alanbikehouston

Performance took the "blurb" for the OTHER Kryptonite U-locks "bragging" about the convenience of the "bent foot" design and stuck it on the wrong lock. The 2005 model New York 3000 has a "dual bolt" design that locks both sides of the shackle.

Why is that important? If the shackle is locked with two locks, cutting the lock requires cutting two shackles instead of one. Kryptonite uses the more expensive "dual bolt" design only for one expensive model. OnGuard uses the dual bolt design on EVERY U-lock. As a result, the OnGuard Bulldog Mini U-lock ($24 at REI) is as strong against leverage attacks as the $80 New York lock...top performance at a third the price, and with half the weight.

In defense of the "bent foot" design...it does make it faster and easier to lock and unlock the bike. Dual bolt locks require careful alignment of both ends of the shackle before the key will turn, and that can add a few seconds of hassle to the locking process. No lock is easier to use than the Kryptonite Evolution Mini. But, for "midnight in a bad neighborhood", you need a dual bolt lock.

alanbikehouston

I wish.

South Fulcrum

alanbikehuston,

If you need a letter o' rec. for you application at OnGuard, just let me know .

I can't tell from all the other post, but is the one to get the Brute Series. How well do the others match up?

alanbikehouston

I have two "Brutes", but if a compact U-lock will fit around your rear wheel and the post on the bike racks that you typically use, the OnGuardBulldog Mini U-lock selling ($24 at REI) is equally strong.

The OnGuard Bulldog Mini - (model 5013) weighs just 1.7 pounds. The Bulldog Mini has an "open space" of just 3 1/2 inchs wide and 5 1/2 inches long. That is just big enouh to lock it around the rear wheel of a road bike or hybrid, and a typical parking meter post or traffic sign pole. It is a "snug" fit that will sometimes cause you to look for a slimmer locking pole. And, you will have to "wiggle" your bike up tight against the post you are using. That snug fit, putting the locking pody up against your left chainstay, is what makes a Mini lock so effective.

If I needed to use a rack with posts wider than three inches wide on a regular basis (posts too wide for a mini U-lock), I would use the Kryptonite New York 3000. Its 4 inch by 8 inch size will fit around both a rear mountain bike wheel plus a beefy locking post. When I need to carry around a four pound lock, I want to carry the BEST one, and that is the Kryptonite New York 3000.

In maximum security situations, such as parking outside the "midnight movies" in downtown Houston, the Kryptonite New York 3000 locks my rear wheel to a post, and the OnGuard "Mini" locks my front wheel to the frame. That bike ain't going nowhere.


HOW TO LOCK YOUR BIKE by Sheldon Brown:

www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html

LóFarkas

Ouch!!! If the lock looked intact, I suppose it was picked the traditional way. Alanbikehouston seems to forget about good old lock-picking tools like these: https://secure.sovietski.com/isroot/s...log/203109.jpg

Worrying, 'cos was thinking abuot buying a Bulldog myself. But, after all, _ALL_ locks can be picked with the right tool and expertise, eh? 1 instance is not too scary.

alanbikehouston

Current OnGuard models are VERY difficult to pick. A professional locksmith could do it, eventually, with the lock sitting on a workbench, and a choice of appropriate tools. But, some typical crackhead street crook, crouched on his knees next to a bike rack? Nope.

Real crooks don't bother trying to "pick" high quality locks, nor do they use BIC pens. The majority of U-locks I see (U-locks NOT made by Kryptonite or OnGuard) can be opened in under ten seconds with a simple leverage tool...there is not the slightest reason for a crook to waste his time trying to "pick" a lock.

Around my neighborhood, the majority of bikes are locked ONLY with cable locks, or have the lock attached ONLY to the front wheel, which usually has a quick release. On a rack that has five or six such "free give-away" bikes, no crook has the slightest reason to mess with a bike that is CORRECTLY locked with on OnGuard or Kryptonite U-lock.

If someone comes out of class, and finds their UNdamaged OnGuard lock laying on the ground, they simply forgot to lock their bike. The bike's owner put the lock on the ground, looked for his key, got distracted, and walked away without ever locking his bike.

How many times has the "average" guy come home from work, and discovered his front door unlocked? It has happened to most of us (at least most of us over age fifty...what was the topic again?)