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Daughter is off to uni and going to be taking a bike once she's settled in (Brizzle, which seems from here to be a bit of a high-theft area)
I'm going to be trying to make the bike look like shite but guessing that thieves aren't all that stoopid. I know we can't beat a grinder but looking to beat yer casual scrote.
What's good for (central?) Bristol ?
Needs to be attachable to the bike frame (or rather, easily carried) and not massively heavy. Is a D-lock with a secondary cable a good choice ?
a decent lock will be heavy. I use a kryptonite m18 - its a couple of kilos but I wouldn't leave a bike parked with less
Whenever I ride into Bristol and intend to park the bike for a period, my locks definitely weigh more than the bike they’re protecting and even then, I’m still wondering if it’ll be there when I return.
My lads Uni bike, Bristol also, will be a full on tip bike. I’d forgotten about a lock mind you, I’ll probably get a heavy chain he wear over one shoulder like a mad max extra.
You need to make it just a bit harder to steal than the next bike in the rack, and make sure that it doesn't look too nice, or that you're trying to disguise a nice bike.
My daughter has had a couple of bikes nicked. Now rides an old, but lovely, Univega from BITD when Univega were a great brand. With a random assortment of components that make it look ugly. It's been safe from the crooks for years now.
This, however, is what my son has keeping his bike safe, came with all sorts of bracket things for attaching to the bike when carrying it around:
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/abus-ultimate-420-d-lock-with-cable/rp-prod199386
Cable plus lock is the best bet. Many wheels are QR and it takes seconds to undo and remove a wheel. Sure they can be cut, but I reckon any thief is not going to risk getting caught for a solitary wheel,rather they're looking for a whole bike and the solid D lock prevents that.
Also locking it in places that are busy is going to go a way towards keeping it safe.
The Onguard Brute is a decent budget D lock, it comes with a frame mount, plenty of spare keys, feels solid and is sold secure gold rated. It's not too large for carrying around but big enough to make locking to something solid fairly easy
My wife wanted a compact d-lock to attach onto the frame of her Surly LHT.
Wend for an Abus Granit mini, it’s been great for a few years in London when combined with a cable lock to thread through the wheels.
Bracket is properly sturdy as well, unlink some of the new Kryptonite ones which use a fabric strap.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/abus-granit-x-plus-54-mini-d-lock/rp-prod143879
https://m.bikester.co.uk/abus-ush-51-granit-plus-black-389503.html
If I'm going to be locking my bike anywhere I use a Hiplock Gold. Admittedly it very rarely leaves my sight and when it does it's usually just a cafe stop but it's Sold Secure Gold so insurance covers it and it's really easy to carry.
Been using an Abus with a square section "D" for years now around London and Sheffield. Feels a bit lighter than my Kyrptonite Fahgeddaboutit and has a bit bigger D. Got good reviews when it was new, but that was a while back.
Personally would avoid the mini D-locks - they might be OK if you're only ever locking to a proper bike rack, but I have enough trouble with a full size one when trying to use a lamp post or other random street furniture.
I'd also go with a non-QR option for wheels/saddle etc. having to always add another cable to protect them is just an extra level of faff that'll get forgotten about.
Crap bike with meaty lock is the only solution. Depart from either of these and a bike locked all day is likely to be gone imho.
In Bristol you want either a big chain or a big arse D-Lock and additional cable. Or just get her an old POS for commuting into town. I used to carry a big Kryptonite D-lock with a cable as well. And then leave a big big chain in the garage at the wife’s work lock up as it would be there all day.
But I think for a student around Bristol an old bike with ok older components is less likely to get nicked. An old road bike, Halfords GT XC bike or ladies shopper, etc.
Just thought. Don’t HipLock make a few wearable chains?
As said above, public place, old bike, make it look
Harder to nick than the others around.
And here’s a mistake I see lots of people make daily in Bristol (and other places) MAKE SURE YOU LOCK IT TO SOMETHING SECURE!!! Not a 6 foot post with no top, or something that can be broken.
There was a brief period where bike thieves were precutting the bars on bike stands and then taping over them so they could easily bend the bar and nick the bike.
Big chain and a smini d lock.
Leave the big chain at your regular parking point and supliment with mini d.
