About five years ago I reequipped on the bike security front with four ONGUARD D (U) locks, two small ones that operate with the ultra tough chains and a standard and extra long ordinary D lock.

Two weeks ago the long D lock failed to open when I arrived in the Lakes and I had to cut the cable securing it to a car seat, move the locked bike sandwich indoors and then hit the bastard lock with a hammer for about two and a half hours before it surrendered……. Top Tip…… Henry Weston’s Vintage Cider aided this operation considerably and eventually, almost, made it non stressfull.

Yesterday one of the small D locks started farting about on me and not opening. Fortunately it relented after lubrication, something which the first one refused to do.

How long are these locks good for? Should I just chuck the remaining ones and start over?

I’ve got Kryptonite locks with the old round fallable key that still work fine and are twice the age. What’s going on? What’s this shit they’re giving us, Mr Jones/ or other industry apologist?

Preventative maintenance? Oil the locks regularly and work he mechainism with oil in them?

They all got regular squirts of GT85. Should I have used something else? I reckoned if you used oil that was too heavy you would gunge them up!

I always understood that quirting lube into a lock would pretty certainly bork it, and that a better approach was to use a dry lubricant like graphite instead.

This is the stuff you should be using modern locks hate any kind of oil even GT85 I found this the hard way when I couldnt get in the house one night and had to call out a locksmith. The locksmith reckoned people squirting lube into locks paid for his holidays every year

http://www.avenuesupplies.co.uk/index.php?id=211&pid=6965&sid=1