BBB-41 Powerlock Bicycle Lock

On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:41:13 +0700, John B.
wrote:

I
tell him yes and he tells me to wait a minute, runs into the hardware
shop, borrows a 18" flat steel ruler and comes back and pops the lock.
I thank the guy profusely and we both go on about our business. With
me speculating on how the Thai Guy got so skillful :-)

Google for "Locksport":
https://www.google.com/search?q=lock+sport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locksport
It's legal in some countries. There are a substantial number of
followers in the USA. Dunno about Thailand. You can easily guessing
whether I'm involved.

I've opened car doors a few times over the years. It's fairly simple
with a Slim Jim, contorted metal rods, or various window gap
enlargers. The problem is that I had some difficulties with law
enforcement and overly concerned citizens. My most entertaining
mistake was offering to cut open a bicycle lock with bolt cutters. I
rode over to where my car was parked, tied the rather large bolt
cutters to my bicycle rack, and rode through downtown Santa Cruz. I
was soon informed by the police that this was not the most clever
thing to do in an area known for bicycle theft.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tue, 5 Dec 2017 06:43:01 -0800, sms
wrote:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-4-1-2-in-Cordless-Cut-Off-Grinder-Tool-Only-2680-20/202196580
Any bicycle thief worth their salt owns a battery powered angle grinder.

Angle grinders work well but die grinders are smaller, cheaper,
somewhat quieter, easier to handle, and work equally well:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-3-5-Amp-1-4-in-Die-Grinder-GD0601/202517751

"Die Grinder versus Locks"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbYVmRNzGLc

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 11:04:25 PM UTC-5, Emanuel Berg wrote:

This cannot in reasonable time unless there is
a hand tool and/or method I'm unfamiliar with.
There is something with the plastic that
prevents you from getting the power down to the
wire. If you keep at it, you'll succeed
eventually, of course, but no thief will do
that out in the open to get a bike of this
(monetary) value.

Many years ago, one bike-shop owning friend told me about the day he lost the
key to his cable lock. He had to sit at the exit to the library and cut
through the strands of the lock bit by bit.

He described the many people who walked by and clearly saw him at work, but
nobody stopped him or asked what he was doing. It took a long time but he
was able to cut the cable and ride away.

- Frank Krygowski

On 12/5/2017 11:53 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 5 Dec 2017 06:43:01 -0800, sms
wrote:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-4-1-2-in-Cordless-Cut-Off-Grinder-Tool-Only-2680-20/202196580
Any bicycle thief worth their salt owns a battery powered angle grinder.

Angle grinders work well but die grinders are smaller, cheaper,
somewhat quieter, easier to handle, and work equally well:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-3-5-Amp-1-4-in-Die-Grinder-GD0601/202517751

"Die Grinder versus Locks"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbYVmRNzGLc


No significant difference between straight or angle tool.
As Mr Slocumb noted, a thinner cutter or abrasive disc is
faster and as with all abrasives, bigger diameter = more
feet per minute.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 07:42:15 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Given that many of the commercial "bicycle locks" can be rather easily
cut with hand tools I have always considered bicycle locking devices
as something the prevent a casual thief from stealing the bicycle and
am not prepared to spend a lot of money on one. I currently have a 5
foot length of steel chain and a padlock that I carry along if I plan
on leaving the bicycle unattended.

I believe that the price for my length of chain and padlock is
probably cheaper then the specially designed bicycle lock.

If that's true, then it's futile wasting money on bicycle locks.
Instead, one should invest in a bicycle theft deterrent device:
http://vengecycle.com

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 10:08:14 AM UTC-5, AMuzi wrote:


[1]can't bring my bicycle into the library.

I don't normally do so, but our library has an entry alcove or whatever it's
called. On rainy days I've parked my bike in there, with never a complaint.
I'm lucky.

I'm on a committee for the village. For many years I'd lock my bike on a back
porch of the village hall and worry just a little bit that someone might cut
the 1/4" homemade cable lock. Now I just wheel it right into the
conference room. Unless one prissy village official is attending the
meeting, that is.

- Frank Krygowski

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 1:03:31 PM UTC-5, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 07:42:15 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Given that many of the commercial "bicycle locks" can be rather easily
cut with hand tools I have always considered bicycle locking devices
as something the prevent a casual thief from stealing the bicycle and
am not prepared to spend a lot of money on one. I currently have a 5
foot length of steel chain and a padlock that I carry along if I plan
on leaving the bicycle unattended.

I believe that the price for my length of chain and padlock is
probably cheaper then the specially designed bicycle lock.