Mini d for when out and about.
P s. What bike?
Get a Hiplock DX and a Hiplock chain - Two locks with a variety of securing options and you can wear them.
They do a pack with all you need but it seem out of stock...
https://hiplok.com/product/hiplok-protect-pack-gold/
Don't bother with any sort of cable - cosmetic only. You need a boltcropper proof d lock - double locking and sat least 16mm case hardened shackle - anything less takes 2 seconds with a boltcropper
University of Bristol sell these Sold Secure Gold rated D locks at the union shop and in the security lodge and subsidise them for students at £12 a pop - they come with a plastic frame mount. So perhaps if she is making the same journey repeatedly for Uni, she has the option to leave one at the destination, having two D-locks is probably enough to have the would be thief move to a different target.
https://www.masterlock.eu/home-personal/product/8195EURDPROLW
Ultimately though, I'd recommend insurance if she has a decent bike.
1. A rusty trusty Raleigh Pioneer and basic D lock (£40-£60 all-in?), or
2. An expensive gold-rated shackle (£60- £100)for her (nice?)bike dressed down/made to look tatty?
I’d fancy my chances more with the former. ymmv
Security skewers are a cheapish (£12-15) addition to any bike that normally takes regular QR skewers. (Just don’t leave the key located in the skewer, and keep it in the same place at or on key ring)
gold rated and the rest of them are a waste of time as is anything not boltcropper proof like that lock linked above.
Leave the big chain at your regular parking point and supliment with mini d.
Isn't one of their favourite tricks to fill your leave behind lock with glue so you end up resorting to backup/leaving it unlocked?
Thanks for that @kimura54321. Just ordered the same as Abus rate it 15/15 but lighter than the equivalent Kyroptonite. Want to use my bike more to run errands but at the moment can’t justify an about town bike so planning on using my gravel (gulp!).
thx everyone. It's not a great bike but it looks OK and has some quite "nice" old stuuf on it (e.g. 20yr-old xtr mech). Is her 1st 26er mtb frame with drop bars so may look weir enough to put a casual off anyway. Will have a think (and maybe a trip past the tip!)
@ahsat - You are welcome, should be fine for short trips.
It’s slightly bigger than the old Kryptonite Evo Mini that I used most of the time and not as boat anchor like as the full sized New York that COVID bike scarcity paranoia made me dust off this year…
@scaredypants - Sounds like a nice bike actually! 😅 Any pics, as I do have a soft spot for the old drop bar conversion/up-cycled bikes.
can’t justify an about town bike
(unless you have no storage space) they only need ‘justified’ if you want to not sweat risking yr nice bike. About town bikes can be used, and cost peanuts. Aforementioned Raleigh Pioneers go for less than the price of a lock. They often come ready fitted with a rear rack and sidestand. I had a look on ebay and some in fine condition sell for £11
Isn’t one of their favourite tricks to fill your leave behind lock with glue so you end up resorting to backup/leaving it unlocked?
Hmm possibly. Never had the issue myself but doesn't mean that it doesn't occur. Two locks method would still be my proffered method.
P.S. Min D can still be pretty secure when used correctly but can be a faf to use but they are good as a easy to carry lock
Buy a cheap used bike so if it gets stolen it is no big deal. More important than the type of lock is where the bike is left. The closer the bike is to where a truck can pull up and the bike tossed inside the more likely someone will steal it.
can’t justify an about town bike
To expand on my comment, to be justified an about town bikes for me needs to be able to do a hilly 10-13 miles each way, ie use them for the days I cycle commute too. I don’t run enough errands locally (as I can walk to the supermarket /chemist etc) to justify a different bike just for the odd 1-3 mile ride to the doctors etc. So I’ve ended up using my gravel bike for my commute as it’s ~22 miles round trip but I don’t do it every time I go into work as I find it pretty tiring around a full day in the office (on the way home I can come via the canal and woods).
All that said, I’m seriously considering a commuter with rack, as we think we are about to find out today that all our single staff offices are about to be turned into hot dealing space so it means bringing in a laptop and loosing room to store my stuff. But I know I don’t cycle commute that often, realistically. (I live near a train station).
Anyway that Abus Granite Plus arrived this week. Certainly more robust than previous locks I’ve owned.