justdon

Are there any cable locks made that would be very hard for thieves to cut through.

General Geoff

No, by their nature cable locks are comparatively easy to cut with compact hand tools.

Maelochs

Decide how much lock you need to carry to feel secure ... knowing that you either have to carry ten pounds of metal which thieves can cut---but very few-- or a lightweight cable which ways several ounces and many thieves could cut--but few will.

I have no real numbers to support it ... but it seems most thefts are thefts of convenience. A cable will discourage a lot of lazy, half-hearted thieves because the three-to-five minutes it might slow them down is more than a cheap bike is worth to them.

Anything more than a few minutes' running into a store with my bike in a high-traffic area, i use a hardened steel chain and a padlock. Because none of my bikes are worth Big Bucks, (if they were I wouldn't lock them up outside) I am not worried about the guy with the hydraulic floor jack or angle grinder. The guys who bother to carry a grinder and spare batteries will get your bike unless you lock it in a bank vault--unless it isn't worth the effort..

fietsbob

some armored cable locks are flexible interlocking tubular sections of steel tubing, with a cable inside them.

But In have come to prefer Abus Bordo Folding link locks, such as this one: https://www.abus.com/eng/Mobile-Secu...ORDO-Big-6000#

jefnvk

No. A pair of $10 Harbor Freight concealable bolt cutters will take care of any cable lock I've ever seen.

Don't get me wrong, I use cable locks pretty much exclusively. They stop crimes of opportunity, which is 99.8% of what I am concerned with in my not insanely high bike theft area. 0.1% I take care of by parking my bikes next to much nicer bikes or where I can see it. The last 0.1% I just don't worry about, no method of securing is foolproof if someone wants your bike bad enough.

I have a U-Lock I use if I am leaving it for an extended period of time (i.e., overnight) in public.

pdlamb

I've been using one of the armored cable locks @fietsbob references for years:
Armored Cables ? OnGuard Locks has the latest models. The theory is the steel armor protects the inner cable (and the bike owner in me hopes anybody who tries an angle grinder gets armor shrapnel hitting him if he decides to cut my lock!).


Mine is locked to the bike rack at work, with or without a bike, so I don't have to lug it back and forth.

Maelochs

Take it from a successful bike thief ....

(Just kidding .... but a little creepy that you have a favorite brand ....)

jefnvk

Why pay more for a nice brand when you may have to just ditch them running from the cops?

Retro Grouch 

That's what I think too.

The first lock that you use to protect your bike, no matter how flimsy, is about 90% effective because it's enough to stop the crimes of convenience. Moving from 90% effective to 99% effective involves a progressively more weight, bulk and cost. 100% effective doesn't exist.

Choose a protection/risk/cost level that you are comfortable with.

JanMM

I almost never carry a lock - the ones I use to lock my commuter bike stay on the rack at work; two medium duty cables with one keyed padlock to secure the wheels, seat frame and frame to rack. Plus, a medium duty U-lock to secure the frame to the rack. Anyone with the right tools could get it but it's in a fairly high traffic area of a parking garage within sight of the cashier.

jefnvk

Maybe a parking lot attendant would be a bit more reactive, but anyone who thinks that leaving a bike in a very public area deters theft should watch this video. A few years old at this point, but they set up their own bikes to steal in very public places in London, and no one bats an eye.

The public at large is quite happy to stick out of other people's business and walk by, even when something obvious is going on. If you want to take it a step further, even if I am well intentioned, put on a hard hat and a hi-viz vest, and I'm likely to completely ignore a guy with a grinder cutting locks.

Nimbuslove

hasn't anybody mae a tracking device for a bike yet

Maelochs

Two issues: battery life, and concealment.
Third interest---getting police interested.

You'd have to driver around following the blinking icon on your phone's GPS screen, then call the cops, and try to get a cop to go to the house where someone could simply say, "No, we don't have any stolen bikes today, thank you" and close the door.

canklecat

Locks are just to keep shady people honest. It won't deter serious thieves. It might deter opportunists.

My solution is to use only a $100 hybrid bike for situations where I'd need to lock it up. I use a fairly heavy duty cable and one of those round storage unit locks that minimizes any exposed shank. That's my grocery getter and errand bike. It's what I take for casual rides around town where I might need to lock it up out of sight.

And I try to pick areas where thieves wouldn't want to be seen. Texans tend to intervene more when they see something shady going on, so unless it's a really bad part of a big city like Houston or Dallas, chances are thieves won't take a chance on whipping out the bolt cutters on a bike locked in front of a busy grocery store.

If it gets stolen, I'd just check craigslist and find another similar hybrid or 1980s-'90s era mountain bike. There are a zillion of 'em, all good bikes but inexpensive.

Regarding tracking devices, yup, they're becoming cost effective enough that soon we'll be able to afford 'em for our own bikes. Most rental bikes -- city and privately owned -- have GPS trackers now. It's integrated into the entire rental system. And those are pretty heavy bikes that few people would bother stealing anyway.

ramzilla

I like the cable locks that are available at Home Improvement stores. They're intended for locking ladders on roof racks & such. Masterlock makes a nice long one. (Cheaper & heavier duty than what's sold at bike stores). It's long enough to lock me & the wifes bike up together when we ride to a restaurant.