In five minutes' time, you can order a coffee, check your email, politely glance at the other café-goers, receive said coffee, and return to where you left your unlocked bike, which was stolen four minutes ago. Shouldn’t have asked for an extra shot, but hindsight is 20/20 and now your prized bicycle is listed on a neighboring city’s Craigslist for pennies of what you paid. The FBI reported 131,777 bike thefts in 2018, although the real number is likely higher because many property crimes go unreported. An Oregonian analysis of 13,000 Portland bicycle thefts found that only 2 percent of reports ended in arrests, which means your bike is probably gone for good.
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Check out our five favorite locks for some great suggestions or keep reading for more information on various lock types and how to best use them.
The Best Bike Locks
The good news is bike thieves are criminals of opportunity, so you can decrease your risk by locking up more intelligently than the next cyclist. Let’s run through the pros and cons of each genre to help you pick the best lock for your situation.
Four Types of Locks
A thief with the right tools can defeat any bike lock in five minutes, but that doesn’t mean all locks are created equal: The crook will raise hell cutting through a hardened-steel U-lock or chain with an angle grinder, so he or she is more likely to go after a cheaper, lightweight cable lock with a set of bolt cutters. To decide how much security you need, consider your location and duration of lockup.
Best U-Locks
Best Folding Locks
Best Chain Locks
Best Lightweight Locks
All-day lockups on college campuses and in major metro areas where thefts are common require more security, says Kryptonite brand manager Daryl Slater, and anything left out overnight necessitates paranoia-level countermeasures (using multiple locks that can’t be defeated by the same bolt cutters is a good start). Here’s how the basic lock types differ, in order of most to least secure.
U-Locks
Most U-locks (D-locks in the U.K.) require power tools to cut. They’re heavier and more expensive than most other varieties, but you’ll want the hardened steel when a misguided thief attempts to defeat one with hand tools. High-security models like Kryptonite’s New York STD use double dead bolts, which means two cuts are needed to open the lock—all but the most daring thieves see them and keep moving.
Folding Locks
Folding locks are increasingly popular alternatives to chain and cable locks, and their low profile when folded makes them great for commuters. Some are susceptible to bolt cutters, a Wirecutter test found, and power drills can quietly compromise their connecting joints. Like chains, they enable you to lock up to objects too big for U-locks or D-locks.
Chain Locks
Chain locks can be as secure as U-locks if the chain is hardened steel and the shackle is equally durable. A hardware store chain matched with your old gym class combo lock, though, is losing to a pair of bolt cutters. A large chain can lock up a bike’s frame and both wheels while increasing the diameter of the tree, post, etc. to which you’re able to lock your bike, and models like the Hiplok Spin are designed to fit comfortably around your waist for portability.
Lightweight Locks
Lightweight locks come in a variety of designs, such as the zip tie of the Ottolock Cinch and Hiplok Z Lok or simple cables. Most of these locks can be defeated by hand tools like bolt cutters and tin snips, so reserve them for light security situations like popping into a store.
Can My Lock Be Picked?
Just like all bike locks are eventually susceptible to cutting attacks, all bike locks can also be picked. But most modern locks can’t be defeated by amateurs, says competitive lock picker Schuyler Towne. Disc detainer locks, which use a series of rotating discs, are considered the most difficult to pick. Slider locks, like those from OnGuard, have keys with laser-cut slots and flat sides and can provide high security. “The more cuts on the key, the more secure it is,” Towne says of slider locks.
Pin-tumbler locks are a classic design that can sometimes be foiled by brute force attacks, although others require more skill. And wafer locks are considered the least secure—more vulnerable to entry-level picking—but individual wafer locks may prove more secure than others. Find a detailed description of each type of locking mechanism at the bottom of this guide.
