...and boy, will I ever look at a bike lock the same again.

I had to grind off my jammed, frame mounted rear wheel lock. No time to carry the locked bike to LBS or locksmith, so I went and bought the cheapest grinder I could find. Hardware store supplied me with 2 cutting disks, supposedly the right kind for the job. I hit the lock with the grinder, and amongst all the pyrotechnics I figured, if I'm going down, at least I'm going down in flames. Took me all of maybe 1 minute of grinding, having never used a grinder before, and most of that time was spent being careful with the last couple of mms so as not to cut the bike frame too.

Watching the disk sink into the lock material was a sobering experience. The tool I have is probably a hobby level POS as far as grinders go, and the wheel lock is not as strong as a heavy duty U-lock. But I have no doubt I could have cut through my U-lock too, given enough time and maybe a few cutting disks.

All I can say is, knowing that any lock can be defeated, and having actually experienced it are two different things.

--J