Based on a hundred hours of reading up on chains and u-locks, I have found a certain level of confidence in ratings at SoldSecure.Com out of the UK, which also evaulates American products. I do not live in a high-crime area so I am lucky but here is my take on bikes. Lock them at all times unless they are next to your bed. Plenty of opportunists shop at Walgreens. Everyone here is riding a motorized bike so for most of us, a six-pound chain evaluated as Gold by SoldSecure can add a bit of reassurance that your bike is safe. Any lock or chain can be cut some how, but there are too many people that lock their bikes with lousy Wally locks for a thief to want to mess with a SoldSecure rated lock. I have seen videos of some of these locks/chains standing up to .357 rounds and being used for towing military tanks. Even someone with an angle grinder knows that there is something easier somewhere else, especially since they generally know how much pawn shop owners are going to give them for a bike anyway. Yeah... twenty bucks is about right. Also... the vast majority of pros know that a bike over a thousand dollars is a felony theft in most states. Outside of San Francisco, please do yourself a favor and refrain from using a clever sticker. You may get your bike stolen just because the thief wants to call your bluff. You might as well get one of those stickers that says, "This bike is protected by this sticker." Instead, find ways to make your bike less desirable for a thief. Perhaps you don't need to deck it out in a whole roll of duct tape like a New Yorker but a ten dollar engraving pen from Amazon will give you a chance to engrave your name, number, email, some silly registration number you made up, your girlfriends name with a heart around it, etc. Thieves don't want to show up at a pawn shop with a bike like that. I have done a ton review research on u-locks and chains if you are on the market for them. I am ordering next month.
