Location, location, location: If possible, lock your bike to a secure rack in a high traffic area – it’s not worth the hassle of attracting attention, and this alone will keep away many opportunistic thieves.
Install bike racks over weaker anchor points. Bike racks should be securely anchored and bolted to the concrete, but this isn’t always the case. I recently came across a rack locally that had loose bolts at the base, so be careful.
Lock type and location: There are many ways to lock your bike securely, some of which depend on the type of lock you have and the bike you want to lock.
With a regular-sized U-lock, you would usually lock your bike around the frame and rear wheel if you have the space. There are ways to lock just the rear wheel, but this can leave the rest of your bike vulnerable. You should keep your U-lock off the ground, especially on concrete or asphalt, to prevent thieves from breaking it with a hammer or using a leverage device like a tire jack or iron.
If you have quick release wheels, consider a dual lock setup like the Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7 With Flex Cable (although this is not a grinder resistant lock), or you could use multiple locks, such as a grinder resistant lock on the frame and rear wheel, and a chain or cable lock on the front wheel.
Chain locks are effective at securing both the frame and wheels, but they do have their drawbacks. Chain locks are usually very heavy, especially the thicker locks that are resistant to heavy bolt cutters. They also generally aren’t as grinder-resistant as our top picks. Again, keeping the chain off the ground helps prevent thieves from cutting the bolts.
Security Tags and Trackers: One of the key tricks for tracking your bike is to use a Tile or Apple AirTag hidden along the frame or under the seat to monitor its location. Unfortunately, this method has some real limitations.
Both AirTags and Tile devices are limited by the range of their Bluetooth antennas. Tile devices come with a range of up to 400 feet for the Tile Pro, while the Tile Mate and Slim offer a range of 250 feet. Apple doesn’t specify the range of the AirTags, but it’s also limited by Bluetooth, with most tests putting it at around 30 meters or 100 feet.
Both AirTags and Tile offer tracking capabilities when out of range. AirTags can connect via Find My Network and be tracked anonymously using someone else’s Apple device, while Tile devices can similarly track the device’s last known location via an Android phone, though this is far from perfect. Neither offers real-time GPS tracking, and both systems require another device for tracking.
AirTags support Ultra Wideband technology for Precision Locating (supported on iPhone 11 and later), which can pinpoint your device’s location more accurately than a Tile tracker. On the downside, as a safety measure, AirTags chime when they are away from your phone, potentially alerting thieves to their presence.
There are also real-time GPS trackers, such as Invoxia, which require an annual subscription fee. These devices are expensive but can be more effective because they don’t rely on Bluetooth and use real-time GPS location tracking. They are usually larger and harder to hide than AirTags or Tile.
What about smart locks? Smart locks are relatively new to the bike lock scene and haven’t made much waves yet. Smart locks like I Lock It Plus (which we didn’t test) offer handy features like keyless unlocking with your smartphone and a smart alarm that can screech up to 110 decibels. That said, you’ll probably carry your key with you most of the time on your bike rides, and alarms can go off accidentally, which could cause more problems than they solve.
Even the more expensive smart locks we’ve seen aren’t grinder-resistant, so you’re sacrificing security in exchange for convenience. As mentioned above, we recommend making sure the lock you choose has been independently security-rated by Sold Secure or ART to ensure you’re getting the best protection through objective testing.
