Hiplok D1000 Bike Lock Review

If you've been following the bike industry over the last few years, you've probably heard the word “graphene” pop up over and over again. From tires to frames to jerseys and shoes, just about every product now includes this wonder material. When Hiplok released the graphene-enhanced D1000 bike lock, claiming that it was designed to resist angle grinders, we were skeptical. They wouldn't be the first to promise a graphene revolution and deliver a dud. But after we tried to slice it open with our diamond-tipped grinder, we became believers. The Hiplok D1000 is ridiculously difficult to cut and is coated in thick rubber that protects your frame and the items in your bag when you're lugging it around.

Security

The Hiplok D1000 earned top ratings for security. It was so difficult to cut; we had to reset our scale to give it a position at the top. The 20-millimeters (~0.75 inches) thick, rectangular shackle is made from graphene-infused hardened steel and resisted our angle grinder like nothing we've ever cut before. Using an angle grinder equipped with a brand new blade, we did our best impersonation of a desperate thief. It took our grinder about four and a half minutes to slice through one side of this lock while it was locked in a vise, but that wasn't enough to free it. Because of the double lock design and rectangular shape, you have to cut this lock twice to get it free. We'd already used up one blade and a full battery, so we decided to call it a day on trying to slice this lock.

After disassembling the crossbar covering and cutting off the thick rubber coating on the shackle, we looked for new weak points. We tried attacking the crossbar through the keyhole. No dice. After that, we went after an area that looked thin on the edges of the lock. We were able to cut through it in about 30 seconds, but that only exposed the shackle more. The lock wouldn't budge. Eventually, this lock had three partial cuts and one all the way through, and we still hadn't discovered a weak point. Very impressive.

As far as picking goes, we're not the LockPickingLawyer; it's not our skill set. And very few bike locks are picked on the street. Most thieves prefer the smash-and-grab (or slice-and-grab, in this case) when it comes to bike locks. The D1000 has a unique keyway and includes three coded keys that can be registered and replaced if lost.

Ease of Transport

If you're going to make a lock that takes five minutes to cut, it's probably going to be heavy. That's the case with the D1000. We measured it at 4.2 pounds, one of the heaviest U-Locks we've tested. In addition to its weight, this lock doesn't include any mounting hardware. You have to purchase that as a costly add-on. Users who prefer a bike mount bracket for their locks will need to purchase one aftermarket. Hiplok also makes a lock with a bracket called the Hiplok DXF, which is an elegant solution for carrying a heavy lock.

Something else we noticed as we lugged this beast of a lock around town for meetings and classes was that the rubber coating is quite sticky. The material feels nice in your hand and is very nice to your bike, but if you plop this into your bag with a paperback book or notebook, the paper is going to stick to the rubber, bending up the cover and pages. It's a little thing, sure, but with no method provided to carry the lock other than chucking it into a bag, it's important to know you may be putting a book at risk. For the price you'll pay for this lock, we wish it came with anything to help carry it and protect your stuff.

Ease of Use

The Hiplok D1000 had both positives and negatives in this area. The key and keyhole are very nice to use. They're smooth, don't require much force, and don't have to be jiggled to get them just right, unlike some other locks. Even after spending a few weeks out in the rain and dirt in our yard, we had no trouble fitting the key into the lock. This lock also performed very well in our freezing rain test. The two pieces came apart instantly, with no trouble at all.

So where did it suffer? The size of the lock and the keyhole protector both left a bit to be desired. We understand that Hiplok needed to strike a balance between usable size and weight, and they chose to make the D1000 slightly smaller than its competitors so it wouldn't be way too heavy. Unfortunately, this means you'll have to park your bike just right and probably do some fiddling in order to get it locked, especially if you have oversized tubes or an unwieldy locking place. The rubber keyhole protector was nice to use day-to-day when it stayed in place. It was easy to open and close, and it never got sticky, but it was sometimes in the way. Testers also noted that the keyway depth required pushing the key very far into the lock; it wasn't intuitive, but we got used to it.

Ease of Parking

The D1000 also suffered a bit in versatility ratings, largely due to its small shackle size and shackle thickness. Combined, these two elements can make it difficult to use in some circumstances. One of our testers regularly rides their carbon-tubed mountain bike to work and tested this lock as their primary security at the office. Due to the shackle's small size, they couldn't use one of their office's bike racks, so they had to lock to a nearby signpost. On their round-tubed gravel bike, this wasn't a problem, but the semi-rectangular, oversized tubes of their mountain bike made it tougher to find a good place to lock.

A size comparison between the Kryptonite Kryptolok and the Hiplok D1000. You can see how the D1000 is significantly smaller than the Kryptonite, sometimes making it difficult to use.   Credit: Luke Hollomon

We were able to lock our ebike to this rack with the Kryptonite New York Standard U-Lock, but the Hiplok D1000 was a little too short.   Credit: Luke Hollomon

A size comparison of the Hiplok D1000, the Kryptonite New York Standard U-Lock, and the Kryptonite KryptoLok.   Credit: Luke Hollomon

The shackle of the lock was too small for us to lock our bike to this large pole.   Credit: Luke Hollomon

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The locking area is large enough for most bikes in most situations, but it's not universal, nor is it big enough to make locking simple and easy all the time. If the places you commonly lock your bike are large tubes or at awkward angles, the Hiplok D1000 may not work for you every day. And if you have to lock your bike to something thinner and weaker because your U-lock is small, you're compromising your bike's security. Lockups are only as strong as their weakest link. As part of our testing, we cut through a road signpost (obtained legally, not out on the street). It took us about four minutes to slice it due to its awkward size and shape. But something smaller, like a line post on a chain link fence, only took about a minute to slice. So make sure you can still lock this smaller U-lock to posts that adequately protect your bike.

Should You Buy the Hiplok D1000?

If you want the ultimate in U-lock security and you're willing to compromise on convenience to have it, this is the lock for you. Keep in mind it costs more than twice as much as other top U-locks but is significantly more secure. If you're regularly locking in sketchy areas, have a bike you really want to protect or value the piece of mind of knowing that a potential thief will have to hack away at your lock for minute after minute, the D1000 is a great choice. If you don't like carrying extra pounds in your bag, regularly lock to larger posts or non-round bike tubes, or are willing to trade some security for versatility and ease of use, you may want to look at the other locks we've reviewed.

What Other Bike Locks Should You Consider?