A good bike lock is the second most essential purchase after the bike itself. This is one part of cycling where saving money is a false economy – general guidance from those in the know is to spend at least 10% of the value of the bike on the lock. This guide will take you through what to look for and recommend some excellent bike locks for use in London, or any big city. Be sure to check out our guide on how to best use your lock to secure your bike.
How to Choose a Primary Bike Lock
Gold Security rating
In the UK there is the Sold Secure rating system. For use in London you want to stick to Gold Standard locks as your primary lock. These are the most secure locks available, meaning they are the hardest to break. If you have bicycle insurance then getting a Sold Secure lock is usually part of the terms and conditions.
Size
A lock with a bigger locking diameter will mean you can secure it against a wider range of objects. The downside is this gives the thief more space to try and use a leveraging bar to break the lock. If you wish to be able to lock your bike anywhere then its best to get one with a larger diameter. I have a chain lock (the Kryptonite below) that I take with me when I may have to lock my bike to non-standard racks.
Weight
Obviously this is something you need to carry around with you often and any additional weight on the bike means additional pedalling effort. Usually a better bike lock will also be heavier, but there are some options. If you are going to be carrying it around on your bike, it is worth getting one with a mounting bracket that you like. If you have panniers then this is of course less important.
Bike Lock Options
Kryptonite New York Standard
If safety is your main concern then look no further than the Kryptonite New York Standard. It is the one we both use to keep our bikes safe in London and has served its purpose time and time again. It comes with 3 sets of keys and a code to register should you lose them all. The two downsides are the additional weight (1.9kg) and the limited number of objects you can secure it against due to its diameter.
Knog Strongman
This is Knog’s Gold standard lock and is a small d-lock. It is a great smaller lock which is a little easier to carry than some of the larger ones mentioned here, but just as strong. It has three keys again, and a code for more should you need them. The mounting bracket is very easy to fit onto your bike should you wish and the lock goes in and out quickly. Its small size is a blessing and a curse – it really only fits around a top tube and rack, nothing larger.
Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 chain
This lock is somewhat of a hybrid – It is a 10mm chain with an integrated locking mechanism similar to a d-lock. As it is a chain it is more flexible than the two locks above, so it can be used to lock around a variety of structures. It is also easy to lock the front or rear wheel along with the frame to a rack. The main downside of this lock is its weight, at 2.7kg it is pretty heavy. However it can be wrapped around your bike should you need to. Again, the lock comes with three keys and a code to order more.
Abus Granit X Plus 540
Pretty similar to the Kryptonite d-locks, this Abus offering is as tough as they come. It is a good size for London, allowing a bike to be locked to lots of different sized racks. It is also possible to get their around a rack, frame and rear wheel on many bikes. There is a mount for attaching the lock you your bike and two keys and a code card for replacements. This lock is a little lighter than some other d-locks at 1.5kgs.
Secondary bike locks
We also recommend that you have a secondary lock. Having two different types of lock means a thief will need different tools to free your bike. It does not make your bike impossible to steal, but chances are there will be a less secure bike nearby. Sad but often true. Secondary locks also mean that you can secure accessories and both wheels, although it is worth considering locking skewers for the wheels as well.
What bike lock do you use? Do you recommend it?
I bought a big Abus D-lock rated at 9, reduced from GBP60. The bike was stolen when I popped in for about 15 mins to Tesco in Old Kent Road, alongside all the other bikes chained outside the main door to steel bars. Apparently bikes are regularly stolen there and the shop does and cares nothing. It seems all locks can be broken in seconds by well-equipped thieves and the money to buy a good one was wasted. Don’t park your bike in SE1.. I had done the police registration but this does not seem to have been any help in the following weeks.
by the way, the quality of the bike is no deterrent, mine was very old and cheap and apparently all are taken indiscriminately
Mate if I remember correctly, abus rating goes up to 15 or even 20 which would mean their own rating of 9 would not be a very good lock. You would need at least a 12 rated lock. However I would not even trust their own ratings. Refer to the sold secure ratings listing and check whether they gave rated your lock first. Only get a gold rates lock and discount anything leer for real safety. Also worth having the bike marked by the police.
Thanks, good advice. Lock was Abus Varedo, sold secure silver, level 9 protection (scale up to 15). So far I hardly let replacement bike out of my sight, but will save for gold standard. I had bike marked by police a week before it was stolen.
