you should email kryptonite and ask them to get your second lock keyed alike. they will do it a for a few extra bucks.

however, they cannot key all locks alike. for example the new york std ulock has a different cylinder than both the Evolution and Fahgettaboudit and cannot be keyed alike. i tried to get all my locks keyed alike, but they were not tryin to hear that.

i have a evo mini, and i had it keyed like my evo disc lock. so i can use the mini on the frame and rear wheel and supplement that with a chain that is locked with the evo disc lock, with only one key. i would argue that this setup is more secure than the "maximum" security scenario involving the fancy locksmith padlock and cable discussed in the OP.

any dude with a grinder wins all. but in my scenario if a guy has a bottle jack to bust the U, he will also need another tool to snip the chain. like sheldon says, you want to force the criminal to have two different tools. and if i use the cable like the OP the bad guy will need a far less substantial snipping device. and he wouldnt care what sort of fancy padlock you have when he snipped the cable.

Cable locks are totally insecure and can be snipped in a matter of seconds with small hand tools. Using a high-end padlock on a totally insecure cable is foolish and a waste of money.

According to Cycling Plus magazine (May, 2007) they cut a 12mm thick Masterlock cable in 2.8 seconds with 2' boltcutters, a 15mm Blok cable with 'small' boltcutters in 2.6 seconds (this lock was also defeated by a Leatherman tool in 30 seconds!), a Magnum Plus (OnGuard in the States) 25mm thick armored cable in 18.15 seconds with boltcutters, and a Masterlock 30mm armored cable in 4.6 seconds with boltcutters.

agree with ziemas. cable locks can be busted with tools you can easily carry. chains, and especially 6 sided kryptonite chains, need something like a 42 inch bolt cutter (and a strong fat man to jump on it) or a power tool to bust. of course u locks can be busted by a relatively small bottle jack, but not if the lock is small enough and all the space inside is occupied by your rear wheel and seat tube.

again, it makes no sense to invest in a fancy padlock and use it with a cable.

And after cutting one chain, the bolt cutters are out of commission.

The problem with all these fancy locking methods is that I don't want to spend any more time locking my bike than a thief wants to spend stealing it. In other words, time is money and, at a certain point, it becomes cheaper to just let them steal one every once in a while than to waste a hundred hours per year locking/unlocking.

The only thing that can prevent bike theft is secure parking infrastructure, shared ownership, or a bike small and light enough to carry around with you like this:


Trying to secure a human powered, human transportable vehicle from powered attacks is inherently futile.

Since this thread is all about sharing information, here's how to add someone to your ignore list:
- login and click "user control panel" at the top/right of the browser window
- click "edit ignore list" in the left column
- in the "add a member to your list" text box enter the user's screen name (copy/paste is best to match spelling/text formatting/special characters, etc.)
- click the "okay" button and you're done

this is awesome!

It's not that I don't want to spend that kind of money on locks... it's that I wish I was in a monetary position to be able to spend that kind of money on locks.

The ballbearing trick is pretty slick.

And, by the way, I appreciate this topic. It's a shame there are d-nozzles out there that can't just accept that advice is like oppinion, you don't have to take it to heart and can easily pass it off quietly.

OK, but you don't mention the Krypto cable(which I believe is the most popular). I've heard that they don't cut so easy since they are designed to squish, and not cut right away. Any stats on it?

corrected

+1

Let's review. The post below, sarcasm, maybe? But no real attitude.

Now here, maybe he took the above post the wrong way? Again, could have been sarcasm. But then the poster goes on to point out the problems with the post, and ridicules the OP for his choice in locks and the carleton for his post. I believe there is plenty of attitude in this post.


Verdict: areacode312 is a member since 2/04/09 and needs to learn a few things about posting. There is a sticky about this I'm sure.

It wasn't in the test, but it's still a cable lock and I wouldn't trust it. Krypto cable locks aren't any different from other cable locks, and Krypto recommends them for 'moderate to low crime areas'. They also don't submit them to ART or Sold Secure for independent testing.

My main issue isn't with a cable as a secondary lock for your wheels and saddle in a lower crime area, which is fine, but rather a cable with a high-end padlock, which is a total waste of money.

I was under the impression that the cable and padlock was a secondary measure in addition to a large U lock. That's how I roll, two Krypto New York U locks, one large and one mini disc lock and a cable.

When is it time to get a new U-Lock? Is there ever a time?

I've been blessed and have never had a problem with bike theft. I have an OnGuard Mini U-Lock and that's it. I've had it for about two years, and it's been used nearly every day.

I was in San Francisco, then. Now I'm in NYC. I'm considering buying the Fahgettaboudit U-Lock from Kryptonite. I'm not looking to buy the chain.

I know that the Kryptonite U-Lock is better than the OnGuard Mini, but my question is about the wear and tear of a u-lock? Would it be wise to get a new one?

Come now, I understand what this poster is saying. There, there, your post is the bestest ever.

