haplorrhine

I already have an OnGuard cable lock, but I lost the key to my BELL U-Lock. I want to get a better U-Lock. I was considering getting a good one (around 25-30$) and a cheap one (around 15$), but I don't know if this would be better than just buying a very good one (around 40$). I think if I get two, they must contrast in length or else they will often be serving the exact same function (they will just be stacked on top of each other).

Sirrus Rider

I bet they'll work just fine. Remember you are just deterring the more honest if someone really wants the bike they will find a way to defeat the locks thanks to the cordless power tool revolution.

contango 

Does $40 get you a very good U-lock? When I bought mine I paid the equivalent of more like $100 for it, and it was towards the top of the range but not at the top.

fietsbob

A budget lock in a place that rarely steals and strips bikes .

is better than a more expensive lock using it in a place that traffics in stolen bikes and parts.

haplorrhine

I just did a search for alarm u-locks, and there are some, although they're all over 100$.
Check out this baby from homedepot.
https://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...5X-_-203227537
If somebody really wanted your bike, could they bypass the alarm?


https://www.amazon.com/review/R1KMELH...R1KMELHJL7W01S
I don't know how universal this is, but apparently a u-lock key can open multiple locks and not just the one it's supposed to open. There could be people who just go around sticking one or two keys into every eligible lock until they get lucky; it's much less conspicuous than using power tools. Having two locks would make the bicycle much less vulnerable to this theft method.

contango 

True. It comes back to how expensive the bike is and who you're trying to protect it against.

A very simple lock will deter your opportunist, the kind of guy who sees a wheel with a QR skewer and no security and steals the wheel. As long as the lock is strong enough that it can't be snapped or broken with the kind of tools anyone might have on their person it will deter them.

A more determined thief is best put off by making your bike more effort to steal than the next bike.

A professional thief will have your bike if they want it, but unless it's worth a lot of money they are hopefully unlikely to bother with it. The kind of person who steals $10,000 bikes as an alternative to working and then strips them to sell them for parts is unlikely to bother with a low-end bike with Deore or Sora parts, so chances are if that describes your bike you won't need to worry about a professional thief.

My LBS recommends spending about 10% of the value of the bike on securing it. They've had a number of people who buy a top-end bike and then a very flimsy cable lock to secure it, figuring "it won't happen to me". Usually within a month or two they are back to buy a bike to replace the one that got stolen.

chasm54

Key security is one of the things one pays for when buying an expensive lock. Unique key patterns plus the ability to get replacements from the manufacturer if you lose one.

My ABUS granit x-plus is around $100. But the key is pretty secure, the model has hundreds of thousands of different key patters. And it resists bolt cutters and jacks. It won't stand up to an angle grinder, but nor will any lock that I'm aware of. I wouldn't think I was adding to my security by adding another cheap u-lock to this one, but I do carry a Kryptonite cable with a padlock to secure the saddle and rear wheel.

The disadvantage is weight.i overcame this for the commute by simply leaving the ABUS secured to the bike rack at work on a semi-permanent basis, so I didn't have to haul it around.

haplorrhine

My bicycle was $300, although it's probably worth less after I rode it for a year without any maintenance besides frequent tire patching.
I live in a suburban area about 35 miles from Chicago. I can ride on the streets for at least several hours before seeing another cyclist, most people only ride through the forest preserves for leisure.

Does this seem like a decent u-lock for the price?
https://www.amazon.com/Factor-Standar.../dp/B003VS4ZX6

The u-lock I lost the two keys for looks like this, but it didn't have tubular keys.
https://www.amazon.com/Bell-Hands-U-L...743839&sr=1-21
I think this is my cable lock, which I can still use and just changed the code for.
https://www.amazon.com/OG-5503-Combo-...743477&sr=1-48

Seattle Forrest

One is better than two if you're going to to carry them around with you. It won't matter if you lock them to the bike rack at work when you go home.

chasm54

If you can stretch to $32, I'd suggest that this_ might be a better-value package.

