BikeRadar lock test: £11,000 of locks destroyed - the results

peasant

Happy to know that I'm using one of the best

Lemming

Pity they didn't include the Kryptonite NY Faghettaboutit Mini in their tests.

godtabh

Who won?

LollipopJimmy

godtabh wrote: »

Who won?

Chuck Norris

Alek

tl;dw

Nodster

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Chuck Norris

Chuck work for ABUS

magicbastarder

i got as far as the first test, which ABUS seems to have won, thought 'funny that' and closed it.

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

i got as far as the first test, which ABUS seems to have won, thought 'funny that' and closed it.

....and they won overall also!

....mmmmmmmmmmmm.........

tedpan

godtabh wrote:

Who won?

It's only 13 minutes long and really interesting. Maybe watch it?

peasant

magicbastarder wrote: »

i got as far as the first test, which ABUS seems to have won, thought 'funny that' and closed it.

Actually...their recommendation from the first test was the Litelok.

The recommended chain was Hiplok Homie.

D-locks was indeed "won" by Abus but Kryptonyte a close second

and the overall toughest lock is a a super expensive 3.2 kg motorbike d-lock (Abus)


Hope this summary satisfies the goldfish and conspiracy theorists in the audience


For the extra pernickety detail fanatics...here is a link to the full test result graphics
https://imgur.com/Hlbrlov

Said link can be found in the BikeRadar article on the subject which is linked to in the video description (which of course involves reading which is probably asking too much from those that can't even be bothered watching)

tedpan

peasant wrote:

The recommended chain was Hiplok Homie.

That hiplok homie looks to be the one to for for..

peasant

tedpan wrote: »

That hiplok homie looks to be the one to for for..

Wouldn't want to have to carry it though

I've got the Abus Granite 540 d-lock with the universal bracket.
Makes it very comfortable to carry on the bike.
I'm very happy with the lock...but then again I don't have to leave my bike unattended all day at train stations and the like.

Rezident

Good video, cheers.

Alanstrainor

I bought the kryptonite U lock that came a close second. Nice lock, but the mount is terrible. God damn it kryptonite would you ever design a mount that isn't crap. I can't understand how they haven't fixed this, they've used this design for years!

tomasrojo

The Abus City Chain 1060 doesn't do all that well in the tests, which suggests that they didn't go easy on Abus.

I find it a very good lock for a cargo bike, but it looks a bit average in some tests.

I guess the star rating is more or less value for money, as I don't quite see why the Litelok gets a better rating than the City Chain if it's based on security.

(Or, indeed, why the City Chain gets the same star rating as the Kryptonite Keeper, when the latter does worse in every category, apart from price.)

CantGetNoSleep

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I bought the kryptonite U lock that came a close second. Nice lock, but the mount is terrible. God damn it kryptonite would you ever design a mount that isn't crap. I can't understand how they haven't fixed this, they've used this design for years!

The Evolution? Agree that the mount is crap on that, rattles for the first few days when it does work, then the lock won't come out of the mount, if you try to put a bit of lube on it then the part of the mount attached to the lock comes loose and spins around. Considering taking this off altogether but aside from the mount it is a solid lock

Alanstrainor

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

The Evolution? Agree that the mount is crap on that, rattles for the first few days when it does work, then the lock won't come out of the mount, if you try to put a bit of lube on it then the part of the mount attached to the lock comes loose and spins around. Considering taking this off altogether but aside from the mount it is a solid lock

No, the yellow new york lock they reviewed. Big heavy bastard. But it comes with the same mount as the evolution. The evolution seems to just about survive in the mount from my experience but with the heavier higher end locks it puts too much pressure on it making it sag and rattle. Tbh, I just carry the lock in my bag when I need it so it's not a huge problem but it's definitely something they should fix.

BrianHenryIE

I’m always disappointed that people generally don’t post what lock they were using in the Stolen Bikes thread. It would be very useful information. From reading it and other reports of stolen bikes in Dublin, I never saw a report of a bike with a yellow kryptonite on it stolen, and only twice read of bikes with an orange kryptonite stolen. I’d feel comfortable recommending using an orange and grey kryptonite together on bikes under €1000, and if leaving the bike regularly in the same place, leaving a yellow one there.

site_owner

brian.henry wrote: »

I’m always disappointed that people generally don’t post what lock they were using in the Stolen Bikes thread. It would be very useful information. From reading it and other reports of stolen bikes in Dublin, I never saw a report of a bike with a yellow kryptonite on it stolen, and only twice read of bikes with an orange kryptonite stolen. I’d feel comfortable recommending using an orange and grey kryptonite together on bikes under €1000, and if leaving the bike regularly in the same place, leaving a yellow one there.