Thanks OP, for posting. Useful info & things to think about.

what are your opinions on the krypto combo u-locks?

WHAT?!
i'll take my chances.
reasons you're right:
1. a $100 dollar beater bike, locked up, and stolen no more than 6 times a year and your argument makes sense.

reasons you're wrong:
1. you make the assumption that a bike will only be stolen "once in a while" with a quicker locking method (the truth is that, given similar circumstances, it will be stolen more often than if you were to use the OP's method)

2. most of us talking about locks have decent to nice bikes. the amount of money you'd need to be making for your argument to make sense flies in the face of what most people who need to lock up their bikes, lets say, twice a day make (10 minutes of total lockup time in a day, at $15 an hour and a 5 day work work week, you'd need to work about a year to lose the amount time equivilant to a $650 bike....and thats assuming you'd need to replace your bike being only stolen once in a year. if you factor in multiple bikes being stolen from you in a year, the cost/benefit is blown out completely.)

3. this is classic use of "the nirvana fallacy" argument. no, not the band....

"The Nirvana Fallacy is when you dismiss anything in the real world because you compare it to an unrealistic, perfect alternative, by which it pales in comparison. It wouldn't be a problem, except it keeps us from getting anything done.
For instance, procrastination can happen for a lot of reasons--you drank too much the night before, or you're feeling uninspired, or it's your first time doing gay porn and you're having second thoughts--but one of the most common reasons we procrastinate is fear that the end result won't live up to the "perfect" idea in our heads. Think about the writer friend of yours who has never actually written anything, because they're "waiting for the right idea" for a book to come along.

This is why people wind up living in their parents' basement--waiting for the perfect job, the perfect girl, the perfect friendship--before committing to anything.

If you're not full of that kind of self-doubt, don't worry, there are plenty of *******s willing to supply it for you. Any incremental improvement on someone else's part is mocked as some kind of deluded hypocrisy, because anything short of perfect is not worth doing, so you might as well do nothing, like them. "Ha! You're drinking a Diet Coke with your hamburger? Like that's really going to make a difference!"

Politicians use this to attack any idea they don't like. "Sure, your plan is helping millions of families in poverty. But I found examples of people abusing it! So we might as well scrap the whole system!"

Or, you'll hear radical political types on the Internet say, "I'm not voting for any of those guys! They're no better than Bush! They're all corrupt agents of the NWO! I'm staying home until you can show me a perfect, incorruptible, intelligent politician who believes the exact same things I do!"

advantage of forums: so much information
disadvantage of forums: too much information

is there some sort of end all-be all answer that everyone can agree on? never seems to be the case....

from what i gather so far though:

more locks = more time, and thieves want to be in and out quickly (ok, so two u locks and a crush cable)

u locks: can be picked with a pen?!?! (is this still the case? one of the posts mentioned that that only applied to older models, before some upgrades)

cables: get one that crushes, instead of cuts. dont skimp on the padlock.

padlocks: useless (which kinda renders the cables useless too right? confusing.)

cables with combo locks: garbage

“Super glue and hardened ball bearings in your allen heads will save your components, as will locking skewers.” - how do I get the glue off when its time to upgrade? great idea though...

so, in an effort to come to some final conclusions on the topic, what i gather, not including some questions from the above that i need answers to, the best method is ulock through the frame and front wheel together (the smaller the better) and a second ulock through the rear tire, frame, and whatever you lock your bike to (again, the smaller the better. tight clearances make for difficult angling of various tools).

the go-to lock seems to by the kryptonite, but which model exactly? new york, krypto, evolution, etc? and can anyone verify that the pen picking issue has been addressed and on which models.

if there is anything i missed, or am wrong about, please feel free to let me know, as im only attempting to draw definite conclusions before i make my own purchase decision.

I swear bu the Krypto New York locks. And the Bic pen issue is a thing of the past with NEW locks. Older ones may still have a tubular key and be vulnerable. Super glue can be removed with acetone, wax works well also, but it depends where you live. Cables are SECONDARY, unless you live in Japan.
I have the following:

"If it aint broke, don't fix it."
Give it some lubrication.
Replace it only if you are concerned about 'new york thieves'.
Get the smallest kryptonite U lock (or better--two) that you can live with.

They are OK.
Read back through the thread to see my answers on combo locks.

Two krypto U locks locked as you have stated above is a great way to go.

“Super glue and hardened ball bearings in your allen heads will save your components, as will locking skewers."

This.

Anti-Theft Skewer in the front + U-Lock through the frame and rear, is how I've managed to stay safe with only one U-Lock.

I did the superglue and ball bearing, when I realized my anti-theft skewer could be bypassed by simply taking my whole fork. I also use it in my seat binder bolt.

It's a very tactical and subtle way of keep your stuff secure. And let's face it, Krypto chains aren't the most comfortable, though you get used to it.

Thanks for the info.

What lubricant would you recommend? Powder? Silicone spray?