Bic Proof U Locks
Im getting tired of not being able to lock my bike up, and dont feel like blowing money on some pad lock until kryptonite replace sthe lock at came with my ny chain. Does anybody know of any ulocks that are still safe besides the krypto ny locks that are wayyyy to expensive?
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I just bought a On Guard and have been happy with it. I paid about 25$ for it (it is the lower quality one) at my lbs. I think performance had the middle level ones on sale right now. The only issues are the keys are weak and the mechanism is clunky. just be careful to read the instructions for the keys and you should be fine.
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i've got a generic u-lock that i got from nashbar a long time ago, and the locking mechanism is too big for a bic to fit into it...
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Onguard keys even snap when you try to open the lock. It is an added safety feature.
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abus locks
i just got one of their hefty cable locks from cyclesurgery.com in england. but lockitt.com sells abus u-locks in the US. |
Agree, Abus U-locks seems to be solid, and with a good (complicated pattern) key also.
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Originally Posted by 46x17
Onguard keys even snap when you try to open the lock. It is an added safety feature.
AND, the key must be fully and deeply seated before you begin turning. If you turn the key when it is not fully seated, you will misalign some of the seven to ten "plates" inside the key passageway. The key will turn, but, the lock will not open or close. If that happens, you must use the key to carefully realign the "cutout" in each plate with the plates above it and below it until the "cutouts" in every plate are realigned. (This is also true of the 2005 Kryptonite flat key locks). OnGuard provides five keys with their locks, so if someone breaks a key or two before learning how to use the lock, there are still three spares. The "best buy" lock is the OnGuard 2005 Bulldog Mini U-lock for $24 at REI. It is big enough to lock the rear wheel (just behind the seat tube) to a two inch wide pole, but too small for crooks to insert tools for a leverage attacks. The Bulldog Mini's two pound weight makes it much easier to carry than the four pound and eight pound "mega" locks, yet it offers a similar level of security against leverage and breaking-type attacks when properly attached to the bike. |
I own a kryptonite combo u-lock-- no keys. Seems adequate, and one less thing to lose or break.
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Originally Posted by kurremkarm
I own a kryptonite combo u-lock-- no keys. Seems adequate, and one less thing to lose or break.
When? Those replacements will also probably be cheap as hell. Pickable, breakable because you know they did this thing in a rush and to make it cheap so it doesn't break their bank. Krypto. Never Again! |
Originally Posted by emayex
Im getting tired of not being able to lock my bike up, and dont feel like blowing money on some pad lock until kryptonite replace sthe lock at came with my ny chain. Does anybody know of any ulocks that are still safe besides the krypto ny locks that are wayyyy to expensive?
Seconded on the On Guard. It has weak keys but it's run by the guy who started Kryptonite and it's a heavy f-ing lock. Nobody's gonna f with it. |
Ah, didn't know about OnGuard Krypto connection. I did think it was interesting that Krypto was located in Canton, Mass. and On Guard HQ'd in Foxboro ("home of your 2005 New England Patriots!")
Anyhow, I dig my Ultimate Mini (2004 style with square cross-section shackle). It's tough enough to foil anyone who doesn't get at it with an angle grinder. |
When you go to the innercity theaters, do you buy popcorn? Is it a Loewe's theater?
Originally Posted by alanbikehouston
You object to buying another lock? You need more locks. When I go to the movies for the midnight show at an inner city theater, my old beater bike is about thirty pounds of bike, and fifteen pounds of locks. Any one using just ONE lock at night on the streets of a large American city is trusting fate, not their lock.
And, while I am at the movies, my bikes at home are also well locked. So, you need about two locks per bike, times X number of bikes...you don't have enough locks. |
Originally Posted by econobot
When you go to the innercity theaters, do you buy popcorn? Is it a Loewe's theater?
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Yes, I am with Special Olympics and anyone going today will be supporting the organization.
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is there anywhere on the internet to purchase the onguard locks, i cant seem to find one anywhere that has any of the 2005 models. or at least not the brute models.
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The April 2005 issue of the UK magazine "Cycling Plus" has answered the NEXT question: "How good are the new 2005 models "BIC proof" bike locks?"
