Lock and chain recommendations - is Almax still the one to have?

[Yorick]

Those litelock D locks are supposed to be good against angle grinders. Eventually go through but take more than 1 disc in tests I've seen.

Aren't the cylinder locks easy to pick? Or is that summat else?

Tap tap. Can you hear me?

[MrLongbeard]

Those litelock D locks are supposed to be good against angle grinders. Eventually go through but take more than 1 disc in tests I've seen.

Aren't the cylinder locks easy to pick? Or is that summat else?

Tap tap. Can you hear me?

All locks are easy to pick, have you never watched the LPL or Bosnian Bill

[Yorick]

Aren't the cylinder locks easy to pick? Or is that summat else?

Tap tap. Can you hear me?

All locks are easy to pick, have you never watched the LPL or Bosnian Bill

Yes. Love them. But didn't that big fat lad from VD reckon he could open the locks with a biro?

[Supermofo]

Tap tap. Can you hear me?

All locks are easy to pick, have you never watched the LPL or Bosnian Bill

Yes. Love them. But didn't that big fat lad from VD reckon he could open the locks with a biro?

Sorry, had to do the scouts run.

I don't believe that's the case anymore, although I could be wrong.

The LPL can pick anything but concensus seems to be that scrotes pretty much never pick locks

[Horse]

Apologies for the confusion. It was the Hiplok that I'd suggested and showed an image [much] earlier in the thread.

[Scootabout]

"Call that a chain? THIS is a chain"

https://securityforbikes.com/proddetail ... od=P25-x.x

[Horse]

"Call that a chain? THIS is a chain"

https://securityforbikes.com/proddetail ... od=P25-x.x

It is almost twice the weight of our 19mm chain

[Horse]

open the locks with a biro?

I don't believe that's the case anymore

That was the 'tubular' type keys. IIRC it cost one lock manufacturer a small fortune in supplying replacements.

A few years back, in the office, the key to unlock a laptop from a caddy was lost. One of the lads chewed a pen lid to soften it, lock open.

[Jody]

Dig a hole.
Drop a pole into concrete.
Weld the genny to the pole.

An Angle grinder that will go through a pukka chain will make light work of a few welds !

[Dodgy69]

Just bought this... Better than nowt when parked away from home and a decent price atm.

I'd imagine it'd make little difference to saving a 25k spanker, but the old GS isn't on the big boy thief list, but hopefully make it a bit harder to push away by some impulsive nobhead.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305633430608 ... media=COPY

[McNab]

I have an Almax - bought years ago, when Zanx was the voice of Almax. Dunno about now, but then their customer and delivery service was woeful, they had no real idea what they were sending and when.
However, once it arrived the chain and lock are very good - and extremely heavy.

I use Almax chains, but they don't have the best customer service, as you say. Any time I phone, I seemed to be talking to the guy for ages. Once I just wanted a new sleeve and had to jump through all sorts of hoops to get one.

I recommended them to a friend and somehow he got into an argument with the guy as to whether his address was a flat or a house. Apparently it got a bit nasty to my friend's bemusement. He bought something else.

[Hot_Air]

Is Almax still in business?

[Mr Moofo]

Is Almax still in business?

Looks like not.
Which isn't a great surprise when you read customer reviews

[Hot_Air]

I didn’t know Almax had negative customer reviews.

Are Pragmasis chains still available? A glance online suggests we we can still buy them, and I vaguely remember Pragmasis tested as well as Almax.

That said, we should presumably buy one of the newfangled angle-grinder-resistant D-locks.

[MrLongbeard]

AFAIK Pragmasis went tits up

[Scootabout]

AFAIK Pragmasis went tits up

Yes, I've heard that. Pity. They had some good products.

[Rockburner]

AFAIK Pragmasis went tits up

Yep, only a few months ago too.

They were still selling off what they had, but weren't making anything new.

You could try calling, they were frank and open about it all when i spoke to them and ordered my 2nd Shed Shackle recently.

[Hot_Air]

Pragmasis closing is sad news

https://securityforbikes.com/ClosureAnnouncement.php

[Scootabout]

I had no idea that they were such a small business. The owner comes across as a really decent bloke. A real pity, as you say.

