Abus Security is the #1 padlock manufacturer in the world and has 90% of the bicycle and motorcycle security marketshare in Europe. Founded in Germany in 1924, Abus has retained its family-company vibe over the years. What that means is that Abus still controls the entire process from start to bottom. While they've always been headquartered in Rehe, Germany (where their main plant resides), they now have plants in China as well which are also fully owned, managed and controlled by Abus. The fact that they control the entire production process means that they can deliver an extremely high-value and super-premium product without having to incorporate costs in order to pay a third-party.
We'll get to that later. For now, you can watch our Abus Security Lock Buying Guide & Overview:
As discussed in the video, Abus produces three types of locks for motorcycles: disc locks, chain locks and folding locks. Within the full line, we see similar characteristics in the locks, as far as quality of materials and technologies are concerned. Abus retains control of every stage of the manufacturing process. Starting with the sourcing of the raw materials, the steel that Abus uses is superior to the competition, who generally use Abus as a template, and produce similar locks with lower-quality materials and farmed out production. Abus locks and chains are 40-60% lighter than comparable pieces from other lockmakers, yet they are significantly stronger. Using proprietary steel, Abus-made tooling and machining, and their rigorous tempering and hardening processes, they are able to
produce an incredible product at an excellent value, that is lighter and stronger because the materials used are high quality. All Abus locks and chains are tempered from -80º through 80º Celsius, and hammer-blow tested at these extreme temperatures to ensure the resiliency of the locks in their most brittle state. The softer medium core and rigid exterior shell of the steel makes them overwhelmingly resistant to bolt cutter or saw attacks.
The plastic and rubberized plastics that are used by Abus are similarly tempered and hardened to be resilient to all modes of attacks. Plastic parts can be seen as coatings on products like the Abus Detecto 7000 RS1 Disc Lock, which has proprietary steel as the core of the lock. Disc
locks are available from the most basic, Abus' Provogue series, all the way through to the most heavy duty disc lock on the market, the Detecto 8000, which has a 110dB sonic alarm that utilizes a 3D position system to detect any attempted attacks while minimizing the all-too-common false alarm found in lesser quality locks. All of the Abus chain locks use the same proprietary steel and are wrapped in an anti-scratch heavy-duty textile covering that eliminates the chance of doing damage to your bike. In their line of folding locks, the same steel is used, and a lock like the Bordo represents Abus' forward-thinking and ability to continuously innovate and push their R&D since they control everything and have a full team of engineers.
As far as the actual locking mechanism is concerned, Abus goes far beyond the security of the competition. In the most basic of their locks, Abus lock cylinders have over 250,000 key differs, or unique keys. With their X-Plus cylinder system, there are over 1.4 million key differs. Compare this to the competition, who generally have between 200 and 800 key differs, and the Abus advantage is staggering. Every Abus lock is anti-pick, anti-pull, and anti-drill, and every laser-cut key is anti-snapping. Abus also uses the Power Cell, Power Link and Comfort Plus technologies in their higher-end locks. The Power Cell technology integrates the locking cell in the lock body, which basically traps and encapsulates all force within the locking mechanism. This keeps the force away from the
cylinder, thereby eliminating damage to the cylinder. Power Link technology is the locking mechanism itself, which uses two bars that carry an equal load of the locking force. If one of these somehow fails, the other bar will withstand the force. Finally, Comfort Plus technology, on the higher end chain locks, keeps the chain in position after the lock has been opened, requiring a slight pull to be removed. This cuts back on the possibility of scratching or other damage being done to the bike.
As has been made pretty clear, the Abus advantage exists across the board when comparing to the competition. Stay tuned for the next few blogs, which will detail each of the divisions of Abus locks, breaking down the individual
products within each family.
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