The Best Locks for Protecting Your Bike or Ebike
Make life hard for thieves and shackle your precious with these U-locks and chains, plus tips on how best to secure it.
What Lock Should You Get?
Why I Recommend a U-Lock
The Best Affordable Lock
Kryptonite KryptoLok Standard
The Strongest Security
Abus Granit X-Plus 540
The Best Chain Lock
Abus Steel-O-Chain 9809
Leaving a bike unsecured outdoors is like leaving a stack of money on a bench with a sign that reads, "Don't take me." Bicycles (and electric bicycles) are amazing machines, but one of their downsides is that they're incredibly easy to steal. Because thieves are most often lazy opportunists, they target the bikes that look the least secure. More than 2 million bicycles are stolen every year in North America, and less than 5 percent of them are recovered.
While nothing can prevent a really determined thief from making off with your bike, you can deter many of them by securing your bike properly with a strong, well-designed lock. Locking up your bike takes only a few seconds, so you should always do so when it's unattended. These are the best locks I've used. I've also included some tips for locking your bike up properly.
Updated October 2022: We've added the Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit Chain 1410, Hiplok DXF, and Abus Ivera Steel-O-Flex 7200.
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Photograph: Abus
U-locks are the most secure. Thicker equals better, so a 16-millimeter U-lock is, all else being equal, a better bet than a 14-millimeter U-lock. They might be a little heavier, but they're not that heavy compared to a chain lock. That's why I focused on testing only the thicker ones on the market.
Chains are flexible, but heavy. A chain lock is easier to use on crowded bike racks (and with thicker or cheaper bikes) than a smaller U-lock. However, they are the heaviest type of lock. I tested the Evolution 4 1090 because it was "only" 6.1 pounds and had decent security (though not as good as the Kryptonite New York U-Lock). I tend to use chains for scrambler-style ebikes that have very thick frames, such as the Super 73 S2.
Folding locks are compact, but not as secure. The pins that bind the links are weak spots that can be drilled out. However, they're compact when mounted and a good option if you mainly use your bike to lock up quickly at the convenience store or coffee shop. I do have to note, however, that I would not use them to lock up a bike all day and that it's also easy to mount a U-lock on your down tube or carry something like the Hiplok on your body.
Photograph: Amazon
The KryptoLok's U-bar isn't quite as thick as my other favorite locks, which means it wouldn't take as long for a thief to cut through it, but it's almost as secure. For $35, it's a great deal for a U-lock, which is my favorite type of bike lock, and at only 2.9 pounds it's also relatively lightweight. It comes with Kryptonite's Transit FlexFrame bracket, which lets you mount the lock to your bike's frame for easy transportation around town. I'm not a fan of the fabric mounting straps, as they can loosen over time, but at this low price any mounting bracket is welcome. Most of the more affordable locks don't come with one at all.
$67 at Walmart
The Granit X-Plus 540 is pricey, but if you have an expensive bike (or you just love it a lot!), you should consider this top-end model. Both ends of the U-bar lock into the cylinder, so a thief would need to grind through the lock twice—once on either side of the top curve—thus doubling their time spent hunched over a wailing angle grinder. The Abus' metal bars are 13 millimeters thick compared to our previous top pick, the 16-millimeter-thick Kryptonite New York, but the Abus' mounting bracket is more solid since it relies on screws to grip the bike's frame tight, rather than the Kryptonite's slip-prone fabric straps. The Abus is also lighter at 3.3 pounds, versus the Kryptonite's 4.5 pounds
$170 at REI
The Steel-O-Chain 9809 strikes a good balance between weight and utility. Chain links might be a little harder to use with angle grinders because it's more difficult to hold the chain steady. They're also more flexible than a U-lock and easier to maneuver on a crowded bike rack. It's 4.5 feet long and 6.8 pounds, while also being pretty secure, with 9-millimeter-thick square chain links. Like all bike chains these days, the links are wrapped in fabric to keep the metal pieces from scratching your bike's paint or finish.
Photograph: Backcountry
A Lock That Protects Your Front Wheel Too
Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7 With Flex Cable
The New-U Evolution Mini-7 locks in two places in the key cylinder, so a bike thief would need to make two cuts to break through it. The tubes are 13 millimeters thick, instead of the Kryptonite New York's 16 millimeters, and being a "Mini," the loop of the U is narrower. However, the included cable can be threaded through your front wheel, so you can secure your bike without carrying a second lock. (See the end of this article for more tips on how to properly lock your bike.)
Photograph: REI
A Chain You Can Wear
Hiplok Gold
The Hiplok Gold is a 4.8-pound bike chain that doubles as a belt. There's no need to carry it in a bag or wrap it around the top tube of your frame. As long as your waist measures between 30 and 44 inches, just adjust it to fit your body and wear it while you ride. When you're ready to lock your bike, the chain attached to the belt is quite secure. Here's a video showing how it fits/works. The bike lock itself is 33.5 inches long—a little short, but it should work in most situations.
Easiest Lock to Carry
Hiplok DX
Hiplok's strongest U-lock doesn't need to be mounted to your bike when you aren't using it. It has clips that let you hook it over a belt or a backpack strap. It's 14 millimeters thick and weighs only 2.4 pounds, but that's because it's a very small U—2.8 centimeters shorter than the already short Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7 and 5.3 centimeters shorter than the Kryptonite New York.
