Hello, I'm new here but I read your post and have had the "I lost my key" line used on me when I confronted a guy on campus stealing a bike.

How do I know he was stealing a bike you may ask?

Well my response was "hey, let me call the police for you, I'm sure they will help".

He kept working on the lock and watched me to see if I was bluffing, when he saw that I was talking to the 911 operator he just gathered his things and started to walk off with out a word... I gave the operator the info, hung up and takled the jerk. Thankfully the guy who owns the bike came out right after the police arrived to verify that the bike was his, other wise I might have been the one arrested instead of the jerk, would be bike thief.

Bravo! Good call!

Bike thieves suck. Seeing the light color filler gives me an inspiration. What if lock builders filled the U lock with some sort of material that instantly dulls blades? That might slow someone down.

So, if I understand this correctly, battery-powered angle grinders fitted with metal cutting wheels and/or battery-powered reciprocating saws are quickly and easily able to cut through the best bike locks?

Metal cutting disc for any grinder:


Battery powered sawzall (only $39 at Harbor Freight):



Battery powered grinder:


Would the Fahgettaboudit withstand these, perhaps by virtue of being hard to clamp still for cutting?

Available now at your LBS: The new Kryptonite Diamond Hardened "Tool Krusher" Fahgetaboutit Lock. Only $2,000!

I hear Nashbar has a 10% coupon right now though.

This has been an interesting thread, aside from a bit of the bickering...however, I always think a bit of skepticism can be healthy. I'm inclined to believe the OP though, especially with Donnamb's vote.

Though I've never had a bike stolen, I've long accepted the fact that no lock is impervious. Any lock is just an effort to make you a harder target than another bike; survival of the fittest, if you will...and while I don't personally subscribe to "social Darwinism" bike thieves are animals...so it is an apt metaphor.

Given that knowledge, I'm mostly interested in the Kryptonite warranty. That guarantee is what TRULY separates locks of a given quality level, when faced with power tools.

I'm eager to hear how the "after theft" protection goes on this one.

Cheers!

Well, this is not very encouraging for someone looking to secure his bike against theft. Looks like insurance is the only way to go ....

I suppose sales of these expensive locks will plummet when the penny drops with consumers, or as more and more crooks use these tools to boost bikes.

I remember a long time ago watching TV and they discussed Alcatraz
and its bar design, basically an internal solid bar was inside of the visible
bar, and if you cut(hacksaw) through the outside bar, once you got to the inside bar
it would spin freely when you tried to hack it.. of course you'd need to
somehow crush proof the outer layer so that you couldn't crush it to stop the internal
one from rotating.

Also Sorry about your bike... does your company provide secure parking for automobiles
if so they may be obligated to provide you the same service...

I think if your "badazz" enough to get Chuck Norris into a messenger bag, you probably didn't need him to begin with.

on edit:

jonnyboy77, I think you need to give serious thought to purchasing a good used, or inexpensive bike to use as a commuter. To which I would still add a good U lock. Sorry for your loss, hope your insurance will make you whole again.

I'm kind of thinking the whole "U" shape thing might be enough to keep the internal bar from spinning

Thats what they pay engineers for...
to figure it out... it could be segmented too, who knows...

Sounds interesting, wonder why no one has tried it with bike locks?

It might work with the straight parts of the Ulock, but I don't see how it could work on the curved portions. You'd have at least 2-3 parts added to the mix and that would add much expense, but I wonder if some prototyping is in order for high-end locks.

On edit, I realize I am late to the explanation party.

Feel luck to live and work where i do. AT work the bike rack is on the inside courtyard so it would have to be an employee to even get close enough to steal it. (still lock it any way whne i get it)

At home i will be keeping it in the back yard. (6 foot security fence around the yard as well as not being in the opent, and locked up)
Oh and of course the front tire will all ways be taken off and either in the house or at my desk.


Good luck with any you will get it back...however i would say i am not very hopefull bikes that get stolen tend to stay that way unless your in a small town.

I just feel that the advent of cheap, portable power tools changes the whole bike security picture forever, and most people haven't realized it yet!

That was my thinking too, and so was born:

$100 from Craigslist, although I still worry about it being stolen - not nearly as much as if I replaced the Cronus and used that to get to work.

- Jon

Any word from Kryptonite?

Most thieves want to ride the bike away. Removing the front wheel helps deter them. There is still some risk, but it is lowered.

I agree that a folding bike (that can be taken with you) can solve some of these problems.

Also, there are bike lockers available in some areas, and some parking garages have secure areas for bikes.

***
This may be worth knowing about: I once found a beautiful, very high-end, handmade steel frame with a stunning paint job, that had a section of tubing (approx. 3") missing from the seat tube. The bike had been stripped, and the frame had been ditched.

That's another way to defeat a lock.

(Sometimes I see several u-locks still locked to something, all alone, with no bikes. I wonder how many of these have been defeated by cutting out some portion of the bikes.)

That's internet fueled thievery there. The internet parts market can make those components more lucrative, easier to sell, and less traceable than an entire bike.

Hmmm....

I was just thinking that a hollow U-lock filled with a pressurized mixture of pure skunk essence and indelible ink would be an effective and poetically just deterrent. Easy to trace the theif too.

I've decided never to lock & leave my bike, ever. I'll lock it with a cheap, thin cable and keep it always in my line of sight. More expensive locks are a waste of time. The only use a lock has is to stop the opportunistic thief who will mount an unlocked bike and ride it away, so you may as well use the lightest and cheapest lock available.

the new trick in Vancouver BC Canada is thieves are using cordless dremels with ultrathin cutoff discs to cut thru any lock, chain or frame. I tried this on a length of 3/4" thick grade 100 lifting chain in the shop and cut thru it in about 20 seconds. An old U lock lasted 5 seconds.

yea right, they are still under the impression their locks are the best and unbreachable.

two words Krpytonite......your testing methods ARE NOT CURRENT WITH WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING OUT IN THE STREETS!

Cordless Dremel and thin cutoff disc at 45,000 rpms will defeat any krypto lock in seconds.

A cordless Dremel, eh? Dang! Video please!

Death Knell for Kryptonite and similar pricey locks!

That is so messed up! I don't know why people are so mean? It's really bad! I am ANGRY for you!!! I have a folder, and I already see people eyeing it, so I may even have to lock it in here!!!!

So you know Ebay has a couple of folders like Bromptons on sale, and that may be an option!

Good luck with the ins. company, and really... I hope that they catch that vile person!