Recommend me a padlock, please

[Tigerrrr.......]

I have an Oxford chain with no padlock (long story).

Looking to buy a decent padlock which will hold both ends of the chain.

Had a search on this forum but couldn't really see anything.

All recommendations and thoughts appreciated.

Thank you.

[TheRamJam]

Heard good things from these guys

Almax

[Blapper]

My insurance company has a long list of locks they approve. If yours does, I'd choose one off the list if I were you.

[Red ones]

A few years ago I had an insurer who had a long list they "approved"but when I asked about what effect they had on premium the answer was "none."

I asked why their approved locks didn't affect the the risk of theft and they were stumped. The argument I used was why would I spend a lot of money on an approved lock and chain if the premium remained the same? Doesn't that encourage to not spend that money and either buy a cheap rubbish one for looks or but nothing and take the chance?

[Blapper]

Very interesting Red ones, sounds typical of those slippery snakes.

That Almax series IV looks the biz, but surely thieving b***ards use battery powered disc cutters these days don't they? I'd like to see the same test using one of those.

[daktulos]

Originally Posted by Red ones

A few years ago I had an insurer who had a long list they "approved"but when I asked about what effect they had on premium the answer was "none."

I asked why their approved locks didn't affect the the risk of theft and they were stumped. The argument I used was why would I spend a lot of money on an approved lock and chain if the premium remained the same? Doesn't that encourage to not spend that money and either buy a cheap rubbish one for looks or but nothing and take the chance?

Did they say it didn't affect the risk, or didn't affect the cost? You may find that once the risk goes above a certain level, it will make a difference. So, while it doesn't affect the cost now, it could reduce the cost of a future negative change (such as business travel or increased mileage).

[Red ones]

Originally Posted by daktulos

Did they say it didn't affect the risk, or didn't affect the cost? You may find that once the risk goes above a certain level, it will make a difference. So, while it doesn't affect the cost now, it could reduce the cost of a future negative change (such as business travel or increased mileage).

It wouldn't reduce the cost they said. I said risk.
Why would I want to spend £80 (equivalent two years premium) to reduce the risk for them and not the cost for me? Or put another way why would I spend £80 for them to get the benefit and for me to be £80 out of pocket?

To put it another way:
I can spend £80 on the premium and if the bike is stolen I pay £150 XS and the bike is replaced. Or I can spend £80 premium and buy an £80 padlock and if the bike gets stolen I pay £150 XS (although the chance of the bike being stolen maybe less). Or I can spend £20 extra on the premium, not by the padlock and reduce my XS by £50; if the bike gets stolen I pay £100 and I get the bike replaced the extra cost has been £20.
The option I chose was not buy the padlock spend the £80 on the premium parking at night in the garage and in daytime under CCTV camera next to security guard.

[daktulos]

When I bought insurance last, I used the online Bennetts form. You can go back and change things to see what difference it makes. Mileage, pillion passengers, etc. made no difference - I even removed the default voluntary excess (£200 I think) and that made no difference either. All I can imagine is that the risk was below the minimum.

As it happened, the biggest change was changing where it was stored over night to a garage not at my address (it's a council garage on the same road). That did increase the cost - I wish I had spent more time on it, as removing those extras may have then reduced the cost, but it's not too expensive anyway.

It sounds like your money was well spent.

[tom_e]

I originally declared my chain and disk lock but had them removed when I realised it made no difference to the cost and just gave them another reason to get out of paying out in the event of a claim if I'd forgotten to use them.

[Luckypants]

I have had very good experience of CISA padlocks (with Diamond Hard Chains) which resisted several persistent attempts by pickeys to break. The attacks included freezing with nitrogen, various hammering attacks, bolt croppers and a Stihl saw. Eventually they managed to break the gate and post to gain access to the field.... They lobbed the chain and lock (still locked) in the river!

It's what I have nowadays as they proved their worth. E.g.
http://www.cisapadlocks.com/cisa-285...lock-105-p.asp