There
are many hundred of cycle locks available that include, shackle, cable, “electronic”.
Some with tumbler locks, others with padlocks, keys or batteries.
Some are as much use as a “kick in the ‘ead”, or a chocolate teapot,
but many make it increasingly difficult for the opportunist thief to
whisk your bike away.
Whatever
type of lock you choose, please buy the highest quality lock you can
afford. Don’t skimp, like cycle
helmets, you get what you pay for and the attitude “I’ll buy the cheapest” usually
leads to that sinking feeling mentioned elsewhere.
Background information regarding cycle
locks
A
good lock must resist two types of attack – brute force like bolt/cable
cutters and sophisticated attack including lock picking.
U-Shackle locks
There
are some important features which any U-shackle lock should have if it is
to provide the best possible security for your bike and its components.
They
are:
-
Specially
toughened steel giving a hard surface to resist cutting
-
A
lock mechanism mounted in the centre of the “crossbar”, offering
the most protection from attack
-
No
part of the lock should protrude; this would make the lock vulnerable
to attack 
-
A “crossbar” which
locks onto both ends of the shackle, to resist levering.
-
A
symmetrical shackle that can be locked either way round, to make the
lock easier to use.
Cable
locks
The
thicker the cable, the better the protection.
Buy the thickest you can afford.
Increasing numbers of cable locks are now fitted with rollers over
the cable. This
makes it very difficult for cable cutters to be cut
through, as they
can’t grip onto
the cable.
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