The ’80s and ’90s saw an arms race between bike lock makers and thieves that eventually settled down when manufacturers figured out how to make locks that would resist everything but portable power tools. Here’s our selection of bike locks that have the right stuff.
Good bike locks are heavy and expensive, but they’re not as inconvenient as having your bike stolen
We recommend you go for a bike lock that’s marked Diamond or Gold on Sold Secure’s bicycle rating system, especially if you’re parking in a theft hotspot like a train station or university campus
Carry two keys for your lock in separate places so you can still get moving if you lose one
Many insurance policies require you to use a high-quality lock or your claim will be denied
Prices for good bike locks start around £40
6 of the best bike locks for 2021
- Master Lock 8274EURDPRO Large, with cable — £36.47
- OnGuard Brute LS — £35.99
- Kryptonite New York — £73.99
- Abus Granit X-Plus — £75.95
- Squire SS50CS Stronghold Padlock — £69.95
- Pragmasis Protector 13mm security chain 2.0m — £78.75
A sufficiently determined thief can breach anything. However, for the best bike locks ‘sufficiently determined’ means ‘carrying a portable angle grinder’. While that’s standard equipment for serious thieves an angle grinder is sufficiently noisy and conspicuous that most thieves don’t use them on, say, a crowded high street.
One technique of your professional thief is therefore to damage the lock so you can’t open it, and then come back late at night with the big guns. If you find your lock mechanism made unusable — filled with glue, for example — break the lock yourself. Hiring an angle grinder will cost you about £20 for the day.
That’s about the only way you’ll quickly get through most of our selection here. The more you pay, on the whole, the longer it takes to breach a lock with unpowered brute force attacks, to the point where a thief won’t bother with the best bike locks, but move on to easier pickings. It’s a sad truth that the basis of on-street bike security is to make your bike too much trouble so a thief will nick someone else’s.
One simple way to do that is to use two locks, preferably of different design and manufacturer. It’s unlikely both will be vulnerable to the same non-grinder attack and even a thief equipped with a grinder should decide to find easier pickings.
To help you protect your bike, take a look at our Bike Locking Bible.
Lock standards: Sold Secure
Sold Secure is the dominant certifying body for locking and other security products in the UK, and its remit includes awarding ratings to bike locks.
The Sold Secure standards go from Bronze to Diamond. According to Sold Secure, this is what they mean:
- Diamond rated products provide the highest level of security in the bicycle category, aimed at very high value bicycles and e-bikes.
- Gold rated products offer the next highest level of security, aimed at mid-to-high value bicycles.
- Silver rated products offer a compromise between security and cost.
- Bronze rated products typically offer defence against the opportunist thief.
Diamond is a relatively new level introduced in response to the rise of e-bikes, according to Sold Secure managing director Dr Steffan George. In the introduction to Sold Secure’s 2020 Approved Products list, George says the Diamond standard “is aimed at the increasing popular phenomenon of e-bikes (electric or electrically assisted bikes). Due to their value (which can be significant) we felt that a higher level than Gold was required and hence SS104 Diamond level is being launched in Q1 this year.”
Previously, Sold Secure said that the standard levels indicated how long a lock had to resist attack with a range of tools. Gold meant a lock lasted “five minutes with a sophisticated array of tools”. Those descriptions have been dropped, probably because the advent of portable angle grinders renders them moot. An angle grinder will get through most locks in well under five minutes.
That said, Sold Secure ratings are still useful, with the caveat that some quite poor locks still achieve the Bronze rating. If you’re going to leave your bike out of sight for any length of time, get a lock that’s rated at least Gold, and preferably Diamond.
The following are locks that we’ve subjected to our own destructive testing using methods commonly employed by bike thieves, and that were sufficiently hard to breach that we’d trust them with our own bikes.
Master Lock 8274EURDPRO Large, with cable — £36.47
For under 40 quid with a cable to help secure your front wheel the Master Lock Street Fortum is very good value in a lock that meets the Sold Secure Bicycle Gold standard. When we tested it, it resisted bolt-croppers and our persuader test, and the lock mechanism is well-protected from assault. For this price you get the larger version with a 28cm shackle instead of the standard 21cm, which will make it easier to find a suitable place to lock your bike up.
