Hiplok reveals ‘world’s first truly portable bike lock to resist angle-grinder attacks’

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 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).

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:

 I can't be the only person who would never, ever lock a £2000 bike in a public place.

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.

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.

The other nws outlet used an angle grinder. Corrected my post. Thanks for the remark.

Sriracha wrote:

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.

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 just about satisfying insurance claims.

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 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.

He'll be able to pick it with the tool he and Bosnian Bill made

suddenmoves wrote:

He'll be able to pick it with the tool he and Bosnian Bill made

Bosnian Bill's retired now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ASQQboFg98

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:

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.

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 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 looks.. hovering the cheeks over the seat post

They took the post too so I didn't need to "become one with the bike".

TedC wrote:

"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. 

It's not in the official sentancing. It's vigilante action. Even Batman wouldn't approve though.

New Afghan government policy.