So I'm sure most of you have seen that now infamous footage of the bike thieves in London grinding a disc lock off a Panigale and wheeling it away, brash as you like. If not, here it is... After watching this, it was pretty clear to me that my £20 Oxford disc lock was pretty much useless to someone with the right tools, so I bought myself one of these... ROADLOK They're really quite expensive for what is essentially a fancy disc lock, but the key differences here are that a grinder wouldn't cut one of these apart as easily and also the wheel is locked into place because the locking pin goes through the disc meaning you can't start to ride off after forgetting it is fitted. It is permanently attached, which isn't ideal, but I don't think it looks all that bad. I hope that my £200+ investment was worth it and it puts off any potential thieves, but who knows. Just thought I'd post it on here to make others aware of the product as it's very clever, well made and if it helps to stop the theft of another Panigale (or any other bike!) then it was worthwhile...
As far as disc locks go it looks more substantial than others on the market. I don't envy anyone who has leave their bike unattended but I think the only way to have any hope of stopping your bike being stolen by thieves is to have it physically anchored to the ground or other solid object by a chain or other heavy duty means. Disc locks stop it from being wheeled away but it can still be picked up by two men and put in a van. Sorry I know that's not what you want to hear. I think if people are determined to steal a bike like the arses in the video, they will go to whatever lengths necessary.
It's not that it isn't what I want to hear, I think it would be naive of anyone to assume a disc lock, however substantial would completely prevent a bike being nicked. It's more a case of doing as much as I can to prevent a theft if I'm out and about and can't anchor the bike down.
Chain the sh*t out of it. Obstruct the entrance to where it's stored. Security lights, alarm etc etc Nothing is certain but you can certainly make it difficult
Trust me, there's not a huge amount more I could do to prevent it being nicked when the bike is at home, I just wanted to add a bit more security to it for when I was out and having to leave the bike, which doesn't happen often.
That vid make me feel sick and angry at the same time. Scum. At the same time, it still suprises me that folk will pay £10k+ for a bike but not even 1% of that on decent security. I've got a Roadlok coming thanks to comfysofa's link to a recent group buy on the s10000xr forum (now closed). It won't be the only device I use but is a convenient way to carry a decent disc lock. A lot of money, even with a big discount, but the best lock in the world is still rubbish if you don't actually use it...
You'll notice how I tactfully refrained from saying exactly how much it was... I usually buy independantly approved stuff - 'Sold Secure' or 'Secured by Design' - but they're UK institutions so not applicable to the Roadlok. BTW, if you're going for security lighting then forget about the movment sensor rubbish. These are little deterrent - who actually pays any attention when they light up ("it's just a cat")? Much better to have a carefull positioned low energy 'dusk to dawn' light on all night, which also makes life easier for any CCTV system you may have.
Disk locks, defeated by a cheap skateboard. Chains, Almax, Sold Secure or whatever, easily defeated by a portable angle grinder as in the video. The best you can do is slow them down, make it noisy so the attract attention and it's to much hassle. I'd use multiple chains, secured to something immovable.
If it's about slowing them down, why not get like three cheap disc locks positioned all around the disc so they have to cut them individually? Also maybe an alarmed one for the rear.
I don't bother with security, but there again I no longer live in a place that seems to be full of scum bags who steal and damage peoples property and seem to get away with it even if they go to court. I feel sorry for anyone who sees this happening to their pride and joy.
I have not see one before and it Looks good, but what is there to stop you just undoing the calliper bolts and taking it off?
There is a pin that locks through the disc. You'd not be able to just undo the caliper and remove the lock.
'Sold Secure' is not a brand name, it's an independant body set up by the Master Locksmiths Association. Bit like the Consumers Association only specialising in locks and security. Brands then have to pay to have their products tested and rated. Agree about slowing them down. Best way to do this is to use different types of locks so that they need different tools to attack them. I usually use a disc lock together with chain/padlock. 1.Disc lock on rear disc (less easy to attack) and more difficult to lift the rear end. Thru the rear sprocket sometimes the best option but can be a PITA to fit/remove - but more so for any potential thief.. 2.Chained to an immovable object, chain with little slack & off the ground - especially the padlock. Again, positioned so the lock is difficult to attack. Cheap cover to hide the bike from view D locks also an option provided it fits close enough with no room to position a prising tool in there. I'd only bother with an alarm if I was likely to be close by and it had the facility to notify activation via mobile phone. Otherwise they are a genuine PITA that eveybody but you will ignore. Be selfish, take a bit of time to secure your bike & they will move on to one belonging to somebody who hasn't bothered.
Those are your words and not mine. There is almost zero crime where I live, but as France is 3 times the size of the UK I can't speak for the whole of France. I have no doubt that there is plenty of crime in Paris, but that is not the whole of France. We park our bikes, leave our keys in the ignition, put the helmets on the tanks and wander off for lunch and the bikes are still there 2 hours later. I could never do that in the UK even when I lived in rural Norfolk.
I guess the reality for most of us is that we can't do that, so you are indeed very lucky. However, your posts just come across rather boastful and not exactly contributing to the thread. But then I guess there's no rule that any post has to contribute to the thread and I'd probably be letting everybody know the same thing on a discussion about bike security if I lived where you do.
Off topic Bob, but I saw this video doing the rounds yesterday. It happened to get flagged up as it was being largely ignored by the mainstream media. France has some real problems of other sorts.
Awaiting arrival of my roadlok device & was also part of the 51 people who did a group buy. Might need to get it sprayed a more obvious colour if it arrives in black.
