Cutting a cable lock
 

I would like advice on cutting through a cable lock like this one:

http://www.kryptonitelock.com/Produc...=1001&pid=1185

Here's the deal- Near my place there is a cool vintage mountainbike from the mid 80s locked to a tree that I would notice every time I road past it, about once or twice a week. I thought it belonged to someone who worked in the area and they were just locking it to the same spot all the time. The other day I road past and the wheels were gone, a few days later it's still there, wheels missing. So it seems clear that it hasn't been locked up there anew every day, it's just been locked there for about 6 weeks now.

This is a cool bike and I don't want it to get trashed. It's starting to rain and it's gonna get ruined. I want to take this bike home to save it and run some ads on craigslist for a few weeks to see if the original owner can claim it. I'm sure plenty of people will pop on to let me know what a horrible person I am for trying to justify stealing a bike... 'how to free an abandoned bike' threads pop up every so often and that's how they usually go... but honestly I'm just interested in saving the bike from ruin because it's pretty unique, and honestly I'd be most pleased if the owner was able to claim it. I'm not trying to get a free bike.

So, any tips on how to get through a cable lock?

I had to do this once to free my bike after losing the key to the padlock. Small pair of bolt cutters does most of the work, followed by a small pair of either diagonal cutters or linesman pliers to finish off. The bolt cutters cut through a majority of the steel fibers, but won't cut all the way. The wire cutters get the last remaining fibers. An easier way is a cordless dremel with a cut-off wheel, if you have one.

It's a myth that these cable locks are very secure. Get a hacksaw with good quality blade and if you can hold the cable againist something solid you will be through it in about 30 sec. The plastic sheath around the Kryptonite cables prevents the wire ends from snarling up and making it difficult to saw.

Sounds doable. Thanks.

yeah, bolt cutters or hacksaw should take that apart. i had a lock locked to my bike frame itself and all i did was bust it at the pin that hooked the wire to the combo unit.

the only type id say would be bullitproof would be the full on hardened "u-locks". no cable, all steel.

Bolt cutters, or angle grinder.
Then all you have to do is convince yourself that you're not a bike thief (you will be)

Out of curiosity, why not run the ads on craigslist before liberating the bike?

Well it's gone anyway. There's construction going on and I think the city took it, there were new LA DWP barriers about. Good, I didn't really want to deal with it, just felt compelled to.

Because it would have been stolen- for real stolen, not trying to do a solid like me- within 10 minutes of the ad being posted.

But presumably the actual owner knew more or less where it was, so you didn't need to say where it was.

Why presumably? That makes no sense.

You know what, forget it. I don't feel like playing the "defend yourself against all these things I can pull out of thin air without having any first-hand knowledge of the situation" game.

Sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you or play any sort of game. I was just exploring an alternative way to handle this, because as you said at the beginning it comes up pretty regularly. It occurred to me after I posted that being as the bike was abandoned, there is a good chance it had been previously stolen and so you're right, the owner might have had no idea where it was. Even so, I think the CL ad without removing it is a possible solution, since presumably you wouldn't be posting the location if you did remove it and so the owner would have to contact you either way.

Anyway, sorry I upset you.

I was thinking along Andy K's lines, too.

So, hey-

what kind of vintage bike was this?

Oops, sorry the bike is bye bye.

For the record, another easy way to cut the cable or any bike lock, for that matter, is to bring a cordless (battery powered) drill with a cutting disc.

Zippity Doo Da. Takes about 45 seconds. Frankly, I find the lock easier and faster to cut through than the cable.