Using Your Lock
Once you’ve bought a lock, you have to put it to work. “Make sure you lock according to value,” Slater says. “The frame (being most expensive), the rear wheel, then the front wheel.” Unlocked frames and wheels will likely be stolen eventually, so your best bet is locking both wheels to the frame with a chain or cable lock (or another U-lock, in high-risk areas). Aim for well-lit places and never leave a lock against the ground, as thieves might get the necessary leverage to pry it open. Make sure your bike can’t be lifted up and over a poll or tree. Slater says he’s encountered victims whose bikes were locked to street signs, over which a bike can easily be hoisted, or small trees, which were promptly cut down. As a general rule, the thing you’re locking to should be stronger than your lock. Lastly, take down your bike’s serial number (under the bottom bracket) and register it with your local police department in case the worst happens.
Recovering a Stolen Bike
Having a bike stolen is absolutely the worst and unfortunately too often there isn't much help available to victims of bike theft. If you're tapped into your local cycling community then putting the word out on social media can often be your best bet of recovering your stolen bike. At least it was until portable trackers like Apple's AirTag have been introduced. They're far from perfect because they need to be near someone with an updated iPhone to give you a location so they likely won't work for riders in rural places. If you live in a denser place with lots of iPhone users an AirTag and a compatible bike mount could greatly increase your chances of recovering a stolen bike.
How We Chose
Every lock here has been thoroughly evaluated and vetted by our team of test editors. We research the market, survey user reviews, speak with product managers and engineers, and use our own experience with these locks to determine the best options. We’ve used these locks, weighed them, and evaluated their mechanisms. We’ve cut a few in individual tests, and we’ll update this guide with full destructive testing as soon as we can return to our office. For now, we’ve researched testing and picking conducted by outlets like Wirecutter and Bike Radar and experts like LockPickingLawyer to identify the best locks in each category.
Now that you’re lock literate, check out these 17 options for securing your bike and shackling down some peace of mind.
U-Locks
Kryptonite New York
Pros
- High security
- Relatively lightweight
Cons
- Flimsy mounting bracket
Key Specs
| Weight | 4 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | Yes |
| Locking Mechanism | Disc detainer |
All you need to know about the Kryptonite New-U New York Lock is in the fine print: The company will replace your bike (up to $4,000) if it’s stolen because the lock was compromised in Manhattan, where thousands of bikes are stolen each year. The u-lock has a 16mm hardened steel shackle and uses a pass-through crossbar design to prevent twisting attacks, forcing thieves to cut the shackle twice to compromise the lock. From personal experience, the four-pound lock works great as a mallet, too. The included mounting bracket uses a nylon strap to affix to the frame rather than going through the bottle bosses, a design that increases available mounting positions. However, the design relies on friction to keep the lock in place, so user reviews are mixed on whether it works long-term. One crafty Amazon reviewer used his or her own hardware to screw the mount to the bottle bosses, which might prove sturdier than the friction mount.
OnGuard Brute STD 8001
Pros
- Wide shackle for more lock-up options
Cons
- Flimsy mounting bracket
Key Specs
| Weight | 1.7 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | Slider |
The OnGuard Brute LS presents a square-shaped shackle that widens the diameter of available lock-up poles. The shackle is 111mm x 260mm of hardened steel, and the key hole closes automatically to keep the elements out.
Hiplok DX
Pros
- Clips to waistband
Cons
Key Specs
| Weight | 2.4 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | Pin tumbler |
Urban cyclists have for years been stuffing mini U-locks into back pockets and beneath belts, which works fine but isn’t too comfortable. So Hiplok reimagined the U-lock with a crucial addition: a clip. With it, the lock slides onto your waistband and isn’t annoying to ride with, so long as you have a tight enough waistband. The rest of the lock is formidable, with a 14mm shackle that locks on both sides of the crossbar. In an individual test, the shackle defeated the blade on our hacksaw rather quickly, but fell victim to a five-inch cordless angle grinder in about 30 seconds—an average time for cutting a hardened steel shackle, and two cuts are needed to defeat this lock.
ABUS Ultra 410 U-Lock and Cable
Pros
- Light
Cons
- Not secure enough for longer storage
Key Specs
| Weight | 2 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | Yes |
| Locking Mechanism | Slider |
The ABUS Ultra is a great entry level U-lock that can work in a variety of different locking situations. The U-Lock itself is a bit longer than usual so it can be a bit easier to lock up in situations where a mini U-lock might not work. The inclusion of a cable makes this package even more appealing as it will let riders easily and quickly secure their wheels as well as the frame. You could even use it to lock up two bikes in a pinch if your friend forgot their lock at home. Although we wouldn't recommend it for long term or overnight parking.
