Anypoint in expensive padlocks and chains?
Discussion
Getting close to the point of getting a bike again, possibly.
But I live and work in London so it'll be gone within days unless it's a snotter.
Actually, saying that, my BiL has an ancient battered CBF600 covered in spider's webs and that's been nicked twice and dumped. Guess that's the benefit of a snotter. You'll tend to get it back.
So I wandered into a bike accessories shop and asked for the best chain and padlock. It was an Abus costing £280. Wow!
But on Youtube you can see a video of a guy cutting through one with a battery powered angle grinder in less than a minute.
Some might say that a minute is too long for a thief but seeing as they don't care about being seen and they may well use said angle grinder as a weapon against anyone trying to stop them, is it really any point spending so much on that type of security.
Plus boy! was it heavy. It was a big effort to lift. Where on the bike are you supposed to carry it?
What do you guys do for security when you don't have a garage and have to park on the street when working?
But I live and work in London so it'll be gone within days unless it's a snotter.
Actually, saying that, my BiL has an ancient battered CBF600 covered in spider's webs and that's been nicked twice and dumped. Guess that's the benefit of a snotter. You'll tend to get it back.
So I wandered into a bike accessories shop and asked for the best chain and padlock. It was an Abus costing £280. Wow!
But on Youtube you can see a video of a guy cutting through one with a battery powered angle grinder in less than a minute.
Some might say that a minute is too long for a thief but seeing as they don't care about being seen and they may well use said angle grinder as a weapon against anyone trying to stop them, is it really any point spending so much on that type of security.
Plus boy! was it heavy. It was a big effort to lift. Where on the bike are you supposed to carry it?
What do you guys do for security when you don't have a garage and have to park on the street when working?
I've been looking at these recently.
A material lock.
Looks lightweight and difficult for scummy s
theads to get off.
Have a look at the testing video, 3rd one down.
https://www.litelok.com/collections/litelok-produc...
A material lock.
Looks lightweight and difficult for scummy s
theads to get off.Have a look at the testing video, 3rd one down.
https://www.litelok.com/collections/litelok-produc...
RBS Bob said:
I've been looking at these recently.
A material lock.
Looks lightweight and difficult for scummy stheads to get off.
Have a look at the testing video, 3rd one down.
https://www.litelok.com/collections/litelok-produc...
Interesting although they didn't try an angle grinder. A material lock.
Looks lightweight and difficult for scummy s
theads to get off.Have a look at the testing video, 3rd one down.
https://www.litelok.com/collections/litelok-produc...
It looks light and flexible enough to perhaps wrap round wheel and possibly a bit of frame underneath the seat or near rear shock.
Then might be difficult to actually get at with a grinder.
croyde said:
Interesting although they didn't try an angle grinder.
It looks light and flexible enough to perhaps wrap round wheel and possibly a bit of frame underneath the seat or near rear shock.
Then might be difficult to actually get at with a grinder.
Fast forward to 5:10 of the below linked video. It looks light and flexible enough to perhaps wrap round wheel and possibly a bit of frame underneath the seat or near rear shock.
Then might be difficult to actually get at with a grinder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YirAiuGrFe8
14 seconds with a battery powered grinder
croyde said:
Interesting although they didn't try an angle grinder.
It looks light and flexible enough to perhaps wrap round wheel and possibly a bit of frame underneath the seat or near rear shock.
Then might be difficult to actually get at with a grinder.
Surely when you then put it back on as a belt whatever you are wearing will get filthy.It looks light and flexible enough to perhaps wrap round wheel and possibly a bit of frame underneath the seat or near rear shock.
Then might be difficult to actually get at with a grinder.
Moulder said:
Surely when you then put it back on as a belt whatever you are wearing will get filthy.
I guess with a motorbike you'd just chuck it in your topbox/rucksack/underseat like you would a chain.I did see that video last night however. 14 secs to get through with a battery powered angle grinder.
So the winner so far is the unbelievably heavy £280 Abus, a minute to cut through. Just not good at all.
Since the invention of these mobile cutters, nothing is safe sadly.
croyde said:
Since the invention of these mobile cutters, nothing is safe sadly.
Very true. In my case when my garage got burgled and all my stuff stolen they cut through the huge Squire my very expensive Pragmasis chains. With an angle grinder. MY angle grinder using my electricity. Lesson learned - I don't keep anything that can be used to cut chains in my garage.Oh - and to add insult to injury they stole the Pragmasis chains.
I'll keep locking the bikes up with my big chains, inside and out. This scum-on-scooters-with-grinders thing doesn't seem to have migrated in any real way up north, and in any case I'd never leave an R1 parked on a city street (or indeed out of my sight) anyway. Someone robbing my garage will have a hard time of it these days, I have an alarm louder than a nuclear attack siren and in any case burglars would be taking a bit of a risk lugging a battery grinder around - going equipped etc.
croyde said:
Dog Star said:
With an angle grinder. MY angle grinder using my electricity. Lesson learned - I don't keep anything that can be used to cut chains in my garage.
