Originally Posted by alanbikehouston
Looking at the photos, I don't see HOW the crook got your bike. The "cut" area on the shackle is less than a half inch wide. That is far too small a space to pull the frame of the bike through the cut, or to pull the rear wheel through the cut (if you had the lock around the rear wheel).
If the "cut" lock was sitting on a workbench, I'd guess you could rotate the shackle, and open up the "gap" between the two sections. But, if the interior of the shackle was filled by the rear wheel and a beefy locking post, it would not be possible to rotate the shackle enough to pull the bike through a single "cut".
When "Cycling Plus" used power tools to open the Kryptonite New York lock, the editors pointed out that the New York Lock has dual locking bolts. The shackle is not going to open unless BOTH legs are cut. With power tools, and new cutting discs, cutting both legs is a very time consuming task.
There are some odd things about the photo shown in this thread. If a single cut was made, using a power cutting disk, I'd expect the cut to be very thin, around 1/16th of an inch wide. Bright, shiny metal.
Instead, there is a cut of about 1/2 inch wide, badly corroded. The size of the cut is consistent with the shackle being cut twice, with each cut being located about 1/2 inch from the other. The corrosion is more consistent with the cut being made several weeks or months before the photo was taken.
Without a doubt, any lock can be opened with power tools. But, according to "Cycling Plus", on THIS lock, cutting both sides of the shackle with power tools is a long and noisy job. Not something most crooks are gonna want to spend their time doing. But, if a crook has power tools, lots of time, and lots of nerve, no lock in the world is gonna stop him.
It has been a while since I looked at the warranty on a bike lock. But, my recollection is, the Kryptonite insurance policy does NOT cover a lock cut by power tools. However, homeowner's insurance or renter's insurance may cover the loss, minus your deductible.
Not sure I appreciate the insinuation that this is some sort of hoax! I can assure you that the lock was attached to my bike and to a sturdy metal bike rack. The lock was removed from the bike frame, but could not be removed from the bike rack as the rack was a much larger diameter than any of the bike - that said, if the thief had wanted the lock too, it took <2 mins from walk up to ride away, a second cut would not have been an issue for this guy - he also cut through the kryptonite cable that was looped through frame and wheels. I retrieved the lock by unlocking it, I did put it back together for the photos to illustrate the cut.
In relation to the rust, the bike was stolen at 0950 in Chicago, the lock was left on the ground pretty much as you see in the photo - then at around 1600 it rained HEAVILY for about an hour, I picked up the lock off the ground at around 1800 that night (8 hours later) the photos were taken around 1900 that night.
I am in contact with Kryptonite and my home owners insurance, see how it goes.... I will be buying another Cronus though! I will also be looking for a $100 commuter or something.
I have posted about the video - if I can I will put it online.
Jon