Originally Posted by Shiznaz
One time my key snapped and I didn't have a backup so I had to go to Canadian Tire and buy the biggest set of bult cutters they had. After like 2 hours of going at it with all my strength the shackle of the padlock finally cut, but on the wrong damn side! After about another hour I got through the proper side of the shackle and got my bike free. from all this effort I managed to destroy the bolt cutters by completely bending the steel arms inwards so that now the blades won't even touch when you try to cut with it. I got how with the lock and was bored, so I tried to see if I could get the key piece out, only to find I could still unlock the lock just by grabbing the key with pliers and twisting.
Anyways, moral of the story is, I'm not strong enough to be a bike thief.
i amazes me how many people don't know how to use a bolt cutter... not a crack on you, just something i've noticed...
i've heard people say that something "can't be cut with bolt cutters", or "you'd need bolt cutters with four foot arms" etc... standard 30 inch cuters can get through damn near anything if you know how to use them (the krypto NYC chain is a usual exception)...
hell, i can turn you on to a hand-held cutter than can get through a 3/8" krypto cable like butter...
as for combo locks; circular ones- a hammer, maybe a chisel, a needle, and knowledge of what you're doing will get you through one in under two minutes... cylindrical ones- skip the needle and half the know-how...
regular key locks (ie masterlock padlocks, house door locks, etc): i can open anything like this, with 5 pins, with a bike spoke and a screw driver in under 10 seconds... 7 pins and i take about 30 seconds...
warded locks (which, i believe, is what krypto is using on the new locks) are the only ones i've tried that i can't pick... not to say it can't be done... quickly at that...
i still even trust cylindrical locks (old kryptos) if you dump enough oil/grease in them to keep a bic from sticking... if these are actually picked, you need to pick it
seven times to actually get it all the way open...
granted, breaking & entering and theft played a major role in my life for a while, but anybody with access to google and a curb can learn to pick basic locks, and anyone with some bolt cutters and an hour to kill can learn to use them well... i don;t figure this is common knowledge with your average bike theif, but it's common enough that i don;t trust locks for ****... i figure intimidation factor (of the lock) and tricks like grease in the mechanism work way better than the actual locking mechanism...