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Bike lock broken (4 x keys twisted in barrel), bike still locked up with it......any ideas how to remove?
Luckily its at work and safe indoors but I was told cant use angle grinder (H&S) so at work it still sits. Carbon bike. Half decent bike lock - MagnumPlus with £1.5k 'insurance' on it, contacted manufacturers who said 'locksmith no good, forget hacksaw, bolt cutters wont do it, think mechanical removal'. Shackle style lock.
Any ideas how to remove lock appreciated, thanks.
see if you can get hold of some kind of liquid nitrogen canister to freeze the lock and shatter it with a big hammer or call the fire brigade! or failing that try to fit a scissor jack car type in there and prise it open.
try serious bolt croppers - or a hydraulic jack and jack it apart
is there room to get a car jack in there?
angle grinder will def do it or the big circular saw's!
i got my old u lock off mine with one in about 3 mins! reuined one cutting disc but got it off!
angle grinder will def do it or the big circular saw's!
I was told cant use angle grinder (H&S)
Reading is fun! 8)
jeez tough one if the manufacturer cant think of anything. I'd say maybe pop round your local fire station and see if you can get one of them to nip round with their hydraulic type cutting thing. Don't know how they would react to rescuing a bike though (wasting there time /non emergency).
a good hacksaw will do it, it will just take a while.
the reason these locks are sold as hacksaw proof is because of the time it takes to get through them.
just use a hacksaw, you'll have 'liberated' your bike in a month!
Jamie - Memberangle grinder will def do it or the big circular saw's!
I was told cant use angle grinder (H&S)
Reading is fun!
so is trying things for your self 😉
if a angle grinder can cut cobalt im pretty sure it can cut a lock 😉
thanks...
reading and learning can also be fun
they also say dont drive over 70 but bet ya do ... where you people from...!
It used to be possible to get a hacksaw "blade" that was actually a bit wire coated in some abrasive substance )possibly carborundum) and a friend, eventually, cut through a u-lock with one. Can't see a safety problem with a sensibly used and protected angle grinder unless there is a particular fire hazard but why would they let you keep a bike in such an atmosphere.
I reckon you could get through it in an hour or so with a hacksaw. The manufacturers are just pretending it's immortal. It's a cable at the end of the day, yes? They're all sawable.
Come on guys, get a grip and think about what you are doing. It is probably not a good idea for a bike forum to publish an in depth guide on how to remove a bike lock.
Perhaps the mods could remove this thread.
if a angle grinder can cut cobalt im pretty sure it can cut a lock
no no.. actually .. reading IS fun..
The OP can't use a grinder cos H+S (health and safety) at their place of work... won't let them.. the clue is in the original post.
DOH!
jimmyshand. It' a pretty safe guess that we're not going to come up with anything that a determined thief hasn't already tried. It's more a case of giving the OP some fresh ideas.
Hire the biggest bolt croppers you can find!
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/plus-110cm-armoured-cable-16469
Sod the hack saw get a battery reciprocating saw (fairly common) with a metal cutting blade and give it about 10mins.... that's what my Kryptonite took. at least that way you have a bit of control over the machine and it wont graunch the crap out of the frame, plus there more common than battery grinders and a lot easier to wield than petrol disc cutters.
What's it locked to? Can it be unbolted so that you can move the bike to a place where you can use an angle grinder?
Onzadog - not all bikes are stolen by determined thieves though.
That pipe freezing spray with jacket might work, unless it's only on Burn Notice it works.
not all bikes are stolen by determined thieves
some are stolen by determined badgers
let's keep the lock breaking tactics quiet...
http://www.process-controls.com/raebrooke/metal_cutting_hacksaw_blades.html
spear and jackson..............most good hardware shops will get them for you.
Like everyone on here, I abhor bike thieves but I doubt someone will stumble on this thread and think, "ohh, I've got an angle grinder; what a good idea. I'll go nick a bike".
I recognise your concern but I think it's a little misplaced.
