Bikes are an easy target for thieves unless they’re secured with a decent lock. Here’s how to protect your pride and joy in different situations

The first rule of bike security is this: do not turn your back on your bike unless it’s locked. It takes seconds for an opportunistic thief to jump on an unlocked bike and ride it away out of your life.

Any lock is better than nothing. Of bike thefts reported in England and Wales in recent years, roughly half were of unlocked bikes. The majority of all bike thefts were from semi-private locations, such as back gardens and sheds. If your shed or garage isn’t secure, park your bike indoors or invest in a tough metal bike store.

When you’re away from home, you’ll need at least one lock. Police advice is to spend at least 10% of the bike’s value on security for it. Broadly speaking, the more a lock costs and the more it weighs, the more protection it will offer. But you can get a clearer idea of how tough a lock is by checking its Sold Secure rating. There are four levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond, representing the lock’s resistance to increasingly time consuming and tooled-up attacks.

Here’s a breakdown of lock types and what they’re suited for.

No lock

There are two ways this strategy can work for commuters. One is to ensure that your bike is only ever parked behind a locked door, both at home and at work. You won’t be able to stop off en route – at a shop, for example – but otherwise it’s very effective.
The other option is to invest a compact folding bike such as a Brompton or Tern Link that you can fold up and take with you wherever you go. You never have to turn your back on it. Tip: get a cover or bag for it if you want to guarantee unfettered access.

Café locks

The lightest locks use wire cable as thin as a bike’s brake cable. The cable is either covered in plastic and coiled like the BBB MiniSafe (60g) or retractable into a plastic body like the Abus Combiflex Break (58g). Most have a combination lock rather than key and all of them fit in pocket. Security is minimal; they can be breached with a pair of cable cutters. They’re nevertheless useful for mid-ride café stops, where you can see your bike through the window, or for locking your commuter bag to your folding bike when it’s out of sight on a train.

Cable locks

Cable locks use thicker cables and may be fastened by a key or a combination. They’re more substantial than café locks, which can literally give you a false sense of security. The limitations of café locks are obvious at a glance, so they’re only used in specific scenarios, whereas cable locks look like they offer real protection. Some do: the Squire Straplok 35/380, which weighs 1.26kg and can be worn like a belt, is rated Sold Secure Silver; the Litelok Core Plus, also wearable and weighing from 1.9kg, is Sold Secure Diamond! But the short list of rated cable locks on the Sold Secure website is telling. Most cable locks – the unlisted ones – are unrated. They can be useful for securing quick-release wheels or a helmet to the bike frame, which is then locked up with something better, but they’re not really suitable as your main bike lock. Bolt croppers will go through cheap cable locks like butter.

Frame locks

Popular in the Netherlands, frame locks immobilise the rear wheel by running a locking bar between the spokes. The handcuff-shaped lock fits permanently to the underside of the seatstays, ideally to mounting points on the frame – or failing that to (less secure) band-on mounts. A lever slides the locking bar from one side to the other and a key fastens it in place. As your bike isn’t locked to anything, it could be awkwardly carried away. It can’t be ridden, however, so it’s handy if you’re just popping into a shop or café rather than parking up and disappearing. Security is better than café locks and most cables: the AXA Solid Plus (650g) is rated Sold Secure Silver, as is the inexpensive Decathlon Bike Frame Lock 900 M ART 2 (760g). One advantage over other locks is that you’re never without a frame lock as it forms part of the bike. 

Folding locks

Folding locks are a relatively recent addition to the cycle security scene. They’re made from short, flat metal bars joined together into a loop with pivoting links. The large loop makes them easy to fit around all sorts of street furniture, so you don’t have to hunt for parking places, but they’re usefully compact when folded. Most come with a bracket so that you can carry them on the bike’s frame, without using up the space of a large D-lock. They tend to be rated Sold Secure Silver, like the Foldylock Mini (0.89kg), or Gold like the Abus Bordo Granit 6500K (1.67kg). As such, they can be used as your main or only lock in areas where bike theft levels aren’t too bad.

Chain locks

Chains are even more flexible than folding locks, being made from lots of hardened steel links wrapped in a synthetic cover to protect your bike’s paintwork. That flexibility means more places to lock your bike when you’re out and about. It can enable you to secure a wheel and a frame at the same time. Some chains come with an integral lock, others use separate padlocks. While there are some chain locks that are easy to crop, thicker chains represent the top tier of bike security – alongside D-locks. There are plenty of Sold Secure Gold and Diamond chain locks to choose from. The only real downside is weight. Big, tough chains are heavy. The Squire Warrior Combi Max, a Gold-rated lock, is 3.69kg, while the Diamond-rated Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit Chain 14mmX150cm and NY Disc Lock Sold Secure Diamond is nearly 7kg! Chains work well with ground or wall anchors for home security, and in combination with a good D-lock in high-crime areas.

D-locks

D-locks have a large U-shaped shackle that engages with a locking bar. In general, they offer the best balance between security and portability of any lock type, being as tough as big chains and not much heavier than folding locks. Unless you have a specific reason to go with something else, a D-lock should probably be your first or main lock for commuting. D-locks with long, wide shackles give you more locking options around town. Short-shackle locks fit around fewer anchor points but are smaller, lighter and a bit more secure, since there’s less room in the shackle for a thief’s tools. There’s little reason to get anything less than a Gold-rated D-lock; even the Diamond-rated OnGuard Pitbull Mini (1.3kg) is only £45. For the ultimate in security, either for high-crime areas or because you’re riding an expensive e-bike, look at locks that are not just Diamond-rated but described as angle-grinder resistant, such as the Hiplok D1000 (1.9kg). It takes a significant amount of time, lots of noise and several cutting discs to get through locks like these.

Using your lock

Lock your bike in a well-lit, public area if possible. You don’t want a thief to be able to work unnoticed. Ideally, choose somewhere that’s covered by CCTV. Lock your bike through the frame to a bike stand or a solid piece of street furniture. Try to make the lock awkward for a thief to access with tools, for example by locking lower to the ground on the far side of the bike. If you use a chain, wrap it so that it’s taut rather than loose; it makes it harder to attack with bolt croppers.

For maximum security in areas with higher crime levels, use two locks of different types, such as a D-lock and a chain. This can force the thief to use different tools. It also makes any attempted theft more time consuming.

If there’s anything on your bike that can easily be removed without tools, such as quick-release wheels or accessories, either take them with you or make sure they’re locked to the bike or another anchor point. Any quick-releases are best replaced by Allen-bolt fixings if you’re regularly parking your bike in public. Security skewers from Hexlox, Pitlock and Pinhead are better still, as they require a special tool to unfasten.

If you don’t want to carry a heavy lock or two every time you commute, consider leaving one or both at work. That way you can ride unencumbered and still keep your bike safe when you get there.

Finally, don’t forget that any lock can be broken, given the right tools and enough time. It’s always worth buying cycle insurance as well.