Which locks have the best weight to security ratio?

bornfree said:

In other words, I want a "lightweight" lock which will withstand theft
attempts.

Don't we all. I don't think such a thing exists. Normally you can
pick two of strong, cheap or light; but in the case of locks I don't
think you can get stronger and lighter by increasing the amount of
money you're willing to spend. The closest I think you can get is to
buy big strong heavy locks to leave in all the places you want to lock
your bike up.

I'd like someone to prove me wrong here.

POHB said:

Don't we all. I don't think such a thing exists. Normally you can
pick two of strong, cheap or light; but in the case of locks I don't
think you can get stronger and lighter by increasing the amount of
money you're willing to spend.

Up to a point you can: you can make a high quality steel lock at less
weight than a crappy mild steel one that is quite a bit stronger, for
example, but you can only go so far down that road. All else being
equal, a heavier lock will resist more serious butchery.

Quoted message said:

The closest I think you can get is to
buy big strong heavy locks to leave in all the places you want to lock
your bike up.

I'd like someone to prove me wrong here.

The lateral thinking approach is have a folder which you don't lock up,
but take it in with you. Works in most places most of the time IME...
but that may not be enough :-(

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said the following on 26/06/2008 11:26:

Quoted message said:

Up to a point you can: you can make a high quality steel lock at less
weight than a crappy mild steel one that is quite a bit stronger, for
example, but you can only go so far down that road. All else being
equal, a heavier lock will resist more serious butchery.

Do titanium locks exist? They ought to go some way towards the
strength/lightness we would like.

(NB - the word "cheap" was deliberately excluded!!)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Paul Boyd said:

Peter Clinch said the following on 26/06/2008 11:26:

Quoted message said:

Up to a point you can: you can make a high quality steel lock at less
weight than a crappy mild steel one that is quite a bit stronger, for
example, but you can only go so far down that road. All else being
equal, a heavier lock will resist more serious butchery.

Do titanium locks exist? They ought to go some way towards the
strength/lightness we would like.

(NB - the word "cheap" was deliberately excluded!!)

In my quest for a light tough lock I have found the following

Master Lock Street Cuff http://i19.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/df/d6/6272_1.JPG

The Trelock Folding Cops Lock
http://tinyurl.com/5jkg7p

Don't know the weights yet though...

Paul Boyd said:

Peter Clinch said the following on 26/06/2008 11:26:
Do titanium locks exist?  They ought to go some way towards the
strength/lightness we would like.

I know it is "strong", but is titanium hard to cut?

bornfree said:

In my quest for a light tough lock I have found the following

Master Lock Street Cuffhttp://i19.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/df/d6/6272_1.JPG

The Trelock Folding Cops Lockhttp://tinyurl.com/5jkg7p

Don't know the weights yet though...

Lots of reviews here, including where they've actually tested them to
destruction:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks

Master Lock Street Cuff -
1250grammes according to an ebay power seller.

The Trelock Folding Cops -
900grammes according to another powerseller

/What do you guys think of this/
http://i14.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/e8/11/016e_1.JPG
Raleigh armoured cable lock - 500grammes

My current bike (Raleigh Folder) isn't expensive enough to attract
hardcore thieves.. (I don't think). Also I don't leave it outside
overnight. However I plan on getting a flashy looking Specialized
Sirrus soon....

POHB said:

Paul Boyd said:

Peter Clinch said the following on 26/06/2008 11:26:
Do titanium locks exist? They ought to go some way towards the
strength/lightness we would like.

I know it is "strong", but is titanium hard to cut?

OnGuard Bulldog Mini LS - £21.99

4 Stars
Weight 1.24kg

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:7oXwgFL86RQJ:www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/bulldog-mini-ls-16552+OnGuard+Bulldog+Mini+LS+weight&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk
or
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/bulldog-mini-ls-16552

Ok 1.2kg isn't featherweight, but I plan to get this lock for my
future £400 Sirrus.

On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:22:53 -0700 (PDT), bornfree
<[email hidden]> said in
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

I want a "lightweight" lock which will withstand theft
attempts.

Oink, flap, oink, flap....

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

you know? said:

On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:22:53 -0700 (PDT), bornfree
<[email hidden]> said in
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

I want a "lightweight" lock which will withstand theft
attempts.