Get an angle grinder (and here is the trick bit, go in before the H+S bods come in) then liberate your bike
I've drilled out the lock before, took a while - worked easily enough but wasn't a top of the line D-lock.
Liquid nitrogen then batter it with a hammer would work in theory, but you really need to immerse the lock in the cryogen - just pouring some on won't do much. It's likely going to be awkward to do this. Plus hammering shyte out of the lock on a carbon bike frame isn't a great idea in the first place.
Second the motion to ignore what the manufacturer says - [i]there's nothing you can do mate, our locks are impregnable[/i] 🙄
let's keep the lock breaking tactics quiet...
What big hammers and cutting implements!!....these have hardly escaped the notice of ne'er-do-wells...honestly the reciprocator has got to be so much easier than "super freeze spray!!" or what ever, and if you cant get hold of one then go for Tons idea.....pure honest hard graft.
There is at least one method up there that will open the vast majority of locks. Not everyone will have thought of it either.
Hmm.... Back in the day, all you needed was a Biro!
Just accost a passing 16 yr old yoof and get them to do it 🙂
Beg steal or borrow a Dremel and a pack of cutting disks
OK it is a mini angle grinder but a lot less intrusive might get away with it with H&S
Contact the manufactuer with the lock serial number
falkirk-mark - Member
Get an angle grinder (and here is the trick bit, go in before the H+S bods come in) then liberate your bike
er.... exactly! go in an hour before cover all surfaces around if needed incase h and s see it after! 😉 and cut the thing off!
the faffing you will have to do with a hacksaw which will do but in a hour or more, where a angle grinder will do it in mins!
Could always cut what it's attached to.
Try a set of Irwin Records, they crop most motorcycle chains. Failing that scissor or bottle jack it open. Last resort, wedge the lock part against a solid thing and belt shit out of it with a hammer (eye protection a good idea at this stage), obvioulsy being careful not to ding the carbon.
There's nothing suggested here that we haven't all read about before in magazines and the like so I don't think thievery will be encouraged.
Seeing as it is a valuable frame, why not get an expert in - i.e. a locksmith
My mate had a Kryptonite lock removed by a blacksmith in a few seconds (he bought the bike at a police auction with the lock still attatched!). Surely getting an insured professional in wouldn't upset the H&S bods too much?
As an aside, the smithy my mate used tapped his nose afterwards and said he'd 'liberate' as many as my mate could bring in 🙁
Why not buy a bike like other STW members do rather than trying to "liberate" one?
Went to two local fire stations today with all relevant documents.....£350! They were very apologetic, red tape, and thats why using an angle grinder at work is a bit of a no no....foolishly asked if it would be ok to bring angle grinder in and was told by powers that be that I couldn't - underground car park, fumes, vehicles, etc, plus a couple of the 'powers' use the aread alot at random times so good chance of 'getting caught pinching my own bike'.
Dont fancy the freezing and ****tting method, carbon
no room to use jack of any description
locked to u-bends cemented in to ground....costly repair job (for me)
lunch hours with a hac saw although will look in to cost of battery powered saw although sounds expensive? Manufactures said a large meachanical devide should do job - battery powered saw doesn't sound too large.
manufacturers said locksmith very unlikely to do the job but will obviously have to try one if I cant do it myself.
Cheaper lock in future?
Thanks
abductee - Member
Why not buy a bike like other STW members do rather than trying to "liberate" one?
Are you stupid or just a bit pissed? Try reading my post again without your beer goggles. Twit.
Electric rebar cutter?
Hacksaw and 8 hours of upper body training
Tile cutting [url= http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/decorating-tools/tiling/showitem-6687-19328.aspx ]blade [/url]in a hacksaw. They're cheap and the cutting element is tungsten carbide.
Although a Dremel with a [url= http://www.diytools.co.uk/diy/Main/sp-53-11069-71985-dremel-diamond-wheel-%28545%29.asp ]diamond wheel[/url] will be less work.
Jack will work but has potential to go wrong (high forces, flying bits of metal).
No lock is unbreakable - in fact safes are rated merely by the time and noise it takes to break into them.