It can be broken, of course, but if you want a decent level of security at a sensible price for a round-town bike, it’s a good choice.
The Master Lock 8274EURDPRO is rated Sold Secure Gold (for the lock only).
Weight: 1,084g (lock only)
Read our review of the Master Lock 8274EURDPRO
OnGuard Brute LS — £35.99
Its RRP is over £40, but the price above is more typical, which makes this tough cookie great value.
The Brute mates a 16mm hardened shackle with a bar made from a single piece of steel, and the locking mechanism is protected against drilling and picking.
In testing it resisted our standard armoury of 3ft bolt croppers, persuader, hammer, cold chisel, screwdriver and hacksaw. The 16mm shackle was too big for the jaws of our croppers so we went after it with the persuader and hammer but after five minutes the damage was pretty cosmetic, and the lock – with a slightly bent shackle – still worked fine.
The OnGuard Brute is rated Sold Secure Diamond.
Weight: 2,042g
Read our review of the OnGuard Brute
Find an OnGuard dealer
Kryptonite New York — £73.99
The Kryptonite New York is plenty tough enough to repel most criminals and is a good choice for everyday use where bike security is a necessity.
It’s not cheap, and it’s heavy, but the New York pointed and laughed at our standard armoury. Nothing short of some quality power tools would make a dent in this lock.
The Kryptonite New York is rated Sold Secure Diamond.
Weight: 1,800g
Read our review of the Kryptonite New York
Find a Kryptonite dealer
Abus Granit X-Plus — £75.95
The Abus Granit X-Plus has long been among the best and most popular D locks on the market and it’s not hard to see why.
We couldn’t break this one with our standard thieves’ armoury. The shackle is super stiff and no amount of cropping, twisting or thwacking would do any serious damage. the plastic sleeve got a bit mangled, but that was about it. Some meaty blows to the base broke off the plastic covering, but only to reveal a serious-looking steel plate construction that does a very good job of protecting the lock mechanism and was dismissive of our efforts. After all the violence was over the lock was still in perfect working order; even the plastic cover just snapped back on.
The Abus Granit X-Plus is rated Sold Secure Diamond.
Weight: 1,525g
Read our review of the Abus Granit X-Plus
Find an Abus dealer
Squire SS50CS Stronghold Padlock — £69.95
In combination with a hefty chain, a good padlock will provide high-level security for home bike storage, though the substantial total weight makes it a bit impractical as carry-along theft prevention.
The Squire SS50CS is a well-designed, heavily armoured bike lock that’s an excellent partner to some heavy-duty chain.
At 650g it certainly feels the part. It’s engineered from a hardened steel billet with a 10mm shackle that’s almost fully enclosed. The barrel is protected by another steel plate to protect against drilling, with the key turning just an eighth of a rotation to allow the protective sheet to cover more of the mechanism.
It doesn’t have a rating on its own, but the Squire SS50CS Stronghold Padlock is included with lock and chain combinations rated Sold Secure Motorcycle Gold, a higher standard than Bicycle Gold.
Weight: 650g
Read our review of the Squire SS50CS Stronghold Padlock
Find a Squire dealer
Pragmasis Protector 13mm security chain 2.0m — £78.75
Two metres of Protector 13mm chain weighs 6.95kg so you’re not going to be carrying it around, but it’s a great last line of defence for your home bike storage.
We couldn’t touch it with bolt croppers, and a chain is inherently resistant to prying and hammering, especially a hardened steel chain like this.
Pragmasis offers a package of a 2m Protector with the Squire SS50CS Stronghold padlock above for £138.70.
The Pragmasis Protector 13mm chain is rated Sold Secure Diamond.
Weight: 6,950g
Read our review of the Pragmasis Protector 13mm security chain 2.0m
Explore the complete archive of reviews of bike locks and security devices on road.cc
70 thoughts on “6 of the best bike locks — stop your bike getting stolen with our selection”
Think I’ll wait until the
Think I’ll wait until the OTTOLOCK’s bike lock is released.
