I have two his/her Radrovers. The wife hardy rides hers and I use both to work commute (switch off weekly to keep the wear/tear/mileage about the same). I'm lucky to be able to store my RR in my server room on the 2nd floor and charge the battery during the day. I do travel with my RR and sometimes have to leave the bikes on the vehicle racks overnight at hotels if I can't take them inside the room. I use a layered security approach depending on what I can carry and how worried I am about a location.
CycolTrac Boomerang GPS: https://boomerangbike.com/
I have the two units on the down-tube of both Radrovers with a Zefal DT down-tube armor frame guard (Amazon, $18) protecting them from water and road debris. Boomerang uses the Verizon cell network to track both bikes on your smartphone or internet. You can also arm with an audible alarm with email/text alerts with the smartphone app (cant do with computer webpage). Alarm is pretty sensitive and you will be getting a lot of alerts if you secure at a busy bike rack. I even remove the GPS tracker and place in my car as a poor man's LoJack when traveling without the bikes (+20,000 miles per year on avg traveling in southwest).
15 foot 12mm plastic coated cable with round discus Master Lock. I use this if I need to make a quick stop and the bikes are never out of sight. It is very light and fits in my rack bag or back pack and it is long enough to secure 2-3 bikes together. I run the cable in-between front and rear tires because of the quick release tires and through the hole of the bike helmets so I don't have to carry helmets around.
Two OnGuard Rottweiler Armored cable locks:
http://www.onguardlock.com/armoredcables/
They are too large and bulky to try and use on a normal ride unless you drape it over your shoulder. I had these for several years and secure the (e)bikes to each other on the vehicle bike rack when making a longer stop (out of sight stop) or when traveling out of town. Very easy to put on and I like they are so large and visible. Just a pain to store anywhere except in the trunk of a vehicle.
Xena XUL 210 with 110 dB alarm & Xena XSU-310 18mm u-locks
XUL-210:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
XSU-310:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
Most major U-bolt brands made for bikes all had an u-tube video on how to defeat them (picking locks, bold cutters, freezing locks, hammers, etc...). I couldn't find any info during my search for defeating the Xena U-bolts. It has a plastic coating to prevent scratching the paint and you must cut it twice to remove because of the lock design. Took my time on eBay and purchased both locks for around the same price of one Kyptonite New York Fahgettaboudit 18mm.
Xena XC-14 14mm 5 foot security chain: https://www.amazon.com/Xena-XC14-Xc...878&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=Xena+security+chain
Way too thick and heavy for daily use around town. I whip this out if I'm really worried about an overnight stay at a hotel with the bikes on the rack (sometimes thieves target out of state vehicles at hotels). Any chain in the +14mm size seems to stop every tool in the thief's arsenal except a grinder. I figure the 14mm chain secured with the two 18mm Xena U-bolts along with the Boomerang GPS would give me time and alert me if there was an issue.
Dual Bike Cover (Amazon, $46):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WENDUS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use this only with the bike rack if:
- I run into bad weather on the hwy
- keep the dew/frost off the bikes in the morning when on the vehicle rack
- if I need drive a ways on really dusty roads
- out of sight, out of mind overnight at a hotel
It only takes a few minutes to put on, large enough to encase both RR and Saris bike rack completely, and has translucent panels near both wheels for your brake lights. It also folds pretty small for easy vehicle storage (about the space of small twin size pillow). No way to secure the cover to the bike or rack unless to wrap everything in a +20ft cable lock.
Very nice post. You do a lot to secure your bike. I've heard nothing but bad things about the Boomerang, and given Court's video demonstration of it, it is pretty awful. I hope when I get my Sherlock tracker in a couple weeks that it works the way it was advertised, it is far cheaper than the Boomerang, with features that make the Boomerang obsolete. I equate the boomerang to a cable lock, it doesn't do much for someone actually willing to steal your bike. It is so simply unscrewed off the bike and tossed aside, and looks like it would take 1-2 whacks with a small wrench to destroy it.
The plastic coated cable you know is definitely not secure, but is certainly great for when you can see your bike since you can lock it to really anything with such a cable. Unfortunately even Masterlock's highest end locks are easily defeated. You can check out the Youtube channel of Wayne Winton to see a lot of security items tested including Abus. Through his testing, it can be seen that Abus is the best at creating hardened steel with the best weight to strength ratios. The only security chains that are tougher are double the weight if not more!
The Armored Cables you mentioned look pretty cool for a similar situation where you can see your bike. Unfortunately, they are easily defeated and while it may deter some thieves, it definitely won't have your mind at ease.
Unfortunately for Xena, this customer's experience ended in a swiftly and easily stolen motorcycle and no response from Xena customer service about the lock left behind in 2 pieces. Definitely not a company I would give my money to:
https://mandrado.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/don-t-buy-xena-disc-lock-with-alarm/
With regards to the Xena U-lock, I did not do a ton of research, but I don't think they had the best security in mind. The U-lock is made of Stainless steel, which is great for corrosion resistance, but not much else in security. Stainless Steel is brittle, and they don't harden their Stainless Steel locks either. To me, it seems like it would be very susceptible to ice spray attacks and bolt cutters, despite their marketing. Stainless Steel works great for many things, but case hardened steel using a high end process is going to be stronger than Stainless Steel, by a ton.
I am skeptical about the chain as well, it is also not made of hardened steel, so no matter how thick it is, it will be cut. Also, having that chain is useless without an extremely high end lock to loop them together. I did a lot of research on Padlocks, and there weren't any that had my confidence. With that chain, all you need is to defeat the padlock. Even Masterlock's highest security padlock is easily cropped, and the locking core can be picked by anyone who spends 5 minutes on youtube, really simple and a joke among locksmiths.
The bike cover is cool, I thought about getting one but too much hassle for me.
Overall though, for someone on an average budget, you gave some great suggestions. Not everyone is willing to spend almost $300 per lock and a couple hundred on security bolts like I did. But really, in efficient markets and industries, you always get what you pay for. Locks and security is a huge industry, so discount options will discount the security level as well, irregardless of what their marketing department claims.
With the Abus locks, the Extreme chain is indeed quite heavy, but the chain with the integrated lock is highly secure compared to ones without integrated locks. The locking cores on Abus are great, very hard to pick. There is a youtube video of someone picking the U-lock, but it took him over 5 minutes with an extremely specialized tool specifically for that exact lock. Also, he used the key to the lock first to help him pick it.
In my opinion, if you Pitlock your components, you could use just the Extreme U-lock from Abus, and know that your bike will be the most secure one at least in your area. The U-lock can only be cut with an angle grinder or something else crazy like that, both sides have to be cut, so really it is just as plausible for someone to take an angle grinder to the bike rack as it is for them to take it to your U-lock. The bike rack, sign, or pole, would likely be faster to cut through. The U-lock is heavy, but my girlfriend uses it no problem and she is like 110 pounds. We do have electric bikes here, so hauling that U-lock is quite easy.
When I ride alone, I use the CityChain as it is secure enough for being left alone for short periods, and not too heavy. When she rides alone she uses the U-lock which is the most secure. When we ride together, we bring along the 68 inch Extreme chain so we can lock both of our bikes together to those huge telephone poles for the best security. If we were to ever leave the bikes for more than an hour or so out of sight, I would likely use all 3 of my locks.
