Proteus. Uncuttable bike locks?

Any metallurgists in the house please help cut through/reinforce my skepticism?

https://newatlas.com/materials/proteus-non-cuttable-bike-lock-armor/?fbclid=IwAR06Uj8_g0rKPGhcs_XYritmZgGLVcgM-aIf_tHuj-YPAHweSB5VG9DUpTU

That’s quite cool, ate the angle grinder blade very quickly.

Hydraulic cutters are a common bike thief tool, compact, silent and will cut most D-locks in seconds. No mention of how it fares against one of them, probably not as well….

IANAM

I wonder how it’d fair against massive bolt croppers that use a ‘no-speed’ mechanical force, for which this material/construction seems dependent on. Obviously one of the issues with bike locks is being transportable which puts them in the realm of croppers. Not sure about the armour bit neither because presumably bullets and knives behave differently to angle grinders. I’m also not a forestry worker but presume good quality chainsaw protection ‘does the job’??

There’s always these…

It does sound very much like a pair of croppers would work fine from that brief detail and what I read elsewhere (there was a longer article in the daily mail but I’m not linking it) it doesn’t sound like it’s been tested for that sort of thing only for power tools.

Hydraulic cutters are a common bike thief tool,

are they? I’d be surprised if they were

are they? I’d be surprised if they were

Think rebar cutters for building sites, not car cutters for fire brigades

are they? I’d be surprised if they were

small ones yep

As pointed out in the comments, that bar is how much thicker than a bike lock? And how far did it penetrate?

Technique was another thing mentioned, as was gallium. Plenty of attack vectors besides the immediately obvious.

I sit corrected

crumbs, we’re doomed

Hate seeing all these powerful portable tools like angle grinders etc

🙁

The other popular technique was a thermous of liquid nitrogen and a hammer. Freeze the lock and then just whack it and it shatters….

I’m not sure how “non cuttable” corresponds to a picture of a piece of metal with cuts in it.

How many bike locks are cut versus picked, levered, cropped or shattered anyway?

I think you are all being way too negative, it looks pretty good to me. It’s 15% the density of steel, so i guess the size alone may also stop hydraulic cutters.

I sit corrected

crumbs, we’re doomed

Hate seeing all these powerful portable tools like angle grinders etc

And that is why I am so vocal in my utter hatred of so called ‘cafe locks’. Even the opportunists can tool up for them and be gone before you notice.

Boggles my mind that people can spend a few grand on a bike and then lock it up with £15 quids worth of sod all.

In the strictest sense, if it can be manufactured, it can be cut. If you have a workshop full of equipment and unlimited time, no lock will be unbreakable. Question is, does it make it so inconvenient for bike thieves that they just move on to an easier target?

I locked up my bike at a park & ride just before lockdown and then went back to find it gone!
It was a cheap thing as I anticipated it getting stolen. What I didn’t count on was that they’d cut through my motorbike chain, worth about £150. I would have hopped they’d cut the bike instead so I could just unlock the chain. £150 worth of chain and £100 worth of bike gone. If they can get through that in a very public place with much CCTV, then nothing will stop them.

Chain in questions: Oxford Monster XL

It’s 15% the density of steel, so i guess the size alone may also stop hydraulic cutters.

The weight isn’t really the only problem with portability though. Making it huge might make it less susceptible to attack but it makes it less likely to be used too.

I’ve always worked on the principle that if a thief wants your bike, it has gone. Locks are there to make it more awkward for them, to see if they will take another bike and to discourage the person walking along the road taking it (the only reason for a cafe lock). You only have to go through the threads here to lock at some of the ways that individuals have locked their bikes at home to realise that any lock you can carry is not going to stop some who wants your bike.

I’ve always worked on the principle that if a thief wants your bike, it has gone.

Yep. In my mate’s case, they took the fence that he locked it too as well.

If they can get through that in a very public place with much CCTV, then nothing will stop them.

Chain in questions: Oxford Monster XL

Not meaning to be rude, but that chain is overpriced garbage. “Worth £150”.. no it’s not. £150 gets you an excellent (albeit short) Pragmasis 16mm chain with huge f’off Squite lock https://securityforbikes.com/proddetail.php?prod=P16-x.x-SS65.
Or a 2m long huge Pragmasis 16mm chain with a RoundLock. https://securityforbikes.com/proddetail.php?prod=P16-x.x-RoundLock

If they can get through that in a very public place with much CCTV, then nothing will stop them.

Creeping about in a hoody with a concealed set of wire cutters is old skool

Stick a Hi-Vis vest on and go about your business like you are meant to be there, big bag of tools, smile at passers by, probably no one would ever challenge you.