Kermit77 wrote:
not the best of reviews and not cheap…
https://www.amazon.co.uk/OTTOLOCK-Combination-Different-Lengths-Lightweight/dp/B0799C6NMC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1540468512&sr=8-1&keywords=ottolock&th=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=shockwiz-21&linkId=db0b8759ddd4da256527222233ff2743&language=en_GB
…and of course, always lock
…and of course, always lock your bike next to a more expensive bike…
henryb wrote:
Or a bike that looks easier to steal. I’ve got a long Pragmasis chain and the big padlock. Brilliant, but hard work to take anywhere, which I sometimes do, pretty sure it’s way heavier than stated!
Still need something lighter and more mobile for CTC rides, pub/cafe stops and parkrun journeys.
ChrisB200SX wrote:
I went with one of these as a mobile lock for my new Brompton:
https://securityforbikes.com/dib-d-locks.php
Would love to see someone
Would love to see someone intergrate a Taser into a bike lock. Having had my wife’s and son’s bikes stolen recently the anger I feel is still smoldering. Got to agree that the best tactic is to take the shitest bike when commuting. If you don’t like it, chances are no-one else is going to also.
Hypoxic wrote:
Or maybe you need a good bike made to look shitty with something like this:
http://customcreationpaints.co.uk/rust-effect-paint/coating/rust-in-a-can
That way you still get the fun of the bike you want (more or less) without the bling that gets it stolen.
Rule if thumb. If you need to
Rule if thumb. If you need to lock your bike with anything more than a basic deterrent to someone simply wheeling it away, then you need a cheaper / older / crappier bike.
If some piece of shit thief wants your bike then they will have it, or parts of it, or deliberately disable your lock or otherwise damage it.
Locks whilst in garage or shed on the other hand need to be strong and also need a decent ground anchor.
Mungecrundle wrote:
I agree. I do not remember the last time I locked up one of my good bikes. I’ve found that not taking a lock with me, means that I always keep them safe when away or at work.
I do have two of the Abus locks above and two of the New York ones from when I used to live in Cambridge and only had bicycles for five years. Great locks, never had anyone even try to break into them. There’s always someone with a couple of hundred quid bike and a combination lock that you can crack in a few minutes in the rack too.
“However, for the best locks
“However, for the best locks ‘sufficiently determined’ means ‘carrying a portable angle grinder’. That’s not a cheap tool in itself, and while it’s quick, it’s also very conspicuous.”
Sadly this is not true. Angle-grinders are very cheap these days, and of course the scum doing the nicking have been known to nick the tools of the trade in the first place.
While they are conspicous, nobody gives a damn. Bikes are being stolen in broad daylight, on busy streets, by thieves who arrive two-up on a scooter without number plates, both keep their full-face helmets on to thwart CCTV, one hops off and angle-grinds through a lock quicker than reading this post. Both ride off.
Username wrote:
No-one in their right mind is going to attack a thief in a crash helmet armed with an angle grinder and with an accomplice standing by and they’ll be gone before the police arrive.
You don’t know what other weapons they might have and aren’t afraid to use – knives, acid, whatever. It isn’t worth the risk.
And they know it.
Username wrote:
You aren’t going to argue with a guy with an angle grinder who has a mate with him.
Bluebug wrote:
That’s exactly my point. The article infers angle-grinder attacks are limited by such attacks being “very conspicuous” but the current crop of moped-enabled criminals don’t give a damn; and know they won’t be stopped.
The article then dismisses angle-grinder attacks and goes into detail about which locks resist bolt-croppers and pinch-bar attacks. Which is a pointless discussion because the thieves are using angle-grinders and conspicuousness has nothing to do with it.
I wouldn’t dream of leaving
I wouldn’t dream of leaving my roadbike out of sight in public. Ever. I keep it in my home at all times I’m not using it (and it’s only worth around a grand but you know, sentimental/practical value). If it is stolen I can claim on the insurance.
