Based on your experience as a locksmith, what percentage of stolen bikes have their padlock picked, drilled or opened with a purloined key versus those that have their shank snapped with bolt cutters or
angle ground or have their cable defeated?
Best,
tcs
I have never seen a theft of a
bicycle due to lock picking. The lock is always broken/cut/ground in some way. I have seen a few where the cylinder (keyed part) has been drilled out.
Keep in mind that most bike thefts result in the thief taking the lock with them, so I cannot conclusively tell you that it never happens.
Cases of thieves actually
picking locks are usually relegated to high dollar (think bank/jewelry/million dollar mansion style), highly skilled, intelligent, well planned attacks.