Overview
No doubt, bikes are much easier to steal than cars in most situations.
It’s important to make it harder to grab yours, as most thieves behave opportunistically. The best wheel locks can prevent bikes from being loaded onto vans or pickup trucks, or even from being rolled away once their handlebars’ locks are defeated.
These devices work by physically securing key parts of the motorcycle to a surface or solid fixture. The models in our wheel lock reviews if used properly can keep you cool and in possession of your stuff.
Quick Comparison: Best Wheel Locks
Model | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Image | ||||
Type | ATV | U-Lock | U-Lock | U-Lock |
Shackle | Large | Small | Standard | Small |
Performance | A | A+ | A | A |
Quality | A | A+ | A+ | A+ |
Price | $ | $$$ | $$ | $$ |
My Rating |
Below, you'll find my more detailed reviews about the motorcycle wheel locks, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.
Top Picks For Best Wheel Locks
Here are five well-rated wheel locks, with the details of their plusses and minuses.
Pros
Easy-to-use locking system
Very inexpensive
Cons
Things We Didn’t Like
Rubber parts may dampen in time
A bit heavy
This is convenient if somewhat heavy “utility lock’ employs a flexible ATV design for fastening a bike frame to any solid fixture. The big U-frame can enclose a number of items within its fifteen by nine inches by two-inch dimensions and is able to withstand 1,500 pounds of bending strain.
The pressure mechanism operates rubber fittings at the edges that slide close and open. Frame lengths can be adjusted from 13 to 20 inches to accommodate bike tubes, wheels, fixing posts, and so on.
It’s easy to use. You slide the rubber-jacketed sides of the U-frame into or out of their seats and the vacuum-powered mechanism will lock both down. Turning the rubber grips release the sides, but unlike with regular U-Lock designs, the mechanism needs to be operated with some precision.
Its durable plastic coating along with protective rubber boots helps to prevent scratches to your bike’s paint. With its over-sized and thick steel tubing, this ATV-style lock can be somewhat heavier and harder to transport than lighter mini U-Lock designs.
Club’s UTL810 is a general-purpose frame lock that offers robust security for bikes and other small two-wheeled rides. It can serve nicely as a cheap yet capable secondary locking device.
Pros
Class-leading design and build
Invulnerable to most bolt cutters
Quality construction
Cons
Exceptionally heavy
This heavy but well-made U-Lock features an 18 mm shackle and weighs more than four and a half pounds. A central keyway protects against leveraging exploits and the extra-thick hardened steel is proof against most bolt cutters.
Only power grinders can cut through the metal, but as the crossbar mechanism latches both sides, each will need to be ground out to defeat the double-bolt configuration. Techniques that use leveraging tricks to overcome other types of locks will be challenged by the extra-hardened crossbar of this model.
The exceptional degree of protection is top-ranked by Sold Secure, which awarded this model the highest Gold rating in its motorcycle and biking categories. It’s a rather heavy and pricey design, but we suppose that’s cost of having the highest-quality protection for your ride.
Kryptonite’s Fahgettaboudit is pretty much the most protective U-lock available and our overall pick among the best wheel locks. Just be sure to consider how you’ll carry and fasten it around the streets and places where you park your bike a lot.
Pros
Easy to use
Excellent resistance to bolt cutters
Cons
Heavy weight
Another heavy but solidly built U-lock that features a 16 mm shackle and a weight of four and half pounds. Its look is intimidating enough to make a potential thief look for an easier target.
It can be inconvenient to carry due to the absence of an included bracket, you’ll have get an aftermarket mount or fashion your own. This model is slightly heftier and more inconvenient to transport than the mini models in this review.
This big U-Lock features a more ‘standard’ amount of shackle space that’s better suited to securing more wheel and frame combinations to a wider variety of stands and other fixtures. The thick plastic coating keeps it from scratching your bike.
Five keys are included in the package, including a version with LED lights. With its solid design and build, OnGuard’s Brute STD is an inexpensive, standard-sized wheel lock that’s good for securing larger motorcycles in more situations.
