Abus Super Extreme 2500 Review: Big Brand Angle Grinder Resistance!

So finally, one of the big brands releases an angle grinder resistant bike lock! The Abus Super Extreme 2500 is one of the bulkiest and heaviest locks I’ve tested, and it is squarely aimed at ebikes and cargo bikes.

It employs a very similar technology to that used in Litelok X series: there is a “special wolfram carbide material” fused to the outside of a hardened steel shackle and the steel plates within the body.

But is it as secure as the Litelok X1, or the X3? Or how about the Hiplok D1000?

Well, I bought one to find out…

How secure is the Abus Super Extreme 2500?

The Abus Super Extreme 2500 has both a Pedal Cycle Diamond and Powered Cycle Diamond rating from Sold Secure, and 4/5 stars from the Dutch testing house ART. This suggests it is a very secure bike lock indeed!

Only bike locks that offer a significant level of angle grinder resistance are awarded a Sold Secure Powered Cycle Diamond rating. And of course that’s the main attraction of the Super Extreme 2500.

But before we get on to that, let's take a quick look at its other security features.

The Abus Super Extreme 2500 has a square shaped, 14 mm thick, hardened steel shackle. But the carbide material fused to the outside bumps that up to approximately 20 mm x 16 mm, making it one of the thickest shackles of all the angle grinder resistant bike locks.

It will be impossible to crop with bolt cutters. And since it also locks on both sides, it will be impossible to defeat it with a leverage attack, too.

The Abus Super Extreme 2500 also features Abus’ top of the range XPlus cylinder, which is impossible for an unskilled or untrained person to pick (not that thieves are going round picking locks anyway). So no worries there either.

In fact, the only way this lock is going to be realistically defeated in the street is with an angle grinder.

So let’s look at that next.

In my tests, I use a mains powered angle grinder and I try to completely immobilize the locks with tape to prevent any movement. This is obviously not how things would be in the street, where a thief will be using a battery powered angle grinder and will probably be trying to hold the lock still with one hand, while the other operates the tool.

So in a real life street theft scenario, the results would be different (longer). However, I’m not trying to replicate a real life situation. I’m trying to compare the fundamental angle grinder resistance of each of the locks.

And the idea is: the fewer variables (which might come from different battery levels or lock movement), the easier it is to determine which lock has the best fundamental angle grinder resistance.

You can see the results from my initial test below.

It took me 2 minutes 11 seconds and 5 discs to get thorough the first side of the shackle. And 2 minutes 59 seconds and 6 discs to get through the second side of the shackle.

Note: the efficiency of the Abus double locking shackle also meant there was very little movement after 1 cut (less than in all its rivals). So there’s no way a thief would be able to slide anything through the gap by prizing it apart after the first cut.

But that means a total of 5 minutes and 10 seconds and 11 discs to defeat an immobilized Abus Super Extreme 2500 with a mains powered angle grinder, not including the time it took to change the discs over!

That’s incredible angle grinder resistance. The total grinding time was slightly less than Litelok X3, but I used an extra 7 discs! When you consider the time it takes to change a disc, surely this makes it the most secure of all the angle grinder resistant bike locks?

Well, that’s what I thought at first.

However, further testing unearthed a way to cut through one side of the shackle with just one disc, in 47 seconds! I stupidly didn’t try to cut the second side, but looking at the disc I used on the first side, I don’t think it would have lasted, and I would have needed to change it.

So let’s estimate that it would have been 2 discs and 2 minutes to cut both sides.

The Bennets test seemed to find the same weakness (although it took him 2 discs per side, and he said it was a “tricky attack to do accurately”). I found it much easier, but I had immobilized the lock and he hadn’t.

Regardless, this is a pretty serious flaw as far as I’m concerned. And if he knows about it and I know about it (and the person who told me about it, knows about it), then it’s likely to eventually become common knowledge amongst a certain level of bike thief.

And it’s really disappointing because after the initial test I was ready to declare that the Abus Super Extreme 2500 is the most angle grinder resistant lock currently available. But now I can’t.

Because it’s not.

Is the Abus Super Extreme 2500 easy to carry?

The Abus Super Extreme 2500 is extremely bulky and extremely heavy. Both of which work against a lock being easy to carry!

The eternal dimensions are 6.69" x 11.73" (17.0 x 29.8 cm), which makes it one of the biggest angle grinder resistant bike locks. And it weighs 4.92 lb (2.2 kg), which is about the same as 6 cans of Coke and makes it the second-heaviest angle grinder resistant bike lock.

Only the Hiplok DX1000 is heavier.

So, you’d imagine that carrying it around is going to be a proper pain. However, unlike the other big angle grinder resistant locks, the Abus Super Extreme 2500, comes with a proper plastic frame mount!

It’s a bit of a weird one, though.

Due to the bulk and weight of the Abus Super Extreme 2500, they’ve had to come up with a frame mount that attaches to the seat stays and chain stays (or a luggage rack) rather than the more usual down tube.

To keep it firmly in place, you have to secure it to the frame in two places. Once with a pair of plastic covered metal straps that you tighten sound the frame with a screw system. And once with some rubber ties.

I found it very fiddly to mount on the two bikes I tested it with. And once it’s in place, the ends of the straps and the ties tend to stick out untidily (you can fold them away to some extent, but it still looks scruffy).

But I did manage in the end. And despite feeling like a bit of a bodge job of a solution, once in place, the mount was very secure and worked well.

