High Security Chain / Lock advice

Based on previous years our area likely to see a rise in garage/shed break ins over the next month or so, hence I fancy a new lock to (help) secure my bikes.

I fancy one long chain to go through a couple of bikes and a ground anchor, previously on here I’ve seen a number of recommendation for this chain

http://securityforbikes.com/proddetail.php?prod=P19-x.x

I’ve also heard good things about Almax chains, but they only go upto 2m which is probably a bit short for how I store my bikes.

So before I pull the trigger on the chain above, is there anything else out there that would be better in terms of security. I’m not too fussed about getting the price down on something ‘nearly as good’ as I’d rather spend a few quid extra on something that will definitely be difficult to break off.

They look the bees’ knees 😀

Pragsis have a good reputation.

I’d personally go with Almax, but obviously if not long enough it’s no use to you.

I’m a big fan of pragmasis chains, my only comment is that the 19mm chain is probably overkill for bikes. I have the 13mm version along with the ground anchor and that’s good enough for me (and also sold secure bicycle gold rated).

I have a 19mm pragmasis and a 19mm almax both with the matching squire padlcoks, I think they’re both the same price so take your pick really.

They’re seriously heavy chains.

Chains go through the pragmasis ground anchors.

The one I’ve linked above is a Pragmasis isn’t it?

I’ve got a Pragmasis chain and ground anchor. As above, I didn’t go for the 19mm chain. I think mine’s 13mm and it’s pretty heavy. If you dropped a 19mm chain onto a thin walled alu downtube I imagine you could do some real damage. It’s less likely to be cut though.

Pragmasis are good though, I’d recommend buying from them.

Almax Chain & Matching Lock here too. As Gary says…seriously heavy and definitely not going to carry around in your back pack!!

I’ve just gone for the 19mm Almax Immobiliser Series IV and its absolutely insane. So heavy I accidentally pulled my back when trying to quickly lift it off the floor!

I know you said 2m is not long enough, but if there’s any way you can change that, I don’t think you’ll find a chunkier chain.

I bought 2m of 13mm lifting chain and slid it into an inner tube, seems to do the trick and cost about £40.

This lock will only ever stay at home so weight isn’t really a concern, although the consequence of dropping it on a alloy frame is a very good point that I hadn’t really considered.
I was wrong about Almax, 2.5m is the longest they do, I still think this may be a tad short. So it’s time to get a bit of scrap rope out and thread it through the bikes to see what I actually need.

I looks like I’ve narrowed it down to two decent chains anyway, cheers for the advice so far.

The one I’ve linked above is a Pragmasis isn’t it?

Yes it is.

And yes it’s heavy, but it’s not that heavy that you can’t easily lift it with one hand.

Link 2 Almax chains together?

I’ve done it in the past when one won’t reach.

Link 2 Almax chains together?

I’ve done it in the past when one won’t reach.

I was just looking into that option, did you sue two padlocks or can you get a joining link?

i have a 19mm pragmasis chain + ‘untouchable’ padlock.

not ‘cheap’, but only a few quid more than doing a half-arsed job*, and it’s not like it’ll ever wear out.

(*like this: “2m of 13mm lifting chain and slid it into an inner tube”)

Shame of it is, if they break into your garage and your chain looks like too much of a challenge, they’ll just cut through the frame and nick the bike for components anyway.

Despite the above. I use a sold secure 2m motorbike chain, it’s a beast and works a treat.

OP, I just bought another padlock & pushed the end link on one chain through another end link on the second chain, then locked a padlock on the end of the 1st chain thus locking the 2 chains together.

OP, I just bought another padlock & pushed the end link on one chain through another end link on the second chain, then locked a padlock on the end of the 1st chain thus locking the 2 chains together.

Thanks, that what I thought I’d need to do

Great idea:

I bought 2m of 13mm lifting chain and slid it into an inner tube, seems to do the trick and cost about £40.

I’ve got “uncutable” chains securing my bikes. But the last time someone got in my shed they cut through the bike frames and pulled them of the chain. Totally fecked the bike obviously but they’d still have loads of parts to sell 🙁

3m Pragmasis 13mm chain here, seems plenty strong enough. I think 19mm would be overkill and as mentioned above could do quite a bit of damage to a frame.

Great idea:

I bought 2m of 13mm lifting chain and slid it into an inner tube, seems to do the trick and cost about £40.

the sliding it into an inner tube takes a bit of time.
While looking for alternatives to big expensive chains I came across a thread where the guys were claiming that standing on 36″ bolt cutters could just about cut through 6mm grade 80 lifting chain. The chain is easy to get off ebay and in various lengths.

I went for Abus Granite Extreme Plus it’s really a motor bike type & very heavy, three bikes recently departed my garage one night but they didn’t get the one with the Abus chain & Lock

Can a chain be too big?

I have been looking at lifting and anchor chains as they seem to be cheaper and buyable by the metre. It is possible to get in 13mm (£15/m, 3.8kg/m), 16mm (£20/m 5.6kg/m) and even 20mm (£30/m. 9kg/m).

Most standard 3ft lever bolt cutters are advertised as being able to cut up to 12mm, which suggests that a bike secured with anything thicker than that would require a little more effort or forethought to steal. Although if somebody is really determined then they will find a way, or just strip the frame.

Whatever thickness I get will be wrapped in a tube to protect the frame, ground anchored and have a beefy padlock, but is the additional weight and expense of a 16mm or 20mm chain worth the hassle?

I have been looking at lifting and anchor chains as they seem to be cheaper

You’re mixing up two completely different things. Lifting chains are designed for tensile stength, ie lifting stuff. Security chains are designed to be [semi] impervious to cutting (ie hard). These two charactreistics are [to s degree] mutually exclusive. Your lifting chain would be really good at resisting a thief grabbing both ends and trying to break it by pulling it apart, but will be slightly softer than a decent case hardened security chain. So the thief will be able to cut it relatively easily.

In response to the OP, be cautious about using a thin bit of string/rope to measure required length. The chain is hugely bulky and so needs a much longer cifcumference than a piece of flexible string. Buy much longer than you think you need. I stupidly took Steve’s advice on length and bought two 2.5m chains. They were too short and really annoyed me. In the end I went back and bought a 4m one as well. It’s much much better.

Can a chain be too big –

Yes and no is the answer to that.

Yes when the practicality and weight of such a big chain could damage what it is securing.

No as the bigger the chain the harder it is to cut.

I went for a pragmasis 13mm chain and was surprised by the size and weight of the thing when it arrived, it is a big chain, much bigger than anything you will see in a local diy or bike store. The other thing to consider is how the chain is made, Pragmasis and Almax i believe go through a specific heat treatment to make them as strong as possible without getting too brittle, you can end up with very hard to cut chains that will just shatter if smashed by a mallet if the heat treatment is done wrong.

Ultimately hoever, if they want through the chain and cant crop it with bolt cutters then a battery powered grinder will do the job.

My advice is get a chain that meets or exceeds the requirements of your insurance policy (solid secure gold for example) for your bike and is practical for use in that if it slips out of your hand when unlocking it is not gonna wreck your frame.

Shame of it is, if they break into your garage and your chain looks like too much of a challenge, they’ll just cut through the frame and nick the bike for components anyway.

Indeed. It’s to slow them down more than anything.

The issue with going for longer chains is that they’re more likely to end up hanging down to the floor, which makes the job of cutting them easier.

All these fancy chains from Almax and the like will resist cropping but a fairly small, cheap battery angle grinder will still chop through them in no time (albeit with a bit more noise).