ChrisStreeter
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Don't Mess With U-Locks

August 28, 2005 —

car jack

Living in Berkeley, I hear all kinds of things about how to steal stuff, or permanently borrow. One of the things I've heard is how to break a bike's U-Lock. One should use a car jack to pry the jack apart, breaking it, and setting free the bike inside.

Well, to say the least, I was skeptical. So first I arranged to have a Sawzall at my place. In my opinion, a Sawzall was holy. It could cut through anything; except a piece of hardened steel. I learned this 2 brand new blades later, as I found that the U-Lock didn't even have scratches on it. I was simply removing the rubber coating.

Well, I'm not about to give up at that, so I subsequently brought out my car jack, and began to pry apart the lock. The going was tough for a while, but the labor became easier and easier. However, I was unsure if the U-Lock was moving any more, so I loosened it up. Well, as you can see from the picture, the U-Lock ate my car jack, designed to hold up a sedan, and spit it back out, while grasping onto the item the lock is protecting.

Lesson learned: never try to get through a U-Lock, unless it is a Kryptonite Evolution.