ABUS U-Lock Granit XPlus 540, Bike Lock with XPlus Cylinder, High Protection Against Theft, ABUS Security Level 15, Black/Grey

So I guess this is a testament to this lock that the thieves who stole my bike last week had to unbolt the large steel bike rack from the concrete and take bike, lock and rack with them to get away.

This lock has been great! Several other students have had their bikes messed with but they dont even give mine a second thought. No attempted thefts so far.

I dont know what is going on with Amazon these days, QC is in the toilet. Seems like 30% or more of my purchases need to be returned, either because they are more than lightly used, damaged, or just poor quality. I got this lock and it was obviously used, and quite damaged. I returned it immediately, of course, and ended up buying one (for full retail, quite a bit more expensive, like an extra $75) at a local bike shop, which carried Abus, but had to order this model. I guess I could have reordered one and hoped it worked out the second time, but I lost patience. The lock itself is great, probably the best U-lock made, period, but certainly the best at this weight. No bolt cutter is going to get through this thing. Of course, thieves in big cities use angle grinders, which will cut through this, but at least it will take a few minutes and make a bunch of noise. I would give 5 stars for the lock, and 1 star for the terrible amazon experience - and I am getting so sick of getting used and damaged stuff, or the wrong product from amazon I have started looking for stuff at brick and mortar stores again, and would rather pay the premium then have to keep returning things to Amazon, or trying to fix things myself. On-Guard makes great locks also, and Kryptonite makes one equal to this (but thicker - 14mm vs 13mm - and heavier, though a bit less expensive) as well as the NY line, which is even tougher, but at 16mm, very, very heavy. I also have an Abus 9mm hardened steel chain lock, which I really like. I use either the chain or the U-lock with a cable to secure the other wheel (although cables are easy to cut, seems hardly worth it to a thief just for a wheel set, but I guess on a slow day, they will do it).

No ones stolen my bike yet if that changes I will update my review.

Expensive, but what a great lock. The key engages and turns like butter (important to me after replacing two cheaper u-locks, in two years, that the keys finally couldnt turn any more from binding-up). Ive had this lock for a year, in Seattle weather, commuting at least five days a week without interruption (all seasons) and the lock appears to be weather proof. Its heavy, coming in at about 3-1/4 lbs. for the 9 and 3-3/4 lbs. for the longer 11 model (I own both). But when you weigh 250 lbs., and ride steel frames, its less than 1% difference relative to the cheaper, dead, discarded u-locks Ive had. If youre riding carbon, and are skinny, well, I cant imagine you would want this lock stealing back all the reduction in weight youre enjoying. This does not come with the frame mount, bought it separately (about $25). It, too, is excellent, no rattling, easy to remove and return to the mount. The locks square shackle, hopefully, means that anyone using a power cutting wheel would have to make two cuts, because the shackle does not twist in the lock like round shackles can. The shackle feels stiff/strong enough that a thief would be hard-pressed to bend the shackle after a single cut.

Two locks arrived in less than week. Both in perfect condition despite a box holding together with only a hope and a prayer. But what in the world was a twelve-pack of D-cell batteries doing in the box? Someone packing this was not paying attention. Amazon needs to use better boxes for shipping heavy items, and check contents before closing up the box. Hope we didn’t pay for the extra three pounds the batteries added to the weight. Bizarre. Still, happy with locks and can find no faults.

Very heavy

I bought an extra set of keys and carry 2 keys on me at all times.

Theres no foolproof or thief proof lock. Theres no foolproof or thief proof lock. Theres no foolproof or thief proof lock. This one is pretty close to both (just dont lose your key, fool).

This Abus Granit XPlus 540 lock was purchased for my using two U-locks together in high theft areas of town. The other U-lock is a 7 Kryptonite Evolution. This way, if a thief learns to pick one brand of U-lock by watching the youTube vids on lock picking hell be deterred by a lock from a different mfg. Since both locks are double-locking, 4 cuts must be made with bolt cutters on the two locks as opposed to 2 cuts on a single lock shackle (or just 1 cut if youre using a Kryptonite bent foot U-lock). Otherwise I use just the Abus in better areas of town. And using two locks will persuade a thief to move elsewhere instead of trying to pick open your lock with whatever metal implement he uses, damaging the locks internal mechanism. He may be unsuccessful at opening the lock but when you try to unlock it you may not be able to. The black & dark gray Abus looks great mounted in the bracket, better than a bright orange or yellow U-lock would look. Even the shackle is a 2-tone gray and black which enhances the appearance. And its the only lock with a 13mm shackle given a three star security rating by ART. Weight is 3.27 pounds - light for a 9, 13mm shackle lock. Made in Germany. The Abus comes with one of two different mounts for frames having round tubes: the EaZy KF bracket (for 28-36mm diameter tubes) or the oversized USH 540 bracket (for 15-35mm tubes). Mine came with the EaZy KF bracket which is simple to install and use. One thing not mentioned in the instructions is that by removing the plastic clamp from the shackle, rotating it 90 degrees, and re-installing it onto the shackle, the lock can be positioned in the EaZy KF bracket so its exactly in the middle of bikes frame [pic] where it wont bump a leg. The mounting bracket for my Kryptonite Evolution U-lock seems less sturdy and is somewhat difficult to install onto bike frame to the point where I never used it, instead carrying the Kryptonite in a backpack. If you want the EaZy KF mounting bracket as opposed to the USH 540 bracket, look closely in the upper left corner of the cardboard wrapper the lock comes in for a small picture of a hand inserting a U-lock into the bracket with the word click in the picture. This lock will come with the EaZy KF bracket. And dont tighten the bracket too much if your frame is alum or carbon. I give the Abus 4 stars not 5 because its expensive and the seam that runs circumferentially between the 2 gray plastic covers on the metal crossbar may tempt a thief to pry apart the plastic, thinking this might help break open the lock. It wont open the lock but with the plastic covering damaged or gone the exposed metal crossbar will be prone to rust and the lock will have a damaged appearance. By comparison, the plastic covering on a Kryptonite crossbar is a seamless skin that wont give anyone the idea to remove it. But locks should be seen as only deterrents to theft and not actual protection against it since a battery-operated angle grinder will cut through any lock shackle (although this will make a lot of noise). The best way to protect an expensive bike is to have a second $200-$300 bike for riding & locking around town and only ride the good bike when it will not be parked out of sight. Btw, in the online Cyclist review of bike locks an angle grinder cut open the Abus Granit XPlus 540s 13mm shackle in 2 minutes & 51 seconds - thats 17 seconds LONGER than it took the reviewers to cut open the thicker 16mm shackle of the Kryptonite New York (2 min & 34 seconds). This shows the hardness of the Granit 540 steel.