How do I get a bike lock cut?

[yellowperil]

I lost the key to my bike lock on Wednesday and it's been suck walking to class from my apartment. I bought a new lock today but now's the issue of getting the old one off. Should I call the local police dept? They seem to be cutting bike locks all the time. I don't have a saw or anything handy. This is one of those U-locks.

 

[Monel Funkawitz]

Go buy a $4.00 hacksaw and a few lbs of elbow grease.

 

[Pepsi90919]

find someone else with the same bike lock and use their key

 

[Monel Funkawitz]

Sell the bike and get a new bike.

 

[snakesnfrogs]

find the maintenance dept. at school and ask them to cut it---they should have some bolt cutters.

 

[snakesnfrogs]

more suggestions

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

<< find the maintenance dept. at school and ask them to cut it---they should have some bolt cutters. >>



You guys are sorely underestimating the strength of a decent U-lock. There is NO way you would get bolt cutters through a Kryptonite lock, and it would take hours (and probably several blades)to get through one with a hacksaw.

From alt.locksmithing:


How do I open a Kryptonite lock?
Easiest: If you registered your lock, call or write Kryptonite for a new key. Or call a local locksmith, they should be able to pick and re-key the lock for you.
Easy: Get a car jack and jack it apart. Careful, otherwise it is very possible that you'll damage the bike.

Easy: Use a cut-off wheel in a Dremel tool to cut the lock at the hole in the shackle (where there is the least to cut.)

Harder: If it doesn't have the newer brass jacket, peel back the plastic coating on the key end, drill out the pin that holds in the cylinder, remove the cylinder, open.

Hardest: Chill the metal of the &quot;U&quot; with liquid Nitrogen or Freon, smash with hammer. While this is a &quot;well known&quot; method, it may be an urban legend.

 

[Looney]

<< Hardest: Chill the metal of the &quot;U&quot; with liquid Nitrogen or Freon, smash with hammer. While this is a &quot;well known&quot; method, it may be an urban legend. >>



Actually, this isn't an urban legend. I've seen it done with those steering wheel locks for cars (damn name escapes me at the moment).

 

[yellowperil]

Hmm, liquid nitrogen seems hard to get. I bet they have some at the university but probably not for me (even with a student I.D. ). I guess I'll head over to the campus police station on Monday and ask.

 

[V]

Try using those canned air bottles. Just turn them upside down and they freeze stuff.

 

[olds]

You may be able to drill out the lock cylinder itself. That how I get into my neighbors house. j/k

 

[JohnnyKnoxville]

Try a couple sticks of dynamite,although I do believe your bike may not be in the same condition as before.

 

[stonerdave]

2 words: plasma torch

although i bet you could find a more economical solution.

 

[purplehayes]

Find some shady character and ask them to steal your bike for you.

PH


editted for speeling

 

[Lore]

I'd go the Dremel route, although you'd probably be hard pressed to find a power outlet where your bike is locked, unless you could get one of those 50 feet orange extension cables.

Also, how are you going to prove to the authorities that the bike is yours?

 

[LordMaul]

<< Try using those canned air bottles. Just turn them upside down and they freeze stuff. >>



It isn't ANYTHING like Nitrogen, though! It will freeze things, like maybe water and bugs and, well, skin, but NOT metal. It'll just make it cold.

BTW, its called tetraflorothane and some are diflorothane.

 

[LordMaul]

BTW, does anyone know where I can get me some nitrogen?

 

[Ameesh]

i like the plasma torch method if not i have a tau-lepton emmiter that will destroy entire cities with ease.

 

[rc5]

A k8 will do the job.

 

[Lorax]

unscrew the wheel and take the rest of the bikes frame out. then buy a new wheel.

 

[Looney]

<< BTW, does anyone know where I can get me some nitrogen? >>



Your dermatologist would have it... and normally their offices aren't too secure.

 

[tigerbait]

taken from Maxim article: linky



Kryptonite EV 3000 ($70)
Specs: Four-by-nine-inch heat-treated-steel U-lock, with double-deadbolt locking system. Weight: 2.3 lbs
Hacksaw: Never. Two minutes and our saw was duller than Al Gore.
Bolt cutters: Talk about heavy metal. Our industrial-strength cutters snapped like Joe Theismann?s ankle.
Plasma torch: We fried this lock like a breaded clam in just eight seconds.
Overall: Kryptonite claims that its newest lock, with its ?Kryptonium? double-deadbolt system, is the strongest U-lock on the market, able to confound troops of crack-addled bike thieves in a single bound. They?re right. If you?re into lugging a big, clumsy contraption around, this is your best bet.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

<< unscrew the wheel and take the rest of the bikes frame out. then buy a new wheel. >>



Only the truly stupid lock their bike by just a wheel. I sincerely doubt this is a viable solution.

 

[Toolman]

My first attempt would be to use an abrasive cutoff wheel. I'd use an air driven die grinder &amp; compressor, which I know you most likely don't have. You might try the abrasive cutoff wheel with a Dewalt cordless. I doubt if you'll get the rpms you need tho.

Are those Kryptonite locks available with a combination lock?

 

[Soybomb]

Find a friend with a cordless sawz all