Top Safety Locks for Your Bike

Bike theft isn't just a drain on your money. It’s a matter of safety. Being stranded without your bike could put you in uncomfortable or dangerous situations. It might just mean calling an Uber and explaining why you're late to work. But you can make thieves work harder with a durable bike lock like our top pick, the Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7.

It's not at the top of the heap for physical strength, but its anti-theft protection program can help pay for a new bike. See how it compares to other popular bike locks in our full comparison below

This bicycle lock comes with a Sold Secure Gold rating, which means it provides excellent resistance against run-of-the-mill tools like bolt-cutters and hacksaws. No lock is immune to destructive attacks, but thieves looking to boost your ride will need extra patience or bigger tools.

The OnGuard Brute is technically a tougher lock than the Kryptonite Evolution, but it doesn't include a looped cable for your wheels. Although a cable doesn't offer as much protection as a U-lock, it helps keep someone from disabling your ride by taking the wheels off.

Kryptonite Evolution includes a mounting bracket for easy storage, and it comes with three keys so you can keep spares at home and the office. It's a good idea to register your keys with Kryptonite's Key Safe program if you ever need replacements.

In addition to a lifetime warranty, you can sign up for anti-theft protection to pay you up to $2,500 if someone steals your bike. This applies to the base cost of your bike or your insurance deductible. Unfortunately, it's not a free service with this particular lock, but it’s still a good deal if you have an expensive bicycle:

• $14.99 for one year of coverage
• $28.99 for three years of coverage—just under $10 a year
• $34.99 for five years of coverage—about $7 a year

Overall, the Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7  is a solid option for protecting your bike. Its 13-mm shackle puts up a fight against destructive tools and costs less than $100. Still, we wish it was more affordable.

While folding locks tend to be less sturdy than U-bolts, the ABUS Bordo Granit still scores a Sold Secure Gold rating, putting it roughly on the same level as the Kryptonite Evolution. This level of security comes at a premium—the ABUS Bordo Granit XPlus is one of the most expensive locks on our list, costing around $212. (But it’s often on sale on Amazon.)

Abus's hardened steel bars are about half the thickness of the U-locks on our list, making them slightly more vulnerable to hacksaw attacks. Still, this is a fair trade-off for having a smaller size, and the Gold rating goes a long way toward making this lock worthwhile.

This folding bike lock's tamper-resistant ABUS XPlus disc cylinder helps it resist lockpicking. It comes with two keys and a Code Card to register your keys with ABUS for easy replacement.

The biggest drawback is that ABUS doesn't offer an anti-theft guarantee like Kryptonite and OnGuard. This means that you should probably insure your bike to keep the replacement cost down if someone steals it.

Overall, we like the ABUS Bordo Granit XPlus 6500 for its small and durable design. It's not a perfect alternative to U-locks, but it is one of the most secure folding locks on the market.

We love that the locking mechanism uses a four-bolt system to keep the shackle in place. This means that drilling through the mechanism will take more time than tackling the shackle.

OnGuard also offers an anti-theft program like Kryptonite does but imposes a ton of restrictions on what qualifies you for a payout of up to $5,000 toward your losses. For example, the company won't pay out if the thief uses power tools. Still, OnGuard's anti-theft offer costs less than Kryptonite's:

• $1 for one year of coverage
• $10 for two years of coverage—$5 a year
• $15 for three years of coverage—$5 a year

Unfortunately, there isn't an option for five years, so Kryptonite is better for long-term coverage. Plus, OnGuard coverage is available only in the United States—excluding New York state—compared to Kryptonite's 31 countries. You can't even register online—you must mail a check. Ugh. 

While OnGuard offers a lifetime warranty, the company's customer service website isn't great. There's an email support form, a key registration page, and a tiny FAQ page, but nothing else.

We think the OnGuard Brute is a great budget bike lock, but you shouldn't expect much from the company's customer service department.

The Fahgettaboudit chain has impressive 14-mm links—thicker than the Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7. The shackle on the included New York disc lock is also substantial at 15 mm.

