🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3m3j6i$95b@nic.scruz.net>, paul@scruznet.com (Paul Franklin) writes:
> It couldn't have been worth more than $100, and the frame was locked to
> the back wheel with a kryptonite lock, but somebody was desperate
> enough to walk onto my porch at 5:45 this morning and take it anyway. 
> Neighborhood: lower end of High street, Santa Cruz.  Is there a new
> clever way of removing Kryptonite locks that makes it economically
> reasonable to steal a $100 bike?
> 

From what you described, there was no need for a clever way to remove the 
Kryptonite lock.  All the thief had to do was pick up the bike, lock and all, 
throw it in the back of a vehicle, and drive away.  He/she could then 
concentrate on removing the lock at his/her convenience.
You should always lock your bike to something OTHER than the bike
itself.  A tree, a lamppost, a bike rack, whatever.  

Having said that, I 
should also mention that there IS a clever(?) way to remove Kryptonite locks.
These locks are very hard, but also very brittle.  A strategically placed car
jack can be used to expand the U-shaped lock until it breaks.  Bike shops sell
Kryptonite lock reinforcing gadgets to circumvent this, but I have no idea
whether they work or not.  

Personally, I use a decent quality cable with a Master 
padlock in conjunction with a really crappy-looking (but actually very good) 
old bicycle.  I ALWAYS lock to bike to a stationary object (this is usually
easier to do with a cable than with a Kryptonite lock) and I've never had
a bike stolen (knock virtual wood). I'm not saying the cable is any better 
than the Kryptonite lock.  It probably isn't.  But even the best lock will 
never be anything more than a deterrent to really determined bicycle thieves 
(may they rot in hell).

-kag
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