Cycing Plus lock review nonsense

Lumen

It's no surprise that bikes get nicked when Cycling Plus prints crap like this.

The most recent lock test on the bikeradar site:

"Under the attack of our second test, it lasted 16.2 seconds...[against] a high-power output portable angle grinder....this is what today's more professional thieves are using....However, the first test is the important one here, as it’s the armoury of your average thief. If a lock fails at this stage we show a picture of the resulting failed lock in the test."

So a £50 four-star lock lasts 16 seconds, but that's not important, and they won't print a picture of it cut in half.

FFS.

Tayto2000

Lumen wrote: »

It's no surprise that bikes get nicked when Cycling Plus prints crap like this.

The most recent lock test on the bikeradar site:

"Under the attack of our second test, it lasted 16.2 seconds...[against] a high-power output portable angle grinder....this is what today's more professional thieves are using....However, the first test is the important one here, as it’s the armoury of your average thief. If a lock fails at this stage we show a picture of the resulting failed lock in the test."

So a £50 four-star lock lasts 16 seconds, but that's not important, and they won't print a picture of it cut in half.

FFS.

I'm not bothered much by this really... If someone wants your bike badly enough to angle grind it, there's not much left to do in terms of locks and chains anyway... resistance to boltcroppers is far more relevant.

petethedrummer

I don't think many thieves are reading Cycling Plus. If they are, I'm sure they already know how to remove a lock.

rottenhat

I certainly recall a previous lock test - can't remember which magazine but it was probably one of the American ones - where the longest any of the locks held out was just under two minutes, and I think that was the Kryptonite NYC chain. People should know that there is no lock that can withstand a well-equipped and determined bike thief. The best you can hope for is that a lock is good enough to prevent opportunistic theft and that's what the first test mentioned in the review establishes.

flickerx

Its somewhat reassuring to see my Abus up there as one of the top recommended locks. But yeah, there's not much one can do if a thief shows up with an angle grinder.

copacetic

Lumen wrote: »

It's no surprise that bikes get nicked when Cycling Plus prints crap like this.

The most recent lock test on the bikeradar site:

"Under the attack of our second test, it lasted 16.2 seconds...[against] a high-power output portable angle grinder....this is what today's more professional thieves are using....However, the first test is the important one here, as it’s the armoury of your average thief. If a lock fails at this stage we show a picture of the resulting failed lock in the test."

So a £50 four-star lock lasts 16 seconds, but that's not important, and they won't print a picture of it cut in half.

FFS.

whats the problem with this? there 4 stars is relative to other locks they test I assume.

do you have a list of 5 star locks that hold up against high power angle grinders that you can send on to us?

Lumen

copacetic wrote: »

whats the problem with this? there 4 stars is relative to other locks they test I assume.

do you have a list of 5 star locks that hold up against high power angle grinders that you can send on to us?

No, my problem is that they're pandering to the manufacturers and playing down the significance of cordless angle grinders. Why do they specifically refuse to show pictures of locks destroyed this way?

This is the same criticism levelled at the "sold secure" system in the UK - it seeks only to differentiate products rather than provide any real assurance.

Cable locks are "sold secure" despite being almost completely useless.

If you were a thief, would you rather carry three-foot bolt croppers, and massively narrow your choice of targets, or a handy portable angle grinder and get through almost anything in 20 seconds?

copacetic

Lumen wrote: »

No, my problem is that they're pandering to the manufacturers and playing down the significance of cordless angle grinders. Why do they specifically refuse to show pictures of locks destroyed this way?

This is the same criticism levelled at the "sold secure" system in the UK - it seeks only to differentiate products rather than provide any real assurance.

Cable locks are "sold secure" despite being almost completely useless.

If you were a thief, would you rather carry three-foot bolt croppers, and massively narrow your choice of targets, or a handy portable angle grinder and get through almost anything in 20 seconds?

I'd carry the angle grinder, knowing full well that there is hardly a bike lock that will hold up to one.

I still don't understand your complaint, are you saying they shouldn't review locks at all or that the should all get 0 stars if they can't hold up to an angle grinder?

DirkVoodoo

There isn't really a lock in existence that is affordable and light and can stand up to an agle grinder or other such tool. Locks are there to stop the most common type of bike thief: the opportunistic thief. From what I have read, most thieves are looking for an easy target, not necessarily the fanciest bike. So all you can do is make your bike look like it might be harder to nick than the one next to it. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done against "the man in the van": the dedicated thief who is well equipped and takes a haul of bikes at a time.

I do agree with Lumen that there does seem to be a marketing haze projected by the lock manufacturers which makes people feel more secure than they are. The simple truth is that given enough time, and in the right location, any lock can be cut and your bike lifted without anyone knowing.

I remember my lock had some kind of "A+" or "5/5" rating, without saying exactly what this meant.

copacetic

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

There isn't really a lock in existence that is affordable and light and can stand up to an agle grinder or other such tool. Locks are there to stop the most common type of bike thief: the opportunistic thief. From what I have read, most thieves are looking for an easy target, not necessarily the fanciest bike. So all you can do is make your bike look like it might be harder to nick than the one next to it. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done against "the man in the van": the dedicated thief who is well equipped and takes a haul of bikes at a time.

