Which bike lock should I choose? For a long time I was a happy owner of an Abus Catena chain lock. However, last night someone tried to steal my bike. Luckily, they either didn't have enough time, or the lock was too tough for them so they abandoned it after cutting through 0.5mm from two sides.

Now I am looking for a better, more secure and more deterrent-looking lock. These are my current options:


Abus Granit Plus 51: U lock, security rating 13/15, 13mm thinckness, 23cm height, costs 46€
Abus Bordo 6000: folding lock, security rating 10/15, 5mm thickness, 90cm length, costs 55€


With the first one, I like the better security. However U locks are sometimes pain in the ass to set, especially because I usually lock front wheel and frame to a stationary object. I am not sure if this is even possible with this U lock, as the distance from the inside of the rim to the inside of the frame is a little more than 20cm.

I like the folding lock, because it is more versatile. I can lock my bike to a variety of stationary objects, but it is less secure for sure. Also, it is a bit more expensive.

I will keep my old chain lock, as it is not damaged too much and change the outer skirt so that nobody knows it was damaged. I thing it should be OK as a secondary lock when I leave my bike overnight in a communal room.
Any ideas what could be a smart choice?
I have recently been in a neighborhood watch training. Bike theft was one of the topic.

They showed us a footage where they asked a skilled thief to break various locks, from low end dental floss (10 Euro worth) to high end sturdy looking one (60 Euro). The thief was able to take rid of all of them in a matter of about 30 seconds, with few difference between flimsy and sturdy ones.

Bottom line: the only way to safely lock your bike is make it an hassle to remove all the locks with respect to the other available targets.


Use redundant locks (they will require more time to be removed)
Lock your bike where other similar bikes are available (thieves go for the low hanging fruit, unless you park a carbon frame 5000 Euro bike among steel 100 Euro bikes)
Make it hard for the thief to be unnoticed while working around your locks (don't lock your bike in a dark and out of sight alley)