Originally Posted by dutret
As I said you deflate the tire and then cut. The rim will get crushed down to a reasonable size and then cut. There is no question the bolt cutters will fit around easily. Whether they cut or not would take a trial but I have neither bold cutters nor a rim I want to sacrifice. Even three clips is alot easier then using a hacksaw. If you think not you clearly haven't used a hacksaw much. I'm glad your there to support sheldon but he's not a god just a very knowledgable yet still fallible person. His assertion that it would be more difficult then you think supported by the hacksaw example is illogical and wrong.
You underestimate how sophisticated and dertermined bike theives are. A "multifaceted" two step job for an expensive bike is no problem for some. I have seen cables that were clearly "gnawed" through with hand held clippers so a single cut is not a neccessity. And everyone has seen bikes stolen with a wheel left behind.
Also tweakers love work.
No one in this part of the world under estimates bike thieves and keeps their bike. I also fail to see how a 42" bolt cutter that has a maximum cutting width of 3/4" (7/8" was a guess, apparantly most are limited to 3/4") can fit around a naked road rim with almost a full 1/4" larger diameter. You cannot get both rim walls in one cut, you cannot get the double wall of the inner rim into the blades of your weapon of choice at all, even if you snip both side walls first. Let's say you cut the accesible rim wall of a tensioned wheel, how do you propose to get through the rest of the rim in just one cut? I think it could be done, but it would require a lot of force, and many, many chewing cuts. Faster to use your first idea of untensioning the wheel and hitting it with a hacksaw. Or my own of kicking the seam.
No one said Sheldon was infallible, that's just you. No one is defending Sheldon, just his method. His method is quite sound, as for illogical & wrong assertations, many people DO see individual wheels locked to poles, they were locked outside the triangle or are front wheels locked by silly people. They weren't cut. How many people see wheels that have been cut laying on the sidewalk? None, not any. I don't think a lot of people use Sheldons method, but if any percentage at all does we would see the results here in TO if it were as weak as you state it is.
Sheldons method has stood the test of time, it's been argued and tested before, even on this forum. You may want to ask mechbgon who sez he'll test it, hasn't yet
AFAIK but even his first suggested test involved power tools, not bolt cutters. When ABhouston pointed out that real world bike thief tools would make a more applicable test he seemed to opt for breaking the rim at any point (presumably at the point at which it's locked) rather than my own method of hitting it at the seam and cutting a few spokes to get the break to the lock.
If you're whole argument is based around bolt cutters, you are wrong, not sheldon. The example you give just won't go around the example of a rim I gave, a road rim, mind you, much less a mtb rim. Perhaps Sheldon didn't mention bolt cutters because even the large 42" can't do it easily?
Do you really believe that bike thieves like to work at the only part of their job they could be arrested or attacked during? The pro thieves here in TO, which has more thieves than you can shake a stick at, more than in all of GA despite the meth problem in the south, seem to prefer fast action, quick in & out theft unless they have cover of darkness.
You're a bit weird in your need to be right meaning that someone else be wrong. If it's not enough for you to admit that Sheldons method is Different & has it's strengths & weaknesses like any other method then this is far more about your ego than Sheldons method. Unless of course you have a pair of those magic 42" bolt cutters that go around 25mm (.9842519") inflexible alu objects & sever them in 2 snips. Then do it again with the larger MTB rims.
If you really want to be right at someones expense, I gaurantee I can break Sheldon's method with nothing but a pair of park cable snips much, much faster than you can with bolt cutters. You'll have to concede that the bolt cutters were the wrong choice for the rim....I'm not sure you can.