The lock’s weight matters too, and while that’s closely related to portability, it is entirely possible to find a strong, durable lock that doesn’t weigh a ton and packs down relatively small. You can always buy two different types of locks to fit different needs, too. Try to decide whether you’ll need more portability or more theft deterrence. Still, even a small and portable lock will offer some theft deterrence for quick lockups outside the coffee shop or grocery store. So smaller, thinner locks may be more susceptible to common tools that thieves use. While not always the case, locks that focus on portability will sacrifice some burliness by necessity. Some locks are small enough to fit in a jersey pocket, while others will need a dedicated mounting space on your bike or some real estate in a backpack. A lock you don’t want to carry with you is a lock you’re likely to leave at home. Portability is an important consideration as well. The lock is available in three sizes (18, 30, and 60 inches) and multiple colors. The three number tumblers can sometimes be hard to position correctly because they’re so small, but otherwise the Hexband is super simple to use. If you want a bit of added security, pair this lock with Ottolock’s Sidekick U-Lock (sold separately). I cut this lock very easily with a set of 24-inch bolt cutters, but the six stainless steel bands encased in Kevlar will slow down any would-be thieves with smaller cutters.Īnd I could not get through the band with sheet metal cutters or a small pair of diagonal cutting pliers - the types of tools thieves can stuff in their pockets. This super-compact lock is easy to use and best for stowing in a jersey pocket for quick in and out trips at the coffee shop, but it’s not ideal for long-term storage security. There aren’t any Sold Secure Gold combination locks, presumably because it would be very difficult to make a coded lock that is truly high security.Pros: Super compact, easy to stow in a jersey pocketĬons: Can be cut with 24-inch bolt cutters quickly This means they’re suitable for lower risk circumstances (check my full bike lock guide to determine your risk level). They are all either Sold Secure Silver or equivalent, which is the minimum security level I recommend in a bike lock. With that in mind I have compiled a list of some of the better combination locks below. But if you get a decent one with 4 or 5 dials and features that resist the most basic decoding techniques, then in the street, in most instances they are going to offer the same levels of protection as a decent keyed lock. So, yes it’s true: combination locks are less secure than keyed locks. However, it doesn’t mean that all combination locks are crappy! Wrapping Up So this idea that all combination locks are crappy is reinforced because they’re used on genuinely crappy cable locks. They can be cut in seconds by a small, basic tool that every bike thief carries.Īnd the thing is: many cheap cable locks use cheap combination mechanisms. I’ve written many times about how you should never use a cheap cable lock to secure your bicycle. In fact they are most likely to tackle a decent combination lock in the same way they would attack a decent keyed lock: with brute force. And in the street they won’t be able to position the lock in a way that makes even attempting to decode the lock practical. The way to do this (and I’m not revealing anything new here), is to create tension by trying to pull the the lock apart (in the same way as you’d open it) and then slowly rotating the dials in turn until they seem to click into place…īut the thing to remember is that virtually no bike thieves have the patience and skill required to pick the more challenging combination locks. Unfortunately however, the finite number of codes isn’t the only weakness of combination locks… Or pick them without any tools!Ĭheap combination locks are very easy to decode. So while it’s true that combination locks can be opened without any tools at all, by someone without any skill at all (beyond counting), if you’ve got a 4 (or more) dial lock then it’s very unlikely that anyone’s going to defeat your lock in this way. It would actually take much longer, even if the thief had the patience and nerve to persist. And in reality, testing one a second for nearly three hours while hunched over a bicycle in the street is just not practical. So the same nimble fingers would take almost 3 hours to test every combination. However with 4 dials there are 10,000 possible combinations.
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