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Bike Locks/Bike Theft

Old 04-11-22, 05:40 PM
  #76  
gpburdell
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Originally Posted by DangerousDanR
Sorry to be such a jerk, but the video posted by Hypno Toad is not the Lock Picking Lawyer. LPL started his review by pointing out that Ti is relatively easy to cut, but because the lock is $100, he only bought the locking cylinder.
I was going to mention that, but also noticed that BosnianBill apparently collaborates with LPL so I figured it was close enuf.

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Old 04-12-22, 07:03 AM
  #77  
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Originally Posted by kahn
How long does it take the "lock picking lawyer" to get through that one?
Okay, again: The LockPickingLawyer is a YouTube entertainer who has stolen zero bikes off the street.

The TiGR locks are shown to be impossible to cut with bolt cutters in videos by the manufacturer.

In independent tests, not so much. From WireCutter: The TiGR Mini - This has our favorite frame mount of all the locks we’ve tried, but the big dealbreaker is that it easily succumbs to cutting with bolt cutters, despite the maker’s claims to the contrary. We found a severe weak point between the main shackle and the locking mechanism, a gap that permits even small bolt cutters to shear the lock open.

Reading:
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...est-bike-lock/
https://bikeportland.org/2022/03/31/...-advice-350626

Last edited by tcs; 04-12-22 at 07:10 AM.
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Old 04-12-22, 07:56 AM
  #78  
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Originally Posted by DangerousDanR
Sorry to be such a jerk, but the video posted by Hypno Toad is not the Lock Picking Lawyer. LPL started his review by pointing out that Ti is relatively easy to cut, but because the lock is $100, he only bought the locking cylinder.

So no video of him cutting it. He then proceeded to pick the look in about a minute. I would not say he gave it a positive review for any use beyond a coffee stop lock, but for that it is okay.

I must also point out that he opened the lock I have in just a little bit more than two minutes. While nobody could cut my chain with a hack saw, my lock and chain combo is a pain to carry.

Like LPL pointed out, light, cheap, secure: you can only have two of them. Mine is fairly secure, so I only got one of the three. Sounds like the TiGR also only got one.
You are correct, and sorta a jerk too. The two YouTubers work together, use same/similar methods, and use the same tags (LockPickingLawyer & BosnianBill)

Please post the video you are referring to ... This?

Going back to my bike recovery buddy, he doesn't see thieves picking locks ... they don't have that much finesse. The thieves around here are going for cutting tools and brute-force attacks. And interestingly, the people I know that have had a bike stolen have been in a "secure" apartment parking structure, detached garage break-in, locked inside a car, or on a bike rack. I do not know one person that has had a locked bike stolen from a café stop. (note: cables do not count as 'locked').

Reading The Toads post: " ... this is a lock (TiGr) for a café stop and that's how I'm using it ... quick lock up when I'll be close and/or low risk environments. I have a heavy Abus U-lock plus cable for longer stops, and I ride lower value bikes if I need to leave the bike out for time (baseball game, concert, etc)."

All that said, I've used bikes as my primary transportation for over 10 years in and around Minneapolis and never lost a bike, so I don't suck at picking the combo of lock(s), bike, and lock up location [/knocking on wood]

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Old 04-12-22, 08:54 AM
  #79  
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Originally Posted by Hypno Toad
Going back to my bike recovery buddy, he doesn't see thieves picking locks ... they don't have that much finesse. The thieves around here are going for cutting tools and brute-force attacks.
I've heard police with decades in the crime division say they've never seen a home or apartment door lock picked open, either. The door is kicked in or a window is busted or the place wasn't even locked up.

I'll sit up and take notice of bike locks being picked open when I see Police reports, documentation of undamaged locks lying open on the ground where the bike was parked, miscreants arrested with pick tools, pick tools dropped in the dark and left behind, CCTV video, etc.

The LockPickingLawyer is a YouTube entertainer. (Fun fact: Harry Houdini got his start on the Vaudeville circuit picking locks on stage.) Hey, I find his videos entertaining, too, but beyond taking notice of the occasional bike lock he messes with that pops open with little in the way of skill or tooling (i.e. shimming or raking), all it is is entertainment. He says he doesn't have the skill to pick open an Abloy 362. Angle grinder, less than a minute.

Sheldon Bown advised using two locks of different types so a thief would have to have two sets of breaking tools. (Using two locks is good advice in any case.) If you're worried about locking picking in the way that I'm not, use two locks with different cylinder technology, so the thief will need the correct two sets of lock picks and be conversant in opening both lock bodies.


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Old 04-12-22, 09:35 AM
  #80  
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Originally Posted by tcs
I've heard police with decades in the crime division say they've never seen a home or apartment door lock picked open, either. The door is kicked in or a window is busted or the place wasn't even locked up.

I'll sit up and take notice of bike locks being picked open when I see Police reports, documentation of undamaged locks lying open on the ground where the bike was parked, miscreants arrested with pick tools, pick tools dropped in the dark and left behind, CCTV video, etc.

The LockPickingLawyer is a YouTube entertainer. (Fun fact: Harry Houdini got his start on the Vaudeville circuit picking locks on stage.) Hey, I find his videos entertaining, too, but beyond taking notice of the occasional bike lock he messes with that pops open with little in the way of skill or tooling (i.e. shimming or raking), all it is is entertainment. He says he doesn't have the skill to pick open an Abloy 362. Angle grinder, less than a minute.

Sheldon Bown advised using two locks of different types so a thief would have to have two sets of breaking tools. (Using two locks is good advice in any case.) If you're worried about locking picking in the way that I'm not, use two locks with different cylinder technology, so the thief will need the correct two sets of lock picks and be conversant in opening both lock bodies.


