Locks! not quite what they seem!!

Yeoer

Hi,

Bought a lock for my bike about 6 months ago, used in the garage only so always dry... today the lock wont open!!!
hum... need to cut it get my bike out.

Big chucky lock so it strong and going to take some cutting....!

Yeoer

Nice big strong rope...!



WTF!!!... took about 3 seconds cos its all plastic!!! and the steel that is there is soft as s###!!!



Total rubbish!!! be warned!

Mr Plum

Damn, that's pretty shocking.

gosport_commuter

Bloody hell! that's terrible!

shouldbeinbed

Think it's one of those you get what you pay for things by the look of the keys and barrel too. I'd guess it didn't break the bank. My advice with locks is as much as you can afford and go for the big names, Kryptonite,Abus etc and ideally an all metal D lock.

I've maybe been v lucky, but I've never had anything siezed or stuck that drowning in WD40 hasn't shifted.

davmaggs

I have to say I wouldn't expect such a lock to be decent. It is just a bit of twisted cable covered in plastic and is like the rubbish combination locks used by kids in the 80s. It is like the padlocks from a Pound shop.

Yeoer

I knew it wasn't going to be the best in the world but i was shocked to see how thin the steel rope was! the rope looks a lot thicker than the the thin locks you see but in fact its the same size just with a thicker plastic cover which acts like a magnifying glass!

jonnyboy77

£9.99 for a lock? (http://www.play.com/Sports-Outdoors/Spo ... oduct.html)

I wouldn't be that surprised ...

- Jon

fossyant

Cable locks are crap. :twisted:

desweller

Disappointed by this thread. Thought it was going to turn into a Transformer or something.

Aerozine50

Oh Lordy!! :shock:

Talk about "How to Polish a Turd"

This is a nasty visual trick of using the hosepipe as a refraction device to make anybody (Including the owner) think it's a quality piece of kit with a huge suspension bridge worthy piece of steel rope inside, Instead upon cutting it, you have found out it's true colours.

get yourself a decent D lock next time for the overall piece of mind and its ability to wrap round the skull of white van man!!!

Paul

Long_Time_Lurker

Most locks are a deterent rather than being any use.
I found the same when I broke the key in the lock. Took 3 minutes with a hacksaw, and that was with a break to make a phone call.
I would use a D-lock, but they are so heavy. Luckily for me, I work at a place that has it's own security, so a cable lock will do for now.

bails87

All bikes weigh 50lbs.
A 30Lb bike require a 20Lb lock.
A 40Lb bike require a 10Lb lock,
and a 50Lb bike doesn’t need a lock

MrChuck

I'd say that lock was exactly what it seemed to be

davmaggs

Long Time Lurker wrote:

Most locks are a deterent rather than being any use.
I found the same when I broke the key in the lock. Took 3 minutes with a hacksaw, and that was with a break to make .

I don't really agree with this premise as it excuses buying Pound shop rubbish and accepting your fate. I use one of these when the bike is outside. Yes, I'm sure it can be broken in time, but why would a thief bother when they can go to another bike and have an easier time.

http://www.kryptonitelock.com/Products/ ... 2&pid=1193

cougie

I think that lock is about £4 on Amazon ? Its almost as crap as the standard Center Parc locks they use that cost about £1 or so ?

Next time - zip tie the bike ?

Yeoer

DesWeller wrote:

Disappointed by this thread. Thought it was going to turn into a Transformer or something.

It did... a piece of crap! unfortunatly unlike bumble bee in the first film it didn't come back as a shiney new one!

The Rookie

There was a spate of thefts in our town with bikes using similar locks against Sheffield type stands, the thieves were caught on CCTV, two hands on the top tube, a foot on the stand and the locks just failed and off they ride.

Simon

redballoon

the best prevention for bike theft is to use a bike that no one will want to steal. Put simply, for commuting or going into town, you want a bike that works well but looks like it belongs in the back of a skip. Whatsmore, you quickly learn to love a bike that is never cleaned, is a mish mash of oddments and would be throw-away items: different crank arms, odd wheels, a pink seat!, non-matching mudguards and bar-tape - anything to make it look as bad a possible - yet it still delivers you from A to B with aplomb

Anonymous

All locks are only ever a deterrent anyway.

I heard horror stories from a keen cyclist mate who happens to know some professional bike thieves:

They once saw so many expensive bikes + expensive locks that they couldn't cut through, so they used bolt croppers to remove half the whole frikking D frame from the floor, bent it upwards and slid the bikes off.

The owner of another bike ran over to confront 2 thieves stealing his bike on another occasion - they just knocked him out and continued to steal it.


Cheap bike would be the dream, but for 'proper' (did I just say that?) commuting, its nice to have a quick road bike, at least to maintain some dignity with the who scalping! If you are going across london (Fulham to Islington FX) you would want something fairly fast, as its a pretty uphill ride (or at least it feels that way!).

A cheap mishmash hack would be ideal sometimes - for a pub bike.

redballoon

I'm not talking about some mishmash hack. My commute is an old 531 frame racing bike from the 80's with a front MA2 wheel with a 105 hub, the rear a Rigida rim with a 105 hub, the block is an 8speed Ultegra with an Ultegra Chain, the rest of the groupset is 105 with downtube shifters, the tyres are a pair of old Continentals, the seat a San Marco Turbo. All good stuff, just old, but with no bling factor. I don't undertstand why anyone would want to commute on a brand new bike. A bike for commuting is a utility machine, not part some blink and you miss it fashion parade. My point is simply that you should ride a bike that is relatively quick and mechanically sound, but looks like a dogs dinner, and this above all else is what will deter a thief the most becaus such a bike has no market value. Moreover, even if it does get nicked, it won't be that big a loss. My commute when I got it cost £106. I then just changed a few things to make it look worse. I never clean it but regularly adjust the brakes, change the pads when worn, check the tyres, lube the chain and re-grease the hubs once a year.

Anonymous

But also - thats the thing - You say yeah 100 quid bike who cares??!

Buy 1x 100 quid lock (I have the kryptonite m18) and 1x bike and hopefully never have to replace either again!

The annoying this is that the older 80's 531 racing frame (mine was) are actually more desirable as they have the vintage shape, ideal for bastardising into brick lane fixies....

redballoon

Well, you do have a point there. Things are obviously very different in the capital than the northern cities. £100 is an awful lot for a lock, though.

Torvid

redballoon wrote:

Well, you do have a point there. Things are obviously very different in the capital than the northern cities. £100 is an awful lot for a lock, though.

Don't the kryptonite NYC locks come with an anti theft insurance on them?

Anonymous

TBH I stupidly didn't check, but I THINK the m18 doesn't. In my local Evans (london) they say on them with a fairly clear sticker what they insure up to. Mine is the biggest, most badass lock they had as I never want to buy a replacement stolen bike again, nor go through the emotional loss of the old bike. I swear to god I dreamt about finding it on many an occasion.

If you look at the ones with a slightly smaller D or the orange colouring they cover up to about 2K, as they have a smaller D, and therefore less leverage for a crowbar/space to fit a carjack in between (yep, they do this too, and just crank it open, snaps like a twig).

My old Dawes was an 80s 531, and it even had MTB bars. Absolutely NO WAY anyone would have thought it was worth pinching unless they knew what they were looking at, and sadly, they did. Bike gone.

With the m18 I can say that I never worry now if its locked up outside, as there will always be a newer, more accessible bike than mine to steal!