What bike lock to buy

omarm

I need to buy a lock for my bike.
I've never needed to go somewhere and keep locked up before, so never needed.

Pound shop bike locks?
Any good?
Assuming NOT.

I'm planning to go the local gym and local shopping. Nothing else. My back wheel is quick release. Front isn't. Do I need to get a lock that covers the back somehow?

Thanks.

JBA

Get the strongest lock you can afford.
A good U-Lock combined with a cable or chain that can loop through the wheels and around a static post/fence/bike stand should do it.
There are loads of locks available so take your pick. There are quite a few 'best lock' articles on line such as THIS, so have a read through a few and decide what's best for you.

If your bike is insured check what, if any requirements there are for a lock to ensure you are covered.

The Rookie

omarm wrote:

I need to buy a lock for my bike.
Pound shop bike locks?
Any good?
Assuming NOT.

Junk.

You must use a good D-lock or heavy chain. I also use a cable just for the wheels.

swod1

heavy duty D-lock and cable I would use and also swap any quick release seat post clamps etc to bolt if you can as there has been times peoples had there saddles stolen off bikes.

I'm sure you can buy quick release axles that have security bolts you undo with a key or something to get the wheels off something you could look at for the rear wheel.

Long_Time_Lurker

I would never leave any of my bike unattended in public for any longer than 15 mins.
I have a Hiplok - it's wearable so you don't notice the weight. It's pretty chunky and they do a gold-rated one now.
But if someone wants to steal your bike and they know what they are doing a lock won't stop them.
(That is the reason I have the 'ratbike' - something that I can afford to lose and doesn't look very attractive compared to the bikes that I lock it alongside.)

swod1

Long Time Lurker wrote:

I would never leave any of my bike unattended in public for any longer than 15 mins.
I have a Hiplok - it's wearable so you don't notice the weight. It's pretty chunky and they do a gold-rated one now.
But if someone wants to steal your bike and they know what they are doing a lock won't stop them.
(That is the reason I have the 'ratbike' - something that I can afford to lose and doesn't look very attractive compared to the bikes that I lock it alongside.)

that's just given me an idea, I have a nice bike that I ride to work on but luckly the place I leave it in work is secure. I could get something that looks like a piece of rubbish to ride around town on etc.

omarm

Thanks for the replies guys.
All super helpful.
I'll read that article shortly.
I'll do research before buying.

I'll only ever need for a few minutes most times - like local supermarket.
Scratching my head if I should ever risk taking to the gym.

It's a disgraceful world we live in with thieves stealing like the way they do.

Just wondering...
What do the Boris bikes and others have inside that deters people stealing?

Long_Time_Lurker

omarm wrote:

Just wondering...
What do the Boris bikes and others have inside that deters people stealing?

Nothing - but you can't ride them without putting in details on the app.
The MoBike (up here in the NE - but pulling out this month), has a lock mechanism on the frame which clamps around the back wheel preventing it from spinning.
More importantly they are terrible to ride, so no-one in their right mind would steal them. (Which is why they find 100s of them dumped around the city and in the Tyne.)

The Rookie

The local supermarket is a high risk area, lots of short term traffic and the scum will be hovering waiting for a poorly licked decent bike.

My MTB is NEVER left unattended, my commuter is locked using a very heavy motorbike chain and padlock and 10mm cable that I leave at work, don’t carry (they weigh almost as much as the bike) and for town I have an old 1997 MTB, with the right bits it rides very nicely and isn’t overly heavy but looks like it’s worth about £20 on a good day.

cougie

Get a cheap bike so it's not worth nicking. Save your best bike for proper rides. Or get a Brompton and take it in with you.

mattyfez

If you leave it out of sight for more than 10 mins, especially at a supermarket or town center your your going to need a top quality d-lock and cables for the wheels.

But even they are not infallible, people do go around in vans with angle grinders looking for expensive bikes and motorbikes.

I wouldn't leave my bike out of sight for more than ten mins.

Especially with a pound shop lock, they can be broken in seconds with a hammer or some pocket sized bolt croppers.

croptonboy

If it's an expensive (ish) bike, then as stated, get the best locks you can afford

If it's going to be a regular thing, perhaps buy a cheap hack just to get around on, it''s probably more cost effective

larkim

Or just pay for a decent insurance policy, buy the lock that they prescribe and make sure you're fully insured new for old.

Not every bike gets nicked, and if you've paid attention to putting a half decent lock on it the chances are your bike will be overlooked in favour of the one next door which is poorly secured.

Dawn Balfour

mattyfez wrote:

But even they are not infallible, people do go around in vans with angle grinders looking for expensive bikes and motorbikes.

Absolutely amazing and disgraceful but true. I remember a few years back the police round here asking the public to look out for two enormous mining trucks, the type you see on Australian documentaries, last seen on the A1. These things have tyres that weigh more than a large family car. They'd been stolen and put on the back of a pair of low loaders. The sheer audacity and organisation was astonishing. It was at that point that I realised my humble bike would always be fair game if I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Let's be honest, skips ( even full ones ), caravans and generators regularly get half inched. And the caravans in particular have some real hi-tec security these days. I follow the simple rule of rubbish bike if it's getting left, half decent bike if it's not leaving my side or sight.

Dawn Balfour

I generally really dislike thieves. I would come down extremely hard on gits who bring misery to others. In the case of those who steal stuff I see it simply as a case of greed and laziness. These people haven't got the get-up-and-go necessary to hold down a job. In that case they should have the resolve to do without. But like I say, they're greedy and still have a sense of entitlement.

I did enjoy this weeks episodes of Hatton Garden, Timothy Spall was excellent. And they didn't glamorise the crime. I loved the snippet where Spall was going through the valuables in the vault and threw a war heroes medals to the floor in contempt. Worthless to him. And then some family snaps. I think that would be so true of the attitude of these people, not the daring masterminds the Sun originally portrayed them as.

Fancy still being a villain at 76 and dying in jail as an OAP. What a pathetic culmination to your life.