I understand a thief might pick a house/apartment/business lock, but we are here talking about bike locks and bike thieves ... there is a difference.

Bike thieves appear to operate differently in different regions. Again, I'm friends with local bike recovery experts and they are not seeing bike locks picked in the Twin Cities area. I'd love to see some details about lock picking stories you've posted. I know too many stories of people literally failing to properly lock the bike, like missing the frame, not closing the lock, or locking to something that is not secure. They will likely think somebody picked the lock, kinda like my neighbor that always leaves their garage doors open said that someone 'broke' into their garage and stole their bikes (the thieves walked in, no need to break anything).

Again, I've posted twice already, when locking up for a longer duration in a lower security place, I'm using two locks. The TiGr might be used to secure the front wheel for example, but the primary lock will be a more robust lock ... and the bike will be an old clunker that has little value to someone with cutting or lock picking tools and I consider the bike expendable if stolen. My post about TiGr is about an light and convenient lock to bring with me on a road ride, where there are no long stops planned.

Bottom line: you're points are not wrong, but they are not right in every single situation. It all depends on a number of factors:
What you are locking up ($100 clunker vs $6,000 dream machine)
Where are you locking up (in the city or out in rural areas)
How long is the bike going to be locked up (20 minutes while you have a snack break or 6 hours while at a concert)
How close are you to the bike (can you see it or is it out of sight)
... etc
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Old 04-12-22, 10:41 AM
  #81  
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In my 50+ years around bikes, I can't recall even one case of stealing one by lock picking.
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Old 04-12-22, 12:45 PM
  #82  
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Originally Posted by Hypno Toad
He's fairly positive on it:
https://youtu.be/WZ0UCzi0Tpg

I have a buddy who's hobby is recovering stolen bike, he's recovered well over 100 stolen bikes and has been awarded by local police for his efforts. His efforts include cutting locks on stashed stolen bikes. And the TiGr lock is his choice for his bikes ... and that's why I use this lock on my nicest bikes.

Edit/Afterthought: Lock Picking Lawyer says it at the end of the video "this is a lock for a café stop" and that's how I'm using it ... quick lock up when I'll be close and/or low risk environments. I have a heavy Abus U-lock plus cable for longer stops, and I ride lower value bikes if I need to leave the bike out for time (baseball game, concert, etc).
I probably used the wrong terms. I'm less concerned about someone PICKING the lock/tumblers, etc than CUTTING the thing. I've since seen two videos about how easy it was to use a hack saw to cut the TIGR and another to use bolt cutters where someone cuts a V groove and then snips at the V. For some reason I recall a friend getting a sheet of Titanium many years ago to close off a fireplace but cut a hole in it for a wood burning stove pipe. He had a hell of a time cutting that hole so I guess I thought besides it's light weight, it was super strong and cut resistant. I guess not or there are different grades of Ti.

I was impressed by the sight of my friend using one of the kevlar belt locks. Nice, light, pliable (although she did have trouble with the lock itself) and rolls up small. But then saw a video of "snip, snip..." and abandoned yet another perfect lock idea!
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Old 04-13-22, 06:46 AM
  #83  
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When I lived in the UK, my buddy and I lived together and rented a house. We both had bikes just to ride around the neighborhood. We locked them together and pinned them between a parked car and the wall at night. They were stolen together with the locks
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Old 04-13-22, 08:41 AM
  #84  
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I’m thinking about getting an AirTag. I live in a college town where bike theft is rampant. I haven’t had an issue yet but it would be nice to be able to track it if it gets stolen.
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Old 04-13-22, 12:54 PM
  #85  
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Originally Posted by KansasJack
I’m thinking about getting an AirTag. I live in a college town where bike theft is rampant. I haven’t had an issue yet but it would be nice to be able to track it if it gets stolen.
Scroll up to post 54 for an options. And check out Shane Miller - BPLama on YouTube, he's done a lot with AirTags for tracking bikes.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbc...8GK6on_S_CgmFA
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Old 04-13-22, 02:02 PM
  #86  
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Originally Posted by Hypno Toad
Scroll up to post 54 for an options. And check out Shane Miller - BPLama on YouTube, he's done a lot with AirTags for tracking bikes.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbc...8GK6on_S_CgmFA
That was actually a pretty decent video.

I'd note that in the months since the video was created, Apple has reduced the time until the AirTag begins announcing it's presence either by chirp or an alert on an iphone. I hear it's around two hours, though that may vary. See https://forums.macrumors.com/threads...cking.2334365/

I've also seen holders which go between a bottle cage and the mount points and include tamper-resistant screws, as well as seat-rail mounted holders. Perhaps a combination of a visible holder (empty) as decoy and a more hidden holder such as the one in the video might be an option providing perhaps some measure of deterrence should a potential thief see that holder.
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Old 04-14-22, 02:53 PM
  #87  
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Maybe something with a exploding dye pack or some kind of mace if it's cut.
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Old 04-16-22, 10:28 AM
  #88  
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On day 3 of my tour. Locked the bike a total of one time. When I shopped for dinner supplies yesterday in Lewes, DE. It’s been out of my site on numerous occasions, including while I’ve been sleeping.
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Old 04-16-22, 12:08 PM
  #89  
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Originally Posted by tornado60
Maybe something with a exploding dye pack or some kind of mace if it's cut.
See posts no.s 29 & 34.
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Old 04-16-22, 01:45 PM
  #90  
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There have been attempts to make bikes where the lock is part of the bicycle.

https://newatlas.com/unstealable-bike/33551/
https://www.ibtimes.co.in/unstealabl...s-video-607800




Any attempt to steal the bike would result in destruction of the bike.
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