Altor SAF
Pros
- Extremely difficult to cut
Cons
- Expensive
- Heavy
Key Specs
| Weight | 13.8 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | Disc detainer |
When it debuted last year, the Altor SAF Lock set out to be the world’s first angle grinder-proof lock. For practical purposes, it succeeded: We burned through six batteries and four grinding discs before we finally managed to cut the lock. Its defense is its thickness: A five-inch angle grinder, the most popular variant, doesn’t have enough cutting depth to go straight through, so thieves are left to hack at an aluminum shell and hardened steel core (and make a few return trips to Home Depot before the job is done). Downsides? It’s 13.8 pounds, so definitely not portable on a bike, and it’s likely that the pole to which you’ve locked up is much easier to cut than the lock itself. That said, you’re less likely to be stolen from if your lock is bigger than the next bike’s, so the SAF Lock is tough to beat as a stationary security solution.
Kryptonite KryptoFlex Cable
Pros
- Will work with any U-lock
Cons
- Easy to cut
Key Specs
| Weight | 1 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | None |
If you use a U-lock as your main lock then adding a cable to your setup is a lightweight solution for easily securing both wheels as well as your frame. The downside of a cable is they are essentially a deterrent and can be surprisingly easy to cut. Still, it's a relatively cheap and lightweight solution to keeping someone from simply walking away with one of your wheels while you're running a quick errand.
Folding Locks
Abus Bordo Centium 6010
Pros
- Compact
- Quality bike mount
Cons
- Pricey
Key Specs
| Weight | 1.3 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | Yes |
| Locking Mechanism | Disc detainer |
The Bordo Centium 6010 is another folding alternative to unwieldy U-locks and chains and is fairly lightweight at 1.3 pounds. The 5mm links are designed to withstand cutting attacks, although the connecting pins appear to be unhardened, so they might not survive attacks from long bolt cutters or nut splitters. The carrying case has loops to secure the lock to your frame for easy schlepping and swapping between bikes. The bottle bosses and lock will add a bit of heft to your bike, but we didn’t feel inconvenienced by it.
Altor Apex
Pros
- Lightweight
- Elegant design
Cons
- Pricey
Key Specs
| Weight | 2.4 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | Yes |
| Locking Mechanism | Disc detainer |
Altor’s Apex folding lock is an elegant device with a premium feel to match its price. At 2.4 pounds, it’s among the lighter folding locks. Its bottle mount held up; in testing, the Apex stayed put and didn’t rattle as we pedaled. Unfolded, it’s just big enough to secure your frame and front or rear wheel. Its hardened steel construction should be formidable against hand tools; reviewers at Wirecutter were able to drill through the hinges of the previous version, the 560G, but the Apex has hardened steel joint caps to protect the rivets from drilling attacks. (A previous version of this review incorrectly stated that Wirecutter had drilled through the Apex, not the 560G.)
Lobster Lock
Pros
- Stays on bike at all times
Cons
- Wafer lock is less secure
Key Specs
| Weight | 2.7 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | Yes |
| Locking Mechanism | Wafer |
The Lobster Lock is a folding lock with a neat trick: It’s always attached to your bike. The device screws into your bottle bosses and stays there, although you can still mount a bottle cage above the lock. To lock up, you unfold the arms on each side of the lock and wrap them around the frame and front wheel, connecting them with a locking mechanism at the ends of the arms. We haven’t done destructive testing (yet) to gauge the strength of the arms and hinges, but the wafer locking mechanism is a possible weak point for entry by picking.
