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.

You've heard of the old "credit card" trick with a door lock? Shimming is a way of opening a lock by pushing something inside the mechanism to release the catch. Shimming a padlock involves sticking a thin piece of metal in between the bolt and lock body in order to force the lock to release. It doesn't require any skill and it is fast, so it is a method thieves would use in the field.

I assume you can do the same thing to a U lock(?)

It all depends on the design of the lock. You would need a bigger shim, but nothing would preclude that scenario.

Look at it like this, in order to make a lock secure they have to machine the parts to very tight tolerances, which raises the cost of design and materials. We dont live in an ideal world either. Your lock is going to get rained on, get dirt blown in it, road gravy splattered on it, you name it and it will find it's way into your lock. The tighter the tolerance the more havoc this will cause. So they manufactur a certain amount of looseness in the lock so that it won't bind or jam due to a little dirt. It's this looseness that lets you slide a shim in and push the locking bolt back from the lock to disengage it. Usually this pin is held only by a spring, much like the catch on a door, and the shim pushes the bolt back allowing you to open the lock.

Better locks have made design changes to ensure the bolt will not move unless the key is inserted, as well as wards around the lock that make it difficult to squeeze a shim into place.

This is cool stuff, Mikabike. Do you know of any good web sites on how locks work? I'm trying to visualize the parts of the lock and coming up blank :)

On both my Kryptonite locks, the bolt is not held by a spring, so a shim would not be able to push it out of the way. The key needs to be turned to both lock and unlock the bolt.

In college I used a monster 1/2" chain. Look at that, and look at the dinky chain or cable on the 40 other bikes tied up, and guess which one the thief'll go for.

Now I'm parking at my office, where I have the only bike here. I just got a cable (1/2", but still) on the theory that if someone really wants to take it, it is gonna be gone. So the cable is just to deter casual theft. I got a cable instead of a chain because it's more convenient for me and I had to cut a cable the other day with bolt cutters and it was a PITA. Chains are easier to cut with bolt cutters.

http://www.lockpicking101.com has a great forum section. A lot of people were posting on there about those Kryptonite locks last year. I started my hobby reading the forums and talking to others. It's an unusual skill and I like the dexterity and mental site you have to have to get a lock open without a key. The first time you spring the lock it's like the first time you rode a bike by yourself. You will always remember it and it will make your heart pound.

Just make sure if you post questions about bypassing a lock, they know your talking about a lock you own. :)

I'm using a kryptonite u lock and a combo cable lock at the moment. It's taking kryptonite FOREVER to send me my replacement :(

But the combination of the locks seem to be serving me well :)

after much checking, it seems everyone was saying it was going to take 2-3 weeks to get an abus lock instock. I just decided to bid on a couple of locks on ebay (that were in canada) ended up with a Krpt EVO2000, light, strong and enough coverage to just replace my bike (and yes it's new). I was going to get the New York 3000 to compare weight and such but some idot bid it up higher then bicyclebuys.com sells it for....

IF you would like to see this lock broken in action I present to you the following http://thirdrate.com/misc/krypto.mov