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What mobile phones and front doors can do, a bicycle lock should also be able to do, right? That's why we now have the Abus 7807F Keyless lock: Opening by fingerprint. There are plenty of reasons to go keyless. Firstly, quite simply, you don't need a key. Many people have a separate key for their bike - which means you have to remember to put it in your pocket when you're out and about on your bike. And who doesn't know the annoying rummaging for keys in your trouser pocket later on, possibly when it's raining and your hand is cold and stiff ...
Key-free happiness?
With keyless, the key can stay where it is. But the whole thing increases if you want to share a bike, as is often the case with cargo or city bikes. Then there may be complicated meetings to hand over the keys if you want to pass the bike on. Or the bike is unexpectedly left where it was parked because the partner who is supposed to pick it up hasn't remembered their key. Or there is only one ...
And losing the key is a disaster anyway. Constantly fiddling with the key itself can also be annoying, for example if you have several stops. So there are plenty of reasons for us all to have a key-free lock. And now lock specialist Abus, for whom "key-free" has long been a matter of course in many other sectors, is launching its first bike lock with fingerprint technology.
Abus Yardo: Ordinary look, advanced function
At first glance, the Abus Yardo 7807F looks like a normal, encased chain lock. At second glance, the keyhole is missing; instead there is a circular surface on which the fingertip is positioned. If the lock recognises the key finger, it beeps twice briefly, releases the lock bolt and pops open. Locking is automatic: insert the bolt into the lock, it engages softly and the thing is closed. It's more accurate to say "one of the key fingers", because you can save up to 20 fingertips. That should be enough, even if you have one or two dirty or even plastered fingertips and want to use a lock with the whole family.
Because that's the added value: you can share a bike with lots of people without anyone having to carry around a material key. It's perfect for the modern cargo and family bike era. "I'll park the cargo bike at the cinema, you pick it up there for your shopping and then ride it home." It's now very easy without a key organisation.
Medium safety, not lightweight
The Yardo has Abus security level 8 (out of 15) and offers medium security. Not for "overnight at the station", but for many everyday occasions. The fingerprint key is quick and easy to set up, you don't even need a mobile phone for it, and it worked perfectly for us, even with different users who can be added at any time. In the rain, the wet sensor needs to be wiped dry for it to work. The somewhat clunky chain end with lock pin is a little more annoying to thread through the spokes than a U-lock end, and at a good 1,250 grams, it is also no lightweight in its security class. This puts an end to lock-picking, because where there's no keyhole, there's no cylinder to unlock.
Abus Yardo fingerprint lock: Conclusion
The problem of vandalism - "if I can't open your lock, you shouldn't be able to open it either" - unfortunately remains, because if the sensor is wilfully destroyed, nothing works. But that's another story. We think keyless is a real enrichment - perhaps soon with a higher level of security?
- Abus Yardo 7807F, chain lock with fingerprint key
- 85 or 110 cm length
- Price: 99.95 or 109.95 euros >> available here
