Just saw this video with a u-lock breach. It looks like the lock was a little too big and left the theives space for leverage.

https://youtu.be/-JE32N2xmW8

Very upsetting.

Old style u-locks have the key end protruding a few inches from the U. This video shows how a thief can fit a pipe onto the bar and pry.

You can purchase a pipe Tee fitting and put it on when you lock it. It's heavy though.

Next thieves figure out that you can hammer a bic pen into the lock and and break it.

So when you lock, put the tee-fitting on and position the lock so the key end is pointed down or somewhere where it's difficult to put more than your hand into.

what a strange video ...

did the thief's mobile/wallet pop out and is left on the ground and picked up by someone else?

Time to wrap my lock in taped cast iron pipes.

- Andy

I guess that in the UK, CCTV would catch the person carrying a large pipe and police would be dispatched.

Also, bikes are usually covered up to Ģ500 (a pub bike shouldn't be than Ģ50 anyway) under standard "contents insurance".

At this day and age, is someone still using the cylindrical lock design that was vulnerable to the bic exploit?

Master lock uses the tubular key design but whether its implementation is vulnerable is "most likely not."

Have you guys seen Skylock ? Don't know how to add a link but skylock.com

And then someone got his pipe, too.

at least the thief was nice enough to leave the lock, most times they take it and sell it for scrap metal so you can't get insurance from the lock maker

Three locks:
5/8" cable with mini-U-lock (cylinder key)
Medium U-lock with rotary combination.
Large U-lock with flat key.

Will just take 3 times as much time with the same pipe.
Anyone knows it's at least 3 sets for a good workout routine.

Looks to be at least 4 ft. long (possibly over 5 ft.), approximately 1 inch to 1 and a half inch diameter piece of ReBar. The 'knurling' / 'ribs' (don't know the proper term, but characteristic of all concrete reinforcement bars l know of) on the surface of the bar can be clearly seen, starting at 1:28 as the person that picks up the bar from the sidewalk, exits the bottom of the frame.

This looks like a very slick/experienced 'Crew', pretty sure job was 'Cased'/'Scoped' in advance. Absolutely no hesitation or fumbling from either the Muscle or the Blocker (he blocks/obstructs the view from inside the business for the few seconds his partner needs).
Lever is inserted between the arms of the U shackle, just above and parallel to the cross bar then rotated 90 to 180 degrees or so.
Unfortunately, while I FEEL Confident this is a low end U-Lock (for example: Big Box/Dollar store, Big 'K's "Keeper" level/quality certainly, maybe even up to "series 2" or O.G./Magnum "Bulldog" level/quality, it is a very large and solid piece of ReBar after all) due to poor video quality l can't positively I.D. the lock in the video.

My thanks to the O.P. for this Excellent example of piss poor locking technique (I'm certain Hal Ruzal would've given the owner/victim an 'F', maybe a 'D' if he was feeling charitable, at least the owner/victim Wasn't Using a Cable Based lock). And how Brutally/Breathtakingly fast the actual theft of a "Locked" bike can be.

Definitely a planned theft. I don't think more locks would have helped. Just add some bolt cutters to the rebar and you've gotten through the u-lock and a cable lock.

Is that the thief, without the long coat, that comes back and picks up the bar? Looks like it. ?

What you guys don't realize is that the chances of the owner to collect any insurance money from the lock manufacture is slim to none!

Ok, he's got the lock, but he also needs a police report which in most major cities the police won't bother wasting their time; then they need the original box the lock came in with the UPC intact which you had to send in when you registered the lock, along with the original receipt which you also had to send in when you registered the lock, so how can you resend that if you no longer have it because you sent it in! hmmm. Anyway in addition to that you have to have photos taken and the time of day the bike was stolen of the area, the lighting if at night, undisturbed crime scene of what the bike was locked to, undisturbed lock. Then the lock company looks at all the evidence you send and they determine if you get any money, sometimes they'll send you a new lock for free but won't insure the bike due to something they found that left the bike vulnerable to theft and therefore not the locks fault. If the lock registration had expired which is usually after 2 years and you didn't renew it you're screwed of course, and then after the 2nd registration has expired you have to buy a new lock and start the whole thing all over again.

A major bicycle rag once asked Kryptonite how many bicycle claims have they paid out to registered owners of their locks for stolen bikes, and Kryptonite refused to answer the question saying it was guarded information...right, what they really mean is that they pay out very very few claims if any.

You want insurance on your bike it's already covered through your homeowners or renters policy minus a deductible; or get a floater for the bike specifically added to your homeowners/renters policy and have no deductible, but floaters cost an average of $9 per $100 of bike value per year, not bad but chances of a bike theft is fairly remote so you have to figure out if paying for the insurance is worth it for you. Insurance is a lot like gambling, I gamble I'm not going to have a loss so I don't insure the bikes separately they're just insured through the contents coverage of my homeowners policy, so far after 40 years of having bikes I haven't lost the bet so I'm way ahead of what the cost of the insurance would have been after 40 years of paying.

Correct me if I'm wrong (I know somebody will) - but with mini U-lock, the thief couldn't get the pry-bar into the loop and wouldn't be able to steal this bike. Add a cable through the U-lock to secure wheels. This can be defeated with a grinder, but not with a pry-bar.

I use larger U-locks, but live in areas where this kinda theft isn't likely, even so, I know to 'fill' the loop of the lock with as much bike as I can to make it hard to get a bar inside the loop.

I have to think that caused quite a bit of damage to the bike, unless the bike rack took most of the force, and the bike moved out of the way, still a dent? It was quick though.

That's why I prefer a big case hardened chain and armored padlock.

Sounds like the same kind of maze you have to go through for the warranty on 25 year roof shingles.

looked like a crap lock to me. I find it hard to believe that the better U-locks could fail this quickly.

j.

6 feet of rebar with me on the end is a huge amount of force (6 ft with 180#). Most reasonable places would question someone walking down the street with 6' piece of rebar in the middle of the night, but that's a different conversation.

Exactly, that and carpet warranties. Neither a carpet manufacture, a shingle manufacture, nor a lock manufacture will rarely if ever pay out on a warranty...the warranty just sounds good for selling.

And, if they know anything about insurance, they will have factored the desired compensation level in their prices.