Sep 29, 2023 9:00 AM

The Best Locks for Protecting Your Bike or Ebike

Keep your bike (or ebike) yours with these iron-tough locks to secure your precious ride.

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Flexible bike lock draped over wooden bench

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Any bike lock is cheaper than replacing a bike stolen or hacked apart by thieves. So what are you waiting for? Regularly up-to-date statistics by well done studies are tough to come by in the bike industry, but as of 2019 more than 2 million bicycles are stolen every year in North America, and less than 5 percent of them are recovered. However brief you think that trip into the coffee shop or package store will be, a bike thief can hop onto your bike and pedal away even more quickly.

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. I tested more than a dozen locks on the streets of New City York, locking them up out of my sight outside shops, cafés, restaurants, and parks. None were broken open by thieves, and when I returned my bike was always right where I left it. Still, some locks instilled more faith than others, and some were easier to connect to lock-up points and transport than others. These are the best locks I've used, along with some tips for locking your bike up properly.

Make sure to cruise by our guides to the Best Electric Bicycles, Best Electric Cargo Bikes, Best Ebikes for Elderly Riders, Gear to Maintain Your Bike (and How to Do It), and Family Biking With Kids. Also, read our story on why you Should Not Put Your Kid on an Ebike. Prefer to stand up while you ride? Check out our guide to the Best Escooters.

Updated March 2024: We've added the OnGuard Bulldog STD, OnGuard Brute STD, and Hiplok D1000. We've also updated pricing and availability.

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Which Lock Should You Get?

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 mostly for scrambler-style ebikes that have very thick frames. Check out our Guide to Ebike Classes for more information on how ebikes differ from one another.

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 Best Affordable Lock
Kryptonite KryptoLok Standard
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
$53 at Amazon
Photograph: Matt Jancer
The Strongest Security
Abus Granit X-Plus 540
The Granit X-Plus 540 is pricey, but if you have an expensive bike (or one 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.
$86 at Amazon

Photograph: Matt Jancer
The Best Chain Lock
Abus Steel-O-Chain 9809
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.
$94 at Amazon
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.)
$96 at Walmart
$74 at Amazon
$98 at Backcountry

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.
$95 at Amazon
$130 at REI
Photograph: Backcountry
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.
$92 at Amazon
$95 at Backcountry

Photograph: Backcountry
Other Decent Locks I Tested
More Locks
Kryptonite New York U-Lock for $146: It loses 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 for $135 and a smaller version, the 18-mm-thick Fahgettaboudit Mini for $107.
Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 1090 for $110: This 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
Hiplok D1000 for $300: Hiplok claims this U-lock's angular bars defeat angle grinders by deflecting away the cutting blade, meaning the D1000 doesn't just rely on thickness for protection. Unlike Hiplok's bread-and-butter models, the D1000 isn't meant to hang from a belt or back pocket, so you have to find your own way of carrying it while you ride your bike. Weighing in at 4.2 pounds and comprising 20-millimeter-thick bars, it'd be too hefty to comfortably hang from a belt, anyway. Like the Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit Mini, its thick bars and small, 155x92-millimeter lock-up size make using it on thick-framed bikes or certain lock-up points difficult, but the sheer protection of this pricey U-lock makes it a viable option if these two issues don't present a problem to your use case.
On-Guard Brute STD for $54: This budget model is an attractive, affordable U-lock available in three sizes, from 4.5-by-10 inches to 3.5-by-5.5 inches, and weighs from 3.9 to 4.4 pounds. At its longest length, I had plenty of room to lock up a bike at relatively thick and awkward lock-up points, such as iron fences and light poles. Its 16.8-millimeter-thick bars are about as thick as those on U-locks twice as expensive, making this one of the more secure locks in this guide. The included bike mount is big and bulky, and it holds the lock so far out that it's easy to bump your knees or legs into it while pedaling, but it worked well enough without slipping or loosening over time.
Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 1016 for $95: Compared to our top Abus pick, it 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 Fahgettaboudit Chain for $137: 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.
Kryptonite KryptoLok Combo U-Lock for $67: While it isn't the toughest, most theft-proof U-lock on the market, it strikes the right balance of affordability and protection. For those of you who are always losing keys (you know who you are), this lock lets you choose your own four-digit passcode and avoid having to keep track of keys altogether. The action of the lock itself was smooth and trouble-free. Kryptonite rarely includes mounts with many of their locks. This one, though, does come with one, even though I find Kryptonite's mounts slip more than Abus'.
Abus Goose Lock for $80: Abus creatively attempted to solve one of the enduring downsides of chain locks. Even though most chains these days are wrapped in a nylon fabric coating, they can still dent and scratch bike frames when they're wrapped around them during riding. The Goose comes wrapped in a thick foam padding around a 6-mm-thick hardened steel chain to reduce bike frame bang-ups. Senior associate editor Adrienne So also enjoys how, unlike regular chains, the Goose Lock holds its shape when threaded through weirdly shaped racks, somewhat like if a chain were made of clay.
Hiplok E-DX for $160: Like the Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7 above, the E-DX will also protect your front wheel. 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.
Hiplok DXF for $100: 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 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.
TiGr Mini for $119: This is certainly a unique-looking lock. Tester Martin Cizmar has been using this flat, thin, titanium lock for about five years. While it has an independent rating equivalent to the OnGuard Bulldog or Kryptonite Evolution Mini-5, the TiGr costs several times more than either. You're paying for the weight reduction. The TiGr Mini weighs roughly a pound, versus about 2.5 pounds for the others. Also, the lock holder requires mounting vertically on the downtube, where you might rather put a water bottle holder.
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. Make sure to check out our guide to Best Bike Accessories and Why I Love Bike Security Bolts to protect your bike parts, too.

You Can Do Better
Bike Locks to Avoid
OnGuard Bulldog STD for $26: This thinner OnGuard has the same bulky frame-mount bracket as the OnGuard Brute STD referenced above, which can make it somewhat awkward to carry while riding (depending on your bike and the lock's placement). The main thing the Bulldog STD has going for it is its ridiculously low price, but protecting a machine that costs hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars warrants a step up to our top affordable pick, the Kryptonite KryptoLok Standard, which has 13-millimeter-thick bars like the Bulldog STD. The Kryptonite mount's fabric straps loosens over time, unlike the OnGuard mount, but it keeps the lock out of the way and can be mounted in more areas of the bike frame. Even if the KryptoLok costs double, that's still cheap.
Abus Ivera Steel-O-Flex 7200 for $65: The Ivera 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.
Hiplok Z Lock Combo Lock for $25: This super-cheap lock was just too impossibly thin and dainty to give me any confidence on the streets of New York. There's a steel core inside the nylon wrapping and, yeah, you can set a three-digit numerical passcode on the combination, but my worry is that a thief wouldn't need expensive, conspicuous, exotic tools to cut through the strap itself. If you're really, really averse to the idea of carrying any of the other locks in this guide, it's certainly better than using nothing, and it weighs a scant 2.5 ounces.
Abus 770A SmartX for $170: Somewhat uniquely, this 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.
Kryptonite KryptoLok 610 for $130 and Abus Bordo Granit XPlus 6500 for $172: I tested both these folding locks. They worked well, even if I don't personally prefer folding locks because they can be awkward to lock up if your bike isn't parked directly parallel to a lockup point, in my experience.

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.

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