If I am not just out for a non stop ride, I do my door to door type shopping with my Brompton. Instead of a bike lock I bought “Easy Wheels” for it and push it around like a shopping trolley, and sometimes IN a shopping trolley
Dave, do you ever lock your Brompton up outside? I was told to never do so; mine is my main bike (I ride it every day and it goes everywhere with me), but I never have the guts to leave it out of my sight, even locked up. This means that I bring it into work, restaurants, shops, everywhere. I’m not very strong, so it’s a pain to carry around and gets in the way in busy shops even on the easy wheels. Just wondering if other Brompton owners are as paranoid as me?
Hi Helen
I’m absolutely paranoid about it. I do the same with mine, shopping, work, restaurants, visiting friends. . Only place that it wasn’t welcome was Harrods, so I didn’t go in
Hi Helen
Don’t leave your Brompton outside I have a bag on the front of mine and turns into a little shopping trolley.
They are e easier if you have the rack with the easy wheels
I had a relatively nice bike (scott hybrid) stolen from outside my work about 5years ago, which had been locked with a cheap d lock. But then I got into cycling and racing, so I started using a whacking great 2m long, 18mm thick cable with a huge padlock on my various bikes. Never had one stolen since. 🙂 but despite that, I couldn’t resist indulging in a kryptonite NY 3000 when I found it on offer for under £50! My bikes are the only safe ones in my area. 😀
a few tips that have enabled me to not get a really nice bianchi nicked in 8 years of locking it in London:
Never lock it overnight – it won’t be there in the morning
Take off the front wheel so you can lock through both wheels
Lock it high and awkwardly if possible
Make your bike look cheap – mine is worth over a grand but it looks like its 50 quid with black tape all over it. Plus if you ever want to sell it under the tape you’ve an unscratched bike.
I use a top range abus cable lock that’s the shorter of the two lengths. Harder to lock up but harder to break. I’ve also heard WD40 kills locks. You shouldn’t ever have to use it, if the lock seizes it will fix it. But WD40 will strip the grease from the lock and destroy it eventually, mine still works fine after 6 years.
I visited the Wiggle site and noticed that they have a sale with 20% off all their ABUS locks, in addition to lots of other savings.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/
Enjoy.
My advice for those who cycle to work in central London and don’t want your bike nicked is:
1. If your company doesn’t provide anywhere that you can safely lock up your bike then insist on taking it in the building.
2. If they want to really help, get them to provide a couple of Bykebins – where you can actually lock your bike out of sight
3. If all they will do is buy some cycle racks them get them to buy the Sheffield Toastrack style shown here – http://www.theworkplacedepot.co.uk/sheffield-toastrack-bike-stand at least then you can lock the frame and/or the both wheels. The front wheel cycle rack style are a waste of time and may as well have a sign up saying steal me!
Thanks
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I had my brand new bike nicked from just outside my office. i had it stranded on a metallic rigid pole with the abus centruro 860mm shown here. They had even taken the lock so I don’t even know if they cut it or picked it. The only thing I am sure about is that it had only taken them less than 5 minutes
Another good technique is to have a strong D-lock as your main lock and a secondary lighter lock utilising a padlock and chain. A thief would have to carry with him two sets of tools to break these two very different kinds of locks. He is more likely to move on and look for easier pickings.
I’m beginning to think there’s only one way to stop these thieving bar-stewards from stealing your pride & joy—-and that is to NOT LEAVE IT ANYWHERE, locked or otherwise.
So how should we commute, or shop, or visit, or socialise? Answer: we’ll all end up with 2 bikes—-a good one for enjoyment, and a crappy one for locking-and-leaving. I say this because clearly, from the heartbreaking stories of busted “secure” locks, no bike is ever safe, not even for three minutes. And if any bike-stealing rats are after my best bike, it won’t be my locks you have to deal with—it’ll be me—in person.
P.R.
My road bikes live inside the house and are ridden away and back. For shopping and commuting I use my Brompton and where I go, it goes
Anyone heard of these new fangled GPS based bike locks eg lock 8. They have sensors for motion, temperature and have alarms. After looking at several models I reckon they are way too hi tech for the job. Lock 8 costs 200 euro plus a sub for the GPS tracking. Insurance would be cheaper.
I have an idea of just covering both wheel in a metal clamp made of stainless steel plate armour, as I have seen many bike plundered for the wheels. Also I hear gans armed with angle grinders, bolt croppers do the round. Maybe what is needed are mini bike garages or lockers like those loos which disappear underground below street level, ticket like in a multi story.
