British security and storage brand Hiplok has launched a 1.8kg portable bike lock solution that it claims is capable of resisting “a severe, sustained angle grinder attack”.
Angle grinders are motorised hand tools that are commonly used by professional bicycle and motorcycle thieves as they are highly effectively at cutting through locks, no matter how big or chunky… but “the grind is over”, claims Hiplok, with the launch of its D1000 D-lock. Hiplok want to set a new bar for portable angle grinder-proof locks, given the relatively low weight of 1.8kg (if it is in fact angle-grinder proof – we have one on the way to find out!)
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Ferosafe composite graphene material is used, that according to Hiplok, “effectively resists high power angle grinders due to its unique chemical and physical properties”.
Independently tested by Sold Secure and carrying their top level Diamond rating, Hiplok’s D1000 should also stand up to all other traditional methods of attack.
Its square profile hardened steel core should protect against tools such as bolt croppers, and the D1000 also features Hiplok’s anti-rotation double locking tabs found in all its D-locks. With this technology thieves will need to cut through both sides to steal the bike, according to Hiplok.
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The 1.8kg lock is available with an optional Carry Pouch for transporting on the handlebars or pannier rack of the bike, or the waist via the integrated belt loops.
A hard-wearing rubberised outer surface of the lock is also included to prevent the D1000 from scratching the frame when locked up.
Its rubberised weatherproof key seal should protect against elements, while the scalloped design ensures easy access when wearing gloves.
With an internal locking dimension of 155mm high by 92mm wide, and overall dimensions of 225mm high by 155mm wide by 40mm deep, Hiplok says this sizing is ideal for portability, locking convenience, weight and security.
With a claimed weight of 1.8kg, that’s really quite impressive. US brand Altor Locks created the first angle grinder-proof bike lock back in 2019, but it was not one for carrying around with you; the SAF Lock is a meaty 6.2kg.
Compared to other Diamond rated D-Locks, the D1000 is around double the weight. Master Lock’s Mini U-Lock is the lightest I’ve come across and it’s 929g. This difference seems reasonable enough to me, if the D1000 really is angle grinder-proof.
Hiplok is launching the D1000 lock via a Kickstarter campaign which can be found over here, and production is already underway with delivery expected to be in early 2022. You can ‘secure’ one for £150 if you’re one of the first 150 backers, which is a 40% discount off the eventual RRP which will be £250. £168 gets you the lock and a carry pouch, and then the next set of backers after the first 150 will get a 20% discount.
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54 thoughts on “Hiplok reveals ‘world’s first truly portable bike lock to resist angle-grinder attacks’”
“Angle grinders are motorized
“Angle grinders are motorized hand tools that are commonly used against professional bicycle and motorcycle thieves”
Didn’t see these new sentencing guidelines get any coverage.
TedC wrote:
It’s not in the official sentancing. It’s vigilante action. Even Batman wouldn’t approve though.
New Afghan government policy.
New Afghan government policy.
Currently £200 or 2 for £300
Currently £200 or 2 for £300
It seems interesting, though
It seems interesting, though I shall wait a bit and see if there are any real world get around, see the LPL and the hiplock.
He’ll be able to pick it with
He’ll be able to pick it with the tool he and Bosnian Bill made 🙂
suddenmoves wrote:
Bosnian Bill’s retired now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ASQQboFg98
I’ve only heard of the SAF
I’ve only heard of the SAF lock being grinder-proof – but you still might be able to cut the thing you’d locked the bike to. LPL was not able to pick with “the tool that Bosnian Bill and I made”. He did make another one though and opened it.
chrisonatrike wrote:
But even if you cut the bike stand or railings, the lock still needs to be removed at some stage, before the bike can be sold. If planning to strip the bike and sell the components then cutting the frame would also be easier.
True – but by that stage it’s
True – but by that stage it’s academic to me. It’s just risk assessment – if it’s really valuable and / or the location is unattended / people will ignore thieves (most places) then just don’t leave it. Take it to bed with you. If it’s a rusty beater bike / you’ve left it outside the cafe then a zip tie might be enough. Penny-farthing? Probably only teenagers and crims with vans are going to bother you.
I’ve never had a bike stolen luckily but had several vandalised / components nicked. Almost as vexing – had to do my own “out of the saddle” ride when that got pinched.
That would have got some
That would have got some looks.. hovering the cheeks over the seat post
They took the post too so I
They took the post too so I didn’t need to “become one with the bike”.
Still not convinced about the
Still not convinced about the Kickstarter. Not seeing this as a niche product but mainstream.
Yep, I have my questions
Yep, I have my questions about this too. The company recently filed their 2020 accounts. 500k of cash in the bank and very profitable too. So why not just use their cash or go to the bank like any normal company? I don’t like the fact that they are using Kickstarter as a way of transferring risk and not taking the risk of using their own capital. Not unusual though for Kickstarter.
