Oxford boss Alarm: An owner’s review

Today I want to talk to you about my brake disc lock. It’s the Oxford Boss Alarm, which I’ve owned for around 12 months now.

When you have a bike with only a little storage space like mine, you want to own a disc lock that’s small enough to go around with you at any given time. A brake disc lock will fit under your seat and can be taken anywhere. I love this lock because of its size and its versatility.

Read below for a honest review of this lock, or check the price on Amazon.

An overall impression of the Oxford Boss Alarm

The Oxford Boss Alarm is a heavy duty 14mm thick brake disc lock. The lock is quite big for a disc lock but small enough to fit under your seat or even in your pocket if needed.

The versatility of this lock comes into play when you combine it with a chain lock. The Oxford Boss Alarm can be used on itself on your brake disc OR combined with a chain lock. This transforms your chain into an alarmed chain!

Personally, I take this lock with me at all times. Just in case I want to park somewhere to get a drink on the go or something like that. I only use it with my chain when it’s parked overnight.

I’ve used this lock for over 12 months now and I’m still as happy as I was the day I bought it. A lock is as safe as it’s user and I use this lock ALL THE TIME since it’s so convenient.

As always, even the best products come with some cons and so does this lock.

The lock can be locked by sliding the two parts together in eighter way. One way arms the alarm, whiles the other way just closes the lock but doesn’t arm the alarm. It’s quite smart, since you don’t want your (motion detecting) alarm to go off whiles riding with it under the seat. The con is that little red marks reveil which side is which, but it’s quite hard to see in some positions. They could have solved this by making the whole bracked red on one side.

Another little flaw is the key. The key is U-shaped and will only fit the lock in one position. However, it’s not always possible to see the keyhole for example, when it is facing the ground. So you’ll have to whiggle it a bit to see if the key fits. This however, moves the lock around which will activate the alarm. Do you see where I’m going here? I’ve had myself trying to unlock the lock whiles the alarm went of on numerous occasions and it stressed me out.

The alarm itself

So this lock has a motion detection alarm. As soon as you move the lock around, it will set of an alarm to inform the owner that somebody is messing with the lock.

The alarm itself is ‘ok’, but I’m not super excited about it. Unlike many other alarmed locks, this lock isn’t overly sensitive. The alarm doesn’t start when a heavy lorry passes by or anything like that. I’ve read reviews about this on other alarmed disc locks.

As soon as the alarm moves, a short warning beep will sound. This informs the person that the lock is armed with an alarm. When you leave the lock after warning beep, everything will be fine.

Does it keep moving after the warning beep, but the lock isn’t opened within a few seconds? In that case, the alarm will go off. And this is exactly where I think there could be an improvement. I don’t think the alarm is loud enough.

I mean, yeah, with 100 dB it’s quite loud. It’s loud enough to be ashamed when it goes off when you try to open it. And it might scare some thieves away. But it might not be loud enough to hear when you are inside a building, just 20 meters away from the parked bike. I think that Oxford could have done better there.

Usage of the Oxford Boss Alarm disc lock

Overall I just really like this alarm. It’s small enough to take it with you on any trip, and it offers you some extra protection over conventional disc locks.

It will warn you when somebody is messing with the lock or when they try to lift your bike into a van or anything like that.

I would recommend this alarm to any motorcycle rider. In fact, two of my friends also bought this lock when they heard me speaking about it.

The best part is that it’s not even that expensive. Check the lock out on Amazon for the latest price.

Oxford Boss Alarm specifications

• Integrated alarm
• Includes batteries
• Includes a reminder cable
• Tested on the “5 Minute attack”
• Comes with 3 keys
• Accepted by many insurance companies due to its high safety rating

Conclusion

Are you looking for a high-quality brake disc lock with an alarm? Stop looking, and get the Oxford Boss Alarm! Despite it small cons, it still feels like the best brake lock money can buy.