Keeper 12 and KryptoLok Series 2. Of course, there also is the Fahgettaboudit, but it's rather smaller than anything that could be called "standard size," so I've excluded it from this line-up.

Thanks.

It's my personal belief that if you're only going to lock up your bike for an hour or so at a time while running errands and so on, any basic U-lock will serve your needs in any metropolitan area. The only time I'd consider getting something like the higher end NY Locks would be if I had to lock my bike up all day or overnight in the same location day after day. Those locks can still be defeated by power tools, but they are more time consuming to do so.

I lock my $1500 road bike with a Kryptolock Series 2 U-lock (and a cable for the front wheel) while I'm having lunch or running errands and I'm not worried at all. On the other hand, I simply wouldn't leave a bike that expensive outside in the same location all day with just about any lock - particularly in Portland where there are significant numbers of pro bike thieves.

Scott

I have the Evolution Mini lock, and so far, no problems. It's small, it's not too heavy, and it's reasonably secure. The lock is a good deterrent against opportunistic theft. If a pro thief (may God damn them all) wants your bike, he can get it, but most small, hardened U-locks are enough of a challenge that it would probably have to be a really nice bike for them to go to the effort to saw through hardened carbon steel with a Dremel tool or to use a bottle jack.

I agree that if you're just locking up for an hour or so, any U-lock will probably do. However, I would not dream of leaving my bike locked up outside overnight, especially in a bike-friendly area, even with the NY lock. In an area with few people who even care about bikes, it might be safer, but I wouldn't want to bet my bike on it.

Don't forget you can leave your lock at your destination. I keep my bike inside the house at home, so I leave my Kryptonite NY lock on the rack at work. I have a much lighter ulock as well as a cable lock at home which I use for quick errands.

Lab results are actually a quite good measure as the independent testing agencies use real world methods that thieves also use. That being said, I wouldn't lock my bike up with anything rated less than three starts by the ART Foundation (an independent tester), and if I were to buy a new lock today I'd get one that was four starts (the highest rating). Due to the worldwide economic situation there will be a jump in thefts, and it's better to be safe than sorry.....

http://www.stichtingart.nl/sloten_resultaat.asp - check 'Foto's tonen' for pictures.

Thanks. These responses indicate, to me, most U-Locks provide adequate security for short-time lock-ups, and even the most rugged isn't sure to stand up to a determined assault on a bike that's been left sitting out over-night.

I don't like the look and build-quality of the Keeper 12, but I suppose the New York, Evolution 4, or KryptoLok Series 2 U-Lock will be fine for me. I forgot to post earlier, Kryptonite's rating-system — which runs from 1 (lowest security) to 12 (highest) — ranks the mentioned U-Locks as follows:

1. Keeper 12: 7
2. KryptoLok Series 2: 8
3. Evolution 4: 9
4. New York: 11

Just an additional $.02 - your exclusion of the Fahgetaboutit, and other minis I assume, misses the point that most u-locks cracked by thieves are taken with bottle jacks, and the minis have just enough reach to surround the seat tube or rear rim (see Sheldon Brown) with no extra clearance for a jack. If I were worried about parts theft, I would use locking skewers and/or clamps, or, more likely, make other parking arrangements.

personally i ride with the Kryptonite Evolution Mini , it's the standard lock even for bike messengers, very secure, sturdy, not to heavy or bulky. For most general locking situations any of their Evolution series locks are going to be great, and for the most part until recently with series 4 all the lock bodies were the same but with just different length U's for the evo's .

Now on the NY series locks, as stated before, unless you are locking up a high dollar bike for extended periods in a high crime area they are a bit over kill. Plus, have you ever gone to the store and picked up a Fagettaboutit U lock? they are heavy and bulky as all heck. Personally they are too heavy and too much weight for me to want to carry one.

Here's a thread in which a professional locksmith discusses locking one's bike.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=520597
There's a lot of stuff in this thread that probably won't be of interest, but there are also some significant discussions about u-locks.

From Sheldon Brown's lock strategy page:

"The best U-locks are the smallest. My favorite is the Kryptonite Mini, which not all bike shops stock. The Mini is much smaller and lighter than the more popular models, but just as secure. It may be even more secure, because of the limited room to put a jack inside it. It also gives less purchase for leverage-based attacks."

Locking-skewers might not be a bad idea — I'll have to learn more about them. Parking in "other places," I think, is a somewhat futile suggestion: We all try to keep our bikes as safe as possible; beyond that, we still consider which locks to use.

I didn't mentioned mini U-Locks because I'm not considering buying one. Concerning what is called the "Sheldon-Brown method of locking," I don't favor it: it might be secure, but it doesn't look to be. A big part of theft prevention is visual deterrence — I don't want to re-install my rear wheel every time a thief thinks he or she can get it out of the triangle, or, worse, have to buy a new one whenever a a frustrated thief decides to mangle it up.

Yes, the Kryptonite New York U-Lock feels heavy, but the Fahgettaboudit chain is just deadly weight.

