LOL, I did try a dollar store hacksaw today. People looked at me weird.

I read all of your posts and keep thinking, what if one of you was the bad guy, after MY bike? What's my best defense against someone with a truck, a generator and a grinder? How can I keep you turkeys from stealing my bike?

whatever you do, i'd notify the police before i started working on it. just explain the situation, where the bike is, and when you plan to bust the lock.

-rob

You can't, really.

You can make it more difficult, so the bad guy (really,
I'm not that bad) steals someone else's bike parked
next to yours -- the path of least resistance solution.

You can use protective camouflage -- the ugly it up
solution (duct tape and primer paints are good for this).

You can never let it out of your sight --the hang it
up on the living room wall solution.

But in the final analysis, all you can do is slow the thieves
down a little. Hopefully they will make enough noise that
you can shoot them.

I worked as a fireperson for a number of years. A large part
of the job constitutes breaking and entering.

I'm also interested in bicycle theft (the study of it, not doing it)
as a hobby. Bike theft would not have gone on at the levels
it has for the last 110 years or so if there was an easy way
to prevent it. I try to keep up on the latest methods. While
it would be great if they were not discussed in public forums,
the cat is long since out of the bag. Look at You tube.

U-locks are great, but I personally will only leave a bike locked
up that is old, unattractive, and cheap enough to replace
that it won't hurt so badly if it disappears. Not the world I'd
choose to live in, just the one I do.

Regrettably,
Mike Larmer

I take it that didn't cut it?

How far is this pole from an electricity source? Maybe you just need to get hold of a long enough extension cord, or get a few together.

update:

got the bike back! I ended up calling a locksmith. I paid him a very reasonable $55 and he cut it off with a battery-powered angle-grinder. Took about five minutes.

All in all the bike sat outside for two days and no one messed with it. I have it locked down pretty nicely

For all of you worried guys...I found the ulock to be a pretty good deterrent. You have to understand the risk/reward calculus. Any thief will be nervous that he'll be stopped by the police or that the owner will return and give him hell. Furthermore, my bike is dinged up and it might be worth $300. To get that $300 they have to store it at their house and then sell it on Craigslist or something, and there's still a risk of discovery.

So if I were a bike thief, there are so many bikes out there with the stupid cable locks that can be stolen in like 30 seconds flat. And even then, really, the only ones worth stealing IMO are the carbon frame ones that are over 1k. That's just my opinion.

I was curious. I have a Bulldog lock that was replaced under warranty when it wouldn't open. And it's not on a bicycle. So I went and bought some regular carbon steel hacksaw blades and some high-speed steel hacksaw blades at Northern Tool. I didn't see any abrasive ones.

Got home and tried the blades. It is like sawing on a coke bottle, just no cutting at all going on. I get the impression you could saw through about as easily using the back side of the blade. So whatever you use, don't expect that method to work.

Ongaurd gives you like 17 extra keys and a big tag with the key number on it.

Best to have a big old Jantor's keyring someplace in your house/apartment (I hang mine up in the closet where it won't be easily seen) and put every key you own on it. Keep them all in one place. Never throw away a key because the minute you do you'll realize what it was for unless you know for SURE what it goes for and that you don't need it any more.

My Janitor's ring has over 200 keys on it (it's actually a series of these rings and mini climbing D-clips hooked all together. I also have "spare sets" of all my keyrings that I have just in case I can't find my keys in the morning and have to run out of the house to work or an appointment and can't wait around looking for my keys that are somewhere in the house.

There isn't such thing as "luck" -there are people who have prepared for eventualities and those who just get tossed around by the fickle finger of fate.

It's never too late to start preparing. Put those spare keys to your new lock (along with the number that comes with it) in a special spot and learn from your mistake.

extra key in my wallet.......I bet I could stash an extra key on the bike somewhere too.......

Definitely will keep extra keys around.

I still am baffled at how my keys could have disappeared like that. Literally, I locked the bike, crossed the street to get some food, and the keys were all gone. Luckily, I live close by so I could walk home.