Bike lock broken (4 x keys twisted in barrel), bike still locked up with it……any ideas how to remove?

Luckily its at work and safe indoors but I was told cant use angle grinder (H&S) so at work it still sits. Carbon bike. Half decent bike lock – MagnumPlus with £1.5k 'insurance' on it, contacted manufacturers who said 'locksmith no good, forget hacksaw, bolt cutters wont do it, think mechanical removal'. Shackle style lock.

Any ideas how to remove lock appreciated, thanks.

see if you can get hold of some kind of liquid nitrogen canister to freeze the lock and shatter it with a big hammer or call the fire brigade! or failing that try to fit a scissor jack car type in there and prise it open.

try serious bolt croppers – or a hydraulic jack and jack it apart

is there room to get a car jack in there?

angle grinder will def do it or the big circular saw's!

i got my old u lock off mine with one in about 3 mins! reuined one cutting disc but got it off!

angle grinder will def do it or the big circular saw's!

I was told cant use angle grinder (H&S)

Reading is fun! 8)

jeez tough one if the manufacturer cant think of anything. I'd say maybe pop round your local fire station and see if you can get one of them to nip round with their hydraulic type cutting thing. Don't know how they would react to rescuing a bike though (wasting there time /non emergency).

a good hacksaw will do it, it will just take a while.

the reason these locks are sold as hacksaw proof is because of the time it takes to get through them.

just use a hacksaw, you'll have 'liberated' your bike in a month!

Jamie – Member

angle grinder will def do it or the big circular saw's!

I was told cant use angle grinder (H&S)

Reading is fun!

so is trying things for your self 😉

if a angle grinder can cut cobalt im pretty sure it can cut a lock 😉

thanks…

reading and learning can also be fun

they also say dont drive over 70 but bet ya do … where you people from…!

It used to be possible to get a hacksaw "blade" that was actually a bit wire coated in some abrasive substance )possibly carborundum) and a friend, eventually, cut through a u-lock with one. Can't see a safety problem with a sensibly used and protected angle grinder unless there is a particular fire hazard but why would they let you keep a bike in such an atmosphere.

I reckon you could get through it in an hour or so with a hacksaw. The manufacturers are just pretending it's immortal. It's a cable at the end of the day, yes? They're all sawable.

Come on guys, get a grip and think about what you are doing. It is probably not a good idea for a bike forum to publish an in depth guide on how to remove a bike lock.

Perhaps the mods could remove this thread.

if a angle grinder can cut cobalt im pretty sure it can cut a lock

no no.. actually .. reading IS fun..

The OP can't use a grinder cos H+S (health and safety) at their place of work… won't let them.. the clue is in the original post.

DOH!

jimmyshand. It' a pretty safe guess that we're not going to come up with anything that a determined thief hasn't already tried. It's more a case of giving the OP some fresh ideas.

Hire the biggest bolt croppers you can find!

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/locks/product/plus-110cm-armoured-cable-16469

Sod the hack saw get a battery reciprocating saw (fairly common) with a metal cutting blade and give it about 10mins…. that's what my Kryptonite took. at least that way you have a bit of control over the machine and it wont graunch the crap out of the frame, plus there more common than battery grinders and a lot easier to wield than petrol disc cutters.

What's it locked to? Can it be unbolted so that you can move the bike to a place where you can use an angle grinder?

Onzadog – not all bikes are stolen by determined thieves though.

That pipe freezing spray with jacket might work, unless it's only on Burn Notice it works.

not all bikes are stolen by determined thieves

some are stolen by determined badgers

let's keep the lock breaking tactics quiet…

http://www.process-controls.com/raebrooke/metal_cutting_hacksaw_blades.html

spear and jackson…………..most good hardware shops will get them for you.

Like everyone on here, I abhor bike thieves but I doubt someone will stumble on this thread and think, "ohh, I've got an angle grinder; what a good idea. I'll go nick a bike".

I recognise your concern but I think it's a little misplaced.

Get an angle grinder (and here is the trick bit, go in before the H+S bods come in) then liberate your bike

I've drilled out the lock before, took a while – worked easily enough but wasn't a top of the line D-lock.

Liquid nitrogen then batter it with a hammer would work in theory, but you really need to immerse the lock in the cryogen – just pouring some on won't do much. It's likely going to be awkward to do this. Plus hammering shyte out of the lock on a carbon bike frame isn't a great idea in the first place.

Second the motion to ignore what the manufacturer says – there's nothing you can do mate, our locks are impregnable 🙄

let's keep the lock breaking tactics quiet…

What big hammers and cutting implements!!….these have hardly escaped the notice of ne'er-do-wells…honestly the reciprocator has got to be so much easier than "super freeze spray!!" or what ever, and if you cant get hold of one then go for Tons idea…..pure honest hard graft.

There is at least one method up there that will open the vast majority of locks. Not everyone will have thought of it either.

Hmm…. Back in the day, all you needed was a Biro!

Just accost a passing 16 yr old yoof and get them to do it 🙂

Beg steal or borrow a Dremel and a pack of cutting disks
OK it is a mini angle grinder but a lot less intrusive might get away with it with H&S

Contact the manufactuer with the lock serial number

falkirk-mark – Member
Get an angle grinder (and here is the trick bit, go in before the H+S bods come in) then liberate your bike

er…. exactly! go in an hour before cover all surfaces around if needed incase h and s see it after! 😉 and cut the thing off!

the faffing you will have to do with a hacksaw which will do but in a hour or more, where a angle grinder will do it in mins!

Could always cut what it's attached to.

Try a set of Irwin Records, they crop most motorcycle chains. Failing that scissor or bottle jack it open. Last resort, wedge the lock part against a solid thing and belt shit out of it with a hammer (eye protection a good idea at this stage), obvioulsy being careful not to ding the carbon.

There's nothing suggested here that we haven't all read about before in magazines and the like so I don't think thievery will be encouraged.

Seeing as it is a valuable frame, why not get an expert in – i.e. a locksmith

My mate had a Kryptonite lock removed by a blacksmith in a few seconds (he bought the bike at a police auction with the lock still attatched!). Surely getting an insured professional in wouldn't upset the H&S bods too much?

As an aside, the smithy my mate used tapped his nose afterwards and said he'd 'liberate' as many as my mate could bring in 🙁

Why not buy a bike like other STW members do rather than trying to "liberate" one?