They tested a bunch of U-locks against the actual types of manual tools used by crooks, and then against portable, battery operated power tools. The winner: the Kryptonite New York 3000. Unbreakable with manual methods. Lasted ten minutes against power tools. That is two minutes longer than the "top of the class" Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit chain, that weighs twice as much. Best "bargain" lock. The tests indicated that the OnGuard Bulldog Mini U-lock ($24 at REI) protects as well against "manual" leverage and breaking attacks as the hefty, expensive, Kryptonite New York 3000. However, the OnGuard Mini lasted under two minutes against portable power tools, so it is NOT the lock to put on a $2,000 bike in Manhattan, where power tools are sometimes used to steal "high end" bikes. |
Originally Posted by kurremkarm
I own a kryptonite combo u-lock-- no keys. Seems adequate, and one less thing to lose or break.
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Originally Posted by alanbikehouston
The April 2005 issue of the UK magazine "Cycling Plus" has answered the NEXT question: "How good are the new 2005 models "BIC proof" bike locks?"
They tested a bunch of U-locks against the actual types of manual tools used by crooks, and then against portable, battery operated power tools. The winner: the Kryptonite New York 3000. Unbreakable with manual methods. Lasted ten minutes against power tools. The loser: all other Kryptonite U-locks. The "bent foot" and single bolt design caused the second best Kryptonite, the Evolution, to fail in under two minutes against both manual attacks and power attacks. Best "bargain" locks. Even the lowest price locks from OnGuard and Magnum performed as well as the Kryptonite New York 3000 against manual attacks, using prying, and breaking methods. That makes the $30 OnGuard "mini" lock a "best buy" for protection in towns where the crooks do not commonly use power tools, plus the Mini is easy to throw in a backpack or messenger bag. The "mini" lasted under two minutes against portable power tools, so it is NOT the lock to put on a $2,000 bike in Manhattan. |
Originally Posted by invisiblah
i tried the keys on a bike guard mini magnum on another mini magnum from the same rack, and the key opened it.
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That same article also recommended locking your rear wheel behind the seat tube, but not passing the lock through the frame. The reason being that the newer locks are so strong against manual prying that the frame actually fails before the lock. It seems to me that this method of locking defeats the whole 10 minutes against portable power tools thing. I am sure a dremel will go through a rim in less than 1 minute.
Originally Posted by alanbikehouston's post in General Cycling Discussions
To prevent damage to the frame, and to fully protect both the frame and rear wheel, position your lock around the rear wheel, just behind (but not around) the seat tube. That locking procedure secures both the frame and rear wheel. If a crook uses a prying method, he might bend the wheel, but he won't damage the frame.
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Someone posted this awhile ago, too. If you want to use the round-key U-lock, a trick they suggested (maybe it's one of these posters) that sounded quite viable was oiling the key hole. Poster said that makes it impossible for a Bic pen to get any purchase in the hole. If this actually works, seems like it'd save you a lot more money...
I figure if someone's taking a dremel or saw to my back wheel, they've rendered my beater fairly worthless, as that's the only part of my crap-ass bike that's worth more than 20 bucks. |
I think I said it in a different thread, but I'll say it here again. I gave my OnGuard Mini to a friend after I got my new lock from Kryptonite. He came home one day to the lock open and on the ground and his bike gone. Sucks.
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Originally Posted by South Fulcrum
I think I said it in a different thread, but I'll say it here again. I gave my OnGuard Mini to a friend after I got my new lock from Kryptonite. He came home one day to the lock open and on the ground and his bike gone. Sucks.
To break an OnGuard Mini requires power tools. Noisy power tools. And that will leave the lock in pieces, not laying "open and on the ground". The "top rated", heavy, and expensive Kryptonite New York 3000 uses a high security dual bolt design, and is the strongest U-lock available in the USA. But, the $24 OnGuard Bulldog Mini also uses the dual bolt design, and it can resist leverage attacks just as well as the New York Lock. That makes the Bulldog Mini the "best buy" lock for folks on a budget who need "serious" security. |
alanbikehuston,
Are you on OnGuards payroll? |
Further more, according to Performance's listing of the Kryptonite New York 3000 Lock has a "bent foot for easiery lock-up." If this is true (don't know if it is maybe needs updating) would that not make the highest rated lock no better than rope?
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