http://www.abuslock.com/distributors.asp

http://www.kwiklocks.com/abus/index.html

http://www.bikebone.com/page/BBSC/CTGY/ABUS

http://www.lockitt.com/AbusCableChain.htm

http://www.bikelock.com/manufact2.asp?thisPage=3
http://www.bikelock.com/manufact2.asp?thisPage=4
http://www.bikelock.com/manufact2.asp?thisPage=5
http://www.bikelock.com/manufact2.asp?thisPage=6

http://www.keymart.com/motorcycle_locks.htm

I didn't check which site is the cheapest. You'll want to visit www.abus.com to get decent information about each lock, including "security levels."

bikebone seems to be the best so far, still waiting to hear back from keymart thanks :)

A lot of us don't carry our commuting locks back and forth. We leave them where we lock the bike.

Most of the links I posted seem to be for the motorcycle models, though they are very similar to (and can be used in place of) the bike models. However, I'm not sure if they come with the bracket to mount to the bike frame. Most of them are pretty beasty-heavy though, so a little plastic bracket probably wouldn't hold it very well anyway!

i was able to find the 54 model on most of the pages, lockitt.com has the "x-plus" model with the better key so i'm still waitting to hear back from them, at 3lbs + i am now seriously considering just leaving the lock at work, the rack there is cast iron and bolted to the ground,

the 59 model was tempting too, but at twice the price... eh, not really worth it for me, the 54 should be more then i ever need.

The prices at bikebone aren't too different from the shop prices here in Europe. I think the shop price for the Abus 59 Extreme Granit Plus chain here is Ls135 which translates to $250.60. I managed to find mine for a little more than half off. How could I say no? At bike bones it's $234.95 w/o shipping.

The 59 U-lock is one big, beefy lock. No one is getting through that without powertools and a lot of time. It has a ten metric ton pull strength and a square shackle. It's one serious lock.

ahh, but the non-cylindrical locks, (or the spring loaded ones) that beat the bic.

The Granit 54 is only 7 tons pull strength, but costs far less as well. It's $52 at keymart and I'm seriously considering it. The website looks a little... unprofessional though. I still wish I could find a distributor in Canada!

There's not a lock made that I can't break.

But then again, I suppose commonly using explosives at work is fairly unusual. Of course I won't guarantee what kind of shape the bike will be in after the shot goes. And i wouldn't do it in town because of the little problem of collateral damage law suits, broken windows, etc. :D

Wouldn't a small coil of plastic explosives around the shackle do the trick? Surely the explosion wouldn't be TOO noticeable.

For the New Yorkers in the crowd... Two or three Euro lock makers (don't recall which) who don't sell in the US had displays - and were selling locks - at the New York bike show last year. Might be worth a look when the show comes back in May...

Yes, it would be nice if Abus locks were sold widely in the USA at affordable prices. But, in the tests in Europe by "Sold Secure" and the "ART Foundation", the best Kryptonite and the best OnGuard models were rated as highly as the best Abus locks.

Most of the bike shops in my neighborhood carry Kryptonite or OnGuard locks. There is no need for folks to be hunting around the internet for a "mail order" Abus lock.

Yeah? Well, that makes me feel a bit better about getting a "local" brand. It would still be nice if Kryptonite and OnGuard had some competition in the high-end lock market. They are all overpriced, IMO.

I imagine that part of the price inflation is because of the insurance Kryptonie offers. Has anybody ever successfully claimed that insurance?

I found it interesting that as a remedy to the owners of cylindrical keyed locks, Kryptonite offered a replacement lock, or $10. Gives you an idea of what the lock is worth to them, including UPS ground shipping to and from your location. Probably 5 bucks for the lock.

Um. I'm not a bike theif but I can pop most Abus padlocks in seconds. :) Then again I'm an amateur locksmith. :)

Abus makes decent locks though compared to masterlocks and such.

The thing is that even a professional locksmith can have locks that take minutes to pick, even cheap ones. An experienced bike thief isn't going to bother with trying to pick your lock either. They are going to either shim the lock or use bolt cutters. Both of which have a more consistent speed of bypass, usually a few seconds.

All a lock really does is keep honest people honest. Any determined thief will get your bike if they want it. The trick is to make your bike un-appealing to the eye of a theif. A cable that resists bolt cutters, and most any lock that has shim protection, security pins, and protection from bolt cutters is going to work.

The tubular locks also require different tools that are more expensive and require different skills than cylinder locks, providing better protection if they actually use all the pins.

To give you an idea you can pick or shim most padlocks in seconds using nothing more than a soda can, or a piece of spring steel like a saw blade. Lockpicks for these cost less than $20. A tubular lock pick is $80 and requires specialized training to use.

Anyway, point is, don't blow all your cash on a good lock and get a cheap cable, or the other way around. Just make your bike tough enough to take more effort than a thief wants to expell and they will be off to find a different bike.

The whole problem with Kryptonite is that they didn't use all of the pins available to cut costs. Think of a tubular lock as a clock with each number being a pin. In the pen bypassable locks you are talking about they have about half the numbers missing.....which makes it much easier to pick.


Would it make you feel any better to know that any cheap tubular lock can be picked by nothing more than a paper towl dowel?

Well they make a lot of different locks and some are better than others. With few exceptions, the chances of picking one with pen or other household item are pretty nill. The only reason the pen trick worked was that they only had 5 out of 12 possible pins inserted, and those 5 pins were not made to tight tolerances, allowing enough play in the mechanism for them to set quite easily.

I don't pick tubular locks though, so I have no numbers for use with a tubular pick. I pick warded and pin locks using a Southord mx15 set. I have no interest in tubular locks as a hobby.

Flat Key Kryptonite U-lock
+ 3/8" Kryptonite cable for wheel
+ Allen bolt skewer on front wheel, bolt-on rear wheel
+ Silicone caulk goop in front skewer Allen bolt
+ old ten-speed frame that cost $10
= unlikely candidate for theft

How would a thief "typically" break a U-lock? Would they take a car jack to it? Is it true that the less room left inside the U-lock, the better?

Interesting comments, thanks for the insight. i'm not familliar with "shimming"-what does this refer to?

Either a car jack or the twist method - stick something through it (a 2x4, a crowbar, a length of iron pipe) and twist it until the U pulls free of the crossbar. Less space inside the U makes both methods much more difficult.