I am looking for a padlock cable to secure my bike and deter the speculative thief when it is on the back of my car.
I use a Thules towbar carrier and have the advantage of my spare wheel being on the back of the car so any cable can be looped through the spare wheel and the bike,
Although there are plenty of very secure locks around I can't find any cable/wire that can't be cut with a pair of bolt croppers and/or battery operated disc cutter.
I do have a 22mm chain in the garage which secures the bike via a ground anchor but this wouldn't be long enough
The bike won't normally be left alone on the rack unless |I need to stop at services etc.
Any recommendations?
Thanks
I can’t find any cable/wire that can’t be cut with a pair of bolt croppers and/or battery operated disc cutter.
Pretty much anything can be cut with an angle grinder given long enough.
Cables can be cropped in seconds.
One of those sectional locks which fold up might be your best bet.
I have a motorbike chain with a loop on the end (it's designed to be used like a noose) but happily the eye fits over the removable towbar before installing it on the car. When this is linked to a standard chain the pair are long enough to go around two bikes on the rack.
The weak point is the towball lock but someone would need to lie under the rack to realise how the chain is attached and then defeat the basic towball lock whilst lying on the floor, and then you'd probably need a second person to lift the rack and bikes whilst releasing the towball.
You understood when you said 'speculative thief' as you're not going to stop anyone with an ounce of determination. I misplaced the key for one of my locks and cut it off in seconds with a borrowed battery angle grinder. I haven't touched an angle grinder in 20+ years so I'm not exactly fast. Just get whatever meets your insurance requirements and try to park in sight of good people or leave a minder with the car / bike as much as you can.
Sad times
One of those sectional locks which fold up might be best flung in the bin.
FTFY
I can't think of anything easier to break than something with rotating pinned joints. Keeps people honest but so does a wire and padlock.
Marginally better than those shitty laptop locks Planet X were selling but not by much.
I use a combination cable lock (about 8-10mm) between the bikes and the carrier, and park it in a busy part of the car park.
It won’t stop anyone who’s gone tooled up to steal bikes - but nothing will stop an angle grinder. But it will stop someone casually removing the bike.
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/best-bike-lock
This made for pretty depressing reading
Massive Hiplok DXF £80 u lock- 44 seconds with angle grinder
Can you get a thumping huge d lock between your frame and wheel?
£270 Abus Granit Superxtreme 2500 lasted 12 min on the angle grinder.
I too am of the 'nothing is going to stop a battery angle grinder' these days.
I do use a u-lock and chain or cable.
But more importantly, I try not to leave the bikes alone on the car or van.
If I do, I'm either right in a busy part of the carpark or street, or conversely backed up against a wall or similar to hide what is there.
I also have the backup of insurance for when it happens. Do check insurance, mine doesn't cover a bike inside a vehicle but does cover it locked outside a vehicle.