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 centimetres 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 centimetres — 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.
100 cm folding · ART certification stated · anti-scratch
A 100 cm 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.
≈ £70 / 52 €
14 mm shackle · ADFC recommendation stated · 1.7 m cable
A large D-lock with a 14 mm hardened shackle and an ADFC recommendation stated by the manufacturer, supplied with a 1.7 m 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 / £78 / 79 €
85 cm hardened steel · 3 keys · bracket included
A hardened steel folding lock at 85 cm 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.
≈ £31 / 24 €
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.
Bike racks, trainers and computers swing by thirty euros 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.