Pros
Compact and lightweight design
Quality construction
Different identifying colors
Cons
No supplied bracket mount
Less resistant to heavy attacks
This relatively lightweight U-lock has a 14 mm shackle that’s thinner than that of its rivals. It weighs just 2.2. pounds, half that of the more hard-core designs, but still features extra-hardened steel and a tough double-bolt crossbar design.
Available in yellow or red, this model is actually smaller than that of its Kryptonite mini rival. It’s also far lighter at less than half the other’s weight, which is great for those who don’t care to schlep hefty accessories across town.
Its housing has a soft layer to prevent scratches, which also works to absorb damaging shocks to the mechanism during falls. Four keys are included although there is no mounting bracket, which can be inconvenient.
With its relatively inexpensive price, Abu’s Mini 140 is our best-value pick for a relatively compact but secure wheel lock.
Your Guide In Choosing The Best Wheel Locks
Wheel locks are the most successful way to prevent your bike from getting stolen, particularly when they’re also anchored or tied up to a solid stand or fixture as well.
____ Features ____
Best wheel locks are built of high-tensile steels and are readily carried along in saddlebags or storage bins. Bigger U-lock models can be clipped into brackets mounted on frame for the purpose or else lashed onto panniers or handlebars with Velcro straps.
More interestingly, an U-lock is essentially a big padlock with dual hardened parts. A hard shackle in the form of a U-frame fastens to the crossbar, enclosing the gear you are securing within the lock’s inner space.
Such design provides the best mix of convenience, protection, and cost. Many U-locks can be fastened to anchors set in in garage and shed floors.
____ Size ____
The area size enclosed by the shackle can be just as critical as its material quality and thickness. That’s because smaller models with their narrower spaces can be made more secure when properly fastened.
A space that’s crammed with more of your bike’s frame and parts will have less dead space in which leveraging tools can be inserted to help the thief defeat the locking system.
With weaker shackles, metal bars can be put in place in a brute attempt to pry them off. For sturdier models, hydraulic bottle jacks can be inserted and pumped to crack the mechanism.
It’s always best to choose the smallest lockable frame that can still enclose everything you need to secure together as closely as possible. These would include down tubes and wheels as well as railings and bike stands.
____ Performance ____
In general, shackles and crossbars made of thicker steel will be more robust against attack. Harder steels will resist cutting and grinding attempts better as well.
A shackle diameter that’s smaller than 13 mm will be more vulnerable to a medium-sized bolt cutter. Thicker shackles of around 13-15 mm in diameter can be overcome only by the heaviest cutters, which the average thief won’t usually have handy.
U-lock designs that feature between 16-18 mm of hardened steel are practically impervious to anything but specialized power tools. It’s really up to you to balance between convenience and protection in lock quality according to the situations you will face.
A video How-to on wheel locks:
Lock Down Your Ride
Model | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Image | ||||
Type | ATV | U-Lock | U-Lock | U-Lock |
Shackle | Large | Small | Standard | Small |
Performance | A | A+ | A | A |
Quality | A | A+ | A+ | A+ |
Price | $ | $$$ | $$ | $$ |
My Rating |
When it comes to stopping bike thieves, few things work better than a physical wheel lock, especially one that’s anchored to the ground and/or attached to tough bike stands and fixtures.
OnGuard’s Brute STD is our affordable pick for the best standard-sized wheel lock that can fit most motorcycles and scooters.
Our pick of the best wheel locks for when you have a lot of bike at stake is Kryptonite’s Fahgettaboudit Mini. It offers the heaviest-duty protection for a heavy-duty price, but is well worth it if you ride around in questionable areas.
Always choose the smallest size that can fit your bike’s frame and wheels in the situations where you park often, preferably one with the hardest and thickest shackle you can afford.
If you’ve read this article and liked it, feel free to leave comments on what you think of our wheel lock reviews.