Bicycle lock

A bicycle that is not secured with a lock is easy prey for thieves: in the blink of an eye, someone has hopped on it and ridden away, or stopped briefly with a small truck and thrown the bicycle inside. After all, petty criminals love to do business with stolen bicycles. A bicycle lock is therefore an absolute must for every bicycle owner!

How to Lock Your Bicycle Correctly with a Bicycle Lock

A bicycle is secured most safely when it is attached to a fixed object, for example, a bicycle rack, a street lamp, a tree, or a park bench. This way, it cannot simply be taken and thrown into a truck. Ideally, you should not only secure the frame but also guide your bicycle lock through several spokes of the wheel. Bicycles that are particularly at risk of theft, for example because they are very valuable or are parked in an area where bicycles are frequently stolen, are even safer with two locks, preferably of different types. If someone wants to crack the lock and steal the bicycle, they now have to do double the work – most bicycle thieves would rather look for an easier victim.

Ideally, always park your bicycle in busy places where everything is bright and open. The more remote and darker your bicycle parking spot is, the more time and peace a potential bicycle thief has to crack your bicycle lock.

The Different Types of Bicycle Locks: Which Bicycle Lock is the Safest?

There are numerous different types of bicycle locks, all of which have their own advantages and disadvantages. Many of these bicycle locks are now available with modern technological extras that increase security even further. For example, locks are available that release a foul-smelling gas or generate an alarm sound if someone attempts to break them open.

Cable Locks / Chain Locks

A chain lock is only as secure as the chain it consists of, or, of course, the lock with which the chain is closed. There are very heavy steel chains that even experienced thieves can hardly cut through. They would then have to try to crack the lock, but they will probably look for an easier victim instead.

Chain locks are quite practical; depending on the length, they allow the bicycle to be attached to trees or lanterns, but particularly thick chains are, of course, also particularly heavy. One option is to store them in the bicycle basket.

U-Locks

U-locks are solid and are considered the safest bicycle locks available on the market. They consist of a hard steel shackle and a locking cylinder. It is almost impossible to simply cut open a U-lock. If someone wants to open it without a key, the lock must be cracked with a high degree of know-how.

However, a U-lock also has disadvantages, because the shackle is inflexible and usually too narrow to attach the bicycle to a street lamp or a tree, for example. In addition, U-locks are heavy and therefore sometimes a bit awkward to transport. It is best to buy a U-lock that includes brackets for the bicycle frame, so that the solid lock can be transported directly on the bicycle.

Folding Locks

Folding locks are comparable to chain locks, but are usually somewhat lighter and therefore more practical. They usually have a bracket that can be mounted on the bicycle frame, so the folding lock is always on the bicycle. Folding locks are usually not easy to cut through, but an experienced lock picker will unfortunately take the detour via lock picking, and in this respect, a folding lock – like any bicycle lock – is only as secure as its lock.

Frame Locks

A frame lock is a small circle on the bicycle frame whose metal shackle is placed around the wheel, blocking the spokes and thus acting as an immobilizer. Many bicycles are already sold with a permanently mounted frame lock, but you can also retrofit a bicycle with one.

With a frame lock, you cannot attach your bicycle to objects, but can only prevent someone from getting on it and riding away. The infamous delivery truck, however, could easily take a bicycle secured only by a frame lock.

Cable Locks

A cable lock protects your bicycle from opportunistic thieves. No one can hop on a bicycle secured with a cable lock and simply ride away. However, if someone is intent on stealing your bicycle at all costs, the cable lock represents only a minor obstacle. It can easily be cut with a bolt cutter, making it a rather insecure bicycle lock.

There are also armored or coiled cable locks that are particularly long. With these, you can even attach your bicycle to thicker trees or secure multiple bicycles. Cable locks are lightweight and inexpensive – but they really only offer protection against opportunistic theft.

The Locksmith Munich Opens Your Bicycle Lock If You No longer Have a Key

You ride your bicycle a lot and gladly, even to important appointments, but now a very annoying mess has happened to you: just as you wanted to unlock your bicycle lock to pack up the lock and ride away, your key broke off right in the middle of the lock. The lock is now useless and the bicycle is trapped in the lock – what should you do now?

The Amper Aufsperrdienst can certainly help you out here, because our professional locksmiths open locks of all kinds, including cylinder locks in front doors and, of course, bicycle locks.

Give us a call and we will be there for you immediately, because as an emergency locksmith service we can be reached and are ready for action around the clock and every day of the year. We are usually with our customers within about 30 minutes and begin the work, which rarely takes longer than a few minutes.

Amper Aufsperrdienst: Your Reliable Locksmith with a Fixed Price Guarantee

Our customers appreciate both our fast arrival time and our reliable availability, as well as our impeccable work, because in almost all cases we open your lock completely without damage. Furthermore, we are known and popular for our fair and transparent pricing policy: we are happy to inform you of the exact price for our service even before you place the order. Simply tell us on the phone exactly what happened, and the experienced and expert locksmith on the other end of the line will immediately make you a fixed-price offer.

You can rely 100% on the fact that the price quoted on the phone will be exactly what appears on the invoice. There are never any nasty surprises with Amper Aufsperrdienst!

If you need help from a trustworthy locksmith service because your bicycle lock is jammed or you have lost or broken the key, Amper Aufsperrdienst is there for you at fair prices and around the clock! Call us – we will gladly help you!