Oink, flap, oink, flap....

No Guy. Not only do flying pigs not make good locks, they also get
immediately stolen - after all, when was the last time you saw a
flying pig (locking up a bike or otherwise)?

Tim.

bornfree writtificated

Quoted message said:

In other words, I want a "lightweight" lock which will withstand theft
attempts.

Thanks! 🙂

The Abus Bordo 75 is under a kilo. Whilst it'll be easily broken through
with an angle grinder so will everything else.

The plus points are that the hinges prevent a thief getting a bottle jack
in, or from getting two parallel edges for it to push against. It's also
compact in your bag.

Combine this with a second lock decent lock to protect the front wheel and
prevent them from levering the lock apart (with your bike as the lever).
This is important because if try and fail to nick the bike this way you'll
be left with a dented, possibly borked, frame.

Still not light tho.

"bornfree" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Master Lock Street Cuff -
1250grammes according to an ebay power seller.

The Trelock Folding Cops -
900grammes according to another powerseller

/What do you guys think of this/
http://i14.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/e8/11/016e_1.JPG
Raleigh armoured cable lock - 500grammes

My current bike (Raleigh Folder) isn't expensive enough to attract
hardcore thieves.. (I don't think). Also I don't leave it outside
overnight. However I plan on getting a flashy looking Specialized
Sirrus soon....

All three will be defeated very quickly with bolt croppers or portable angle
grinders.

The Trelock and Raleigh look like they have vulnerable locks that would
succumb to serious poundings with a lump hammer.

"POHB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

bornfree said:

In other words, I want a "lightweight" lock which will withstand theft
attempts.

Don't we all. I don't think such a thing exists. Normally you can
pick two of strong, cheap or light; but in the case of locks I don't
think you can get stronger and lighter by increasing the amount of
money you're willing to spend. The closest I think you can get is to
buy big strong heavy locks to leave in all the places you want to lock
your bike up.

I'd like someone to prove me wrong here.

Paranoid owners will not leave locks behind as they signal a fixed parking
spot for cherished bikes/motorbikes. Theives have all the time in the world
to try picking the lock in the absence of the bike or squirt superglue into
the lock rendering it useless. Both nobbling methods have been reported in
motor cycle comics.

bornfree said:

In other words, I want a "lightweight" lock which will withstand theft
attempts.

Thanks! 🙂

perhaps the ratio should be simply weight to strengh, but weight to
possibly awkward to break.
I'm in Belgium, here, most bikes seem to come with a lock that sits
just under the seat. I'm sure someone here must be familiar with it.
When you want to lock-up, you turn the key slightly and push down a
knob/lever. A curved bar comes out one end and into the other between
the spokes (spelling?) of the wheel. When the lever is fully down, the
key is released (can't get it out otherwise). On return, insert key,
turn slightly and the lever pops up again releasing the back wheel.
Because the key is 'stuck' untill next use, you never have to
'remember' to bring it, which is also handy because you can attach the
key for another cable lock.
Only problem being, I've never tried to smash one of these rear seat
locks so I've no idea how good they really are.

aquachimp said:

perhaps the ratio should be simply weight to strengh, but weight to
possibly awkward to break.
I'm in Belgium, here, most bikes seem to come with a lock that sits
just under the seat. I'm sure someone here must be familiar with it.
When you want to lock-up, you turn the key slightly and push down a
knob/lever. A curved bar comes out one end and into the other between
the spokes (spelling?) of the wheel. When the lever is fully down, the
key is released (can't get it out otherwise). On return, insert key,
turn slightly and the lever pops up again releasing the back wheel.
Because the key is 'stuck' untill next use, you never have to
'remember' to bring it, which is also handy because you can attach the
key for another cable lock.
Only problem being, I've never tried to smash one of these rear seat
locks so I've no idea how good they really are.

I would be concerned about spoke damage if the bike was accidentally or
deliberately pushed.

Also of course these kind of locks don't stop anyone picking up the bike and
putting it into the back of a car or van.

~PB

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:05:30 +0200

Pete Biggs said:

Also of course these kind of locks don't stop anyone picking up the
bike and putting it into the back of a car or van.

