The Kryptonite New York Lock Diamond Standard isn’t cheap but it offers a very high level of security, even against angle grinders, proving itself among the toughest options in our recent in-house testing. It’s also pretty easy to live with.
As we just mentioned it, let’s talk about our security testing first. We assembled a whole bunch of locks and gave them a minute against our ‘thief’ armed with bolt cutters, and two minutes against our man with an angle grinder.
The shackle was too thick to fit into the jaws of our bolt cutters, so our thief had no joy there.
With our angle grinder, the Kryptonite New York Lock Diamond Standard destroyed the disc to the point that it was unusable in just 34 seconds. A well-prepared thief could, of course, change the disc and go again, but that would take a little time, increasing the likelihood of getting caught.
We were making very little impact, though. We’d cut through the shackle’s TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) coating, of course, but the steel shackle itself? We’d made a slight groove in it but there’s no way we were getting through this lock in a couple of minutes. Would we have got through eventually? Maybe, but we’d have needed a lot of time and a lot of discs. We’re not saying that no thief could ever get through it, but in a lot of cases, they’d just give up and try an easier option.
Kryptonite says that the New York Lock Diamond Standard is its ‘most secure U-lock ever’, specifically designed to resist attack from an angle grinder. The heat-treated steel shackle is double-layered with a diamond coating that’s intended ‘to destroy grinder discs’. That’s certainly what happened in our case. It was a one-sided fight, to be honest.
If the shackle is so tough, just go through the crossbar, then? That’s diamond-coated too.
Kryptonite also boasts that its ‘patent-pending hardened double deadbolt design gives additional protection against twist and cut attacks’.
In other words, both ends of the shackle are firmly locked in place, making it more difficult for a thief to twist open even if they managed to cut through one side. Cutting through both sides of the shackle… well, good luck with that.
Kryptonite also says that the New York Lock Diamond Standard is pick- and drill-resistant. We didn’t test for these methods of attack because our sources tell us that bolt cutters and angle grinders are the most common weapons of choice.
The New York Lock Diamond Standard is covered by Kryptonite’s five-year free Anti-Theft Protection Offer (ATPO) What’s that?
Kryptonite says: ‘The Anti-Theft Protection Offer is a program that reimburses registered customers for a specific monetary amount in the event their bicycle/motorcycle is stolen due to the opening or breaking of the lock by force.’
If your bike is stolen in this way, Kryptonite will pay you either its base cost or any insurance excess (the amount a policyholder must pay out of their own pocket for a covered loss before the insurance company picks up the remainder).
The original owner also gets a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship
Coming in at 2,394g, the Kryptonite New York Lock Diamond Standard is a pretty weighty beast, but that comes with the territory of angle grinder-resistant locks. We can live with that. If you’re looking for a very high level of security, saving weight probably isn’t especially high on your list of priorities. Coming back to find that your bike is still there is more important.
The lock does come with Kryptonite’s Flexframe-U Bracket, which mounts quickly to your bike frame. You can then slide the lock easily into place and carry it securely when not in use, releasing it with a simple pull of a tab.
The Kryptonite New York Lock Diamond Standard comes with three stainless steel keys and is covered by the brand’s ‘Key Safe Program’. That means that if you register and then later lose your keys, Kryptonite will replace them.
The keyhole is covered with a sliding dust cover that effectively keeps dirt out.
The Kryptonite New York Lock Diamond Standard is rated Sold Secure Pedal Cycle Diamond and Sold Secure Powered Cycle Diamond. Those are the highest categories, meaning that the lock can withstand a sustained attack with a wide range of tools.
Value
Of the 19 locks we security tested, seven withstood both of our tests (a minute being attacked with bolt cutters, two minutes with an angle grinder). Six of these were priced at £200 or more, and the other was £149.99 (the Litelok X1). Angle grinder-resistant bike locks don’t come cheap – but neither does replacing a stolen bicycle.
Yes, £269.99 is a lot to pay for a lock, but for the level of security provided here, we’d seriously consider it.
Bicycle insurance: compare quotes and find yourself a great deal to get your bike covered
Overall
While no lock is 100% attack-proof, our testing demonstrated that the Kryptonite New York Lock Diamond Standard provides a high level of resistance, even against angle grinders. Our angle grinder disc died a death in just over half a minute. It’s a bit of a lump to carry around, but the Flexframe-U Bracket makes mounting it to your frame relatively straightforward. If you’re looking for plenty of security and you’re prepared to pay for it, consider this one.
Verdict
Excellent lock that offers a load of security, even against angle grinders – although it’s expensive
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Kryptonite New York Diamond Angle Grinder Resistant U-Lock Sold Secure Diamond
Size tested: One
Tell us what the product is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Kryptonite describes this as its “highest security angle grinder resistant U-lock” and says that it is “ideal for bicycles, eBikes and powersports”.
