- By: James Grear
- Last updated:
Just recently, the Skunklock Carbon hit the shelves, and it’s drummed up to perform better than any anti-grinder lock we’ve seen before.
This bike lock is designed to not only resist angle grinders, but to destroy their cutting blades within seconds, leaving thieves bewildered and your bike where you left it.
We recently interviewed Daniel Idzkoswki, the founder of Skunklock and unsurprisingly, he blew quite a lot of smoke when talking about the Carbon.
So, we ordered a couple of the locks to determine how the Carbon compares to its competitors and have been testing the lock out over the past few weeks.
In this preview, we’ll examine the Skunklock Carbon’s features and characteristics and compare them to the other anti-grinder bike locks, such as the Hiplok D1000 and the LITELOK X3.
Additionally, after analysing the lock, we’ll make several predictions about how we think it’ll perform against an angle grinder.
Want to see how this lock performs against thieves? We’ll soon be attempting to cut this lock on our YouTube channel, so turn on notifications for the BikeLockWiki channel.
You’ll want to watch this video.
Security Features
Starting with what everyone’s most interested in, the Skunklock Carbon’s grinder resistance is owed to its patented multi-material defensive shackle.
During our interview, Daniel (Skunklock’s Founder) explained that Carbon’s multi-layer shackle is designed to resist and destroy many different blades and types of tools.
“Broadly speaking,” Daniel said, “It’s different types of material that are layered in the lock designed specifically to resist and destroy various kinds of tools.
The Skunklock Carbon’s grinder-resistant shackle has a diameter of 20mm, making this one of the beefiest U-locks on the market.
For a bike lock to be considered “bolt cutter proof”, it needs to be at least 16mm thick.
Testing the Skunklock Carbon against the largest 42″ bolt cutters is the only way to confirm its resistance, but I can tell you from experience I won’t be able to crop this lock.
Unlike the Skunklock Original, the Carbon doesn’t house a vomit-inducing compound but makes up for this with vastly improved grinder resistance.
Apart from the pressurised, nauseating compound housed within its shackle, the Skunklock Original could not destroy grinder blades.
This meant, although very unlikely, a thief could continue cutting the shackle if they were brave (or stupid) enough to hang around after the compound had dispersed.
The Carbon’s shackle, on the other hand, is designed to effortlessly handle a wide variety of grinder discs and cutting blades, ensuring your bike stays where you left it.
After asking Daniel how the Carbon’s anti-grinder tech compared to FEROSAFE and Barronium, Daniel told me:
“So in terms of differentiation, that [the carbon’s multi-layer technology] is the biggest differentiation because we have multiple different materials inside the lock.
One of those materials, once it’s penetrated, is designed specifically to destroy the blade, eat the blade rather than resist the blade.”
As already mentioned, we’ll soon test it on our YouTube channel, turn on notifications here to find out if the Skunklock Carbon is the lock we’ve been waiting for.
Lock Characteristics
Weighing 1.99kg (4.4lb), the Carbon is one of the heavier U-locks on the market.
But its extra weight is understandable, considering the Carbon’s shackle offers sufficient internal clearance for use with motorbikes, e-bikes and anything else you’d want to secure.
Measuring 10.6cm x 23cm (4.17″ x 9.05″), the Carbons shackle offers similar dimensions to Hiplok’s DX1000 (11.2cm x 20.5cm), which was released to accommodate users needing more internal locking space to secure larger items.
What feels to be quite brittle plastic encases the Carbon’s mechanism housing. We’ll find out from our in-house testing how well that’ll hold up to the knocks and drops a bike lock receives.
Apart from this, after using the Carbon for two weeks, I don’t have any complaints.
The lock isn’t supplied with a mounting system, so be ready to carry it in a backpack or use one of the better universal bike lock mounts.
When securing your bike with the Skunklock Carbon, lock the rear wheel and frame to an immovable object. This is one of the best locking techniques and should be utilised by more cyclists!