Hey Bod – We’ve got a post coming next week about the GPS bike locks.
It requires a little bit of the invention if you want to protect your bike chain form the angle grinder. I used magnesium powder (fire starter) covered in a thick layer of rubber wire insulation, wrapped between chain links and hidden under the sleeve. Any attempt of cutting the chain with the grinding machinery will result it loud, bright, chemical fire unable to significantly harm the motorcycle. If it explodes and hurt the theft, I will simply plead guilty…
sorry to say there is only one way to lock a bike safely and that is to not let it out of your sight? I had a bike long time ago trashed at Sainsburys in Streatham because the thieves COULDNT steal it or any thing on it , so they rammed a trolly into the 531 steel frame writing it off. You cant trust that there are other people around – locked another bike out side Mc Donalds past Norbury. it was summer time with lots of people around and outside , didnt put off an attempted theft but didnt come off as a friend with a dog was next to it and it gave him the look – steal it and I bite you
The Abus Granit X-Plus 540 is great. It comes in 230mm and 300mm (looks like the 300mm in the photos) and is available with various brackets – all of which a good for their different applications.
Various German bike website sell it for around £60 including postage to UK (prices fluctuate) – rather than £95 on the high street.
Some of the On Guard Brute locks get great reviews and feedback too – much cheaper than comparitive Abus and Kryptonite – important if you don’t have a lot of money to spend, and have a not massively attractive bike, but one you’d like to keep nonetheless! I’d rather buy an On Guard than one of those not-so-good ‘silver’ Kryptonites.
Hi there. Interesting things to share that few days ago my bike lock was stolen! lol. May be the thief tried to steal my bike but couldn’t and then he thought about the lock only!
Well anyway i already bought a new lock.
This to the guy who is in the video about locking your bike safely. Which particular locks are you using?
Very interesting stuffo.
Thank you for sharing very informative guide about Bike Locks. A good bike lock is the second most essential purchase after the bike itself. Keep it up!
I live in a flat in central London and courtesy of the pandemic and I needed a bike to help vulnerable family members shielding. I looked for second-hand, well functioning city bikes that I could get serviced but the cost wasn’t much less than a new bike and so I went for that instead, under £300. It was the first bike I have owned since my college days… stolen from outside my flat in less than a week, the lock cut with an angle grinder. It was a good (7/10) Kryptonite lock that cost £40 but they went through it without an issue.
I only realised after that I had made 3 significant errors:
1. A bike that looks new, even if it isn’t the priciest, is a big target because it’s easier to sell.
2. I needed to register for the Anti-Theft Protection Offer with the Kryptonite lock. If I had, they would have refunded me £300.
3. Never lock the bike across the top tube – it makes it much easier to access with an angle grinder.
Many folks will say my biggest mistake was leaving it outside in a quiet street (albeit well-lit and surrounded by residential houses and apartments). However, I don’t have a choice here – there is no room for it inside.
I need a bike and need to leave it outside, in a quiet place overnight. So I have researched what I can still do to protect it under these circumstances and will put these levers into play to see what happens next…
1. Make your bike less appealing.
There aren’t enough bikes around for me to play the comparison game. i.e., put my bike next to a nicer bike with a worse lock. So my lessons here are; buy cheap, don’t buy new and if you buy new, mark it up (paint, stickers, etc) so that it’s less attractive to buyers and becomes more visibly distinctive. This makes it harder to sell on and therefore, less appealing to steal.
2. Invest in good locks.
Although bolt cutters are apparently still the most common bike thieving tool, it seems many are switching to angle grinders. They’ve become cheaper, better, longer lasting (better batteries) and thieves tend to act with impunity because the police are never anywhere to be seen. They don’t care about making lots of noise if it’s for a short amount of time and who is going to confront a bike thief holding one of those? Ultimately, if they have enough time, they will always get your locks off (unless it’s maybe one of those SAF monsters).
In the UK, Sold Secure Gold means very little these days facing up to an angle grinder – a basic model can get through most U-locks in less than a minute if conditions are right for them (more on this in the next point). So my takeaway has been to use multiple locks of different types, that would require different tools to cut them more easily.
One really good U-lock with a hardened steel shackle 16mm+ thick (e.g Kryptonite, Abus or OnGuard top ranges like the ones above) that can stand up to bolt cutters (including hydraulic ones) or jacks. They’ll still be vulnerable to angle grinders.
