Lightest lock good enough for Chicago?
 

i just got a fancy light bike, and i'd hate to add too many pounds to the frame by strapping on a several pound u-lock. does anyone know of ultralight locks that can only be defeated with grinders?

what about this thing?

https://tigrlock.com

seems to be the current winner. there's a video showing them grinding through it, and it takes them a good second (if they made it seem like you couldn't, you'd know it's a scam). is kind of expensive, but one pound or less. i'd like them to offer a guarantee like kryponite, but i don't see one mentioned on their website.

anyone have any negative comments about this thing or know something better?

thanks!

Not specific to Chicago, but lock appearances can matter as much as time to defeat. I considered that lock until I found a Kryptonite mini 7 at a good price.

How and where you're locking your bike is useful for recommendations. I'd consider that lock for a secure garage during the workday, or to leave a nicer bike locked in public for up to an hour.

Google is your friend. When considering a lock, simply search for "x lock defeated". Make your own determinations.

^thanks for the reply. i am looking for a lightweight lock. the kryptonite mini 7 weighs three times as much as the lock i linked to, and more than the standard full-size kryponite lock. i'm not sure what you mean by google is my friend. that's how i found tigr lock. now i am asking for opinions on it and other lightweight alternatives. i do not consider the kryptonite mini 7 lightweight.

i've watched videos of both kryptonite and tigr locks being ground open.

If this is for commuting, can you lock the lock to a post at work so you don't have to carry it both ways?

it is for general errands. though it is a clever strategy for work. one that i had not thought of and will utilize. but that only addresses on of many trips i make with my bike. i still would like recommendations on lightweight locks that cannot be opened without grinder (or heavy duty jack).

my bike is my sole method of transportation (except for bus/train, which is not preferable to my bike). i need a lock with it at all times.

I think the tigr lock you linked to should be sufficient for quick stops. I wasn't interested in spending that much to drop weight I didn't always need to carry.

Remember, 99% of the time you only have to be locked better than most of the bikes around you.

That 1%? They're coming for YOUR bike.

thanks! i hear the same thing about bears. yeah, i always need to carry my lock so the weight matters. when i was on my steel trek 700, i didn't care. now that i got an aluminum frame, i'd rather not drag an anchor around with me.

though i really, really do not want my new bike stolen. they take 'em here in chicago.

might use both my krypto and the tigr together for parking on my street outside my apartment. and the tigr alone for errands. errands can still mean leaving your bike on the street for hours, but that tigr at least seems decent. i really like krypto's insurance policy though.

will be waiting a few days before i drop over $100 on a lock, so if anyone else has an opinion about light but effective locks, please weigh in.

Bring your bike inside! Leaving your bike outside gives up your greatest protection, surprise. A prepared thief will defeat any lock quickly under cover of darkness.
Besides, components suffer from exposure to the elements.

There's a youtube channel called Lock Picking Lawyer, which is primarily focused on how easily common locks can be picked. There is a lot of attention paid to bike locks, though, and it addresses a lot of common ways to defeat the locks with modest tools.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9...8W8JigLoZOh6FQ

In general, the cable locks can be cut with relative ease.
The Kryptonite U locks perform well, but are difficult to use in some situations.
Heavy robust chains are more adaptable to unusual locking situations but are rather resistant to cutting. Obviously, the weight is an issue.

Bosnian Bill did a review of the TiGr lock ....
About 14 minutes into the video, he demonstrates that a hacksaw can cut through the lock in about 15 seconds. Maybe it's harder when the lock is wrapped around a bike??

Steve in Peoria

I don't think there is any way to prevent a nice bike from getting stolen if you leave it unattended in certain parts of the city. For years I have been a fan of the crappy bike approach to city cycling. Now I just use divvy 99% of the time when I'm in the city.

There's one grocery store I do a lot of shopping at because they'll let me leave the bike inside while I shop, and security will keep an eye on it. They're a little more expensive that Safeway, but that makes up for it. I've found a lot of places are amenable to this if I ask.

It's not particularly light weight or portable, but I think this one might work:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...515f8054e8.jpg

I don't think there is such a thing.

ha, nice video steelbikeguy. what do you know, the one pound lock isn't good for squat. oh, and tyrion.

i was in a fantasy world yesterday.

Conventional wisdom is that no lock is good enough. I carry an inexpensive retracting cable lock, for quick stops and when I can keep the bike in sight.

General rule of thumb is that the weight of the lock is inversely proportional to the weight of the bike. Or more simply, lighter bike uses a heavier lock.

The lock I got for my Titanium bike is not light and you would probably not want it for that reason, but I bought a Bordo 6100. I wanted a combination lock and I did not want a big U lock, thus my choice for the Bordo. Comes in two lengths, I got the longer one. I think it is 1250 grams. It has about the same cabability as a U lock as far as size goes.
https://www.abus.com/eng/Mobile-Secu...RDO-Combo-6100

Most important thing is where you leave your bike. I live in Madison WI where there is a large university campus in the middle of town, plus there are some economically depressed high crime areas. In some of those areas you should not bring a nice bike. But other areas a bike can be left quite safe. Usually when I go to campus, I ride either my errand bike that I paid $5 for at a garage sale or another cheap bike. I do not ride my Titanium bike when I am going to campus.

And when you lock up your bike, if your front wheel is taken out of the fork and locked up with the frame, that would slow down most thieves, they want a fast getaway and reattaching a wheel would slow them down. That of course would scuff up your fork dropouts, but I have seen some cyclists do that where I used to work which was in a high theft area.