RockyMounts Hendrix
Pros
- Lightweight
Cons
- 27-inch folding circumference limits lock-up options
Key Specs
| Weight | 1.6 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | Yes |
| Locking Mechanism | Disc detainer |
The Hendrix is one of the smallest non-cable locks you’ll find, and RockyMounts includes a holder that mounts on your frame’s bottle bosses for easy portaging. The 5mm steel links present a challenge for cutting tools, and hardened pins aim to resist power drills, although we wouldn’t consider this a high-security lock (RockyMounts rates it a 7 out of 10 on its own security scale). But if you’re looking for a medium-security lock to fit in a jersey pocket, the Hendrix might be the best pick.
Chain Locks
Hiplok Gold
Pros
- Wearable design for convenient carrying
Cons
- Too big for waist sizes smaller than 30 inches
Key Specs
| Weight | 5.3 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | Pin tumbler |
The Hiplok Gold is a chain lock designed to be worn. Rather than locking to your waist—a potentially dangerous move if you crash—the chain has a patented nylon clip and hook-and-loop waist adjuster to close around your torso. It also features a burly 10mm-thick hardened steel chain and a 12mm hardened steel shackle that’s encased in a nylon shell. The sleeve surrounding the chain is removable and washable, and its reflective coating increases your visibility at night. In testing, we confirmed that the adjustable belt doesn’t fit riders with waists narrower than about 30 inches (Hiplok notes this on its website), and even riders with 32-inch waists might experience slippage. Our main tester has a 34-inch waist and although the belt cinched tight enough, the heavy chain became uncomfortable after an hour in the saddle. For shorter commutes, though, we loved its convenience and high security.
Hiplok Spin
Pros
- Keyless entry
Cons
- Not as secure as bigger chains
Key Specs
| Weight | 1.7 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | 4-digit combination barrel |
The Hiplok Spin is the Gold’s little brother, and we found it significantly more comfortable to wear while riding. It also fits smaller waists, down to 26 inches, and bigger waists up to 44 inches. Its 6mm hardened-steel chain and hardened shackle are narrower than heavier chains, but it’s hefty enough to scare off casual plunderers. Similar to the Gold, an adjustable hook-and-loop closure allows you to don the lock without unlocking it.
OnGuard Mastiff
Pros
- Good value
Cons
- Very heavy
Key Specs
| Weight | 12 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | Slider |
The Mastiff is an absolute brute of a lock, heavier than most cyclists want to carry (although we didn’t mind schlepping it around on an e-bike). The 3.5-foot-long chain uses 10mm-thick, titanium-reinforced steel links that are hexagonally shaped to make cutting even more difficult. (The Mastiff ran down the battery of our tester’s cordless angle grinder when we attempted to cut one in 2013.) The company’s tough Boxer U-lock secures the chain at each end. A nylon sheath keeps the chain from scratching your frame. For an extra $15, you can purchase the anti-theft protection program, which covers your bike (assuming you’ve locked it up properly) for three years.
Kryptonite Evolution Mini
Pros
- Integrated locking mechanism saves weight
Cons
- Not as secure as using the same Kryptonite chain with a corresponding U-lock
Key Specs
| Weight | 5.8 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | Disc detainer |
The integrated Evolution combines the locking mechanism with the chain, forgoing the need for a connecting U-lock and therefore saving weight. The 10mm, six-sided chain links resist cutting, and the disc detainer locking mechanism is designed to resist picks and drills. Kryptonite doesn’t consider the design as secure as its U-lock-equipped chains, but the company still offers $3,000 of anti-theft protection for buyers who register their bikes (the coverage is free for the first year, after that it’s $10 per year or $25 for five years).
Lightweight Locks
Bell QuickZip Combo (2 pack)
Pros
- Excellent value
Cons
- Easily cut with shears or snips
These Bell zip tie-type locks are available at Target and on Amazon, and you can have two for less than the price of Hiplok’s Z Lok. The lightweight locks are nearly identical in weight and size—the Bell lock is about 2 inches longer—and both use a three-digit combination. We found that the number wheels on the Hiplok spun more easily than the Bell lock, but that was the only perceptible difference. The locks have identical cores as well, a thin metal band. Both locks withstood cutting attempts from household scissors, and both failed immediately when faced with a decent pair of wire cutters or metal shears.