I use 2 yellow Kryptonite when leaving for more than an hour or so and I'm more worried about vandalism / damage from attempted robberies.

Does anyone know how often Kryptonite update their locks. Is a yellow one today the same as last year's? And is it easy to know you're getting the latest one.

I'm a big Kryptonite fan. I have an abus granit Which I think is higher rated than my new York's, but I don't feel it has the same deterrent factor

Paul_Mc1988

Im using a kryptonite krypto grey series 2 for the front of the frame with a cable for the front wheel and a kryptonite series 4 integrated chain for between the chain stays and rear wheel. Bike in also in a keypad operated shed amd point of locking is integrated into the concrete.

Going by them results i might pick up a new york as my locks are some of the lowest on that list

Canis Lupus

Paul_Mc1988 wrote: »

Im using a kryptonite krypto grey series 2 for the front of the frame with a cable for the front wheel and a kryptonite series 4 integrated chain for between the chain stays and rear wheel. Bike in also in a keypad operated shed amd point of locking is integrated into the concrete.

Going by them results i might pick up a new york as my locks are some of the lowest on that list

I think the orange is a good middle ground and I suppose it depends on how much your bike is worth.

In my opinion an average cost commuter bike with an average dlock through the back wheel and frame just isn't worth it for the regular thief. They're mostly walking about with bolt cutters looking for sh*tty cable locks. The only time I think a thief will bother attacking a Dlock is if it's in a secluded and quiet place and the bike is worth the money.

It's also worth noting that these are lab tests and this annoys me a touch. I understand the need for some type of standardised testing but saying things like... this lock needed x amount of newton metres of force to break open means nothing to Joe Bloggs. Also that automated saw.... sweet jesus like.... that would have struggled to cut butter from the fridge.

magicbastarder

Canis Lupus wrote: »

In my opinion an average cost commuter bike with an average dlock through the back wheel and frame just isn't worth it for the regular thief.

as they say; it's not about outrunning the bear, it's about outrunning your friend.

tomasrojo

Canis Lupus wrote: »

They're mostly walking about with bolt cutters looking for sh*tty cable locks. The only time I think a thief will bother attacking a Dlock is if it's in a secluded and quiet place and the bike is worth the money.

Yes, I get the impression that bolt cutters are the most common of the hard-core methods. Maybe bottle jacks? I guess that's covered by the "tensile test".

Canis Lupus wrote: »

It's also worth noting that these are lab tests and this annoys me a touch. I understand the need for some type of standardised testing but saying things like... this lock needed x amount of newton metres of force to break open means nothing to Joe Bloggs.

I quite liked the specificity of these tests. All the same, the torsion tests wouldn't interest me that much, as I don't think thieves have many good options in the open to exert huge torsion on locks (they do sometimes use the bicycle frame itself). The saw tests are relevant enough, as saws, I have read, are used sometimes, as well as hammers, but I think the bolt crop tests are really the most important ones. Some notion of how big a bolt cropper is needed to exert the critical force in the table, and whether the user needs to put one handle on the ground would be interesting. I mean, if 100cm bolt cutters are needed to defeat my primary lock, I woudn't be that worried, even if other locks can resist huge bolt cutters.

tomasrojo

From that article I linked to, the Sold Secure definition of a thief's standard toolkit:

The basic bicycle tool list consists of items such as screwdrivers, junior hacksaw, pliers and steel tube. The enhanced bicycle tool list adds in stillsons, larger tube, ball peign hammer, HSS hacksaw, punch set, side cutters and 16" bolt croppers. The full tool bicycle tool list adds in socket set, spanner, more screwdrivers, 24" scaffold pole (for use with stillsons), club hammer, TCT hacksaw, freezing agent, cold chisels, 24" bolt croppers, 24" wrecking bar, scissor jack, slide hammer and lock picking tools.

Fighting Tao

Alanstrainor wrote: »

No, the yellow new york lock they reviewed. Big heavy bastard. But it comes with the same mount as the evolution. The evolution seems to just about survive in the mount from my experience but with the heavier higher end locks it puts too much pressure on it making it sag and rattle. Tbh, I just carry the lock in my bag when I need it so it's not a huge problem but it's definitely something they should fix.

The New York M16 comes with the mount. The New York M18 comes without a mount. That’s the one they tested. I have both the M16 and M18. Both really heavy locks and beat carries in a backpack.

Effects

brian.henry wrote: »

I never saw a report of a bike with a yellow kryptonite on it stolen, and only twice read of bikes with an orange kryptonite stolen.

