Abus Bordo Alarm lock review

The Abus Bordo Alarm is a folding, keyed lock with an alarm built into the locking mechanism. Abus says that this emits 100 decibels if disturbed.

It’s a chunky beast, weighing 1.4kg, so it’s heavy to lug around. It does come with a nice bike mount though, weighing 110g, which automatically clamps around the lock when it’s inserted, making it easy to take the lock on and off your bike. On the plus side, the folding design makes for a fairly compact package. There’s a rubber cap to the locking mechanism and the locking bars are rubber coated, so the Abus Bordo Alarm shouldn’t scuff up your bike.

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The fold-out design means that there’s extra length over a D-lock. Unfolded, the Abus Bordo Alarm lock is 52cm long. Of this, 42cm is the locking bars, although you can’t use that much length as that’s its length unfolded straight, without any space between the two sides to actually lock anything. The hinges do make the lock a lot easier to fit around your frame, your wheels and an anchor than a D-lock.

The hinged segment design adds points of vulnerability to the lock and makes the Abus Bordo Alarm less secure than a quality D-lock though. It’s rated Sold Secure silver rather than the top gold rating.

But it is still well worth taking out some specific bike insurance (opens in new tab) – whatever the security rating – as no lock is ultimately unbreakable. This way, should the worst happen, you will at least be covered.

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Although the in-built alarm provides enough noise to deter a thief if there are people around, it’s not actually that loud. Setting it off outside a double-glazed window, it was audible. But there’s probably not enough noise that you’d wake up if someone tried to nick your bike from outside your house when you were asleep.

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The alarm makes various beeps to show you that it’s set and to warn when its battery is on the way out. It’s smart enough to just give a short beep if it’s not subjected to a concerted attack, but only gets nudged.

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At £140, the Abus Bordo Alarm lock is expensive. You can get a gold rated D-lock for less than half the price, giving you extra security, although without the protection from tampering afforded by the Abus Bordo Alarm’s siren.