It lists these features:
Angle grinder resistant
26mm diamond coated double layered steel shackle
Double deadbolt design
3 stainless steel keys
Protective vinyl coating
5 years free Anti-Theft Protection Offer
Patent-pending hardened double deadbolt design gives additional protection against twist and cut attacks
Highest security disc-style cylinder is pick and drill resistant
Sliding dust cover to protect from dirt and debris
Includes Flexframe-U Bracket providing convenient multi-location u-lock transport
Product dimensions: 20.4cm x 9.5cm
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Here are more claims from Kryptonite:
Diamond Coating
What separates the Diamond Standard from the competition is our proprietary Diamond Coating with our high-quality heat-treated steel shackle – providing the ultimate deterrent against thieves with angle grinder
Angle Grinder Resistant
Battery powered angle grinders are quickly becoming one of the biggest threats to the security of your – the Diamond Standard is designed to resist that. Engineered from the ground up we specifically designed the Diamond Standard to destroy grinder discs and combat criminals wielding these tools.
Born From the Streets
Kryptonite’s legendary New York Series U-Locks are the top choice for city cyclists and the Diamond Standard is the pinnacle of our lineup. This lock has been tested in real world conditions to ensure that your ride is protected.
It’s super-solid with a double-layered steel shackle and a diamond coating that’s designed to resist angle grinders. In our experience, it works.
It’s built to last.
Weight probably isn’t your top priority when choosing a bike lock – certainly not if you’re locking your bike at home – but this is one of the heavier options we’ve reviewed. That said, it’s not out of line with most other angle-grinder-resistant locks (although we weighed the tough Onguard RockSolid 8590 at 1341g).
This is a tricky one to mark. Yes, £269.99 is a lot of money, but replacing a stolen bike is potentially much more expensive – and it’s disruptive, upsetting, and all the rest of it.
In our testing against an angle grinder, we weren’t making much progress against this lock. It destroyed our angle grinder disc in 34 seconds and we’d made minimal damage to the lock.
The Onguard RockSolid 8590 (£199.99) was the only other lock that destroyed an angle grinder disc as quickly.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
This lock defeated our in-house security testing. It’s right up there among the most secure bike locks we tested.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The level of security on offer.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
It’s not cheap.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
It’s at the higher end of the market in terms of price, although there are certainly more expensive locks out there. That said, there are exceptions, and £200+ isn’t unusual for an angle-grinder-resistant lock.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? I would
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
It’s an excellent lock that’s priced at the higher end of the market. I’d say the price drags the overall score down a point. It pretty much comes down to whether you’re willing to pay quite a lot of cash for a high level of security.
About the tester
Age: 48 Height: 190cm Weight: 80kg
I usually ride: My best bike is:
I’ve been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding,
6 thoughts on “Kryptonite New York Diamond Angle Grinder Resistant U-Lock Sold Secure Diamond”
Seems like a lovely bit of
Seems like a lovely bit of kit. Outside of an eBike though the price makes it potentially more worthwhile to buy a BSO (Bike Shaped Object) to leave anywhere remotely insecure.
Its in no way a criticism but I’d love to know the actual cost of manufacture. I’m sure with the right expert you can find this “proprietary coating” at a specialist metal supplier. I also wonder when price/performance kicks in and you can look at other metal bars such as Stainless Steel or Titanium.
Now… for the next model can they make the disc explode into the thiefs face?
Secret_squirrel wrote:
🤣 I’d buy that!
Or alternatively, I always thought a hollow lock filled with petrol or similar might disincentivise one or two people. Yes, it’s going to write off your bike – but you were going to lose it anyway?
Shopping for a bike that I
Shopping for a bike that I was going to use to get to the train station and leave there all day, I bought the cheapest thing in the shop. Admittedly some years back but £99. Sure it was not the greatest bike, but fine for a 6 mile commute.
Isn’t it cheaper to buy a
Isn’t it cheaper to buy a standard gold lock for under £50 and just insure your bike. Even a lock like this isn’t a guarantee against theft, an expensive bike could have its frame cut apart just so the thieves can sell the components.
You’re better off buying a cheap bike for the shopping trips.
The real problem is that it’s
The real problem is that it’s so easy to sell ‘used’ bicycles and parts. The thieves are selling the bikes and parts to other cyclists, surely? Admittedly, probably not in the country of original theft. But are you buying parts nicked abroad? Maybe if everyone stopped shopping for ‘bargains’ on marketplace/gumtree/fleamarkets etc… we’d not require such locks. Also would be really good if the law actually considered bike theft a crime, and did more than throw reports in the “cylindrical filing cabinet.”
Aluminium can wrote:
I wouldn’t like to stop – all four of my bikes were eBay/Gumtree bargains and bought partly with the proceeds of selling their predecessors in the same markets – but it would be great if people could just be a bit more careful. Nine times out of ten you can tell if a bike’s nicked just from the advert, if not the response to a few questions will generally reveal it. If we all took notice of the obvious red flags – no knowledge of cycling and/or of the particular bike for sale, not wanting to make the handover at a residential address and so on – that would help a lot.