remove old kryptonite u lock from bike
#26
Cheese
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Starkville, MS
Posts: 940
Bikes: Trek 520 & an old huffy mtb
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#27
cat person
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: N.W. Michigan
Posts: 510
Bikes: Nashbar Race SIS (1987), Kestrel Talon (2007), Trek Fuel EX 9.5 (2007)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
with a plasma cutter it wont matter. you can cut a car in half in about 15 minutes with one.
cut the farthest place from the frame, to avoid the chance of damage.
cut the farthest place from the frame, to avoid the chance of damage.
#29
Conservative Hippie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Wakulla Co. FL
Posts: 4,271
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I would attack the shackle. As far from the bike frame as I could, on an angle that won't send the shower sparks directly onto the bike. I would also wear eye protection, and not hold my face in line with the wheel. I would figure out a way to hold the lock securely so that I could have both hands on the grinder. If the shower of sparks lands on your clothes it will eventually burn a hole in them. Don't worry, you'll know it when that happens.
#30
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 35
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Shackle? Whats that?
What i meant was, one side of this lock has a bent foot, and the other doesn't. I can't remember which side it was on, been over a month since i opened the lock. Cutting the side with the bent foot would probably make it a lot easier to open up, and only have to do one cut. That is, should i cut @ 1, or 2?
What i meant was, one side of this lock has a bent foot, and the other doesn't. I can't remember which side it was on, been over a month since i opened the lock. Cutting the side with the bent foot would probably make it a lot easier to open up, and only have to do one cut. That is, should i cut @ 1, or 2?
#31
cat person
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: N.W. Michigan
Posts: 510
Bikes: Nashbar Race SIS (1987), Kestrel Talon (2007), Trek Fuel EX 9.5 (2007)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
the bent foot is opposite the lock end of the U lock.
The lock end has the arow head tail that the lock clicks around when it's secured.
If you cut at the apex of the "u" farthest from the straight shaft, with the plasma torch, the lock should fall off when it's severed.
The lock end has the arow head tail that the lock clicks around when it's secured.
If you cut at the apex of the "u" farthest from the straight shaft, with the plasma torch, the lock should fall off when it's severed.
#32
Conservative Hippie
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Wakulla Co. FL
Posts: 4,271
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
What I meant by the shackle is the "U" part. I would try to cut it so that I only had to make 1 cut. Lowers the chances of me messing something up that way.
Oh yeah, it may go without saying, but metal gets pretty flippin' hot very quickly when a grinder is taken to it. Ask me how I know that.
Insert appropriate disclaimer about the hazards of power tools here.
Oh yeah, it may go without saying, but metal gets pretty flippin' hot very quickly when a grinder is taken to it. Ask me how I know that.
Insert appropriate disclaimer about the hazards of power tools here.
#33
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: IL-USA
Posts: 1,859
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 111 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times
in
5 Posts
You will need a pair of vise grips to hold the lock with while you are cutting it, because where you're cutting the lock will get hot enough to burn the plastic covering off.
A torch or plasma cutter will certainly work, but these involve a lot more heat than a grinder does.
~
#34
cat person
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: N.W. Michigan
Posts: 510
Bikes: Nashbar Race SIS (1987), Kestrel Talon (2007), Trek Fuel EX 9.5 (2007)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Either way you want to wrap the frame to protect the paint though, regardless of method.
#35
Hooligan
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Base of the Rocky Mountains, Canada. Wonderous things!
Posts: 1,431
Bikes: 2010 Cannondale Hooligan 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
If you go with the angle grinder it should take under a minute, even the stronger ones won't take more than a minute or two. Just put a wet non-synthetic blanket around the frame, or a fire blanket, either one will provide adequate protection for the time it'll take you to defeat the lock with a power tool.
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: IL-USA
Posts: 1,859
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 111 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times
in
5 Posts
Also I can tell you that it'll get too hot to touch either way, but a cutoff wheel puts MUCH less heat into the part than a torch will. If you cut up thin sheet metal for instance, a welding torch will blaze right through it, but also the torch heat will warp the sheet badly. A cutoff wheel will slice right through the sheet metal but not warp it up from heat at all.
~
#38
Membership Not Required
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: On the road-USA
Posts: 16,855
Bikes: Giant Excursion, Raleigh Sports, Raleigh R.S.W. Compact, Motobecane? and about 20 more! OMG
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 70 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 15 Times
in
14 Posts
__________________
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#39
Banned.
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,726
Bikes: Giant ATX 1200, Schwinn Peleton
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 437 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
I've helped a crew of guys cut through about 200 tons of metal with an angle grinder and a torch in the past 2 weeks. I envy the simplicity of this problem.
Last edited by Michigander; 03-29-08 at 06:59 PM.
#40
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 35
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Thanks for your help guys. my friend ended up loaning me an angle grinder. it didn't have a guard on it though, so was pretty unsafe to use. but regardless, it took about 25 seconds to cut through the lock. it didn't really get that hot at all. and fell apart easily.
#42
rebmeM roineS
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Metro Indy, IN
Posts: 16,216
Bikes: Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 653 Post(s)
Liked 347 Times
in
226 Posts
Let's hear it for Power Tools! I trust you wore eye protection and gloves, etc. No, don't answer that.