If that's true, then it's futile wasting money on bicycle locks.
Instead, one should invest in a bicycle theft deterrent device:
http://vengecycle.com

I've wondered about a sort of multi-layer lock. Start with a strong cable,
say about 3/8" diameter. Have it threaded through a hardened steel tube with
thick walls. Have that tube encased in steel rings - say, cylinders whose OD
is just a bit larger than the ID of the tube.

My hope would be that the rings would spin so a grinder would be inhibited.
The tube would crush under bolt cutters and protect the cable.

I haven't given any thought to bending around corners or a lock mechanism.

- Frank Krygowski

On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:03:04 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

On 12/5/2017 11:53 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 5 Dec 2017 06:43:01 -0800, sms
wrote:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18-Volt-Lithium-Ion-4-1-2-in-Cordless-Cut-Off-Grinder-Tool-Only-2680-20/202196580
Any bicycle thief worth their salt owns a battery powered angle grinder.

Angle grinders work well but die grinders are smaller, cheaper,
somewhat quieter, easier to handle, and work equally well:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-3-5-Amp-1-4-in-Die-Grinder-GD0601/202517751

"Die Grinder versus Locks"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbYVmRNzGLc


No significant difference between straight or angle tool.
As Mr Slocumb noted, a thinner cutter or abrasive disc is
faster and as with all abrasives, bigger diameter = more
feet per minute.

Ahem... Permit me to point out that the no-load RPM of the
aforementioned 3.5A Makita die grinder is 25,000 RPM. The Milwaukee
cordless angle grinder is only 8,500 RPM (no load). For equal
diameter cutoff wheels, since the delivered energy is proportional to
the square of the rim velocity, the higher RPM die grinder has:
(25K/8.5K)^2 = 8.65
times as much power at the edge.

Drivel:
One of my recently acquired hobbies is knife making. I've only made
two rather crude knives so far and am therefore a total beginner. I
have both an angle grinder and a die grinder, both of which I've used
to shape a blade from old 10" table saw blades. The angle grinder is
bigger and therefore better for rough cuts. With a grinding disk,
it's also better for smoothing the outline. However, for detail work
and cutting along a curve, the die grinder is better with a small
wheel. I haven't done any speed testing so I don't know which is
better for cutting bicycle chains, cables and locks.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tue, 5 Dec 2017 10:15:54 -0800 (PST), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

I've wondered about a sort of multi-layer lock. Start with a strong cable,
say about 3/8" diameter. Have it threaded through a hardened steel tube with
thick walls. Have that tube encased in steel rings - say, cylinders whose OD
is just a bit larger than the ID of the tube.

My hope would be that the rings would spin so a grinder would be inhibited.
The tube would crush under bolt cutters and protect the cable.

I haven't given any thought to bending around corners or a lock mechanism.

Sigh. All you're doing is applying familiar metallurgical solutions
to the design. The problem is that they are all limited by the
limitations of the materials. The closest approximation to cut proof
are the various titanium locks:
https://www.tigrlock.com
https://altorlocks.com
It's possible to grind titanium (about the same as stainless steel).
The main limitation of a metallurgical solution is that anything that
can be fabricated can also be cut. Even the highest temperature
alloys can be cut by an even higher temperature torch, such as a
mythical portable plasma cutter. If overheating is impractical,
freezing with liquid nitrogen can make it brittle enough to break.
Like an arms race, the results are predictable and the effort usually
futile. The best you can do with metallurgy is to make the lock too
expensive to cut.

Perhaps a different approach might work better. The problem faced by
the average criminal is to steal the bicycle without destroying it.
That's easy when the lock is an independently removable accessory.
However, suppose the lock were designed and built as an integral part
of the bicycle frame. Cutting the lock would destroy the value of the
bicycle making the theft much less profitable.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 12/5/2017 12:03 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 07:42:15 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Given that many of the commercial "bicycle locks" can be rather easily
cut with hand tools I have always considered bicycle locking devices
as something the prevent a casual thief from stealing the bicycle and
am not prepared to spend a lot of money on one. I currently have a 5
foot length of steel chain and a padlock that I carry along if I plan
on leaving the bicycle unattended.

I believe that the price for my length of chain and padlock is
probably cheaper then the specially designed bicycle lock.

If that's true, then it's futile wasting money on bicycle locks.
Instead, one should invest in a bicycle theft deterrent device:
http://vengecycle.com


Statutes in most(all? IDK) states make a man trap (slang=
'booby trap') a felony and if you kill the SOB it's a murder
charge:

https://www.expertlaw.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=119566

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/199...y-trap-burglar

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/04...43771372948641

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/boobytrap-law/


--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971