Plus one really good chain lock (like the Kryptonite one above) which is hard to cut with an angle grinder in the field because the chain moves about and makes it hard to cut. Even one with links 10mm+ are vulnerable to bolt-cutters (particularly the hydraulic ones) though.
However, now, the thieves will really need to use 2 different tools (not the MO of most apparently since it adds weight and bulk, plus it can carry a harsher sentence if caught).
Maybe add in another good quality but cheap lock or two for good measure; just in case they are taking their time with an angle grinder (e.g., a 16mm Gold Sold Secure Sterling U Lock is often on Amazon for <£15). All this means it will take multiple tools, many minutes, with lots of noise and sparks to set the bike free!
3. Lock it up correctly.
First, make sure you lock it to a secure, grounded Sheffield post that hasn’t been cut. If that’s not available, then as thick a metal post as possible (cemented into the ground and where they cannot possibly lift the bike over the top – short sign-posts don’t count because they can remove the signs at the top).
Use the locks properly; keep your locks as far away from the ground as possible (makes it harder to leverage the ground with bolt cutters) but don’t lock across the top tube of your bike because it makes it much easier to access and cut.
You want to lock around the frame, the wheel and the stationary post. Locking to the post means they can’t lift the bike up and pop it in a van to cut the lock later. Locking the wheel too means they can’t just cut the post and ride off.
Start with the back wheel, filling your U-lock as much as possible with the upright-tube of the frame, the rear wheel (protects your wheel from being stolen) and the stationary post. Filling as much of the U as you can makes it very difficult for them to use any tools. This position also makes it harder for them to cut it with an angle grinder because it’s harder to access, plus accurately applying pressure to the angle grinder is harder horizontally than it is vertically (making for a slower cut). The U-lock can also wriggle in this position (potentially causing the blade to explosively shatter).
Then the front wheel; feed your chunky chain through the front wheel, the frame and the side of the Sheffield post. Picking the right spokes in the wheel to feed it through and using the right length chain (ideally 80-90cm for a larger bike) then it shouldn’t touch the floor and ideally it shouldn’t be moveable onto the top of the Sheffield post… but still have some wiggle (so it won’t sit still when cutting with an angle grinder and potentially causing the blade to explode).
4. Register your bike and activate insurance. If you have Kryptonite locks with APTO – register for it! Register your bike with police too (just in case)
5. Make it harder to ride away.
Most bike thieves ride the bike away after stealing it. Sometimes they’ll load it into a van but this is risky because of potential identification through the number plate (especially if they’ve just been making lots of noise with an angle grinder – onlookers might note down the plate). So deploy measures such as removing the saddle or seat-post to make it harder to ride away.
I have chosen to invest in the Danish N-Lock (n-lock.com) which you can retrofit to the handlebars of any bike and by using a key, it can disconnect the handle bars from the front-wheel, making it near impossible to ride away even when free from the locks.
6. Make it difficult to add (or steal) parts.
One problem with removing the saddle/seat-post or using an N-lock is all of these parts can be removed or replaced. The thief could bring a seat-post with them. It might sound ridiculous but if you leave your bike in the same place every night without a seat post and they want it, I wouldn’t put it past thieves to bring one along one day. The N-lock can be removed with a standard hex key and replaced with a standard bracket in mere minutes. There’s nothing to stop them bringing a bracket and taking their time to fit it quietly before they start making the noise to cut the locks. Filling the hex bolts with ball bearings and epoxy/glue to make it hard to remove/adjust combats this. However, this also makes it a real pain for when you want to adjust anything. One solution could be to use a selection of secure bolts that require special keys to remove them. hexlox.com is the solution I intend to try on the N-lock fittings. I’ll also use them on any removable parts that thieves may want to steal.
In all, I’ll end up spending as much time and money on getting/setting up security as I did on getting the bike itself. However, this should make it a vastly more difficult and risky to steal a marked-up bike that won’t be worth much more than £100 when trying to re-sell.
If it keeps it safe outside my flat… it will be worth it. Sadly, that is still a big if 🙁
Good info but if you have no space for a bike inside your flat please get a folding bike, I. E. Brompton you can store it under your desk it folds the smallest and they have electric versions too. I would never lock my bike outside overnight it’s a waste of time and wil be gone by morning. What you could do is install a frame lock as well that way thry can’t ride off with the bike and register with bike register website out security stickers on, the more locks on it the more it is a detrerant.