I do agree with Lumen that there does seem to be a marketing haze projected by the lock manufacturers which makes people feel more secure than they are. The simple truth is that given enough time, and in the right location, any lock can be cut and your bike lifted without anyone knowing.

I remember my lock had some kind of "A+" or "5/5" rating, without saying exactly what this meant.

agree with all that, but I still don't see what is wrong with the review, they didn't just test the easy way, they tested with the angle grinder and told us it only took 16 seconds, i.e thats how we actually know!

Killgore Trout

There ain't anything that's going to stop a good angle grinder, but for the thief the element of stealth is gone as it going to be noisy as hell - albeit not as noisy as a two stroke petrol grinder

penexpers

I just bought the Abus Granite-X Plus based on these reviews. Will be interesting to see how it works out.

Turbulent Bill

I'd like to see the destroyed locks too, but only to see where they're cut - I assume it's through the thinnest part, but maybe not. At least then you could try to restrict access to this part when you're locking the bike up.

Star ratings, Sold Secure etc. are only ever going to be relative - there's no absolute protection about theft.

dave.obrien

to be fair, a serious thief is not going to be stopped by a lock if they decide that it's your bike they want regardless. same thing can be said of most cars, but as they have registrations, it's easier to track them down. cyclists are more at risk because of a lack of any relative system, meaning once it's gone, it probably won't come back.

IM0

nothing is unbreakable (no science geeks shut it Im taking in general terms here)
and even safes are the same , infact they are only sold and priced based on how long it takes to crack them, not on whether they are crackable or not, cause thats delusionary thinking. :cool:

also if your bike is that good and warrents that much effort, you shouldnt be locking it anywhere except house/shed

penexpers

So I got the Abus Granite lock today and it seems pretty beefy. Couple of nice touches about it - namely abus provide a nice credit card sized code card with the key number on it (makes it easier to store).

So now my locks consist of this Abus and the Kryptonite Mini U Lock which I would think might be enough to deter most thieves. I'm probably going to get a cheap cable lock for use as a tertiary as well.

Lumen

penexpers wrote: »

So now my locks consist of this Abus and the Kryptonite Mini U Lock which I would think might be enough to deter most thieves. I'm probably going to get a cheap cable lock for use as a tertiary as well.

Your longtail purchase makes much sense now. You needed the extra stability to carry all the locks around. :pac:

Gavin

penexpers wrote: »

So I got the Abus Granite lock today and it seems pretty beefy. Couple of nice touches about it - namely abus provide a nice credit card sized code card with the key number on it (makes it easier to store).

So now my locks consist of this Abus and the Kryptonite Mini U Lock which I would think might be enough to deter most thieves. I'm probably going to get a cheap cable lock for use as a tertiary as well.

Ditto

penexpers

Er, does anyone have a spare Kryptonite mounting that they don't need?

DirkVoodoo

I think I might. But it might be broken. I stopped carrying my 3000 around because the mounting was ruining my frame. Do the mini and the 3000 have the same bracket? Or is it a mini version?

penexpers

I think it's the same bracket for all versions.

Gavin

Yeah I have one sitting at home. I'll check tonight

penexpers

Thanks guys!

I just mounted the Abus lock on my bike. The Abus mounting is actually really clever and should ensure the lock doesn't jump out of the mount when going over a big pothole.

DirkVoodoo

Yeah, the krypto ones are not nice. I've whacked my hand a few times off the frame trying to get them out.

Abus locks always get good press, I think they used to sell them at a good price in the UCD bike shop.

neilled

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Yeah, the krypto ones are not nice. I've whacked my hand a few times off the frame trying to get them out.

Abus locks always get good press, I think they used to sell them at a good price in the UCD bike shop.

They're nothing exceptional. Price wise. About €90-100 for the Granite Ulock. The two lads (the wee fella and the taller lad) are now gone and replaced with eastern european staff and a new irish guy. Whilst they're all sound, the two other lads would give you a few quid off here and there if you were a regular with them.

penexpers

neilled wrote: »

They're nothing exceptional. Price wise. About €90-100 for the Granite Ulock. The two lads (the wee fella and the taller lad) are now gone and replaced with eastern european staff and a new irish guy. Whilst they're all sound, the two other lads would give you a few quid off here and there if you were a regular with them.

I paid 76.20 for mine off Wiggle (including 5% discount). 90-100 is not too bad for a bricks and mortar shop.

rubadub

Lumen wrote: »

Your longtail purchase makes much sense now. You needed the extra stability to carry all the locks around. :pac:

If people commute you can leave extra heavy motorbike locks at your destination.

No point paying €5,000 to shave 4kg off your bike, only to need a 4kg lock to protect the expensive bike!

DirkVoodoo

neilled wrote: »

They're nothing exceptional. Price wise. About €90-100 for the Granite Ulock. The two lads (the wee fella and the taller lad) are now gone and replaced with eastern european staff and a new irish guy. Whilst they're all sound, the two other lads would give you a few quid off here and there if you were a regular with them.

Rob and Rob. yeah they were cool, seeing little angry Rob hurl abuse at people was a sight to behold. Having said that, I was quite annoyed I was specced up for a large Giant SCR, that bike gave me a lot of pain, the fit was all wrong.