You work for Magnum and I claim my £5 😉
Depending on the fire service, the £350 will be the Special Service Charge which is the cost to send an appliance etc etc. This is a similar charge which is applied when attending people trapped in lifts etc, i.e premises often fail to maintain lifts correctly therefore the fire servie will recieve many calls to release people from broken down lifts and then the premise gets charged each time.
I've assisted fellow cyclists with your problem through an "un-scheduled drill session on cutting and breaking in equipment" in the past.
Hope you get sorted soon.
I'll say it once: [url=
although it may fall a little foul of H&S regs 😀
you will go through pretty much any lock on the market with large enough bolt croppers - you will ruin the blades but it will cut the lock
if you search the websites of leading motorbike-lock manufacturers they show how easily most "big brand" locks on the market can be cut with enough leverage from big bolt cutters
I've also had luck (in our workshop) removing a £50 "big brand" d-lock that a customer had lost the key for, by several well aimed blows at the barrel with a lump hammer, the lock popped very quickly!
May be of interest,
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/plus-110cm-armoured-cable-16469
cordless angle grinder with a thin cutting blade will have it sorted in no time, just stop bowing to the H & S brigade and get on with it. or pretend you are steeling it for real, whats the worst that can happen?
But won't the carbon frame shatter into a zillion pieces and the splinters main line for the OP's heart if they attack the lock with a hammer due to the sonic boom of the impact 😆
Clearly semtex is the way forward
Call the police.
Tell them a stolen bike has been left there. They will cut the lock. Then go pick it up saying it's yours and was stolen from work.
Job done
User removed - The OP hadn't said that they own the bike although they probably do. I was simply playing devils advocate as I don't think it's sensible to post bike liberating advice.
There's no need to be rude. Perhaps you shoud re-read after you've had a good nights sleep.
I think its perfectly sensible to discuss bike liberating advice FFS - do you really think that the neds are on this forum and that we know anything they don't?
Get a grip man
I think its perfectly sensible to discuss bike liberating advice FFS
No need to swear
abductee - Member
"User removed - The OP hadn't said that they own the bike although they probably do. I was simply playing devils advocate as I don't think it's sensible to post bike liberating advice."
The last time I heard that, it was when the round-key locks fiasco went public, and it was lock companies saying it. The thieves already knew, but the owners didn't, and some people wanted it kept that way. To be fair, it wasn't just them, a lot of people with the hopeless locks seemed to prefer not to know. Personally I'd sooner find out over the interner than by arriving at the bike rack and finding no bike, but maybe I'm nuts.
In this case, the thief would have walked up to the bike with a big set of croppers or cable cutters and cut the lock in about 2 seconds- it's actually faster to break most cable locks than it is to unlock them. But don't tell anyone or consumers might lose faith in the terrible locks we're peddled as Sold Secure even though they offer no deterrant at all to pros.
[i]IMO[/i] 😉
Bolts cutters probably might not work. I snapped the jaws of a 4 foot pair of £400 bolt cutters on a magnum lock two weeks ago.
It's an 8mm cable, boltcutters will go through it like butter as long as the blades are halfway decent and close. Working it past the "armour" might take a moment though. Cable cutters would be better though.
What lock was it that broke your croppers? That's interesting...
user-removed - Member
My mate had a Kryptonite lock removed by a blacksmith in a few seconds (he bought the bike at a police auction with the lock still attatched!). Surely getting an insured professional in wouldn't upset the H&S bods too much?As an aside, the smithy my mate used tapped his nose afterwards and said he'd [b]'liberate'[/b] as many as my mate could bring in
Posted 1 day ago #
abductee - Member
Why not buy a bike like other STW members do rather than trying to [b]"liberate"[/b] one?Posted 1 day ago # Report-Post
Can't you see that your post insinuates that you've half read mine and decided that I / my mate was a thief?
Apologies if that wasn't the case.... Agree that genuine thieves are very unlikely to be one step behind us in matters of theft... And insinuating that the OP is a thief is just a bit weird really...