My commuter bike is covered in stickers (collected from bike shows) because it makes the bike idiosyncratic (harder to sell online without being recognised) and also a big ugly thus less appealing to criminals and unscrupulous purchasers alike. I do lock it up as well but any search on Youtube will show criminals brazenly grinding locks apart in broad daylight. Make it ugly.
This is is not a bad approach
This is is not a bad approach..
Completely agree Darren. All
Completely agree Darren. All three of mine live indoors chained to 56 lb weights with gold secured chains.
It would be good to hear how
It would be good to hear how easy it is to attach these locks (particularly the D-locks) to the frame for carrying around.
My present lock choice is based entirely on the security and easy of use of the mounts, some of them just aren’t up to the business of carrying a +1kg D-lock on the frame without it bouncing around or fouling something rotating (the chainset, your knees, etc.)
Oranj wrote:
This is definitely a problem for me. I use a kryptonite evolution and an auxiliary cable, and the thing rattles around like made when you try to hang it off the frame. Not a problem when doing 1 km down the road to the shops but I certainly wouldn’t have it on the frame on a tour. I usually stick it in a rucksack or giant saddlebag.
the Abus locks come with a
the Abus locks come with a frame fitting holder that the lock locks to, making a completely secure mount.
Does anyone use a 16mm
Does anyone use a 16mm pragmasis chain?
I’m thinking of getting one as a leave at work lock, but I need it to lock the back wheel and frame, is it too big to fit between the spokes neat the rim?
ktache wrote:
you need to be fairly careful threading it through the spokes as its obviously very big heavy chain, but it fits through my wheels (24 spoke on 50mm deep rims) easily enough.
Thanks Strathbean, I know it
Thanks Strathbean, I know it will be tight, 32 spoke on a 27.5 inch rim, but it is the smallest that cannot be cropped. If it’s too big then sending it back will be shockingly expensive.
You’re welcome. If you are
You’re welcome. If you are looking for a suitable padlock, i use an abloy PL362, they pop up on ebay occasionally, it is a truly massive lock.
I was actually thinking of
I was actually thinking of getting their own roundlock. It’s small size and elegance, to me, makes it look just as secure than something big and imposing. The chain will do that.
No Hiploks, UK company making
No Hiploks, UK company making wearable bike locks.
I find it interesting how
I find it interesting how they never talk about how easy it was to pick the lock. Bought a lockpick set to unlock one of the kids bikes and is sooo easy it is scary. Check out the lcokpicking lawyer on Youtube
Team EPO wrote:
That’s because making a lock difficult to pick is expensive as it usually involves much tighter tolerances for the parts.
I’d imagine that most thieves won’t bother with lock-picks as it takes some practise to get proficient and it’s usually a lot quicker and easier to cut through the lock instead.
There’s a comment on my local
There’s a comment on my local Facebook mountain biking page this week from someone who left their bike securely locked, but came back to find various components stolen from it instead.
On a high-end bike you could, with very little effort or tools, walk away with some high-value parts stuffed in a bag without having to worry about locks.
Will seriously think about those hex-bolt locks I’ve seen…
Take a look at what “The
Take a look at what “The lockpicking lawyer” did to the “new and improved” OTTOLOCK Hexband.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D15QH72xfPA
Me? I have a Pewag 3/8ths inch chain and Viro Panzer lock. Yes, it weighs a lot. It does not go on club rides. It does come along when I ride to work. That and the security camera should deter theft at work.
Dangerous Dan wrote:
Wow – I didn’t expect the tin snips attack to work so easily.
I’m also curious whether a shim attack would work but I’m not going to buy one just to test that out.
Dangerous Dan wrote:
There you have it…Forget the bad reviews…the OTTOLOCK product should not even be allowed for sale.
taberesc wrote:
yet after all the bad press on the Ottolock, this comes out from offroad.cc in June:
https://off.road.cc/content/review/locks/ottolock-cinch-lock-review-3613
Surely a review of a lock should include its ability to withstand attack, rather than a vacuous and non-contentious info-ad aimed at pleasing the manufacturer?
It’s called Advertorial.
It’s called Advertorial.
you mean that road cc gets
you mean that road cc gets paid for these reviews? the shame..