They do if you use them to attach a loop of cable to something.

aquachimp said:

I'm in Belgium, here, most bikes seem to come with a lock that sits
just under the seat. I'm sure someone here must be familiar with it.
When you want to lock-up, you turn the key slightly and push down a
knob/lever. A curved bar comes out one end and into the other between
the spokes (spelling?) of the wheel. When the lever is fully down, the
key is released (can't get it out otherwise). On return, insert key,
turn slightly and the lever pops up again releasing the back wheel.
Because the key is 'stuck' untill next use, you never have to
'remember' to bring it, which is also handy because you can attach the
key for another cable lock.

I just bought a Pashley Roadster Sovereign and it has such a lock.
While not relying on it for security, it is as you say a good reminder
that you have to lock your bike. Especially since I rarely locked my
bike at home... so with the keys 'locked' to the bike, I can't open my
front door until I lock the bike and retrieve my house key 🙂

While in Holland earlier in the year, I noticed that practically all of
their bikes have similar locks - and while most people used a chain/loop
of cable/D-lock as well, while sitting in the street I saw that people
popping into a shop quickly would typically use only the back wheel
lock. OK I guess in a pedestrianised are where no white van can take
your bike away, but I'm not going to chance the same here. Insured or
not, I don't want to wait another 6 weeks for a replacement Pashley!

Thunderbug said:

aquachimp said:

I'm in Belgium, here, most bikes seem to come with a lock that sits
just under the seat. I'm sure someone here must be familiar with it.
When you want to lock-up, you turn the key slightly and push down a
knob/lever. A curved bar comes out one end and into the other between
the spokes (spelling?) of the wheel. When the lever is fully down, the
key is released (can't get it out otherwise). On return, insert key,
turn slightly and the lever pops up again releasing the back wheel.
Because the key is 'stuck' untill next use, you never have to
'remember' to bring it, which is also handy because you can attach the
key for another cable lock.

I just bought a Pashley Roadster Sovereign and it has such a lock.
While not relying on it for security, it is as you say a good reminder
that you have to lock your bike.  Especially since I rarely locked my
bike at home... so with the keys 'locked' to the bike, I can't open my
front door until I lock the bike and retrieve my house key 🙂

Lovely. But so true.
Also, like some of those momentary shoppers, it would be tempting to
not bother with locking at all. But then, the keys are dangling there
and a sense of ... well.... I'm not going to GIVE the thief a bike
with lock AND key and throw in a decent cable and its key with it too!
Click, clunk, slide.

Quoted message said:

While in Holland earlier in the year, I noticed that practically all of
their bikes have similar locks - and while most people used a chain/loop
of cable/D-lock as well, while sitting in the street I saw that people
popping into a shop quickly would typically use only the back wheel
lock.  OK I guess in a pedestrianised are where no white van can take
your bike away, but I'm not going to chance the same here.  Insured or
not, I don't want to wait another 6 weeks for a replacement Pashley!

Pete Biggs said:

aquachimp said:

perhaps the ratio should be simply weight to strengh, but weight to
possibly awkward to break.
I'm in Belgium, here, most bikes seem to come with a lock that sits
just under the seat. I'm sure someone here must be familiar with it.
When you want to lock-up, you turn the key slightly and push down a
knob/lever. A curved bar comes out one end and into the other between
the spokes (spelling?) of the wheel. When the lever is fully down, the
key is released (can't get it out otherwise). On return, insert key,
turn slightly and the lever pops up again releasing the back wheel.
Because the key is 'stuck' untill next use, you never have to
'remember' to bring it, which is also handy because you can attach the
key for another cable lock.
Only problem being, I've never tried to smash one of these rear seat
locks so I've no idea how good they really are.

I would be concerned about spoke damage if the bike was accidentally or
deliberately pushed.

The strenght of the spokes and short distance apart at the releveant
point of the wheel, in relation to the weight of the bike, means that
the wheel merely drags along with no noticeable damage sustained to
the spokes.

Quoted message said:

Also of course these kind of locks don't stop anyone picking up the bike and
putting it into the back of a car or van.

~PB

That advantage I mentioned, of having that lock's key attached to the
key for a cable lock...........