Oh - and to add insult to injury they stole the Pragmasis chains.
That is gutting mate. FeckersOh - and to add insult to injury they stole the Pragmasis chains.
ccr32 said:
Fast forward to 5:10 of the below linked video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YirAiuGrFe8
14 seconds with a battery powered grinder
No wonder they did not show an angle grinder.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YirAiuGrFe8
14 seconds with a battery powered grinder
Back to the drawing board.
I think the only answer is to ensure your bike is less desirable and better secured than other bikes in the bay.
Where I park there's a couple of I assume newbies with 18 plate steeds. both of which the only security seems to be a steering lock. Part of me as a fellow bike wants to have a word with them to suggest they may want to improve their security whilst at he same time I'm sort of relieved their bikes will be nicked before mine.
Where I park there's a couple of I assume newbies with 18 plate steeds. both of which the only security seems to be a steering lock. Part of me as a fellow bike wants to have a word with them to suggest they may want to improve their security whilst at he same time I'm sort of relieved their bikes will be nicked before mine.
SAS Tom said:
As somebody who sells expensive locks and chains I tell people not to bother.
How's business? 
With this, I think it's the same as locking your door when you leave the house - i've had a locksmith around and the ease in which they get access is scary. If a thief wants to get into your house, a locked door won't stop them, but it could encourage them to try the next house along, etc.
It's the same for a bike, a chain probably won't stop them if they really want that bike, but it could slow them down/encourage them to try another bike.
I'd say buy the best chain you can afford - and a tracker
benjobanjo said:
With this, I think it's the same as locking your door when you leave the house - i've had a locksmith around and the ease in which they get access is scary. If a thief wants to get into your house, a locked door won't stop them, but it could encourage them to try the next house along, etc.
But how many burglars enter your property by picking the lock or some similar technique? I'd wager the proportion is very small indeed. Most burglars are just horrible druggy scrotes who want to sell your stuff for a tenner, they'll get in by forcing a window or kicking a door panel in.
Dog Star said:
benjobanjo said:
With this, I think it's the same as locking your door when you leave the house - i've had a locksmith around and the ease in which they get access is scary. If a thief wants to get into your house, a locked door won't stop them, but it could encourage them to try the next house along, etc.
But how many burglars enter your property by picking the lock or some similar technique? I'd wager the proportion is very small indeed. Most burglars are just horrible druggy scrotes who want to sell your stuff for a tenner, they'll get in by forcing a window or kicking a door panel in.
Looked into this quite a bit recently when looking at kitting my garage out.
The expensive chains look to be excellent, but a) are expensive, b) can still be cut with an angle grinder in roughly the same time as a cheaper chain, c) very heavy.
So it's basically pointless to try to prevent angle grinder attacks.
I opted to go for chains that received very good bolt cutter test scores and were heavy/tough looking enough to be a deterrent.
With the money saved on the expensive chains i then bought some ABUS alarmed disc locks.
And when specifying roller shutter doors i paid extra for thatcham approved ones with alarm sensor strips along the bottom so an attempt to get the doors up with a bar/jack will sound an alarm.
And we fabricated some chunky bars for the windows and made up a bar/rod/lock system to stop someone opening the pedestrian door...
And i fitted CCTV...
The expensive chains look to be excellent, but a) are expensive, b) can still be cut with an angle grinder in roughly the same time as a cheaper chain, c) very heavy.
So it's basically pointless to try to prevent angle grinder attacks.
I opted to go for chains that received very good bolt cutter test scores and were heavy/tough looking enough to be a deterrent.
With the money saved on the expensive chains i then bought some ABUS alarmed disc locks.
And when specifying roller shutter doors i paid extra for thatcham approved ones with alarm sensor strips along the bottom so an attempt to get the doors up with a bar/jack will sound an alarm.
And we fabricated some chunky bars for the windows and made up a bar/rod/lock system to stop someone opening the pedestrian door...
And i fitted CCTV...
benjobanjo said:
It's the same for a bike, a chain probably won't stop them if they really want that bike, but it could slow them down/encourage them to try another bike.
I'd say buy the best chain you can afford - and a tracker
But, I think the point was, that those who want your bike will come equipped and will get through the lock and chain, whether its a £40 budget special or a £200 Thatcham approved job. The second will simply add a few extra seconds to the cutting time.I'd say buy the best chain you can afford - and a tracker
Those that don't come equipped will be stopped by the £40 budget set up.
If (when) your bike is stolen, you can either lose the bike plus a £200 chain or the bike plus a £40 chain. The likelihood of the bike not being stolen BECAUSE it has a £200 chain rather than a £40 chain is insignificant. I'd rather not have lost the extra (non-recoverable) £160
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