On some of my bikes I use a bolt on front skewer that uses a 5 mm allen wrench. I assume thieves are opportunists and do not carry around a 5 mm allen wrench with them. On bike tours with my Rohloff bike, I also use a bolt on skewer on the rear too. I keep a spare 5mm allen wrench with my spare tube in addition to my multitool, just in case I forgot the multitool at home the day I get a flat. I do not want to use something like a Pitlock, I am sure I would lose the key.

not really meeting the requirements, but I bought an aluminum ulock just for appearances sake. Might as well have bought a plastic one, it turns out the lock cylinder is horrible. The lock picking lawyer got into it in 3 seconds. Still looks more substantial to me than an ottolock

I thought about that video too, and remembered that the manufacturer apparently updated the design to exceed the jaw depth for the bolt cutters and disputed the result. Then it would take 2 cuts?

I had an Orbea Orca locked up with a fairly inexpensive and lightweight chain lock stolen a few years back. I was in an appt. for 90 mins. in a highly trafficked area at 11 in the morning. Thieves here will steal any bike at any time of day. They don't care. Fortunately, I am conservative and I had good insurance.

If you don't want your nice new bike stolen in the city of Chicago, I would highly recommend that you pick your lock based on what you feel is the best available, whatever the cost. You want to have a lock that causes thieves to just want to move on to something easier. It's well worth the investment.

I use a steel, 16 mm Sigtuna that is built like a tank. Extremely heavy. It could be a bit of a deterrent. And, as mentioned above, I bring my bike into my apartment with me. That's the best bike lock of all.

I would suggest asking the folks over at the Commuting subforum but my advice wouls be to stop being a weigh weeny and buy a lock that is strong enough to lead thieves to other, easier targets first.

Titanium is a great material but it is in no way even remotely as strong as hardened steel of the same weight. Meaning that the same lock made out of titanium would be much easier to cut.

I use a heavy duty chain lock from Abus combines with an Axa frame lock and my girlfriend uses an Abus folding lock + frame lock. And while they are similar in security hers actually takes more time to lock. She'd rather have a shorter chain lock as they are simply much easier to use.

EDIT: Girlfriend's commuter. Frame lock on the rear stays and folding lock in the seat bag.
EDIT2: Great BF ate my formatting.

I’ve been running TiGr bow locks for years, since ‘14 probably, and they— I have three bows, including a heavy duty prototype— have been keeping my bikes safe here in this university town.

As has been said, any lock can be defeated if the thief has the desire, so there are lots of factors which determine whether your lock gets targeted, attacked, and to what extent. I’ve never locked up habitually in the same place, for example, so that works in favor of defense. That the TiGr is still a relatively rarity and unknown to thieves also works in favor of defense, I’d think, as most people like to mitigate risk and tend to go with what they know; I don’t think thieves are substantially different except for having a higher risk tolerance. Lots of stolen bikes, but few brazenly stolen with electric grinders from outside grocery stores, it seems.

TiGr bow stows so neatly, it makes living with a lock a breeze…pun intended!:


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fd77016c6.jpeg

Chicago has professional bike thieves. Take the bike inside.

That being said, we put two kids through college and grad school with bikes on urban college campuses that were rife with thievery. In about 12 student-years of parking bikes, none have ever been stolen. And that's leaving bikes outside 24/7. The bikes where nice, quality, but old race bikes. Custom built wheels, classy frames etc... but old. They were not walmart bikes.

Here's how we did it:

1. Set up bikes with pitlocks on wheel skewers and seat.
2. Krytponite U-locks (orange ones) that go through the frame and rear wheel. When bike was locked overnight, second U-lock through front wheel to frame.
3. When out and about, U-lock and a cable lock (or now Ottolock) through front wheel also to rack. This now requires the thief to have two different sets of tools to steel this. The tools for defeating a U-lock requires a grinder. The tools for defeating the cable requires a bolt cutter. Carrying both is a giant PITA for a thief.
4. Park the bike next to a bike that is poorly locked and preferably better than yours hence, a more attractive bike to steal.

We've given thought to adding one of the small cable locks that are also an alarm. That just adds to the PITA for the thief at low overhead in locking/unlocking.

The locking strategy is as important as the lock. Maybe more so.

That just makes our bikes more securely locked and much more complicated to steal and/or to take parts off for resale. Been successful so far. Last kid finishes his PhD this summer and then we're done!

J.

All things being equal, lock your bike where it's in view of a security camera.

I'm skeptical that bike lock picking is much of a thing in RL. That said, my two different types of locks use two different types of lock cylinders, so a would-be picker needs two sets of picks and to be conversant in picking two types of locks. When and where possible I put the cylinders at an awkward, hard to access and left-handed angle.

^This.

Yeah, no bike thief is picking a lock. So I even think you're good with a high quality combo lock that doesn't give clues to the code.

Thieves need to be in and out fast. Most bike stealing is brute force not finesse and it's done by a crew that are not the sharpest tools in the shed. They need to get it done fast and move on. And, of course, time is money. Fast means big tools - battery powered grinders or bolt cutters. Carrying both is not an option. That's why using two different lock types that force needing both tool sets means they can't be fast. So that is a bonus on our end. If they see your bike and it requires too much fooling around or too many tools, they go to the next best one there that they have the tools to boost.