You have to lock the Abus Super Extreme 2500 into the frame mount, which is quite unusual. And this means you need to have easy access to the keyhole for things to work smoothly.

For instance, with one of the ways I attached the frame mount, the keyhole of the lock would be facing the floor, and it was difficult to unlock it like that (as I couldn’t see where the keyhole was).

Much better to flip it around so you can see the keyhole when you're trying to get the lock out!

Getting the Abus Super Extreme 2500 in and out of the frame mount was relatively easy, as long as I could see the keyhole. And riding around with it in the frame mount was fine too. There was no rattling or movement.

The only significant issue was that as I fitted and removed the mount several times to try it in different places on the bike frame, the plastic coating on the metal straps started to catch inside the mechanism, making it more difficult each time to remove the mount.

So I recommend finding a place on your frame where it works and leaving it there!

All in all, despite being quite bulky and fiddly to fit, the frame mount is generally a high quality accessory and works well.

If you don’t think it would work on your bike (or you don't fancy paying the extra money for the frame mount), then there are other options.

You could of course throw the Abus Super Extreme 2500 in a bag (just remember it weighs the same as 6 cans of Coke and you will feel that weight!). Or you could strap it to your luggage rack with some luggage straps, which would be a cost-effective alternative to the frame mount!

Is the Abus Super Extreme 2500 easy to use?

While the large dimensions of the Abus Super Extreme 2500 might make it more challenging to carry around, they do have an upside: they’ll provide you with loads of options when you’re searching for somewhere to secure your bike.

The internal dimensions of the Abus Super Extreme 2500 are 4.25" x 9.0" (10.8 x 22.9 cm), which are the same as a standard size u-lock. And this means that you should have no problem locking your frame and either wheel to a bike rack.

Even when using an ebike with thicker wheels and a chunky frame, I had no problems securing it with the Abus Super Extreme 2500. And you may be able to get it around fatter street furniture like lampposts or traffic signs too.

Only the Skunklock Carbon and Hiplok DX1000 are comparable in terms of their internal dimensions and the locking opportunities they provide.

Note: as locks get more difficult to cut, thieves are starting to cut through bike racks instead. So make sure to lock your bike in a way that immobilizes a wheel so they can’t simply ride off with the lock attached. For example, just locking the top tube is a bad idea!

Like all high end Abus bike locks, the build quality is really impressive. Everything clicks together perfectly, the keyhole cover is metal, the key turns smoothly, and nothing ever gets misaligned.

In fact, of all the angle grinder resistant bike locks I’ve tested, the Abus Super Extreme 2500 was the easiest and most pleasurable to use. Which is important if you’re using it every day, in all weathers!

Conclusion: Is the Abus Super Extreme 2500 worth it?

The Abus Super Extreme 2500 is a very expensive bike lock. You can check the current price here [Amazon]. But it’s usually at the upper range of what you would expect to pay for an angle grinder resistant bike lock.

So what could make it worth it?

Well, you can buy a proper frame mount for the Abus Super Extreme 2500. The only other angle grinder resistant bike locks that are available with frame mounts are the Litelok X1 and the Hiplok DX1000.

The Litelok X1 frame mount gets mixed reviews, and the Hiplok DX1000 frame mount is more of a pouch that you can strap to your frame. So I would say the Abus Super Extreme 2500 frame mount is probably the best of the bunch.

The Abus Super Extreme 2500 also has the best build quality of all the angle grinder resistant bike locks. Less rattling, a really smooth locking and unlocking experience, and that general feeling of Abus quality.

But it’s the angle grinder resistance that’s the most important factor.

In my initial tests, it took much longer (in total) and used more discs to cut the Abus Super Extreme 2500 than any other angle grinder resistant bike lock I’ve tested so far. However, subsequent tests showed that there seems to be a particular way to cut it with just one disc, a lot quicker.

And that is a bit of a dealbreaker for me.

It may not be a way that the vast majority of thieves will try. It may not be a way that is easy when the lock is around a bike in the street. Indeed, in the street it may be that a thief needs to change several discs (just as in the Bennets test).

But the fact there is a particular way to cut the Abus Super Extreme 2500 faster than some of the other angle grinder resistant locks (many of which are much cheaper), means that it’s probably best to go with one of those, unless you love the frame mount.

Alternatives to the Abus Super Extreme 2500

Looking for something more secure?

Most importantly, though, the Hiplok doesn’t seem to suffer from the same security weakness as the Abus. So even though it took longer (and more discs) to cut the Abus in the conventional test, I still consider the Hiplok more resistant to angle grinders overall.

Plus, it’s usually slightly cheaper (check the current price here [Amazon])!

Looking for something cheaper?

While I cut through the Litelok X1 much more quickly than the Abus Super Extreme 2500 in my conventional test, it still required 2 discs to beat the Litelok X1. And that’s the most important thing, as few thieves will be prepared to change a disc mid-theft.

It’s not as big as the Abus Super Extreme 2500, but there should still be enough internal space to lock most bikes. Plus, it comes with a functional frame mount, or you can buy a belt strap separately.

And it’s actually 22% lighter than the Abus Super Extreme 2500 (4.5 cans of Coke compared to 6), so even if you decide to throw it in a bag, you’re not going to feel it as much when you’re carrying around.

I liked it so much I made it my best bike lock of 2024, and it’s a very good, lower priced alternative to the Abus Super Extreme 2500!

Abus Super Extreme 2500 Specs

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