As you might've read elsewhere already, nothing will stand up to a determined assault by a skilled and prepared thief. The most secure locks only force the thief to work harder to defeat it, and hopefully make him/her pass your bike by to find another target.

*Off-topic: Why isn't my user-name displayed in red-color font anymore?

You didn't get the memo?

I'm red again... OK, seriously: what is with the red fonts' being used for some users?

red are the people who are on the site at the time the page loaded for you. (which means your own name should always be red unless you logged out for some reason).

I went through this same consideration last year. I wanted a good lock for my bike that I could keep at work. From everything I could gather, the New York Fuhgettaboutit is essentially the same as the Evolution Series 4, but heavier. I went with a 5' New York Chain® w/Evolution series 4 Disc Lock, because the handrail I lock to at work is thick enough that I needed the chain and the considerable extra expense for the Fuhgettaboutit didn't seem worthwhile - I thought it would have been overkill.

My portable lock is a OnGuard Pitbull ATB (model 5004), which works well. I always try to lock my frame and rear wheel together to whatever I'm locking to, and it seems to me doing this fills the "U" enough to make using a bottle jack impossible, though I'm no expert. I stayed away from the mini U locks because I wanted something large enough to be able to accomodate a range of things to lock to because here in suburbia, accomodations for bikes are God-awful. Consider yourself fortunate to find ANYTHING worth locking to, and that isn't an exaggeration. In a city where accomodations are more dependable and known I suspect having a mini-U would be quite nice.

If I felt compelled to port around anything larger than my OnGuard I would probably favor a cheaper bike.

Oh. Thanks.

It all seems like overkill until your ride gets stolen. Then it's spare no expense. I use 3 locks at work: fahgettaboudit 3' chain, fahgettaboudit standard U lock, and a combo cable thru the rear wheel. I take my front wheel inside w/ me. Honestly it doesn't take that long to lock it up and the peace of mind is WORTH IT. I leave the chain there overnight (weighs a ton).

Does anyone have approximate weights of popular U-locks? It seems manufacturers tend not to publish them on their own Web sites...

But, by that logic, one wanders into the manufacturers' fantasy, doesn't one: people convinced they must pay any price whatsoever for the "greatest" in security. If your locking regimen works well for you, all right, but, in my opinion, a Fahgettaboudit chain plus Fahgettaboudit U-lock plus cable plus front-wheel–removal is excessive. Of course, I don't know where you live (park) or what you ride, or if you've suffered a bad experience in the past, but, "generally," I'd like to think (and I don't feel I'm deluded in doing so, but another might disagree) this level of security measure is unnecessary.

I've got some info from an old issue of Cycling Plus. Which locks are you interested in?

http://blog.everydayscientist.com/wp...bike-lock1.jpg


Mini locks FTW

'tis cheaper to buy three locks than to continue replacing thousand dollar bicycles that you're forced to park outside unattended in a very quiet spot, over and over each day for 9-10 hours at a stretch...

I put my regular sized lock through the rear wheel and both seatstays, or both wheels and the seatpost (rear wheel and seatpost only if the object i'm locking to is especially thick). If they can still fit a jack in, well, they win.

Commonly-sold (current) U-locks.

I'd like to use a mini-lock, but I am generally locking two bikes together at any given time (mine, and my girlfriends). I usually use:
-1 Kryptonite or Onguard u-lock or a heavy duty Kryptonite chain (not sure what kind it is, it's about half the heaviness of the current big new york chain)
-attached to a braided cable leash going through any quick release wheels not secured by the u-lock or heavy chain
-using Onguard/Pitlock locking skewers on one of the bikes

Always takes a bit of finagling, but I've never had anything stolen, and it seems to work well.

I have a big supply of u-locks, and I've used the standard ones, and the evolution series. I've never had either one messed with by a thief (that I could tell), but I also don't leave it unattended for more than a few hours (if that), and usually in a pretty visible area. I do live in a big city, though, not suburbs. At night and for long periods of time the bikes are inside, not locked up outside.

Honestly I'm not going to go though the whole article and type everything out. If there is a specific lock that you are interested in I'll check it for you.

Don't exclude the Fahgettaboudit from consideration. For most people, it is a great size. It will fit around the rear wheel of your bike and a beefy steel post set in concrete, such as a parking meter, but leaves a minimum of empty space for inserting leverage tools.

When I park downtown a night, I ride a 30 year old rusty bike (that rides great) with a five pound u-lock to go around the rear wheel, and a two pound u-lock to go around the front wheel and frame. I try to park next to shiny new $2,000 bikes that are "secured" with only a cable lock. Which bike will the crook take first?

To correct Sheldon (so rarely possible), freaking NO bike shops stock Kryptonite's good locks. I'd have one already if every store around here didn't just carry whatever crap OnGuard makes along with the el cheapo Kryptonites. For supposedly having such good locks, Kryptonite's distribution network kind of sucks.