Security chain length?

[Barold]

Morning folks
Soon to be new rider, going to get myself a YBR125. Can anyone give some advice on the minimum length of chain I'll need to loop through the frame of the bike and connect to a ground anchor (I can park near enough directly on top of the anchor).

I'll be going with the Torc anchor, chain+lock here: https://securityforbikes.com/proddetail.php?prod=Torc1-P16-x.x-Untouchable
unless someone can give me a good reason not to.

Thanks

[esullivan]

I would recommend getting the 2-meter length (if you can afford it). I've bought 1.5-meter chains twice now and regretted it each time. While I can get that length to work, 2m would give me some more options. On my current bike, 1.5m is simply too short to get through anything frame-like. I'm currently looping it through the forks on the front, which would trouble a thief for only a couple of minutes...
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[P.]

That is a beastly combination.

Do you live in a rough area

[Barold]

Cheers. I was going to go with 1.5, but the extra cost to get to 2m isn't a major issue.
Area isn't too bad, but the bike will be on my drive 10 steps from the road and I don't want it being literally carried off.

[Englishman]

I ordered a 1.5m chain from Ghostbikes, but they rang me to say that they only had the 2m one in stock, and would that do for the same price? I'm so glad they sent the longer one as 1.5m is just not long enough unless you're prepared to get your bike into the only perfect place every time.
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[Ribenapigeon]

I have a 2m chain biut it goes through the floor of my shed then through an anchor in a concrete block. It still manages to loop through the frame of my bike which is a tall one. They say you should try not to have any chain laying on the ground as it gives a theif something to back up a chisel or bolt cutters so shoirt might be better.

[Teflon-Mike]

At home... if you dont plan carrying it about, as long as you can practically get; remember its looped, so chain makes a circle, the diameter of which is 1/pi about 1/3rd the circumference or length the chain. So a 1.5m chain, by the time you have looped it through the anchor, lost a link for the pad-lock and a few cm for the chain width, only stretches roughly 50-60cm. (You MIGHT make it stretch a bit more, but? at best, you are only going to get 70cm from it)
If you have extra chain, you can always loop excess around an extra bit of bike to use it.

IF you are going to carry the chain.... well weight & portability are an important consideration.

Having ace security on the bike at home, where you are probably near it is all well and good, but what about when you park it up in works or college car-park for eight hours a day, every day, or worse, public car-park?

THAT is where its more likely to be nicked from; and bigger hassle having hat and coat under your arm trying to find a bus stop or call a taxi when everything is locked up, than walking out your door to find a 'space' and being able to go back in make a coffee and call the boss to tell them you are going to be late this morning!

For 'away' security, anything is better than nothing; I have a 5m x 10mm cable... its FAR from heavy duty security... as previous comments on the topic..... Paddy could probably chew through it like liquerish! BUT, gives a good one and a half meters or looped reach from an anchor point to bike; can also be lassooed either end so you have single strand of cable between two loops, for further reach, or so that I can park by a lamp-post, lassoo round lamp-post then thread through back wheel, frame then front wheel and lock a last loop back on itself around the forks.... This will deter the average scroat far more than a disc lock, and prevent a casual wheel away, or even lift away; any-one (apart from those with Paddy's Jaws like dentistry!) that is going to have a go, will be coming 'tooled up' for it, which basically means that they would be tooled up for almost any hard security you would use, and its not a matter of stopping them, just slowing them down, and even then....

So.... balancing budget; do you get two locks; one heavy duty 'home' set and a light duty 'away' set, or do you try and make a compromise between the two?

For away? Length is damned useful; a short chain around a wheel to no hard point is worth no more really than an extra disc lock; to be useful it has to be long enough to go round some bit of street furniture, and THERE you cant rely on the convenience of being able to park right over or next to it.

Using a single chain? I found a 3m Hard-Core 'useful', but a bit limiting, a 4m would have meant I could have locked to lamp-post or similar a lot more often.

Currently got Snowie's bike on a 1.5m Almax, straight over ground anchor; that is not long enough to get to or through anything on the frame, apart from a security cleat I actually welded to the front engine bracket..... a 2 or 3m chain would be a lot easier to get around front down tube and back to the anchor.

So for home use only, I suppose 2m-3m; for away, 3-4m better, 5m great, but heavy and awkward!

if that gives you any ideas, I don't know.
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[Teflon-Mike]

[Ribenapigeon]

I would also suggest some sneaky security like a personal alarm hooked onto a bit of fishing wire tethered nearby. And take a a look at https://www.pingmee.co.uk its cheap as chips and works and is small enough to hide on the bike. You could get a bike cver as well and again atach a personal alarm to it.

[TomGT]

[Ribenapigeon]

[Ribenapigeon]

Woops bad link it should be https://www.pingmee.co.uk

[Barold]

It'll be used for commute only (unless I really get the bug and start doing weekend cruises). Work have a fairly secure multi story car park so I'd expect that to be safe enough, and there would be more expensive bikes around it that'd be better targets for thieves). Padlock can do double duty as a disc lock for work use.

The chain is *supposedly* bolt cropper proof, so they'd need to use power tools to get through it. I'm hoping the required noise would put them off.

Saw a post somewhere suggesting you (/a female friend) get the police to give you a rape alarm and then rig that to the bike.

[Ribenapigeon]

Theives like "cheap" IE 125's as they are light (easy to lift) and there's a big market for them.

Nothing is bolt cutter proof they will just keep nibbling at the chain. Time is the thing you buy if you get a good quality chain.

You want to try and park where there is plenty of passing people who would notice an alarm going off.

[Teflon-Mike]

[mcfcbiker]

Almax do their Immobiliser IV which is rated as being bolt cropper proof, there some vids online showing some of the other chains on the market being cut with industrial croppers. They do a 2.5m length aswell.

My friend has one on his bike and its big and heavy so its perfect for the stay at home style chain.
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[Rogerborg]

Who was it that was doing chains with a big ring on the end so that you can loop the chain through itself and effectively double the length of it?
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[bridgedino]

1.5m for me.

sits nicely diagonally over my shoulder ~ waist for carrying whilst riding and has so far proved the perfect length for locking to posts and racks

[J.M.]

[i.p.phrealy]

I use a chain through the back end of the frame and round a metal fence post, also a cycle D Lock through the front wheel either side of the forks. at £20 for the D lock it's a nice, light, extra deterrent.
but it won't stop the local scrotes from trying to nick it, and the fellas who know how to nick bikes will still have it away in minutes.
luckily for me it's a 6 year old, cheap Chinese 125, so even it's resale value for parts will be piss poor.
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[Ribenapigeon]

A few of the places I park up other bikers leave a chain there rather than take it home. So you could have two chains one for home one for work.

[J.M.]

[Ribenapigeon]

[Joncrete Cungle]

[Barold]

So if I may summarize:
1.5m chain will do the job but more is better.
Added security of an alarm + disc lock.
Something fairly substantial at work (I'll check out the security there properly - think the level with bikes on requires id card to access)

@mcfcbiker Almax are the other brand I'd consider, but I haven't yet spoken to them about pricing a package deal. I'd hope 16mm would be almost as good a deterant as 19mm, and as both thicknesses are cropper proof anyone who can go through one can do the other in a little more time.

@ J.M. agreed, coming off with a length of chain around you is going to be extra painful

Thanks to all for the advice