Bike lock advice needed

scotthunter

Just after opinion on D Locks.

I currently use a Kryptonite Kryptolok Series 2. I regularly leave my bike locked up in town for a few hours in the daytime, usually on the high street where it can be easily seen. Is this a good lock for securing a £2500 bike? It's light enough to put in my backpack for when I want to pop into town, and has a 13mm shackle so seems fairly robust. Can the lock be easily picked? I use a Abus cable lock to secure the front & rear wheels separately.

https://www.evanscycles.com/kryptonite- ... y-EV354513

I am getting paranoid and thinking of getting the New York lock which has a 18mm shackle, but obviously heavier and 3 times the price. Thought I'd ask for advice for peace of mind.

BTW I live in the south-west, not London.

rafletcher

Some scrotes will cut the frame to get it off a lock. I'd not leave anything unattended that I would miss if it were stolen. if you are going to, then make sure you have good insurance cover AND read and understand all the exclusions so you have a chance of a payout when (not if) it gets stolen.

Darius_Jedburgh

Not sure I'd leave a £2,500 bike anywhere on view no matter how well secured. I chain mine up at a cafe with one of those little portable locks, but only if I can sit within sight of it.

The scrotes will nick anything...just in case it turns out to have a value. They don't know the difference between a £2.50 bike and yours, and they don't care

joey54321

Yup, I'd echo above, I wouldn't leave a £2.5k bike anywhere, even locked up, for any length of time. My road bikes are either at my house, in my work place or between my legs.

craker

.. and for the price of an upmarket lock you can get a decent hack bike (oxymoron?).

N + 1 (instead of N -1)

scotthunter

I was thinking more the possibility of the lock being picked or are the keys difficult to manipulate? I’ll only leave the bike where there are people constantly walking past and I don’t think any thief with half a brain would be so blatantly obvious and audacious to start using a disc cutter or grinder on a busy shopping street when the owner could spot them 100 metres away up the road. I could image that happening on a back street though.

Assuming a thief was to try, how long would it take to cut through a 13mm thick hardened steel D lock with a discrete battery powered disc cutter?

shirley_basso

Someone used a petrol powered angle grinder to cut a lock in picadilly circus. Noone gave a damn.

Darius_Jedburgh

There was a Channel4 (Ithink) programme approx 12 months ago. They left cheapo bikes locked in prominent places. They set cameras up and the bikes had hidden trackers.

All were taken from busy streets but by different guys with portable grinders. Not one member of the public looked twice. They got the bikes back via the trackers. Plod were not interested.

Don't think that leaving them in popular places is any guarantee of security.

scotthunter

Franco di Banco wrote:

There was a Channel4 (Ithink) programme approx 12 months ago. They left cheapo bikes locked in prominent places. They set cameras up and the bikes had hidden trackers.

All were taken from busy streets but by different guys with portable grinders. Not one member of the public looked twice. They got the bikes back via the trackers. Plod were not interested.

Don't think that leaving them in popular places is any guarantee of security.

What was the documentary called? I’d like to watch that. Where was it? In London I suspect. Were the locations covered by CCTV?

I wonder how often vigilantes set up traps for thieves.

Maybe I should get the New York 18mm one if it’s so easy to cut through a normal D lock.

Darius_Jedburgh

Sorry. Cannot remember what it was called. I'm not even sure which channel it was.

Yes it was in Central London. They left bikes in very prominent places - outside main railway stations etc., but the public just ignored guys with angle grinders.

Would you tackle a scruffy guy with a power tool when you are dressed and ready for work or pleasure?

monkimark

There are videos on youtube of scrotes cutting motorbike locks with a grinder in broad daylight on busy streets. Even when confronted, they often just continue.
Maybe where you live is much safer but I wouldn't risk it with a 2.5k bike.

Regarding time to cut the links. A 13mm chain can probably be cut in seconds with bolt croppers, and around a minute with a cordless grinder. If you're lucky an 18mm chain might hold out long enough to flatten the grinder battery but for the cost and weight penalty, I'd just buy a cheap second hand bike for town visits.
https://youtu.be/qihms64S36c

cougie

Franco di Banco wrote:

There was a Channel4 (Ithink) programme approx 12 months ago. They left cheapo bikes locked in prominent places. They set cameras up and the bikes had hidden trackers.

All were taken from busy streets but by different guys with portable grinders. Not one member of the public looked twice. They got the bikes back via the trackers. Plod were not interested.

Don't think that leaving them in popular places is any guarantee of security.

Seriously ? All the cheapo bikes that had been put out got stolen ? Going off that research it would suggest that every bike in London would be stolen ?

And as to the OP - I'm happy with my bike being left at out of the way cafés but I'd not leave an expensive bike locked up in a city. Get a cheap one.

andyh01

I've just brought an upgraded Mason bike about £3500, I brought 2 d locks with a cable off Tredz for about £20 each (one for home & out & about & one for work) rated as gold. I then purchased a stand-alone insurance policy for about £120 Inc third party accidental damage mugging/bike jacking.£50 odd excess, so worse case if stolen I should be compensated so bit of peace of mind. Of course I hope I never have to use it and act as thought I don't have the insurance.
When I first looked I was going to get something like forgetaboutit/New Yorker but no lock is 100% and the insurance is about the same price, plus the locks company payout in certain conditions, I think you have to return the cut/picked lock so if thives take the lock with them (apparently they often will) then they won't plus it's only about $1500 iirc

scotthunter

oxoman wrote:

Doesn't matter what lock you get a disc cutter will slice through it very easily no matter how hardened it is.

It does matter if you have bike insurance. I know Yellow Jersey who I am currently with require a Gold rating Sold Secure lock to be covered for theft at or away from home.

I might just get a Kryptonite Evolution Standard 14mm D lock which is only £43. At least that way if someone does break it I should be covered, although I haven't read the small print, like if the thief takes the lock with them. There is also the DNA thing that came with the policy.

andyh01

As I say the onguard at Tradz is £20 and is rated gold sold secure.

I also do wonder about how it stands if the lock is taken too, which I read somewhere is quite common thing for them to do.

When I've left my bike in town centre for a period of time locked up, I've taken photos on my phone clearly showing the lock, how it's been locked and what it's been locked to, so hopefully I could evidence it if the need arises.

Cheeseface22

Some of the many evidence of blatant, daytime bike thefts uploaded on YouTube...

Bike Thief 2012 - CaseyNeistat

How secure is your bicycle lock? - City of London Police

Sparks Fly As Bike Thief Grinds Through Lock At Mid Day In San Francisco - ViralHog

Thief uses a pair of bolt cutters to break through a bicycle lock - SWNS TV

Yes, you can get your expensive insured for theft, but is it worth the hassle of stress, anger, frustration, waiting for pay-out, waiting for replacement bike, inconvenience, niggling after-thought of “will it get stolen again”?

Just get an okay bike that you don’t mind being stolen. Keep your nice bike for special occasions…

scotthunter

AndyH01 wrote:

When I've left my bike in town centre for a period of time locked up, I've taken photos on my phone clearly showing the lock, how it's been locked and what it's been locked to, so hopefully I could evidence it if the need arises.

Good idea