I just bought the bike in image 1: a nearly new Cube Attain Endurance 2023 with nearly new Shimano 105 derailleurs and hydraulic brakes for £980.
Second picture is my current lock is an OnGuard D-lock and cable, with a 2016 Sold Secure Gold rating. I think it cost about £40 for the set.
The third picture is how I lock up my bike – Frame and front wheel through D-lock, and back wheel attached to D lock via cable.
I do live in London, so I understand that means I generally need a more secure lock, but I'm asking is my current one sufficient? When I look for quotes for bicycle insurance, they say I need a gold rated lock for bikes worth over £1000.
Should I: (a) get bicycle insurance and continue using my current lock. (b) Just get a new lock (a diamond rated one). (c) Get both
I'm sure a lot of you saw my post about a cracked seaport last week, so this is my replacement. It's my first carbon bike, and I've heard carbon is not as durable as aluminium. As I'm going to be cycling 110 miles a week on bumpy roads, ought I to use wider tyres (28c rather than 23c) with lower pressures (90psi rather than 100) to cushion the impacts the frame experiences and prolong its life?
by Correct-Arm-8539
7 Comments
Most people will tell you to not leave it outside.
I don’t know what a gold or diamond rated lock is.
Your home insurances should cover bike theft, check with them.
A lock is as good as the person trying to stesl you bike, no lock is 100% secure.
That is NOT a bike you lock up outside 🤬
That lock will be good enough if the area you lock up in is basically secure (meaning professional thieves don’t get in). But if the area is open to the public, no lock will be good enough for your bike in London in the long term.
If your insurance says the lock is sufficient, I think you should just stick with it. That’s what you are paying the insurance for. Just make sure you have sufficient documents about the bike according to the insurance rules. They love denying claims for all kinds of reasons.
No lock is good enough to lock that bike up outside for more than a cafe stop as people will cut through the frame or just take the parts off.
In London they’ll just roll up with a grinder and no one will look twice or stop them
No lock is gonna keep a bike like this safe. Even if a thief cannot break the lock, they will strip your bike, starting with the wheels. I would strongly advise against leaving this type of bike outdoors.
Get a cheapo Decathlon or old bike for commuting and keep this for fun on the weekends. I know it is a London thing to commute on nice fancy bikes, but unless you have secure indoor parking at each end, it is not advisable on a nice new road bike.
Get the insurance as if you commute and leave this outdoors, it gonna disappear.
So for insurance indeed the certified lock. Just so that you can get the money when stolen.
Beside that you want always to lock it with two locks to seperate fixed objects.
And at night you want to keep it indoors.
Also you could apply the Dutch antitheft approach. Which is spraypainting it as ugly as possible.
Not all diamond rated locks are built equal. Some solid secure diamond locks are angle grinder resistant, some are not. Angle grinder locks are made from a special material and that makes them angle grinder resistant. They aren’t fully angle grinder resistant. Angle grinders will eventually get through anything, but the entire point of these is to make the thief give up or choose a different bike. These locks achieve this by requiring multiple discs and minutes to get through. IMO non-angle grinder resistant locks simply aren’t worth it for 99% of people. Since you’re British, get the Litelok X1. Cheapest angle grinder lock at 180 pounds. There are much stronger locks out there but, I don’t think you need those considering the bike you are locking up is around 1000 euros.
I see people saying “just take your bike with you” but that not always with you and the risk of theft limiting where you can and cannot go is stupid. I’m not saying you be negligent. Make sure to lock it where you can mostly see it (right outside where you want to go or at least nearby) and follow proper locking techniques. Overall, use common sense.
TLDR: Lock up your bike properly, Get an angle resistant lock (litelok X1) and a GPS tracker of some sort (airtag). Make sure to register your bike wherever you can