[beepbeep]

Just got an email from Pragmasis, looks like they will be continuing with a certain Ben Cope involved!


Hi,

This is Steve Briggs, founder, owner and Director of Pragmasis Limited, with a major update concerning the Company, my involvement, and the creation of a new business under different ownership and management.

As many already know, we sadly had to take the decision to close our manufacturing operation last summer. This was caused by many factors, including my deteriorating health and also numerous commercial aspects. We had spent the previous ~5 years trying to achieve a viable plan for succession, to no avail. My health was continuing to worsen and each time we fixed something, something else would hit us. I was determined to conduct the wind-down in an honourable manner, safeguarding staff, customers and suppliers as rigorously as possible. We made multiple final batches of various products as we tried to satisfy demand from many very loyal customers! We had to stop, ultimately, and all stock and machinery was sold to our existing and very loyal resellers as well as direct to customers.

Despite some rumours, Pragmasis has not gone bust! The wind-down was all completed properly, with no debts outstanding.

The major good news is that Ben Cope, of Two Tyres Limited, a reseller of ours in London, approached us and, after much discussion, he and I signed a Rights Sale agreement in February of 2025. This authorises Ben, through his new company Pragmasis Engineering Limited, to manufacture and sell all of our Pragmasis/SecurityForBikes range of security products as well as to use the Pragmasis and related brand names and trademarks. I have agreed to continue my involvement on a background and advisory basis over the next 2+ years.

We have been working together on resuming production of several of the Pragmasis products and new stock will soon become available through the new https://SecurityForBikes.com website (that has replaced the old website). That new production includes Protector 13/16/19mm chains, Torc Mega ground anchors and RoundLocks and is using precisely the same external factories and processes that we used before and under my direction. This guarantees consistent quality, something that Pragmasis has always prioritised. Products that we used to manufacture in-house, such as the Shed Shackle, Anti-Pinch Pin and Double Doofer, are under review with discussions ongoing with local engineering companies to determine if they are able to manufacture them to the same standard.

Sold Secure and Police Secured-by-Design approvals are being transferred to Pragmasis Engineering in respect of future product sales. Products purchased in the past continue with the certifications they had at the time of purchase – Those approvals have not expired.

Pragmasis Engineering has taken over all customer liaison including any warranty issues. My brother, David Briggs, continues to be involved. Many of our Pragmasis customers benefited from David’s excellent product knowledge and advice and he will be supporting Ben’s new team through Pragmasis Engineering.

Our top priority in Pragmasis has always been our ethical and moral conduct so a fundamental element of the handover process has been protecting customer interests. We have obtained consultancy advice on our legal obligations and abilities under GDPR and this e-mail is a result of that. You may not have opted-in to our mailing list in the past but Pragmasis Limited is acting honourably and correctly in informing you that there has been a major change in the company’s situation. Pragmasis Engineering Limited is also entitled to contact you, in very limited circumstances beyond their initial ‘welcome’ message that will follow this message in the near future. Pragmasis Engineering will pick up this handover announcement shortly. The previous company, Pragmasis Limited, will not send any more bulk e-mails to you. Pragmasis Limited will cease to exist, soon.

If you wish or if this is no longer relevant to you, you can unsubscribe to prevent all further contact by following the link below.

I would like to thank you and all our customers and suppliers for your support over many years. My late wife, Dr Sarah Walters, and I established the company back in 2003 and it has been a challenging journey but we have helped to raise the bar for physical security products during that time. Some 40,000+ customers have been using our products and many, many thefts have been and are continuing to be thwarted.

Very sadly, Sarah passed away in 2018. I promised her that I would take care of our other passion – Alvecote Wood Ancient Woodland – and my focus is changing to that, now. I will still be involved in ongoing Pragmasis work on a background production and future product design basis and I am handing over customer liaison to Ben and the new team who will be in touch shortly.

I wish Ben and his team together with historical and new customers good luck and will help where I can.

The new customer contact e-mail address is [email protected]
The website continues to be https://SecurityForBikes.com

Thank you,

Stephen Briggs
Director, Pragmasis Limited, 2003-2025