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Thoughts on bike locks
Having my bike stolen has made me wonder about locks more. Defeating most forms of bike locks are trivially easy with some lateral thinking.
This was my lock:
- key-based
- bumpkey (given a suitable blank or other key of same style), pick the lock, drill or freeze the lock (either LN2 or just adding in warm water on a day that's below freezing)
- combination-based
- guess or shoulder-surf the combination
- Cable/Chain
- Large bolt cutters, wire cutters or hacksaw
- U-Lock/D-Lock
- Use a jack inside the arms to apply outward force
Any other bicycle lock types or different attacks that you can think of? Any way to effectively defeat one of more of the above attacks? From a security perspective, we need to consider not only the permitted attacks, but all possible attacks.
In my case, they either defeated my combination (probably by shoulder-surfing), or just used some form of cutting attack. Since the lock wasn't left behind, I suspect the former more than the latter.
Re: Bike thieves are losers.
Some of those signs can be lifted straight out of their holes. Lift up sign out of the lock, take bike. Worry about lock on bike later.
First of all - you bought the bike for $75, not $50, and second of all, I've been biking in this city all of my life and have never had a bike stolen. I use Ulocks, exclusively.
I also wouldn't leave it outside downtown.
My father had his bike stolen, twice, from the old building Flour was in, but I don't know the details.
Do you notice any interesting irony in that you'd used your old chain and precious ZA lock for years, and lost the lock and that it was only when you switched lock systems that the bike disappeared?
That and I'm laughing my ass off that you got your family to buy you such an expensive helmet. As I said, "When you lose and break shit so easily." Where's your StarWars touque and golf umbrella?