It's no wonder this bike lock earns the Sold Secure Diamond certification. We'll keep pointing out that no lock is impenetrable to a determined thief with enough patience and the right tools. But this lock might especially scare away thieves with less determination.

You can wrap the 5-foot chain around your frame and wheels without carrying an extra cable around. Unfortunately, all of that heavy metal weighs over 15 pounds—almost as much as two gallons of milk. This is too heavy for a backpack and so bulky that it might get in the way while riding.

Because this is a Kryptonite lock, you can sign up for the anti-theft protection offer and gain up to $5,000 of coverage if your bike disappears. The Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit Chain 1415 is our favorite chain lock, but the size and weight make it impractical for folks wanting a portable bike lock. It's also expensive compared to U-locks, costing well over $100.

While FoldyLock's in-house Silver rating isn't as robust as the Gold-rated ABUS Bordo Granit, it's respectable for a folding lock and better than a flimsy cable. (Despite its popularity, it's not officially Sold Secure Silver certified like the FoldyLock Mini, FoldyLock Clipster, and FoldyLock Classic.)

The FoldyLock Compact comes in various colors to match your bike. You don't have to settle for other brands' default black or yellow. We also like that it sells for around $85 on Amazon and occasionally hits the Amazon Lightning Deals page for just over $70.

FoldyLock's three-year warranty is a tad better than the two-year coverage from ABUS but nowhere near the lifetime warranty offered by Kryptonite and OnGuard. Overall, we like the FoldyLock Compact bike lock for its small form factor, lightweight, and the extra personality of its colorful variants. While it's suitable for cheaper bikes, we don't think it's enough for expensive high-end brands.

The Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7 is our pick for the best bike lock because it's not too expensive and comes with an extra cable to protect your wheels. While it's not as durable as the OnGuard Brute and Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit, it's good enough to keep most opportunist thieves at bay.

While a bike lock is a good tool for protecting your wheels, we recommend pairing it with insurance and registering it with an organization like Project 529 to improve your chances of recovery if stolen.

We recommend spending between $50 to $200 on a bike lock with a Sold Secure Diamond or Gold rating.

Considering your ride may easily cost over $1,000, it's a relatively small price to pay for better investment protection. We suggest checking with your insurance company to see if they cover bicycles under homeowners, renters, or personal property plans.

U-locks (sometimes called d-locks) are generally the strongest bike lock because the thick, u-shaped shackle is too big for most bolt cutters and takes longer to cut with a hacksaw. No bike lock is immune to destructive attacks from power tools, angle grinders, and car jacks, so choosing a Sold Secure-rated lock can help deter and delay a thief.

Heavy chain locks come in second place for toughness but are bulky and weigh too much to carry on your bike. Folding bike locks are the third toughest, but work best as an alternative to smaller chains and cables.

A lightweight chain or cable lock provides minimal protection against tools, and you should never use them as the only security on your bicycle. In particular, cable locks are notoriously easy to cut with most tools. They're a good backup for securing your wheels in addition to a u-lock, folding lock, or heavy chain lock.

Sold Secure ratings from strongest to weakest are Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The Sold Secure Diamond Bicycle rating is a recent response to bike thieves resorting to high-powered tools like an angle grinder.

The thickness depends on the type of lock and level of security you want. We recommend u-locks and chains with a minimum thickness of 13 mm. For folding locks, we recommend at least 5 mm.

We learned about the durability of these bike locks through certifications from industry leaders like Sold Secure and the ART Foundation.

We made an exception for the FoldyLock Compact, which lacks a rating from either organization—because other FoldyLock models do. We believe that all of the locks in our bike lock review offer something unique—whether it’s toughness, portability, value, or some combination of the three.

We also read customer reviews to see how these locks perform in real-world conditions. There's a caveat—plenty of reviews note thieves breaking even the most durable locks. But bike locks, like all home security devices, won't stop someone with enough resolve to steal your bike. Learn more about how we approach reviewing and testing in our full methodology.

• What To Do If Your Bike Is Stolen—and How To Prevent It
• Best Bike Helmets for Kids
• Steps to Starting A Neighborhood Watch Program
• Biking Safety Tips: 31 Ideas for Staying Safe While Biking