I Stole my stolen bike back!

I had an old bike i singlespeeded and sold to a good friend, 3 weeks ago. He had it for not a week before it got stolen outside his house. Then, yesterday he phones me saying ' i found my bike! It's locked up 2 mins away from my house!', so i go there, taking a detour via my friend Francois house to pick up his boltcroppers, because he needs them for his work.

So, i get to South Kensington and i find the bike locked up. At this point i'm feeling a mixture of anger, elation and surprise, so i don't really care if anybody's walking by - i'm going to steal this bike back. So i went about cropping the two cable locks, and it takes me less than 10 SECS to do this

and then i rode off back to his as quick as i could, for fear of someone trying to apprehend us or the 'owner' coming back.

So, i want to let you all know how pathetically easy it is to cut through cable. The lighter it is and the more it can twist and bend, the easier it is to break. Even one of those motorbike-type chains with really thick links won't last very long against croppers.

edit: I used this to cut it

great that you got it back.

wierd that it was locked up like that and not broken into parts

reckon someone bought it in good faith from the thief?

Maybe. Probably, since it was locked up so close to the place of theft.

Steal is real :-,

What lock was that btw?

I'm hoping my Abus can withstand a little more... but hey, who knows.

D-lock and cable... it's the only way to go.

If you're going to steal my bike though, please leave the lock on the ground. It will help with the insurance claim.

I dunno what lock it is, some cheap one. But fuck cable locks, they're good for nothing. 10 Seconds to break a lock? Not even good for popping into a shop for a few minutes. I'm thinking of getting two D-Locks actually, one for the front wheel/frame, one for the backwheel/frame. I was so surprised when i found out how this the wire inside is. It looks like a nice beefy lock!

But D-locks can be broken open with a car-jack in very little time.

The question is, was the lock you penetrated indicative of the time it would take to penetrate all cable locks, or just cheap ones?

The same goes for D-locks.

I think the best security is mix and match. If someone has the tools for a D-lock, do they also have the tools for a cable lock? And vice versa.

I dunno. If you saw how easy it was to cut, how much harder can it be to cut a thicker cable? I mean, if cheap one takes 10 seconds, the priciest cable won't take more than 1 min, i am sure.

I didn't know you could brake a D-lock with a car jack. I thought you needed to actually cut it...

Nah, car jacks work fine :)

I didn't know bolt cutters work on armored cables ;)

Oh, and while we're on locks, Yale style door locks can be opened in around twenty seconds with a bottle of water and a pen knife. I know this because I locked myself out once.

You can bend d-locks, cant you? And then they just slip out...

Yup.

Shit. I think the best protection is to never let the bike leave your sight!

you can use the frame to twist the dlock into breaking too.. i don't think abus' or kryptos just "break" in 10 seconds, i've tried on a krypto with similar bolt cutters and it barely scratched it

nothing is 100% safe. i just discovered that they make cordless angle grinders. they're about £260 but they'll munch through anything.

glow you can use the frame to twist the dlock into breaking too.. i don't think abus' or kryptos just "break" in 10 seconds, i've tried on a krypto with similar bolt cutters and it barely scratched it

Yeah but you might fuck up the frame.

Check this video out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck

velocity boy
If you're going to steal my bike though, please leave the lock on the ground. It will help with the insurance claim.

Having had hassle with insurers in the past, I've taken to using my mobile to take a photo of the bike/lock/post, to prove that it's all locked-up well. And I have a note from them certifying my lock as 'good enough'. Bastards.

If someone wants your bike there's dick all you can do about it. Best thing is just make it look undesirable. My shiny new BMX I had last year lasted a fortnight before git nicked it.

Car Jacks have a limiter where they colapse if too much stress is put on them. I tried using one on a cheap dlock my dad lost the keys to and it was useless.

cheap d locks - if you need to release or liberate a stolen from one...

pipe freeze spray from your local DIY shop, a generous application to the lock area and a sharp tap will pop em open - and you can't be done for going equipped,

I'll come quietly officer....

mr_tom Having had hassle with insurers in the past, I've taken to using my mobile to take a photo of the bike/lock/post, to prove that it's all locked-up well.

Every time you lock up?

Car jacks cannot pop kryptonites. Believe me, I've tried.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoqNC7aUeXI

I have an Abus D-lock but am going to get another. 2x decent d-locks seem a safe option and might be just a bit too much work for a thief. The only prob is carrying them. My bag is getting so heavy and I don't want to carry the lock attached to the frame. The perils of guarding your bike eh?!
I think if the lock is placed quite high or tight around the bike/post it will have less access for a jack.
I might have to employ a security guard or a dog!

Or Pat Butcher

God damn, this thread has made me paranoid!

I have a cheap shitty cable lock, I think an investment in a D-lock is in order.

Have a look at the DATE of the post before yours samsoymilk; then scoot over to the
Locks That Work thread.