I have been waiting for this
I have been waiting for this to come back again.
So I was looking for alternatives to the HexLox and I came across IXOW, their security skewers and seatpost looked good. Then I found this, an alternative to their stem that allows easy parking in hallways. Almost temping to get for it’s hilarious consequences.
ktache wrote:
Ouch, I hope it is engineered to fail safe. Imagine if that deployed on a downhill alpine bend!
Cordless angle grinders are
Cordless angle grinders are where it’s at. I had a bike stolen from outside a train station and the parting gift was the two halves of my kryptonite cleanly sliced through.
What about disc locks? I
What about disc locks? I imagine that you could cut them with an angle grinder but at least if they damage the rotor the thief won’t able to just ride off with it…
Not much good if the thief
Not much good if the thief removes the QR/Thru-Axle and takes the wheel off.
Sure but they still can’t
Sure but they still can’t just ride off with the bike
luke.lon wrote:
But they can drive off in a van with your bike in the back.
They are fairly easy to
They are fairly easy to remove with a ratchet and bolt extractor
Link goes to LockPickingLawyer doing same
They are all Gold standard,
They are all Gold standard, and all repel the standard mechanical tools, and all succumb to an angle grinder. So far, so same. So the differentiator is price, and weight. How about listing the weights please?
My wife’s commuter is fitted
My wife’s commuter is fitted with an Abus frame lock. It is bolted to the seatstays and throws a steel bar through the the back wheel. They’re clever because they are so convenient: they are always attached to the bike, when not locked the key is held captive in the lock.
They are very common in the Netherlands where they are often used in conjunction with a secondary device (frame lock secures the rear wheel, secondary lock is on front-wheel-plus-attach-to-something duty.
It would be interesting to know how they stand up to attack.
Doesn’t that mean a thief can
Doesn’t that mean a thief can just remove the front wheel, carry off the rest of the bike, and then work on the frame lock at their leisure? Surely you still want to secure the frame to something non-bikey as well?
Read my entire post.
Read my entire post, inc para starting “They are very common…”.
If you rent a bike in Amsterdam it’ll likely come with a frame lock plus a bloody great chain with a Discus padlock.
caw35ride wrote:
I did.
Presumably the ‘bloody great chain’ goes through the frame, as well as ‘front-wheel-plus-attach-to-something’? That would make more sense to me than the original description.
You can get a decent chain
You can get a decent chain lock from online motorbike accessory retailers for about £20, £30 with a lock. It’s be tough enough to require an angle grinder and to be honest that’s all you need.
My bike stays in sight of me at all times.
The bike shed is filled with junk with the bikes at the back. Any thief is going to have to unload the shed before they can attack the locks and that means working their way through a lot of D-locked garden furniture first.
How long does it take you to
How long does it take you to get your bike out?!
I’m sort of surprised that
I’m sort of surprised that LiteLoc wasn’t given a mention.
Well…
Well…
Please see the comments on this one
https://road.cc/content/review/litelok-silver-flexi-u-lock-272985
and this
https://road.cc/content/review/243067-litelok-gold-wearable
They get good reviews, but The Lock Picking Lawyer really doesn’t seem to rate them.
Though to be fair, there is nothing out there that can last more than a couple of minutes, especially when he gets out the pick that him and Bosnian Bill made…
An angle grinder will ‘open’
An angle grinder will ‘open’ them all..I would never leave an expensive bike outside, unattended – I have a well maintained old steel mtb that’s good for shop duty but still use a quality d-lock and cable to prevent casual ride-offs.
If the article was “updated”
If the article was “updated” on 17 March 2021, how come it still references superceded models no longer available, complete with broken links? Not a good look for Road.cc
The Halfords Advance, which
The Halfords Advanced, which is a rebadged Onguard Pitbull (at double the price) is now rated Diamond, although it looks to be the same item as before and is not as robust as the current version of the old Onguard Brute listed above (Advanced/Pitbull is 14mm dia shackle, vs 16.8mm for Brute).
