What is the biggest baddest assed bike lock out there that will give me a chance of keeping my bike for more than a few days when I start using it to commute into the city centre of Glasgow?
What's the bike and it's value?
Dales have some pretty secure Kryptonite locks in the shop at the moment. They usually come highly recommended
Id try Almax Security. Some demos on their site which shows them trying to crop their own chains. They crop the Kryptonite chain in seconds!!! They would need to go some to break one of these bad boys. Not cheap and they are quite heavy though.
Amus granite. D locks are good.
Something like this
http://www.mandp.co.uk/productinfo/500904/Security/U-Locks/Abus
On a D lock you want the shackle to be at least 12 mm preferable 18 mm and both ends to lock.
And don't forget the machine gun nest on the roof of the opposite building. 😉
Almax either have the best advertising spiel/videos/etc, or they really are that good.
Hopefully you've already started with a really cheap dull/ratty looking 80's road bike with to go with whatever you lock it with, and tapping some local knowledge about where not to lock it up! Hopefully less likely to be a target, and less heartache and wallet-ache if/when it does vanish.
This is not lightweight, but it is going to keep things where you put them:
[url] http://www.parker-international.co.uk/6771/Kryptonite-New-York-M18-Lock.html [/url]
I've not found a bigger D lock - and D locks are far tougher than chains.
For a posh bike I'd second the Almax idea. Find something really solid and deliver the Almax there by car and leave it attached. Carrying one around is going to knacker you. Only downside is someone supergluing the lock mechanism over night... I'd personally go for the cheaper lock and a snotter for commuting if you can't park securely.
Also worth pointing out that even if you secure the frame, the scrotes will strip any components that aren't secured!
Whereabouts were you planning to leave it during the day?
There's some interesting reading here: http://www.lfgss.com/thread17938.html
Evans and Cyclesurgery will price match Amazon, which happened to be the cheapest on the day I got my M18
Will be leaving the bike at Glasgow Caley Uni. RRP on the bike is £500.
From my experiences of locking nice-ish bikes at unis, lock it up good, insure it and expect it to get stolen.
Also don't leave it looking shiny. Get it muddy and grubby and leave it that way, I also cover up excessive logos with reflective tape etc. make it look boring and commuter-y.
I wouldn't use a kryptonite. Maybe they have sorted them out but two previous models have had design flaws that make them easy to open.
Camouflage the bike as well - tape it up. paint it really badly including the rims and tyres - that sort of thing
G - you want a New York.
TJ - neds know that people camo bikes up = they are therefore as attractive cause they know you are trying to hide something.
TandemJeremy - MemberMaybe they have sorted them out but two previous models have had design flaws that make them easy to open.
Yes - they have sorted them out. I like the way you say don't use them [i]then[/i] wonder whether they have sorted them.
What's the bike and it's value?
In many instances it's the PITA value you are covering if you lost it. As a form of transport when you have no car, a bike is hard to beat. The bus doesn't cut it.
Worth protecting even a £80 shitter with a £100 lock if it means you know you will always come back to it.
Plus, 'they' will nick ANYTHING regardless of value.
My hack bike spends its day in the centre of Glasgow in a completely secure underground car park only accessible by a solid roller shutter door that can only be opened with a pass, covered by cctv with two d-locks and a cable lock securing it to a bike rack.
I still get paranoid that it will be stolen during the day.
On the camo - my local neds certainly haven't sussed it out from comments made about my bike 🙂
YOu need to make the bike look less attractive to steal than another bike - so make the bike look shite and use a decent lock
I wouldn't use a kryptonite as I wouldn't want to risk it. I don't care whether they have sorted the issues or not - I'd go with a company that designs properly the first time to save the risk
Plenty of that black reflective tape, I've got a semi-wrecked saddle you can have to make it look less loved.