Hiplok Z Lok Combo
Pros
- Cheap
Cons
- Minimal security
Key Specs
| Weight | 0.2 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | No |
| Locking Mechanism | 3-digit combination |
This minimalist lock operates like a big zip tie, cinching in place with a three-digit combination. The 3.6mm tie has a steel core sheathed in plastic that doesn’t offer much protection from hand-cutting methods—we got through it with tin snips. But it’s ideal for stashing in your jersey pocket and tethering your bike to a pole while you pop inside the coffee shop.
Ottolock Cinch
Pros
- Keyless entry
Cons
- Can be cut with hand tools
Key Specs
| Weight | 0.5 lb. |
|---|---|
| Frame Mount | Optional |
| Locking Mechanism | 3-digit combination |
The Ottolock Cinch offers solid security for quick trips into the store (the company indicates it’s not for long lockups or high-risk areas). The 0.5-pound lock uses a Kevlar and steel band to prevent cuts, and the whole thing coils up to a 3-inch-diameter package that stows away beneath your saddle rails. Although not a replacement for a traditional U-lock, it’s smaller and more durable than a cable, making it a convenient upgrade. And the company sells a mount for your frame or seatpost for an additional $25.
Types of Locking Mechanisms
Bike lock manufacturers use a few popular mechanisms with varying levels of security. Lock picking is an acquired skill, and anecdotal evidence indicates that destructive attacks are much more common. Likewise, an expert with the right tools can get through any bike lock pretty quickly—see LockPickingLawyer or Bosnianbill for a master class in advanced bike lock picking. Thankfully, most thieves aren’t expert locksmiths with custom tools, but amateurs can still foil a couple of prominent lock designs with fairly basic attacks. We consulted lock-picking expert, Schuyler Towne, to break down the prominent locking mechanisms in order of most to least secure.
Disc Detainer
Also called disc-tumbler locks, these locking mechanisms use a series of slotted rotating discs separated by washers. Each disc has a cutout; when locked, the cutouts don’t line up, but inserting and turning the key rotates them into alignment to form a channel. A sidebar rests against the discs, preventing you from turning the lock when there’s no channel for it to drop into. Therefore, opening a disc-detainer lock means aligning each individual disc to a relatively precise position, which usually proves more difficult than picking other lock designs. Disc-detainer mechanisms are popular on bike locks because they’re fairly secure and because they don’t contain springs and can be manufactured to low tolerances, two factors that mean they continue to work after years of use.
Slider
In a slider lock, inserting a key actuates a series of springless sliders within a plug that corresponds to a slot on the outside of the plug. Riding atop the sliders in the slot is a sidebar, which must fall into the slot before the lock can turn. With the key inserted and the sliders in their correct position, the sidebar falls into the slot and the plug turns within the cylinder. These locks can be high or low security, depending on their construction and the number of sliders.
Pin Tumbler
This lock has a plug that sits within a cylindrical housing. The plug and housing contain long pin chambers that allow a series of pins that are spring-loaded to move back and forth between the plug and the housing. While locked, pins sit right in between the plug and the housing, preventing the plug from turning. When the key goes into the plug, it lifts up the spring-loaded pins so that they move completely into the plug or housing, leaving a gap between the two that allows the plug to turn. These locks are susceptible to skilled pickers who can depress each individual pin, but they can also be raked, which requires less skill. A “rake” is a pick with a specially designed tip that, when raked across the wafers or pins rapidly, can set them and turn a lock without a key.
Wafer
This is generally considered the least-secure design. It’s similar to a pin-tumbler lock, but instead of using spring-loaded pins, it uses spring-loaded rectangular wafers. Like a pin-tumbler lock, these locks are susceptible to individual pin picking and raking, but many can be opened using jiggers or model keys, one of which may be close enough to the authentic key.
Test Editor Dan Chabanov got his start in cycling as a New York City bike messenger but quickly found his way into road and cyclocross racing, competing in professional cyclocross races from 2009 to 2019 and winning a Master’s National Championship title in 2018. Prior to joining Bicycling in 2021, Dan worked as part of the race organization for the Red Hook Crit, as a coach with EnduranceWERX, as well as a freelance writer and photographer.