If you also want to secure your front wheel, the Carbon works well with a cable extension. If you use quick-release axels, removing your front wheel and locking it with your rear wheel and frame is easily possible with the Carbon’s generous shackle.
Skunlock Carbon vs LITELOK X3 vs Hiplok D1000
For over a year now, when discussing the topic of grinder-resistant locks, Hiplok and LITELOK have been the only brands we’ve heard talked about.
At the time of writing this article, the 1000 range from Hiplok has two grinder-resistant locks (the D1000 and the DX1000) and a grinder-resistant ground anchor (the AX1000).
The D1000 is a compact variant of the DX1000 and uses the same Ferosafe technology to protect your bike from grinder-wielding dorks.
LITELOK also have two grinder-resistant locks in their X-range. The X1 and the X3 have very similar internal dimensions, but the X3 offers substantially improved resistance to grinder attacks.
| Hiplok DX1000 | Skunklock Carbon | LITELOK X3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 2.74kg | 1.99kg | 2.34kg |
| Width (int): | 11.17cm | 10.65cm | 9.96cm |
| Length: | 20.7cm | 23cm | 19.1cm |
| Shackle Diameter: | 20.1mm | 19.85mm | 19.69mm |
| Sold Secure Rating: | Powered Cycle Diamond | - | Powered Cycle Diamond |
| ART Rating: | 4-Star | - | 4-Star |
| Anti-grinder technology: | Ferosafe | Carbon Multi-Layer | Barronium |
The table above shows that the Skunklock Carbon has not received certification from ART or Sold Secure, which may raise concern among some cyclists, especially those who rely on these ratings to comply with insurance policies.
I quizzed Daniel on the subject to find out the reasoning behind this:
“I mean, we honestly don’t pay a whole lot of attention to those [security ratings]…
Frankly, we think we’re more suited to test than any third party, and the only thing that we are committing to right now is we’re going to post all of our testing, all of our videos and be fully transparent like it will be outside my house, outside our garage.”
Wondering how cyclists with insurance policies to comply with would be able to use a lock that’s not rated by a security testing body, I mentioned this to Daniel:
“Yeah, I mean if it [bike insurance] becomes a problem we’ll send it [Skunklock Carbon] in.
It’s just that those ratings are so unreliable. Basically every single bike we’ve had stolen was a Sold Secure Gold or Diamond lock.”
I’m afraid I have to disagree with Daniel’s angle here, as Sold Secure and other independent testing bodies are providing unbiased guidance for the public on the security of many different products.
These testing houses are necessary for the average cyclist to discern between biased/misleading marketing campaigns and a product’s actual security.
If the Skunklock Carbon were submitted for testing, it would likely earn the Sold Secure Powered Cycle Diamond rating, but this can only be confirmed once testing has been conducted.
Once we’ve conducted our in-house testing, we’ll have a better idea of Carbon’s capabilities.
How Much Does the Skunklock Carbon Cost?
The Skunklock Carbon recently launched on the Skunklock website at a price of $179.99.
Once we’ve conducted our own grinder testing on this lock, we’ll be able to comment on how reasonable the price point is.
However, one thing’s for sure: If it outperforms the Hiplok D1000 and the LITELOK X3, it will top the lot in terms of value for money.
Daniel thinks it far outperforms the competition; time will tell!
Summary - Skunklock Carbon Preview
We’re really looking forward to testing the Skunklock Carbon against an angle grinder and finding out just how secure this lock is and how it compares to the competition.
So far, so good. No real complaints apart from the brittle-feeling outer plastic mechanism housing, which could be swapped out for something more durable.
But equally, we’ll find out just how brittle this is in our in-house testing.
Once we’ve carried out in-house testing, we’ll add a destruction testing review to BikeLockWiki.com as well as posting the results on our YouTube channel – which you can find here.
Until then, you can keep up-to-date with our latest releases on YouTube or via your favourite Social Media platforms.
For now, though, the Carbon ticks all the boxes you’d expect from a top-of-the-range bike lock.
