Steel-O-Chain 9809K - 85CM Black

The Abus Steel-O-Chain 9809K is the chain you lock a good bike with and walk away. It is 85 cm of 9 mm square chain in specially hardened steel, wrapped in a textile sleeve, and closed with an Abus XPlus key cylinder inside a hardened steel lock body. Abus build it for bikes parked where the risk of theft is high.

How secure it actually is

Abus award the 9809K Security Level 12 out of 15 on their own scale, and they recommend it for good bicycles, e-scooters and motorbikes when theft risk is high. That covers the e-bike outside the office all day, the gravel bike racked at the train station, and the commuter left overnight in a shared bike cage. The chain links, the lock housing and the structural parts of the locking mechanism are all specially hardened steel, and the XPlus cylinder is built to resist picking and other manipulation.

Weight against security

At 2094 g this is a lock with real steel in it, and that weight is where the Level 12 comes from. It is the lock for the bike you would hate to lose. Drop it in a pannier or a backpack for the commute, or leave it looped at the place you park every day so it is waiting for you when you arrive.

What it locks to

The 85 cm chain goes from the frame around a bike rack, a railing or a pole, and locked in close it can often take in the rear wheel too. It is a compact length, which keeps the weight down, so lock close to the anchor point and run the chain through the frame first, then the wheel. The textile sleeve sits between the steel and your paint while you do it.

Keys and mounting

Two keys come with the lock, cut for the Abus XPlus cylinder. An automatic cover closes over the keyhole when the key comes out, which keeps grit and road grime out of the cylinder and helps stop corrosion, a real help for a lock that lives outside through a wet Queensland summer or near the salt air on the coast.