I've cut through a yellow krypto and an orange. The yellow was a lot tougher, had to change batteries on the angle grinder. It's a cheap angle grinder, I'd imagine a decent DeWalt or similar with lithium ion batteries would be a lot better. Didn't get any hassle from anyone, but I don't look like a bike thief.

Effects

tomasrojo wrote: »

Yes, I get the impression that bolt cutters are the most common of the hard-core methods.

I've read that the foldable type are favoured.

BofaDeezNuhtz

peasant wrote: »

Actually...their recommendation from the first test was the Litelok.

It can be broken open simply by just twisting a steel bar thru it tho ffs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he5EsREkZe4

godtabh

I bought the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit Chain and Padlock (150cm) Black/White and Kryptonite Stronghold Surface Ground Anchor Black. I hope they are worth the money

BowSideChamp

An angle grinder can cut through any lock in less than 60secs. Cheaper locks will take 10secs. It's also easier some times to cut through a bike rack.

I use currently using a massive Abus motorbike D-Lock. I am thinking of also using a 2nd alarmed d-lock and getting a seatpost GPS tracker. This combined with bike insurance would be the ultimate anti theft system.

Wishbone Ash

BowSideChamp wrote: »

....This combined with bike insurance would be the ultimate anti theft system.

Leaving aside your locking strategy, having bike insurance won't do anything to prevent theft.

BowSideChamp

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Leaving aside your locking strategy, having bike insurance won't do anything to prevent theft.

Yes nothing can prevent a bike from being stolen. Bolt cutters can defeat almost any lock and what it can't can be cut by an angle grinder. The only measure to ensure that you are not out of pocket is insurance.

tomasrojo

You can save up the cost of a new bike, putting what you would pay monthly to insurance into a 30-day notice account. If you use a gold-rated and a silver-rated lock intelligently, you will be able to save a grand or so by the time your bike is stolen.

In fact, though I am sure that at some point one of my bikes will be stolen, it hasn't happened yet in decades of parking in all sorts of places. Did have a front wheel stolen once, so I made sure to secure that since then.

As for bolt cutters, the best gold-rated locks are defeated by 1m-long bolt cutters or longer, which are rare. You can pretty much discount them, at least for now. The higher-rated locks also hasten the wear in angle grinder discs, so unless you've got a great bike, they probably won't bother wearing the disc for yours.

Slydice

They put the results on a table and uploaded it as an image to imgur:
https://imgur.com/Hlbrlov

endacl

FWIW, my anecdotal experiential review... I’ve been using a combination of the Krypto NY Fahhgeddiboutit, Abus Bordo x plus folder, and aux cable for years now.

I’ve never come back to the bike to see evidence that anybody’s even tried their luck. And I’ve locked my bike up in some pretty dodgy locations! What I have seen, though, is other bikes having been stolen from those locations. I’ve noticed bikes being stolen that have been well-locked with crappy locks, and badly-locked with good locks. No lock will make your bike 100% secure. But good locks used properly will make it vastly more secure than all the others.

To paraphrase the old joke, I don’t have to outrun the lion, I just have to outrun you.

rubadub

tomasrojo wrote: »

As for bolt cutters, the best gold-rated locks are defeated by 1m-long bolt cutters or longer, which are rare. You can pretty much discount them, at least for now.

If you see them cropping good locks they are almost using the ground or something else for leverage. i.e. 1 handle is on the ground and they are putting all their weight on the other, often half jumping up and down and "shocking" the handle. This is why locking technique is so important. Keep the chain up high and wrap it around so it is taut (not slack) and they cannot pull it down. However being taut makes it easier for grinding.



I am happy enough with my NY standard D, key is a bit crap. The onguards are very good value and have better keys. A big plus of the NY is that it is easily identifiable to thieves, I imagine many might not know the better scoring abus and would go attack a bike with it before the yellow NY.

See his hopping technique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuTrVoo3OV0

if you can impart that force holding it with 2 hands you should not be robbing bikes, you could make a living winning strongman contests.

tomasrojo

Yeah, it's a bit like the gold-rated locks and people being shocked they can be opened by skilled lock pickers (given a fair bit of time). If you're a skilled lock picker there are soooo many more valuable things you can steal than a bike.

tomasrojo

Suzuki_TL1000R wrote: »

It can be broken open simply by just twisting a steel bar thru it tho ffs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he5EsREkZe4

I came across a review of the Litelok and I remembered this video being posted here.

The reviewer at thebestbikelock.com tried to replicate the lock breaking in this video and he couldn't do it. He thinks it's a very secure lock.

http://thebestbikelock.com/best-chain-lock/litelok-review-lightweight-and-high-security/