The best motorcycle chains and anchors — graded by what a grinder does to them
Overnight security is chain THROUGH THE FRAME into an anchor, and the grade decides everything: budget chains fall to bolt croppers in silence, 16mm Diamond chains force minutes of loud, bright grinding no thief wants outside a house.
Ranked by evidence, not by commission
Ad — we make money from some picks below. Where a pick links to a retailer, they pay us a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. Where a pick is something we stock ourselves, we say so on the card and we make a margin instead. The ranking is set before any link is added and it is not for sale — which is the only part of this that should matter to you.
Links open a search rather than one listing, because stock and prices change daily. We hold no stock of these and take no payment for placement.
The criteria — and what we don't do
- ✓Sold Secure Diamond or documented attack testing — grades below fall to hand tools in seconds
- ✓16mm links minimum for home defence; weight is the price of grinder-resistance
- ✓Through the frame, never the wheel; taut and off the ground — slack chain on concrete is a workbench
- ✓Prices indicative at publish (August 2026). No placement fees, no fabricated testing — ratings are Sold Secure's, reputations are earned elsewhere.
Ratings are Sold Secure's and Thatcham's own, checked September 2026. Sold Secure lists only six automotive steering wheel locks; a product can also hold a Thatcham category without being in the Sold Secure database, which is not the same thing. Check the current listing at soldsecure.com before buying, and tell us if we have it wrong. Stolen bikes are recovered far less often than stolen cars — which is why home defence is built to end attacks, not survive them. Full problem-and-solution guide: Chain & ground anchor.
Before you buy
Can't an angle grinder cut any chain eventually?
Yes — the product is time and spectacle, not invincibility. A Diamond 16mm chain forces multiple minutes of loud, bright grinding per cut, twice per link. Outside a residence that's an alarm clock for the street, and attempt marks on anchors show thieves who started and quit.
Why through the frame and not the wheel?
Wheels unbolt in a minute — thieves leave the wheel, take the bike. The chain must pass through the frame or a frame-mounted point.
I can't drill into concrete — what then?
Heavy filled portable anchors or a lamppost loop are imperfect but far better than nothing; pair with an alarmed disc lock so noise starts at first touch. If you own the parking space, the £40 anchor bolted properly is the single best upgrade.
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Chain & ground anchor
A Sold Secure Diamond chain through the frame into a concrete-bolted anchor is the difference between a theft and an abandoned attempt.
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