Abus City Chain X Plus 1060 110cm Chain Bike Lock

The City is a hefty chain with an integral lock. It's surprisingly light.

Ben did his best with this, getting through one side of one link (the head seemed pretty bullet proof) but failing to crack the other side of the chainlink. He'd still be happy with one of these locking his bike.

This super-tough chain and integrated lock is a well designed and nigh-on impenetrable portable security solution. You might not like the price, but you can't argue with the performance.

The main body of this lock is a 10mm hexagonal section chain which is securely attached to the locking unit. The loose end is a shaped link which locks directly into the mechanism, something Abus call a 'Powerlink'. It means there's no weak link where a thinner shackle locks the chain together, as there is in many chain lock designs. You get two keys, one with an LED light which is a nice touch.

The first thing I thought was that I'd be able to pull the Powerlink out of the lock mechanism, as it seems like it would be a weak point anyway, but no amount of pulling or twisting with the persuader would make it budge an inch. Attacking the insert point with hammers and various pointy things didn't help either: The plastic cover came off but only to reveal a depressingly solid looking lock unit.

The big bolt croppers came out next but the hexagonal profile of the links meant they kept slipping off. Eventually we did get some purchase but we weren't able to get through the links before our five minutes were up, in fact we only managed to make a small dent in the link.

All in all the performance was excellent, but you'd expect it to be for the wrong side of a hundred quid. Okay, if you are riding around on an expensive bike then an expensive lock should be a part of your equipment too. But given that there's plenty of shackle locks (including Abus' brilliant Granit X-Plus) available for less than three figures you have to really want a chain and not a solid lock to be in the market for the City Chain.

There's no faulting the performance: this is a lock that will see off all but the most determined (and power tool equipped) criminals. It drops a point for price though, as similarly secure shackle locks can be picked up for £20-£30 less