TiGr BLUE Bike Lock Reviewed: Elegant & Stronger!

The TiGr Blue Lock offers a lightweight yet impressively strong security solution for bikes and Onewheels, surpassing its titanium predecessors in cut resistance thanks to high-carbon steel. Its elegant, user-friendly design fits smaller vehicles and resists common cutting tools, though the protective coating may sustain damage. It’s ideal for cyclists seeking portable, reliable protection.

Video Review

Written Review

Most bike locks solve the security problem by making the lock big, heavy, and impossible to ignore in your bag. TiGr took the opposite approach. Their locks are thin, lightweight, and designed to actually come with you on a ride rather than get left at home because they were too much of a hassle to bring. Jimmy sat down with Jim Loughlin, co-founder of TiGr Lock, to dig into the newest addition to the lineup: the TiGr Blue Mini+, a redesigned shackle built around a different material entirely.

Personal Thoughts

The TiGr Blue is my third TiGr Lock. I own and use the two previous titanium versions: the TiGr mini+ and the TiGr mini. Both of the titanium locks have performed well. They are light weight and easy to use but the resistance to cutting attacks is low. When this new TiGr Blue came out I was excited to get my hands on it. Aesthetically, it is very similar in design and appearance to the other TiGr locks but the material is different and that is the key to making this a great lock. Later in this article, I will be showing how the TiGr Blue metal is far superior to the Titanium as I put it up against a hack saw and two different bolt cutters.

Cut Tests

I asked the folks from TiGr lock to provide me a sample of their high carbon steel so I could perform my own cut tests. They provided me with a piece of the metal and I took a brand new hack saw and two different types of bolt cutters to see if it would survive. The high carbon metal shackle is treated with a special coating to prevent corrosion. Then the entire lock is covered in a shrink wrap type material to help further protect the metal and to prevent the lock from scratching your bicycle. The sample I tested composed of only the high carbon steel and did not include the outer shrink wrap.

Hacksaw: I used a brand new Craftsman hacksaw with a carbon steel blade that I purchased at my local Lowes. I went at it for several minutes and it barely cut less than a millimeter into the TiGr Blue metal. My saw blade, on the otherhand, was completely dulled by the attempt. The TiGr Blue was the clear winner.

Bolt Cutter #1: Because the biggest bolt cutter that Lowes had in stock when I was there was an 18″ set by Kobalt, that’s what I started with. If I were a thief, 18″ seems like a nice size bolt cutter that I could carry around discreetly with me as I look for potential targets.

I tried multiple times with these bolt cutters and nothing more than shallow dents were made. The TiGr Blue material held up.

Bolt Cutter #2: After perusing some websites on how to become a bike thief (you can learn how to do just about anything on the internet) I found that the bolt cutters I had initially used were probably underpowered for the job. I needed a highly rated 24″ bolt cutter so I ordered a double compound HK Porter 24″ set from Home Depot. It was their highest rated bolt cutter and I was able to pick up a few days later.

This HK Porter set felt very heavy duty. At double the cost of the previous bolt cutters, it also felt double the weight and more than double the strength. I felt pretty confident I would be able to cut through the TiGr Blue sample but to my surprise the metal held up through the multiple attacks.

While the dents were deeper into the metal from these bolt cutters, the integrity of the metal held up and no cuts could be made. Which means we can confirm that the high carbon steel used in the shackle of the TiGr Blue is extremely strong.

Cut attacks will damage the outer coating of the lock which is put there to prevent rust and to protect your bike from getting scratched, but as far as protecting your bike or Onewheel from getting stolen, the TiGr Blue Lock has improved upon its greatest weakness from prior models: it is now very resistant to cut attacks. Because the steel is so thin, the lock remains just as light at its Titanium predecessors and because they are using a high carbon steel, the TiGr Blue is more cut resistant than before.

My Lock History

To give you some quick background, I ride Onewheels and before the TiGr Lock, I had been using a combination of cable locks, folding locks and U-Locks to keep my Onewheel safe during prolonged stops at the park, library, or coffee shop. I don’t live in a high crime area and I take extra precautions to ensure that my Onewheel is safe such as never allowing it to leave my sight for any prolonged period of time even when it is locked up. The reason I switched to the TiGr Lock was because the newest version of the Onewheel called the Onewheel Pint is smaller than the previous models of the Onewheel and the U-Lock I had been using no longer fit between the wheel and the rail on the Pint.

In searching for a lock I had two main criteria: that the lock work on the Pint and provide more security than a cable lock.  I found the TiGr Lock and it has been perfect for me — designed for bicyclists in mind, but crosses over nicely to the Onewheel world.

The Titanium Conversation

The original TiGr locks use titanium for the shackle, and for good reason. Titanium offers an exceptional strength to weight ratio, resists corrosion, and has the flexibility the TiGr design requires: the shackle needs to spread apart to lock around a bike frame or Onewheel rail, then snap back together. For a long time, titanium was the obvious material choice.

The problem that emerged, as outside reviewers began subjecting the lock to destructive testing, was that the thin titanium profile that made the lock so light also made it more vulnerable to cutting attacks than a traditional U-lock. TiGr took that feedback seriously. According to Loughlin, those external tests and critical reviews were a direct driver in the search for a better material.

Blue Steel

The TiGr Blue Mini+ uses high carbon steel, also known as blue steel or spring steel, as the shackle material. It is the same category of steel used in high-quality knife blades where hardness is the primary requirement. The higher the carbon content, the harder the steel becomes, which translates directly to cut resistance.

The raw blue steel shackle is actually thinner than the titanium version, roughly half the thickness. However, the finished product ends up approximately the same overall thickness once manufacturing is complete. The steel requires an e-coat treatment to protect against corrosion, a step not needed with titanium, and is then wrapped in a heat shrink material that protects both the lock from the elements and your bike or Onewheel from scratches. Those two layers bring the overall dimensions back in line with the titanium predecessor.

The material choice also has a meaningful cost advantage. High carbon steel is significantly less expensive than titanium, which Loughlin cited as one of the primary reasons for developing the Blue alongside the existing titanium line rather than as a replacement for it.

What Else Changed

The shackle material is the headline change, but the TiGr Blue Mini+ introduces a few additional updates. The lock cylinder now features knurling, a textured grip surface that Loughlin described as a practical improvement for cold or wet conditions where a smooth cylinder becomes slippery. TiGr plans to roll this change across the full lineup. The mounting clip, which attaches to standard water bottle mounts on a bike frame, has also been updated with a stainless steel reinforcement to add stiffness. Default color is black, with additional color options available.

The Flaw

The best thing about the TiGr Locks is also one of their biggest flaws. TiGr calls their locks “elegant” and I have to agree, they are very elegant locks. Unfortunately, motivated thieves may look at the thin metal and find it tempting to try to steal. While I have shown that the TiGr Blue shackle will stand up to most cutting attacks, the plastic covering will be damaged in most attacks and this will disrupt the protective covering that prevents corrosion of the steel material.

The Freshly Charged Verdict

The TiGr Blue Mini+ is built for riders who want a lightweight, low-profile lock that travels with them rather than sitting in a drawer. It is particularly well suited to Onewheel riders: most U-locks are too large to fit between the wheel and the rail on a Onewheel Pint, making the TiGr one of very few practical locking options for that platform. For cyclists and PEV riders in moderate-risk environments who prioritize portability alongside reasonable security, the Blue Mini+ improves meaningfully on its titanium predecessor where it mattered most, at a lower price point, without giving up the lightweight profile that made TiGr worth paying attention to in the first place.