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Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 Standard Bicycle U-Lock with Bracket 4-Inch x 9-Inch
Product: Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 Standard Bicycle U-Lock with Bracket 4-Inch x 9-Inch Sale-$46.21! List Price: $70.85 Amazon Price: $46.21 Add to cart to see low price@ Availability: In Stock Usually ships in 24 Hours Free Shipping Available |
Compare Prices on Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 Standard Bicycle U-Lock with Bracket 4-Inch x 9-Inch
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2106 in Sports & Outdoors
- Brand: Kryptonite
- Model: LK4100
- Released on: 2009-02-11
- Dimensions: 6.50″ h x 2.00″ w x 12.00″ l, 4.00 pounds
Features
- Tough bicycle U-lock designed for moderate to high crime areas
- 14mm hardened Max-Performance steel shackle resists cutting and leverage attacks
- Double deadbolt locking mechanism; disc-style cylinder with over 1 million key variations
- Center key location with dual overhead cam locking mechanism
- Includes 3 keys, including 1 with high-intensity light; measures 4 x 9 inches
Great Lock, Best for the Price.
When I purchased this lock, I actually bought two. I just moved to Chicago, with my girlfriend, and she needed a new lock. She had the older/cylinder(barrel) key kryptonite that you can open with a Bic Pen. I only had a flex lock, and my bike was stolen within the first month we moved here. I have bought a new bike, and Two locks. I’m now using this lock, in combination with the Bell MaxGuard Heavy-Duty Cable(12mm). I carry all this extra weight, because Chicago is 2nd in the nation(next to New York) for bike thefts. It works great alone, but I feel safe with the flex cable combined. There was another Kryptonite Evolution with a flex cable, but the cable was only 10mm.
If you are buying this for the insurance purposes, then I’d suggest looking at the fine print before hand.
The only other Kryptonite lock that is supposed to be tougher than this, would be the Kryptonite NY Fahgettaboudit U-Lock. It was $75 though, and this one was only $42. People wrote that they have problems trying to fit everything with the Fahagettaboudit lock. This one fits both heavy tread tires, my frame, and almost every post/bike stand that I’ve attempted.
Ironic Semi-endorsement
For such a sturdy, heavy-duty, ridiculously strong u-lock, the key used to operate this thing is ridiculously flimsy.
The key snapped off IN THE LOCK the first time I tried to unlock my bike from a rack. >=(
Five minutes with a hacksaw only managed to scratch the steel. Seeing that I had to call in the heavy artillery, I got an angle grinder with a diamond blade. After about 20 minutes of 120 dBA flying sparks, I successfully extricated the bike.
I give the lock 5 stars, but the key rates a big, fat 0.
Great Lock, but Heavy
I purchased both this lock, and the OnGuard Bulldog MINI TC 5013TC Bicycle U-Lock. These are the two locks that are considered to be near the top of the list for U-Lock security.
The very top is the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboutit Mini Bicycle U-Lock (3.25 x 6-Inch), but I decided against that one due to weight and cost issues. My bike is old and new was only about $1000 when new, and so it isn’t going to be the target that a more expensive bike would be.
Between this lock and the Bulldog Mini, both are high security. The reason I was in the market for a lock was that I had a cheap U lock cut with a pair of bolt cutters by an apartment manager unhappy that I had locked a bike to a railing. He sliced through that cheap U-lock silently, like butter, and both of these locks have been tested against that and neither lock was cuttable by bolt cutters. However, both can be defeated by a determined thief with power tools and a couple of minutes.
Both locks give you several sets of keys (at least 4) and let you either write down a code or register the code and they’ll send free keys if you ask. Both locks include one lighted key, but the thing is huge and takes up so much room on my key chain that I took it off because I’ve really never needed the dim light it provides. Nice concept, but worthless – you can feel the key hole if it’s pitch black.
Neither lock has a decent mounting system. They both come included with one that really only works on a 21″ frame, the biggest bike for the tallest riders, because it needs too much space to pull out to mount it on the seat tube. Me and everyone else I’ve seen just ends up hanging the lock over their handlebars. The lock is rubber coated so it won’t scratch your handlebars. If you do that, and you will, be sure to remove the mounting piece on the U lock that clicks into the mounting bracket. Click the bracket onto it and twist the mounting piece off. The mounting piece can be seen as the thick collar over the left post of the U lock where it meets the cross piece.
There are three basic differences between this lock and the Bulldog Mini. First is the size. The Bulldog barely fits over my mountain bike tire and the smallest pole, like those used for no parking signs. It DOES fit over a parking meter, but many parking meters have had a pipe slipped over the pole that holds them to prevent people from hacksawing the meter off and this lock will not fit over that outer pipe. The series 4 is big enough to fit everything. UPDATE, the Bulldog Mini has been increased in size and so it now will fit over larger poles of parking meters.
Note that it isn’t necessary to lock both your tire and the bike frame unless your frame is really expensive. Just lock the part of the tire that is inside the frame triangle underneath and behind the seat. The bulldog can’t fit over both the tire and the seat tube, while the kryptonite can, but it isn’t necessary. A thief would never take the time and effort to try to cut all the spokes, and bend the rim to force it through the frame triangle, and if he did he’d wreck half the cost of the bike.
Second is the key and locking mechanism. The Bulldog has a key that breaks off easily and the lock has to be fully seated to work. That means you have to shove the crosspiece in as hard as you can and shove the key in as hard as you can to turn the key without breaking it. Because of the small size, it’s not always possible, and you find yourself looking for another pole about 10% of the time. The series 4 has a much stronger key and the mechanism is more forgiving – it doesn’t need to be shoved in and is therefore easier to use. Because it fits around everything, that makes it really easy to use.
The last issue is weight. Here is where the Bulldog has the Series 4 beat. The Series 4 weighs about 3.5 lbs and the Bulldog weighs about 1.75 lbs. It makes enough of a difference that I find that the Bulldog mini, with all of its faults, gets the nod and that’s the one I tend to use.
You might also consider the Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 U-Lock 3 x 5.5″ as a compromise, but the heavier cross piece of the smaller series 4 is still going to make it weigh more than the Bulldog Mini, and probably not that much less than the regular size series 4, so you’d probably be happier with either of those.
I also have a thin (3/8″) 6′ cable, much thinner than the 7′ OnGuard Akita 5043 Bicycle Security Cable (Lock Not Included) that I place over the ends of the U lock before I lock it that fits through the front tire, and the seat and the mountain bike rack on the back of my bike to keep them from walking away. 6′ is the minimum size you need to go through everything. The 7′ cable linked above is too thick to be very handy, though it provides better security. You’ll want to decide whether you want better security or much greater convenience, and then buy the cable to match. I haven’t seen the thin 6′ cables at Amazon, though they are in many bike stores.
