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For my new city bike I'm thinking of getting a U-lock. Price of the bike is around $900, so I probably don't way to spend more than 10% of its price on the lock.

So far, Kryptonite locks look pretty good, altough that may be due to hype. Their "yellow series" locks seem pretty safe, but I doubt I would lug around a 2 kilo beast for long. The mini series lock looks nice too (and cheaper!) with its 1 kilo of weight. But is it secure enough? Are there are (perhaps less hyped, but good) brands that I should consider?

Note that I won't be parking my bike on the street for too long. I just want to be able to pop into a store without being on a paranoid lookout for my bike every second of my grocery shopping. Is going for the more expensive lock overkill in such scenario?

VoY
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    This depends entirely on where you live/work and what the risks are. Around here I only use a lock (aircraft cable and padlock) because it gives me peace of mind -- I see unlocked bikes all the time, and thefts are rare. Other places you need a 50-pound anchor chain to be even halfway safe. – Daniel R Hicks Jul 13 '14 at 18:52
  • I see. I think most of the areas I will be parking my bike in are relatively safe and bike thefts are not all that common. I definitely won't be leaving my bike in the street for more than 15 minutes -- if I need to get away for that long I will make sure it is locked behind at least one set of door. That probably makes anchor chains unnecessary :-) – VoY Jul 13 '14 at 19:10
  • Heavier locks are in general more difficult to break. I have a few Fahgeddaboutit locks which are very heavy but also pretty good. You're suggesting that you're willing to compromise on the quality to save weight. What makes this question difficult to answer is that the rest of us have no idea how far you are prepared to compromise. None of us know what your definition of "reasonable" is. – PeteH Jul 13 '14 at 19:37
  • YOu are covered on anti-theft with even a Kryptonite Series 2. $900 is for the most part just low end thiefs. Yellow series is overkill. http://www.kryptonitelock.com/Documents/anti_theft_website_2012.pdf – paparazzo Jul 13 '14 at 19:57
  • For instance, if the difference between Fahgeddaboutit and the mini is just the time spent with the powertool while breaking it then for me mini is probably the more reasonable choice. If someone breaks out a powertool to steal my bike than my assumption is that I've probably already lost. At the same time I'd like something able to withstand most common attacks - pliers, nitrous oxide, definitely not highly motivated thief with proper tools. I will for instance never need the lock to protect my bike overnight. – VoY Jul 13 '14 at 19:57
  • Also, can Fahgeddaboutit (and the Mini) lock mountain bike + back wheel to a road sign or is it hopelessly small for that? – VoY Jul 13 '14 at 19:59
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    Kryptonite's warrantee is almost impossible to collect on, just google around. Even if the thief is nice enough to leave the broken lock behind, Kryptonite adds other roadblocks – RoboKaren Jul 13 '14 at 20:12
  • @RoboKaren I would still use it a as guideline that yellow series is overkill for a $900 bike. – paparazzo Jul 13 '14 at 20:31
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    This topic has be done to death on this and every other site multiple times. Do we really need another one? – mattnz Jul 13 '14 at 21:23
  • @Mσᶎ I was hoping to get a more specific answer on possible competition of the Kryptonite mini... so IMHO this question is not a duplicate, it might just need a little bit of editing. – VoY Jul 14 '14 at 06:06
  • In addition to being a close duplicate of previous questions, this is another request for a product recommendation. Those questions are generally a poor fit for a Q&A site like this because the answers frequently become out of date as manufacturers change their product lines. See Q&A is Hard, Let's Go Shopping. – Gary.Ray Jul 14 '14 at 13:01

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