Stick a Hi-Vis vest on and go about your business like you are meant to be there, big bag of tools, smile at passers by, probably no one would ever challenge you.

No need, the biggest bike park in cambridge (Train station) is a bike thieves dream. They refuse to supply CCTV footage when a bike has been stolen and don’t patrol it, so it effectively game on for anyone who wants to steal a bike. It was purpose built for bike storage as well, but appears to have been purpose built for bike thieves.

I’ve always worked on the principle that if a thief wants your bike, it has gone.

I now pay for insurance to cover this, oddly enough the insurer requested a ground anchor be installed but not stipulations on the quality of lock. Acquiring the ground anchor, using an existing lock and paying the extra premiums for 2-3 years then gets me level with spending those fancy locks which would only slow them down before leaving me bikeless.

Chain in questions: Oxford Monster XL

That is a very expensive thin chain.

I need to get one of those round locks from Pragmasis.

Good bike security will only give a thief pause for thought. Is it worth the risk to try and steal this bike. A theif will not want to spend 5 mins using an angle grinder if they can use a portable bolt cutters.

MDIAM (does that count?)

I don’t think it was meant to be the primary material for the lock – more like a tube that they could shrink around a hardened steel shackle during manufacture. The steel core provides the resistance to shear and the proteus the abrasive resistance.

I’ve often wondered why locks don’t come with a snug fitting kevlar sock over, or even threaded through, the chain – to foul up a grinder attack.

If you had reasonable access to the d-lock it would probably be quicker or at least take the same time to cut the Proteus lock than a good quality d-lock.

The main protection comes from the ceramic balls inside. That doesn’t stop you going around the steel outer. The guy in the video is pressing very hard into the steel plate.

Quick whip around the outside with a 1mm disc should cut 100% percent of the steel outer. If not a quick hit with a lump hammer will break that rest of that very thin outer.

Edit – Also battery grinder’s which is what would be used. Do not like a lot of pressure on them otherwise the motor cuts out to protect it’s self. Pressure from the grinder seems to be the main protection it offers.

If it’s that hard to cut then either the bike frame or whatever it’s attached to will be targetted.

Another vote for the pragmasis chains/lock. I have the 13mm chain and it’s a big brute !! Can’t imagine how solid/heavy the 16/19mm are :0

Pragmaisis are usually left alone, the bikes frames are cut instead and your bike will be used for parts.

Yep. In my mate’s case, they took the fence that he locked it too as well.

When I was at Uni they took part of the bike rack after oxy acetylene cutting it (several times). Nowadays a portable plasma cutter will get through anything they don’t want to waste 2-3 mins picking and not seen a bike lock takes longer than 3 mins to pick on lockpicking lawyer.

Good bike security will only give a thief pause for thought. Is it worth the risk to try and steal this bike. A theif will not want to spend 5 mins using an angle grinder if they can use a portable bolt cutters.

Easier to just use a plasma cutter … test of “cheapest on Amazon”

My big serious FYT lock has saved my bike 3 times.

Nowadays a portable plasma cutter will get through anything they don’t want to waste 2-3 mins picking and not seen a bike lock takes longer than 3 mins to pick on lockpicking lawyer.

I very much doubt mnay bike thieves pick locks, so much easier to just cut the lock.

In edinburgh the normal tool for bike thieves is a bolt cropper – the type thats about 2ft long as it can be concealed easily. Have a boltcropper proof lock and your bike is much safer.

I very much doubt mnay bike thieves pick locks, so much easier to just cut the lock.

That depends very much on the quality of the lock. If I was after something I’d rather just have a quick fiddle with a light barrel pick than mess about with bolt croppers. YMMV though.

3 mins by LPL or Bosnian Bill on a table could be many times that depending on the lock or how it’s been set.

tjagain
Subscriber

My big serious FYT lock has saved my bike 3 times.

What kind of lock is that? Google doesn’t bring it up.

That depends very much on the quality of the lock. If I was after something I’d rather just have a quick fiddle with a light barrel pick than mess about with bolt croppers. YMMV though.

My combi lock seized on me one night outside of a local corner shop. I asked a nearby couple in a parked car if they by any chance had some spray-lubricant but they looked awkward (not even joking) Tried fiddling with the barrel for what seemed like ages but eventually gave up. Had to walk a mile home and then drive back with a pair of rusty bolt-croppers and it was all over in seconds. Now I prefer not leave a locked bike anywhere unless it’s a rusty stepthru with a basket at front and a plastic bag on the saddle. #scroteproof