Squire Matterhorn Compact 10c D-Lock and Security Cable Kit

The Squire Matterhorn Compact 10c D-lock has a Sold Secure Pedal Cycle Diamond rating and is a solid bit of kit. It’s a sturdy lock with a 1,800mm security cable and frame bracket included, but though the shackle is really good, and quite a portable size, and the cable is a useful addition, the frame mount lets it down slightly.

> Buy now: Squire Matterhorn Compact 10c D-lock and cable for £49.99 from Leisure Lakes

The old adage of ‘spend 10% of the value of your bike on a lock’ falls apart somewhat with the Matterhorn, priced at just £49.99 for the whole bundle, including the cable and a frame mount – and a pair of keys. With its Sold Secure Pedal Cycle Diamond rating, most insurers will see the Matterhorn Compact 10c as a suitable solution to securing your pride and joy, and validate your cover accordingly.

The thing about bike locks is, in most cases they aren’t going to stop a determined thief from stealing your bike. A well-prepared criminal with the proper tools, enough time, and nobody in their way will be able to eventually work their way through most locks and make off with your pride and joy. I say this as a victim of a bike theft, where I tried to intervene and was met with three balaclava-clad bandits waving a variety of power tools and crowbars in my face. As much as I loved my old fixie, I wasn’t prepared to die for it, so I let my insurance company pick up the pieces in the aftermath.

The real job of a bike lock is to make your bike more awkward to steal than the bike next to it, and to show an insurance company that you’ve taken all appropriate measures to secure your bike. Some really hardcore locks are indestructible (for a while), but if it’s rated well enough to keep your bike insurance provider happy, it’s doing the bulk of its job.

The compact nature of this Squire lock will appeal to a lot of people. At just 14cm long and 90cm wide (just for the shackle, this measurement excludes the locking barrel), it’s big enough to secure a rear wheel and seat tube or seatstay to a solid rack or railing. It’s also quite a lightweight bundle for the security – the D-lock itself weighs 1,022g, the mount is 39g, and the cable 374g.

This all means it’s nice and portable, and fits neatly into even a small backpack, or hangs off a belt like a New York bike messenger, or – as intended – mounts to a frame with the included attachment.

> Which type of lock is best for your bike?

However, the frame mount itself feels like a bit of a letdown compared with the rest of the lock. It’s a pretty plasticky affair, with two jubilee clamps secured with plastic flat-head bolts. These bolts round out quite easily, and the jubilee clamps themselves are intended to be cut to size once fitted to avoid catching on your legs as you pedal – so transferring the mount between bikes with different gauge tubes could prove tricky. The jubilee straps are also just plastic, with no rubber backing or anything to grip onto the frame – so I did find that the mount slides around quite easily and would regularly need readjusting.

The included cable is a good addition. It’s 1,800mm long and 10mm thick, and lasted a respectable 55 seconds against our in-house lock tester, Dodgy Dave, with a pair of bolt cutters – which is better than a lot of thicker cables.

If you haven’t seen our lock-busting video and feature, 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. In the Matterhorn’s case, although Dave was able to bust through the cable, the D-lock itself stood up to the bolt cutters without any issues. And so it moved on to the second stage of torture: Dodgy Dave’s Angle Grinder.

The only locks to fully withstand two minutes with the angle grinder cost from £149.99 to £289.99, so the fact that the Matterhorn Compact 10c gave way on one side after 58 seconds, but wasn’t able to be twisted open to pull over the frame and rack without causing a lot of damage to the bike itself, indicates a respectable level of protection for £49.99.

> How to lock your bike when you’re out and about so it’s there when you come back

It compares well with closer rivals in our round-up: it’s a tenner more than the Master Lock U Lock, which didn’t stand up to the bolt croppers let alone the angle grinder, and doesn’t include a cable, and while the £50 Halfords Advanced D Lock lasted longer against the angle grinder, it doesn’t include a cable. The Oxford Shackle14 Pro Duo U-Lock and Cable is £7 more, heavier, and only lasted 25 seconds against the angle grinder (we’ve a full review to come, so it might redeem itself in other ways).

My only criticism of the Matterhorn, other than of the mount, is that I did find some play between the main D-lock shackle and the lock itself, which could allow someone with a tool that offered enough leverage a bit of wiggle room to try to pry it apart.

Overall, though, while the lock didn’t prove indestructible, it put up a good fight, and is good enough for a bike insurer to bank on it protecting your bike. If you lock your bike up somewhere for days at a time where thieves will have plenty of opportunity to work their way through the lock, then maybe look for something a bit beefier. But if you’re locking up somewhere with additional security – like a bike shed or cage at a place of work – or among other bikes where easier pickings might be available, the Matterhorn is a great option. It’s light, portable, and good enough for a Sold Secure Diamond rating – so will do the job for most.

> Buy now: Squire Matterhorn Compact 10c D-lock and cable for £49.99 from Leisure Lakes

Verdict

Light, good value, and with a Diamond Sold Secure rating, but the frame mount could be better

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