Don't rely solely on your combination cable lock, they are too easy to crack.

chaadster

I'm still trying to understand what the OP is driving at here...

I mean, the answer is pretty obvious, right? Having to get through 3 locks to get at a bike worth $150 ($300 new) is probably not worth anyone's time. Not an opportunist thief, not a pro thief, and honestly, probably not the owner's either, but I don't have enough info about their lockup scenario to call that last one.

In any case, it's very hard to imagine there's anything to be gained here by using 2 u-locks rather than just a single, decent, u-lock and securing the bike properly with it.

haplorrhine

If the combination cable locks are too easy to crack, should I get something better to secure my back wheel? Maybe I could get this long u-lock and put it through both my frame and back wheel.
https://www.amazon.com/Kryptonite-Kry...751758&sr=1-11

chasm54

I think you are over-thinking this. I said, don't rely solely on a combination cable. A cable plus a u-lock is fine, in my opinion.

haplorrhine

I didn't think about the cable. I'll get what yopu recommended.

Chris Chicago

fwiw I looked into locks a few years ago and the articles I read put kryptonite and ongaurd above the others

haplorrhine

I watched a youtube video on how to crack a MasterLock combo. I tried the same technique on my OnGuard cable lock with no success, and I didn't find a video on how to crack OnGuard cable locks in particular. I held one end of the lock portion with my arm, and I put my foot on the other end of the cable, then I pushed and pulled as I attempted both the first and fourth rungs. On the first rung from the key-peice, I heard clicks at two specific numbers, but only one of those numbers was in my code at all. I tried changing the code and retrying, and this time I only got clicks for one number, which was not in the code at all. The second rung had a different clicking pattern, but it was more difficult to recognize and not obviously related to the code. I think I noticed the second rung could be more difficult to move when it was on the correct number, but the ocurrence wasn't reliable because I only noticed it happen a few times while I was sitting here for forty minutes.

I can't find a picture of an OG lock exactly like mine, but the picture on Amazon looks pretty similar, and, upon purchase, mine was circularly wound within the same cardboard peice.
Here is the link again. https://www.amazon.com/OG-5503-Combo-...-2147483553-20

Seb71

I am using two U-Locks:
- OnGuard Bulldog Mini to lock the bike (frame/rear wheel) to a rack/post/other object;
- a no-name U-Lock, with a longer "U", to lock the front wheel to the frame.

I also have a cheap cable lock, used when I do not have a suitable object to lock the bicycle to with the U-Lock (but only when I leave the bicycle unattended for a short period of time).

haplorrhine

Here is more about the crackability of OnGuard cable locks.
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4212031AAEx8YU


Why do you lock the wheel to the frame instead of the immobile object?

Seb71

Because usually I have to choose between locking the back wheel/frame to a fixed object or locking the front wheel to a fixed object. I can not do both simultaneously so (when possible) I choose the first option - locking the rear wheel/frame to a fixed object. In the rare occasions when I can also lock the front wheel to some fixed object, of course that I do so.

MadCityCyclist

I use the highest level Kryptonite lock on my over-accessorized hybrid (Trek 7500) and the same for the Kryptonite chain on my Salsa Mukluk 2 (there's probably not a U-lock in the world that will fit a fat-bike, so I went with the chain) and I've never had either one stolen, nor has there been any evidence of tampering.

I live in a town with sophisticated, experienced bike thieves, and Surly bikes get stolen all the time here (so obviously they'd know what my bikes are and what they're worth). My guess is when the thieves see what type of lock I'm using, they know what it will take to defeat it and they move on to other pastures.

It should also be noted that I'm very aware of what object I'm locking the bike to, and I never leave my bikes outside overnight. If I had to leave my bikes outside overnight I'd never even buy an expensive bike in the first place.

haplorrhine

MadCityCyclist, it seems like you followed the 10% rule, which was mentioned by Contango, for the Trek, although that rule would place the Salsa Mukluk beyond any single u-lock or chain.