I think established brands
I think established brands actually use Kickstarter as a way to create interest in a product, making people feel like they’re getting on board with it ahead of others, and can help gauge initial interest before launching full scale with a product.
Another news outlet tried to
Another news outlet tried to open this lock with an angle grinder. It took them more than 20 minutes. Even if professionals can perhaps cut that time in half (pun not intended), a thief must be really motivated.
Sounds like a luminary from
Sounds like a luminary from the grunge underworld. Did they not try with an angle grinder as well?
The lock does look seriously good. What shocked me however was the news that Sold Secure don’t even bother to test bike locks, even for the fancy new Diamond rating, against angle grinders. Which makes the whole rating exercise worthless, since angle grinders is what thieves use.
They used an angle grinder.
The other nws outlet used an angle grinder. Corrected my post. Thanks for the remark.
Sriracha wrote:
The Lock Picking Lawyer has alluded to being surprised at some of the ratings that Sold Secure have come out with. Being a lawyer and polite this probably decodes to “I think this is crooked”. Their ratings are probably not a bad place to start though – as opposed to the manufacturer’s own. But finally it’s your bike and locks also have the compromise of “strong, light, cheap – pick two”.
Sold secure ratings imo are
Sold secure ratings imo are just about satisfying insurance claims.
I bought a Kryptonite New
I bought a Kryptonite New York mini (the Fahgeddaboutit) for nearly £100, and I thought that was horrendously expensive.
I suspect that the group of people who can happily afford to buy a £200 lock are not the same group of people who would happily carry such a weighty lock around with them (even in what actually looks like a really good lock carrying pouch).
Cargo bike users are probably
Cargo bike users are probably a notable exception – expensive bike but no issue carrying around an extra 2kg of lock.
Another scenario would be people who can leave a lock in-situ at their destination (i.e. leave it on the office bike racks) and so don’t have to lug it around all the time.
I guess, but aren’t many
I guess, but aren’t many office bike racks in locations that make them slightly less vulnerable to lairy blokes with angle grinders?
brooksby wrote:
Some are, but some aren’t. I’ve certainly heard stories of theives targetting office bike racks – often tucked away out of sight and away from passing members of the public, and the owner unlikely to return until the end of the working day.
At which point they just
At which point they just angle grind through the steel tube sheffield stand instead. I dont think this issue is necessarily solely caused by poor locks.
brooksby wrote:
I bought a Kryptonite Krypytolok (the kind you can pick with the right biro lid apparently, though it never did get picked in the wild) to secure my new bike in 1988. From memory, the lock was £25 and the bike £225. So back then I was prepared to spend 10% of the bike value on a lock.
If I did the same now, this lock would be used with a £2000 bike. I can’t be the only person who would never, ever lock a £2000 bike in a public place.
[
In reply to the builder
back in the 80s nobody had battery powered angle grinders and the biro lock failure was only on specific sized locks, so your Dlock was top security.
TheBillder wrote:
You’re certainly not. Between us Mrs H and I have bikes with replacement values of £4500, £2800, £2300 and £1600, the only bike that gets locked up outside anywhere is a twenty-year-old Saracen MTB we bought secondhand for £150 for just that purpose. Stopped locking anything decent up outside in the early 90s when a mate’s very decent Claud Butler 531 (this was in the days CB made decent bikes), locked up with a Kryptonite lock, had the frame sawn through, presumably to harvest the parts, he came back to find the lock intact but no sign of the bike beyond a sad pile of metal shavings on the pavement.
This is rated Motorcycle
This is rated Motorcycle Diamond (in addition to Bicycle Diamond). AFAIK the only other locks available with this rating are massive chain locks like the Oxford Beast – 3.6kg for the lock and another 12kg for the chain.
If you believe this, I have
If you believe this, I have some magic beans to sell you. Zero chance the claims are true. By the sound of it they’re pretending a dremel or mini grinder is a proper angle grinder as used by thieves.
Reality is a proper angle grinder with a 300mm+ cutting disc will make short work of titanium bar, hardened steel, anti-cut rollers in door locks, and so-on. There is no possibility of building a bike lock that will prevent your bike from being stolen. There is only deterrence, and almost none of that since people will ignore the most blatant thievery.
It is currently not advisable to lock up your bike in public and leave it unattended. There is no suitable anti-theft mechanism available.
The ony real solution to this is to vastly increase the sentences for bike theft and related crimes.
You watched the video over at
You watched the video over at Cycling Weekly? You say they are in on the conspiracy?
Sriracha wrote:
No, I think they’re daft or stupid.
