More than 230,000 bicycles involuntarily change hands in Germany every year. Say they are stolen. A good lock can help with that. Warentest knows which theft protection is good for what.
Hardly any place is safe, bicycles disappear from work or pubs, from basements or from backyards. Even if the number of thefts has fallen slightly – from around 292,000 in 2018 to 230,000 in 2021 – it can be assumed that the number of unreported cases is significantly higher. It’s always annoying for those affected. The safe connection of the bike is therefore also a must.
Stiftung Warentest examined 24 bicycle locks. In the test, 12 locks with a medium security class competed against 12 with a high security level. The latter are significantly more expensive at 100 to 200 euros and, at up to 4.7 kilograms, are usually much heavier than those in the medium protection class. Since the price ranges are sometimes very large, the prices of the desired lock should definitely be compared on the Internet. All of the models from the four major suppliers represented in the test, Abus, Axa, Kryptonite and Trelock, fulfilled the promise of high security. But they also cost up to 200 euros and are often heavy.
But even some middle-class locks proved to be extremely difficult to pick and also scored points with less weight and better handling. The test winner, the “Kryptonite Keeper 785” chain lock with a medium level of protection, weighs only 1.3 kilograms, is available for a reasonable 58 euros and is the test winner with an overall rating of “good” (1.6).
Apart from that, Warentest can recommend locks of all categories. For example the “Kryptonite New York Lock M18-WL” (1.7) U-lock or the “Bordo Granit 6500K/90 BK SH” folding lock (1.9). Both are available for around 170 euros.
Three locks, on the other hand, were cracked in a flash. As a result, the “Trelock BC 380” and “Axa Clinch” chain locks and the “Abus Bordo Lite” folding lock received a “poor”. Three models contained higher levels of pollutants in the coating of the chain or bracket (“Abus Steel-O-Chain 8807K/110 BK”, “Abus Granit City-Chain XPlus 1060/110” and “Axa Newton Pro 190”. These too were consequently rated “inadequate”.
(This article was first published on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.)
