Braided Steel Cable

Kiblams

Does anyone know whether a braided steel cable can stand up to alot? I am thinking of using one to secure my bike in the garden, I have a ground anchor and am trying to decide the best chain/cable to go for.

Anyone had any experiences (good or bad) of either? what do you guys think?

yoohoo999

do you have insurance for your bike?

If you do, check the policy requirements re locks. Some are very specific as to what you can use.

I'm also willing to bet that securing your bike in the garden (even with a ground anchor) will not be sufficient for most insurers. For exmaple under my policy (which is cycle specific) I wouldn't be able to claim if my bike was nicked while locked up in the garden. It has to be stored in a secured building.

If you don't have insurance then just buy the beefiest lock you can for the money. Motorcycle chains are excellent if its just for the garden and you don't have to carry it around. The sheer size of them can act as a great deterrent.

Kiblams

Cheers for the info, not sure about the insurance as it is HSBC and the upgrades on the bike are worth more than the original bike did, so I doubt I will be able to claim as the last bike I had stolen the company would only help me if I could get a receipt from the shop.

The bike is in a custom made wooden 'shack' so it is out of sight, the ground anchor and chain/cable is to ensure that if discovered the theif will have to make some noise to get off with it.

Mr Wu

I had this problem.

Just get yourself a few illegal fighting dogs (available down my local for a couple of quid and some fags) and let them roam around the garden.

:-)

supersonic

Go to a supplier of chains and get a length of 19mm anchor chain.

yoohoo999

Kiblams wrote:

Cheers for the info, not sure about the insurance as it is HSBC and the upgrades on the bike are worth more than the original bike did, so I doubt I will be able to claim as the last bike I had stolen the company would only help me if I could get a receipt from the shop.

The bike is in a custom made wooden 'shack' so it is out of sight, the ground anchor and chain/cable is to ensure that if discovered the theif will have to make some noise to get off with it.

In relation to your first point, get yourself to your local LBS and ask them to give you a quote in respect of how much the bike would cost to replace, taking into account the upgrades. Keep this valuation very safe

If your wooden shack is secure (ie is locked and the public cannot gain access to it) and has no windows, or the windows are at least covered up (insurers can have issues with the bikes being in sight) then you should be OK.

However, it's 100% worth checking with your insurer. 5 minutes now could save you a lot of worry and potentially a load of cash.

Another example using my insurer is that they would let me store the bike in a metal shed, but the shed had to be mounted on a concrete or stone base.

Each set of policy requirements will be different and you should really check out what your obligations are. It's not difficult to find out and it's definitely worth doing it via email, so that when they tell you that you will be covered for storing it in a custom build shed with a ground anchor - you have it in writing.

dave_hill

None of the above.

Put your big flat foot down with a firm hand and insist that the bike lives in the house. Period. No ifs, no buts.

alfablue

The cable can, and probably will, be cut in 20 seconds with readily available tools.

Enduro 07

I've just bought one of these for one of my bikes, it looks really chunky and wasn't a rip off at £30

http://www.van-vault.co.uk/cobra/cobra_11

alfablue

Enduro 07 wrote:

I've just bought one of these for one of my bikes, it looks really chunky and wasn't a rip off at £30

http://www.van-vault.co.uk/cobra/cobra_11

11mm chain can be readily cut with bolt cutters, go for 14mm, 16mm or preferably as above, 19mm. Genuinely secure chains cost upwards of double this price.

Kiblams

Enduro 07 wrote:

I've just bought one of these for one of my bikes, it looks really chunky and wasn't a rip off at £30

http://www.van-vault.co.uk/cobra/cobra_11

That actually looks like it would go well with the ground anchor! I will have a look in more details. Cheers.

I will take the bike to the lbs as suggested, though I fear the quote will be quite low

Enduro 07

I know that there are more expensive chains out there, I have an one of these Abus locks for my more expensive bikes secured through a cast iron work bench

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Abus_ ... 220000043/

I also have a Door Defender to stop the garage door being lifted (Just need to fit it)

I've had bikes nicked before and don't want to go through that again

alfablue

Enduro 07 wrote:

I know that there are more expensive chains out there, I have an one of these Abus locks for my more expensive bikes secured through a cast iron work bench

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Abus_ ... 220000043/

I wouldn't put any faith in it.

Northwind

How big is this steel cable? Unless it's absolutely gigantic, it's going to be pretty worthless against any thief who knows what he's doing- it's very strong but it's not hard to cut, with the right tools. The cable will also often be quite abrasive unless it's plastic wrapped btw. Chain is better.

