Abus Granit X-Plus D-lock

I think it's a pity that bicyclists are always told to never leave a nice bike secured in a public place. We don't tell motorists that they have to drive an old, cheap, beat-up, crummy-looking car if they want to park it in a public place!

Part of the reason seems to be that the law treats bike theft much differently than auto theft. I recently saw a video on You-Tube about a prolific bike thief in the UK, who stole over 100 expensive bikes, mostly at railway stations. This guy was actually caught and arrested on camera. He later received a 6-month suspended sentence and was barred from railway stations.

I wonder: If I had stolen more than 100 expensive cars, would I have received a 6-month suspended sentence? NO WAY JOSE! I would probably be looking at 25-to-life in Hard Rock City.

I have one of these, they are good locks but I have noticed the ends of the U that fit into the keyed base have a habit of scratching the frame.

After 3 months the top plastic cover fell off, without any help. I may have dropped the lock once? The provided frame clip can sometimes release the lock.
This was "cosmetic" but revealed the steel lock insert which was then open to the elements.
Took back too cycle surgery, would not replace had to return to Germany for a free fix, which took several weeks.
Not good customer service as was without secure lock for this time.

I agree that often have to waggle key to get into lock.

After 3 months the top plastic cover fell off, without any help. I may have dropped the lock once? The provided frame clip can sometimes release the lock.
This was "cosmetic" but revealed the steel lock insert which was then open to the elements.
Took back too cycle surgery, would not replace had to return to Germany for a free fix, which took several weeks.
Not good customer service as was without secure lock for this time.

I agree that often have to waggle key to get into lock.

As the review mentions any bike lock that is practical to carry can be beaten by someone with power tools.

I really just think of locks as providing a hassle factor for a casual thief and not as something that is ever going to really deter a serious robber. My hope is that most junkies etc won't walk around with a battery powered angle grinder.

I don't leave the good bike locked in public because it might attract a serious thief who would realise the value and have it gone by the time I turned around.

I recently bought a new bike and looked to lock it with some gold secure standard lock and ground anchor £130 later it still only withstands 5-10min attacks sledgehammer and saw, what i realised when looking for locks was that any determine theft will be able to make off with my bikes no matter how much you pay for your locks.

as far as these kinds of locks go, its a good one

however, none of these bicycle locks (and other locks) offer the protection needed to leave a quality bicycle in a public place

a few years ago, I worked for a bike shop in West London and we had a contact who was a professional lock-smith working for a West London Borough (council) to remove bikes that had been locked and abandoned on public streets for 3+ months. The council placed a warning sticker on these bikes to inform the owner of their removal.

He also offered a service that was promoted through local bike shops (using his business card) for legitimate owners of bicycles who had lost their keys to their quality lock - and could prove ownership of their bike using a receipt with frame number - he would charge £30 for the service

what was scary was how quickly he would get through even £150 chain locks or £100 D-locks, literally less than 2 minutes using a battery powered, cordless angle grinder with a fresh cutting disc

he told me on several occasions about these jobs he undertook for council or private clients, the private clients he would ask to leave the scene for a few minutes (claiming H&S issues) as if they knew the truth about how quickly he could cut their locks, they would not buy another lock, or another bicycle!

he also said on these occasions that the kit he was using was common hardware amongst the thieving community

I have not locked any of my bikes on the street since learning that information from him, and I have £150 chain locks and £100 d-locks at home!

Very happy with mine, been using daily for 4 years.

Lost both keys at one point and bike was locked for a week until the replacement came from Germany for a very reasonable price!

Heavy but reliable.

I presume this uses the same key barrel assembly as their flex-o-steel Granit which I find impossible to get the key into in one go. The tumblers must shake out of alignment and it can take me several minutes to coax the key fully into its key-hole.

I fear one day I won't manage it and will be left with a big paperweight.

Is the weight quoted 1525g for the 230mm or the 300mm?

Is this a Abus Granit X Plus 54? If so you can find them even cheaper online. ; )

Being a part time muppet, I managed to break the key off in one of these within an hour of buying it. The keys are relatively long, and with the weight of the lock there's a very high chance that if you drop it with the key in, even from bike frame height, it will snap off. In my case, it was whilst trying to work out where to mount it on my frame.

If you do break a key, it's almost impossible to get out. I was lucky that a local locksmith enjoyed the challenge, but it still took him a day to work out how to fish it out without disassembly.

From speaking to a local bike shop, it seems I'm far from unique. It's a very secure lock, but handle it carefully.

It would be nice if Abus could extent the cover in someway to provide a guard to protect a key in the lock. I may try something myself as it should be a fairly easy mod and will give me a little peace of mind.