Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Any help or advice on how to steal our own bikes?!
Well, not steal our own bikes exactly, but cut a D-lock off them. They are in the bike shed in our front garden, and small children have hidden we have lost the key to the D-lock securing them to the Sheffield stand inside. And meanwhile all these weekends with wonderful weather are passing by and I'm pining to be out on the canal path network.
Anyone with an implement strong enough to cut a thick D-lock who could be persuaded to part with it for an afternoon in exchange for alcohol of your choice? Or any other advice on what we can do? The Sheffield stand is sunk into the concrete and short of cutting the D-lock, I'm not sure what can be done.
EDITED on 12 July to say: Thanks to everyone who chimed in here for their ideas. Angle grinder did the job and now the bikes are back in business!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Roberts on
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If you get some plumbers freeze spray .....spray the lock and then smash it with a club hammer that should do it. You need to lay the lock on a brick or something solid and wear goggles........make sure the little ones aren't too close. Good luck .....call me on 07946-587912 if you want to be talked through it. Cheers Steve Roberts.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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You can use a jack from your car I think too. Angle grinders are for professionals or people who don't need limbs.
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Permalink Reply by empyrean_aisles on
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Thanks all for the responses. I saw the freeze spray plus hammer option on the dodgiest of dodgy YouTube videos (now my internet browsing history is going to make me look to GCHQ like I am taking up small-time crime ...) but it looks to me like we'd need to have the D-lock braced against something really solid, like the floor or a brick as Steve suggests, and the angle of the lock and the bikes will I think make that very tricky, and/or will risk damaging the bikes. The angle grinder option scares me slightly ... I hadn't heard of the car jack option though, how might that work?
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Eye protection as well if you are going the angle grinder route in particular but not a bad idea whenever breaking apart metal. The plant facilities guy at my office is blind in one eye from an incident of this nature.
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Depends how good the lock is. A thinnish (say 12mm or under) lock you can look at some big croppers, bigger than that an angle grinder. Eye protection obviously a must and preferably something to stop the lock jiggling around.
Freeze spray, hacksaw, jack, etc is only going to work on a cheap lock (obviously if you have a cheap lock then you can try those). Angle grinder is really the easiest way if it's a decent lock.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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I have an angle grinder ( and eye protection ) But I couldn't help until Friday. Let me know.
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I have a small and large angle grinder with ear protectors and eye. If you want to come round to mine over the next day or two am happy to show you safe use.
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Permalink Reply by JoeW on
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It may be worth contacting the lock vendor to see if they have any suggestions (or a skeleton key?).
Also worth noting for next time, some vendors offer an online key registration service so they can sell you a new key if you lose it.
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Thanks for all the good advice. Going to check the lock brand tomorrow when the rain has stopped and will try manufacturer for a new key, if I can dig out the receipt/serial number. If there's no joy on that front, I might take John D or Philip up on their kind offers. Most impressed with the collective local knowledge on the topic of bike lock removal!
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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Buy the biggest croppers you can find - at least a metre - and try that. Whether it works or not, you can get your money back from most retailers....
Though they didn't work for these guys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjrDrrY6Fc0
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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A friend of mine is a GP in Islington and her practice has old Georgian cast-iron railings in front. Thieves once stole the bikes which were locked up there by cutting through the railings with giant cutters - this was apparently easier than cutting through D-locks. Good luck!
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