There are some tests and it
There are some tests and it is a lot more resistant to proper angle grinders. It’s still possible to cut but it takes a long time and multiple discs… and you have to cut through it twice.
https://gearjunkie.com/biking/hiplok-d1000-bike-lock-review
Constructed with layers of resistant “ferosafe” material. But I guess unless what you are locking it to and your frame is made of the same material then it’s just shifting the weakest point.
Still pretty impressive IMO and I’d be tempted if I regularly parked outside.
whizzo wrote:
Yes, that’s the bit that’s bollocks. Bigger angle grinder will go straight through – and through both sides at once if lined up correctly.
But people aren’t running
But people aren’t running around with 12 inch/300 mm grinders/disc cutters they are running around with 4.5 inch/115 mm battery powered grinders.
I’d even go as far as saying that if Hiplock are confident in their testing they have overengineered their lock, seeing as they claim they needed 10 discs to cut through it. Thieves aren’t taking spare discs, and certainly not 10 of them.
In any case, it’s a bit like
In any case, it’s a bit like the old joke about two guys running away from a lion. One says to the other – there’s no point, we can’t run faster than a lion; and the other says, I don’t need to, I just need to run faster than yours. Thieves will go for the easiest bike to steal.
Steve K wrote:
Judging by what I see at my local station on a regular basis, they actually go for the expensive bikes with good locks in preference to the BSOs with cheap locks.
If that were true, my Canyon
If that were true, my Canyon Grail or my upstairs neighbours’ Pinarello might still be attached with their respective serious U-locks to the fixed anchors in the common bike room, while the unlocked and unattached clunker from the ground floor owner would have been stolen. Things didn’t turn out that way.
DrG82 wrote:
We’re talking about bike thieves. They use whatever is needed. They aren’t ‘running around’. There’s one who carries the tools, one who rides the bike away, and one in a van round the corner. It’s carefully planned.
Only angle grinders with
Only angle grinders with 300mm cutting discs I’ve seen are petrol powered ones like this. It costs £640, weighs 8.5kg and it’s not exactly low-key.
Would you not need 3 folk to
Would you not need 3 folk to use that ?
One to cut
One to hold
One to take the holder to a&e
Tom_77 wrote:
A) What you’ve seen is irrelevant. There are battery powered versions of the same. (Also, it looks to me like that’s an even bigger one than 300mm in your picture.)
The power required varies considerably depending on what thickness of cutting disc you use. Bike thieves can go for the narrowest possible disc – cutting, rather than grinding.
B) The cost is well in the range of what ‘professional’ bike thieves spend on cutting tools. Good bolt croppers cost hundreds too. A van costs more.
Dave Dave wrote:
No, I think the disc is 300mm. For men, the distance from the point of the elbow to the 1st knuckle is typically 300mm or so (for example, it’s 330mm on me & I’m a slightly-above-average-for-the-UK 1.77m tall). Measuring off the photo, it looks like the disc diameter is a whisper less than the length of the operator’s elbow-to-knuckle.
oceandweller wrote:
shhhh he has been telling Mrs Dave that his tool is 300mm for years
Dave Dave wrote:
Funny, because just out of curiosity I just Googled 300mm cordless electric angle grinders and nobody seems to make one, the biggest available disc is 230mm. Could you provide an example or should we just assume you’re making it up?
Rendel Harris wrote:
Your weak google-fu leads you to conclude people are lying about claims that are in no way extraordinary? Mate, you have a problem. Seek help.
Rules Of The Internet
Rules Of The Internet
Dave Dave wrote:
Damn, you’ve got an eagle eye there – it’s actually 305mm (to begin with, at least).
https://www.toolden.co.uk/power-tools/cordless-power-tools/cordless-saws/cordless-cut-off-saws/makita-ek6100-305mm-2-stroke-petrol-cut-off-saw/
Sriracha wrote:
A) What you’ve seen is irrelevant. There are battery powered versions of the same. (Also, it looks to me like that’s an even bigger one than 300mm in your picture.)— Dave Dave Damn, you’ve got an eagle eye there – it’s actually 305mm (to begin with, at least). https://www.toolden.co.uk/power-tools/cordless-power-tools/cordless-saws/cordless-cut-off-saws/makita-ek6100-305mm-2-stroke-petrol-cut-off-saw/— Tom_77
Heh, I meant like 450mm or something. Just bad guesstimating 🙂
Dave Dave wrote:
I think your supplier may have hoodwinked you about those. How much did you pay?
Now to find something to lock
Now to find something to lock it to that a grinder won’t cut through..
Or just cut through the bike
Or just cut through the bike frame; actually happened to me.
Wheels and group set are
Wheels and group set are probably safer to steal and fence on a high end bike than the whole bike.
But you’re unlikely to see a
But you’re unlikely to see a tea leaf sitting next to a locked bike frantically unscrewing the rear mech and shifters. Even with wheels which could be liberated quickly its pretty obvious they are being nicked.