Bike locks
Every lock listing says hardened steel. The word means nothing on its own, and no manufacturer publishes how long its own lock resists an angle grinder. What can be checked is whether an independent scheme has assessed it — so that is what this list is ordered by.
An independent grading, the length, and what the lock will actually reach around.
Length is the one people underestimate. Eighty-five centimeters sounds generous until it has to pass through a frame, a rear wheel and a stand of the wrong diameter.
1. TITANLOCK folding lock, 100 cm. ART certification stated, and a hundred centimeters — the longest here — which is what lets it take in the frame, the rear wheel and a thick stand at once. It also has an anti-scratch coating, which matters on a lock that lives folded against a painted frame.
2. KOHLBURG D-lock with cable. A 14 mm shackle, an ADFC recommendation stated, and a 1.7 m cable included. A 17 × 34.3 cm shackle is large enough to reach around most stands, and the cable covers the front wheel — the part most commonly left behind. Two named schemes across the top two locks here, which is two more than most of this category offers.
3. Büchel Sekura, 85 cm. The best-selling lock on this site, hardened steel, and three keys rather than two — a sensible detail, since a lost key on a two-key lock leaves you one mistake from a cut lock. It names no independent grading, which is not evidence of weakness but is an absence you should know about if your policy names a scheme.
Take a tape to the stand you actually use and measure around the frame, the rear wheel and the stand together. That figure, not the lock’s own dimensions, is what decides whether it closes.
The hardest case. Time and cover are what a thief needs, and a busy well-lit spot is worth as much as a better lock.
Where weight matters most, because a lock you leave at home protects nothing.
Where a ground anchor changes the situation completely, and where the lock is only half of it.
Where weight and how the lock carries on the bike start to decide which one you actually use.
| Your situation | The lock | The extra |
|---|---|---|
| All-day city parking | High-rated D-lock or chain | A second lock for the wheel |
| Five-minute stops | A lighter lock | Nothing |
| Bike stored outside | Two lock types | A ground anchor |
| Insured bike | The rating the policy names | Keeping the receipt |
Locks fail from corrosion in the mechanism, and a lock that has become stiff is a lock that will eventually refuse to open with the bike attached to it. Cheap keys also wear and snap in the barrel, which is a bad day.
This section is about the bike rather than about you.
100 cm (39.4 in) folding · ART certification stated · anti-scratch
A 100 cm (39.4 in) folding lock whose manufacturer states ART certification, with a protected cylinder intended to resist drilling and an anti-scratch coating on the links.
Best for: City riders whose insurer names a certification scheme, or who park a valuable bike in the same place regularly.
14 mm (0.55 in) shackle · ADFC recommendation stated · 1.7 m (6 ft) cable
A large D-lock with a 14 mm (0.55 in) hardened shackle and an ADFC recommendation stated by the manufacturer, supplied with a 1.7 m (6 ft) cable for the front wheel and accessories.
Best for: Anyone leaving a bike in a city where theft is a real prospect, and who is prepared to carry the weight.
≈ $89
85 cm (33.5 in) hardened steel · 3 keys · bracket included
A hardened steel folding lock at 85 cm (33.5 in) from a long-established German bicycle parts maker, supplied with three keys and a frame bracket, and the best-selling lock in this hub.
Best for: Everyday city parking where a serious deterrent matters more than a certified grading.
≈ $86
A Dutch independent testing foundation that grades locks by how long they resist a defined set of attacks. A manufacturer stating ART certification is making a checkable claim about a third-party assessment, which is different in kind from stating that its steel is hardened. We report the claim; we do not verify certificates.
Many do, by naming a scheme and a grade rather than a brand. Read your own policy before you buy — an uncertified lock can void a claim regardless of how solid it is.
A folding lock wraps around more shapes and packs flat on the frame. A D-lock has fewer joints, and joints are where a folding lock is attacked. The honest answer is that a D-lock plus a cable secures a wheel as well, which is what the KOHLBURG here is.
Common advice is a meaningful fraction of the bike's value. The more useful rule is to buy to the rating your insurer requires, if the bike is insured.
A D-lock is lighter and easier to carry; a chain is more flexible about what you can lock to. Many city riders end up with one of each.
For all-day parking, generally yes: two different types mean a thief needs two sets of tools. It also secures the wheels.
A proper cycle stand fixed to the ground. Railings that unbolt, posts with open tops and small trees are all defeated without touching the lock.
Often decisively. Many policies name a minimum rating, and a claim can be refused if the lock used was below it.
Corrosion in the barrel. Use a proper lock lubricant rather than general oil, and act before it seizes with the bike attached.
For the rider who: City riders whose insurer names a certification scheme, or who park a valuable bike in the same place regularly.
Biggest plus: The manufacturer states ART certification, an independent Dutch scheme that insurers there recognize
Biggest minus: Three times the price of the entry lock in this hub
For the rider who: Anyone leaving a bike in a city where theft is a real prospect, and who is prepared to carry the weight.
Biggest plus: 14 mm (0.55 in) hardened shackle, the thickest steel in this hub by a clear margin
Biggest minus: The most expensive lock in this hub
For the rider who: Everyday city parking where a serious deterrent matters more than a certified grading.
Biggest plus: The strongest sales position of any lock here, at rank 558 on the German store when checked
Biggest minus: The manufacturer does not publish a link thickness figure
Spares and fitting kit from the same aisle, at the price we read. Confirm they match the bike and the part you chose before ordering: it turns on the standard and the part number, which the listing gives.
Direct match-ups already published between two picks from this guide or this aisle.
Everything listed is drawn from the catalog of this site. Specifications are the published ones, from the maker and from Amazon; prices are what Keepa recorded on the date shown, and both move. The order rests on declared specifications, on stated strengths against stated limits, and on price. None of this kit has been ridden by us, and the page makes no such claim.
Last checked on
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
Bike racks, trainers and computers swing by thirty dollars or more across the year, and the biggest "discounts" often land at prices the same model sold for six weeks earlier. UniverTrack tracks the real price history across retailers, spots fake reductions, and alerts you when it is genuinely the moment to buy.