You might not be able to loop the lock through the frame and rear wheel to attach both to your lock-up point, especially if that point is a thick post or bike rack with particularly thick bars. If you run into that problem, use the Hiplok with a chain, a second lock, or an add-on cable threaded through your front wheel.
Other Locks I Tested
Kryptonite's Evolution Series 4 1090 ($92) was a fine chain, but the Abus I picked as the best chain offers better length, security, and weight. The 1090's 90-centimeter length was a bit short, especially when a chain lock's main advantage over the U-lock should be a greater reach.
The Evolution Series 4 1016 ($98) has the same 10-millimeter six-sided chain links, but it's 160 centimeters long—closer to the Abus' length—and 3 pounds heavier.
Kryptonite's New York U-Lock ($134) was my previous top pick, but it lost out to the Abus Granit X-Plus 540 because the Kryotonite's mounting bracket uses straps that can loosen over time or rough roads. Still, it's a very strong lock. Like the Abus, the revised New-U version I tested locks on both ends of the U-bar. It weighs a hefty 4.5 pounds, thanks to its 16-millimeter-thick bars. Kryptonite makes a longer LS version ($145) and a smaller version, the 18-mm-thick Fahgettaboudit Mini ($148).
The Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit Chain ($115) is a 10.8-pound monster made of 14-millimeter, six-sided chain links and a separate 15-millimeter shackle lock. It's very tough, but like with most chains, I recommend them more for locking up in regular spots versus lugging with you on rides. One downside is that the cloth covering doesn't cover the whole chain, so it could scratch the paint on your frame.
The Abus 770A SmartX ($200) U-lock incorporates a 100-decibel alarm that detects tampering and can be controlled through a mobile app, but it retails for up to $279, and its U is also a little thin at 13 millimeters.
The Hiplok E-DX ($145) will also protect your front wheel, like the Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7 above. It has a 10-millimeter-thick chain and a 14-millimeter-thick U-lock to secure that front wheel, but it weighs 7.7 pounds. Carrying that much weight just sucks.
This Hiplok DXF ($100) is a solid addition to Hiplok's product line. It's identical to the DX that nabs one of our top spots in this guide, except it comes with a 2.2-ounce bracket that mounts to your bike's frame so that you don't have to carry it on your body while riding. The bracket is very secure because, unlike those from Kryptonite and Abus, it mounts to the water bottle location using bolts. But for some ebikes, such as the Propella, it won't fit, because the battery will get in the way and there's nowhere else you can mount it. And if you want to also mount a water bottle to your bike, you'll have to make some tough decisions.
Abus' Ivera Steel-O-Flex 7200 ($65) is an interesting one, not least because it's suspiciously cheap. It's a 22-millimeter-thick cable, but rather than comprising six-sided hex links like most of the other chains in this guide, the guts of the Steel-O-Flex consist of a braided steel cable wrapped in a sort-of-flexible steel mesh shell. Abus (and some reviewers) thought that it's so thick it'd be tough for a thief to get a bolt cutter's jaws over it. But a serious thief will just use an angle grinder. For a chain, it's very light at 1.5 pounds, but other options (both chains and U-locks) will give you more protection.
A much lighter lock is the Hiplok Z-Lok ($12). I haven't tested this, but senior editor Adrienne So stores one under her bike seat for emergencies. Any lock is better than no lock.
I tested the Kryptonite KryptoLok 610 ($130) and Abus Bordo Granit XPlus 6500 ($140) folding locks. They worked well, even if I don't personally prefer folding locks.
Photograph: Kryptonite
How to Use a Lock
Tips on Locking Up
Whichever lock you go with, make sure it can loop around your lock-up point—a bike rack, a secure fence—and through the triangular part of your bike frame, plus the spokes of your rear wheel. The photo above shows this method. Don't forget to remove accessories before you leave your bike.
Thread the lock through the loose points. Bikes are easy to disassemble, so make sure you thread the lock through the rear triangle in the frame, as shown above, and that both wheels are secured to the lock-up point. It's very easy for thieves to steal an unsecured front wheel, especially if the wheel has a quick-release skewer. Some people use two locks; you can also buy separate cables to combine with any of the locks I mentioned.
Keep your U-lock away from the ground. Thieves like to take a bottle jack, normally used for jacking up a car, and place it inside the U. With enough pumping, the jack can break the lock open. If you get the U-lock away from the ground, it makes it hard for them to do this. You also want to get a U-lock that has as little extra space inside the U as possible. The less extra space, the less room there is for thieves to jam crowbars or other tools through it.
Inspect your lock-up spot before you decide to park there. Thieves are known to dislodge poles and signposts from the ground and then place them back in the hole. All they have to do is wait for you to lock up your bike and leave, then they can lift the post out of the hole to free your bike—no tools or noise required.
Check out bike racks, too, especially if you see tape wrapped around them. Bike thieves are known to saw through racks and then wrap the cut section in tape to hide their work. When bike owners walk away from a locked bike, the thief can yank the tape off, pry the severed bike rack apart enough to slide your lock out, and be on their way.
Matt Jancer is a staff writer for WIRED who focuses on reviewing outdoor gear. Previously, he spent a decade as a freelance writer covering automobiles, motorcycles, and lifestyle stories for magazines. Some of his longest gigs were at Car and Driver, Outside, Esquire, Playboy, and Popular Mechanics.
Writer and Reviewer
Topicsbuying guideselectric bikescyclingBicyclesShopping
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