So I’m not sure what is going on with Sold Secure ratings, but they live or die by the trust they engender. Halfords basically charging ￡30 premium for a sticker saying “Diamond” runs a coach and horses through that trust.
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-accessories/bike-locks/halfords-advanced-23cm-d-lock—key-225486.html
“Couldn’t you just make ’10’
“Couldn’t you just make ’10’ louder?”
“Yeah, but this one goes up to ’11’!”
(paraphrased, from memory)
Couldn’t they just have made ‘gold’ tougher, and re-review all the Sold Secure locks?
not really, I don’t think,
not really, I don’t think, because say i bought my “gold” lock 2 years ago (it is no longer on the market so has not been down-rated to the new “silver”).
I look now and the best is still “gold”- so i have the best available, i think. If i look now, and see that they are selling “gold-plus” locks, i know that tech has moved on and there is something better than waht i have.
I recently bought a new
I recently bought a new appliance and thought I was doing well because it is A+ rated for efficiency. Then realised the scale now goes to A+++
Like the current exam grades
Like the current exam grades – A, A+.
(I remember when I were a lad, and A was the best you could get…).
brooksby wrote:
Not anymore, sadly – both A and A* are grouped together as ‘9’ which, confusingly still, is not out of a 10.
vthejk wrote:
Not quite right. A levels still have letter grades, including A*.
At GCSE, A* and A have been replaced by 7, 8 and 9. 9 is equivalent to a high A*. And though it’s never been officially said, the reason it goes to 9 is so that there’s space to add 10 in years to come of needed (in the same way as A* was added).
Steve K wrote:
Not anymore, sadly – both A and A* are grouped together as ‘9’ which, confusingly still, is not out of a 10.
— vthejk Not quite right. A levels still have letter grades, including A*. At GCSE, A* and A have been replaced by 7, 8 and 9. 9 is equivalent to a high A*. And though it’s never been officially said, the reason it goes to 9 is so that there’s space to add 10 in years to come of needed (in the same way as A* was added).— brooksby
and then in years to come Students will be striving for a spinal tap grade.
vthejk wrote:
Erm…
What Halfords seem to do is
What Halfords seem to do is rebrand a Gold standard OnGuard lock as their own in-house brand, and bump it up to Diamond. I’m not sure how the “Advanced” lettering keeps the baddies at bay, but at twice the price I guess it must work?
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.OnGuard-Pitbull-U-Lock-Gold-Sold-Secure-Rating_59958.htm
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-accessories/bike-locks/halfords-advanced-23cm-d-lock—key-225486.html
Edit – must be getting old, I see that I’m repeating myself from last time this was “updated”.
The OnGuard Pitbull now
The OnGuard Pitbull now appears to be rating Diamond too – https://www.soldsecure.com/search///lk8005-onguard-pitbull.html
Not sure exactly what’s gone on there, but it is now consistent between the Halfords Advanced and the OnGuard Pitbull.
None of these reviews say how
None of these reviews say how the locks perform against Teslas.
Duncanap wrote:
Consider this response a second “like”
Kryptonite NY is £74 now???
Kryptonite NY is £74 now??? Wow. I bought one back in 2015 for £47 and i thought it was bloody expensive back then!!
I paid £80 for a Kryptonite
I paid £80 for a Kryptonite New York Mini (the Fahgeddaboutit?) a couple of years ago.
a quick google shows me that
a quick google shows me that prices have barely changed for that lock. Its still around £80 give or take a few quid.
So basically they can all be
So basically they can all* be cut with an angle grinder, which is what the thieves carry. Is there any sense in using a secondary device, enough to prevent the bike being ridden away, but which is not susceptible to anglegrinder attack?
Previously I’ve thought of just attaching a small padlock snugly around the chain (so yes, a teeny-tiny padlock). You couldn’t attack it with an angle grinder, and you can’t get your pair of spanner jaws inside. You might be able to gingerly cut it with small bolt croppers, but I’m guessing the angle-grinder mob don’t pack those. In any case trying to cut it off you likely knacker the chain. So they wont be riding your bike away, at least.
* all except https://hiplok.com/d1000preview/