Enduro 07

Ok then alfablue, what do you use or what would you suggest because unless I store it in a banks vault there is always a chance that a very determined thief will get through most stuff

Northwind

Big chain. Almax or Pragmasis, or large chain (16mm+) from your local chandler/building site supplies place. The first 2 are incredibly strong, the last one will be strong just by being huge- big chains don't physically fit into most thieves' bolt cutters.

Or, a good quality u-lock if you don't want to go to such inconvenient and expensive lengths.

The big downside is that bikes themselves are so fragile- lock a bike with £1000 worth of components up and there's always a chance the thief will just break the frame and take the bits. This even happens with scooters and motorbikes never mind bicycles.

alfablue

Enduro 07 wrote:

Ok then alfablue, what do you use or what would you suggest because unless I store it in a banks vault there is always a chance that a very determined thief will get through most stuff

The problem is that many locks and chains can be cut with bolt cutters, thieves come equipped with them.

Sold Secure Gold, whilst accepted by many insurance companies, is a poor measure of a lock's resitance to attack, both good and poor ones share this rating.

For D locks, the Abus Granit X 54 Plus and the Kryptonite New York locks resisted 5 minutes attack with hand tools, and up to nearly 2 minutes with power tools in the C+ test. or chains, the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboutit should be good (it has 13mm chain links, though Almax managed to crop it in 42 seconds!), or the ultimate is the Almax chains. If you want to see how easy locks are to break, look at their videos or search for Captain Cropper on youtube.

supersonic

How about this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SHORT-LINK-MOORIN ... dZViewItem

Not sure how strong the actual steel is, but that is a bloody thick chain.

Da Mighty Chicken

alfablue wrote:

Enduro 07 wrote:

Ok then alfablue, what do you use or what would you suggest because unless I store it in a banks vault there is always a chance that a very determined thief will get through most stuff

The problem is that many locks and chains can be cut with bolt cutters, thieves come equipped with them.

Sold Secure Gold, whilst accepted by many insurance companies, is a poor measure of a lock's resitance to attack, both good and poor ones share this rating.

For D locks, the Abus Granit X 54 Plus and the Kryptonite New York locks resisted 5 minutes attack with hand tools, and up to nearly 2 minutes with power tools in the C+ test. or chains, the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboutit should be good (it has 13mm chain links, though Almax managed to crop it in 42 seconds!), or the ultimate is the Almax chains. If you want to see how easy locks are to break, look at their videos or search for Captain Cropper on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck&NR=1

Pretty shocking, saw this a while ago, makes you think! :shock:

Northwind

Supersonic pointed out once, the kryptonite isn't a fahgedadboutit, it's one of their others- they got the name wrong. Probably doesn't make any difference though, they've also done the same test on the fahgeddaboutit (apparently it's really hard to cut with new cropper blades as it slips away, but easy with used ones) There's only one 13mm chain on the market that can't be cut with cheap bolt cutters, so far as I'm aware, it's an English chain Co one from Motrax, but unfortunately it's overhardened to resist croppers and can be shattered with a hammer without difficulty.

(people will rightly say that most bike thefts involve smaller more portable tools- but this isn't actually relevant, because most bike thefts involve useless locks. To find the standard that a good lock needs to meet, you have to look at the tools actually used to attack good locks, not the ones used to attack bad ones.

It's like saying "Most houses are broken into when people throw a brick through a window" then testing a lock by throwing bricks at it. "This lock stood up to an hour's continuous bricking! Sold secure!" Then along comes a man with a screwdriver, a hammer and a tin of chewing gum remover and breaks it instantly, because you never tested it with cold attacks- most thieves use bricks after all.

Kiblams

LMAO!

I would be happy with any of those chains! They could have broken into my actual house through the back door easier and with less noise than those chains!

Northwind

supersonic wrote:

Not sure how strong the actual steel is, but that is a bloody thick chain.

It'll be well protective just by being huge, too big for most man-portable cutters. But not I think very strong for impact attacks, and not designed for resisting grinders. Still probably more effective than most £100 chains I reckon...

Dave-Greenock

Not sure if it has been mentioned in this thread as i havnt time to read the whole thing but theres a cracking lock in tesco at the moment in the bike section if u have in ure local tesco its £10 and pretty heavy dutty it aint cable or chain is some sort of links with a hard rubberish coating looks good for the price cant be far on 1 inch thick if not thicker