Bike Security: The Weakest Link
So I was looking up stronger locks than the Kryptonite NY. The Kryptonite is 18mm of hardened steel, its a very strong lock, stronger than bolt-cutters (even stronger than hydraulic bolt cutters). But, is there an angle-grinder proof lock?
Well, the Altor SAF suggests that it is. You can see in the image above its comically large (and heavy, 7Kg). Below you can watch the video of it vs the angle grinder… 3 batteries, 4 disks, >1hr. So, probably good enough. But, on inspection, the post I would be connecting it to would be the weak link. You can see it below (w/ the detritus of my old cut lock and helmut cast aside).
The city bike rack is ~15mm galvanised steel tubing bent into triangles, and then attached to ~40mm galvanised steel channel. I have to believe the angle grinder will walk through that in ~20s, no matter what my lock looks like.
Do I need to invest in some sort of anchor technology? Maybe I need a small neutron star to carry around?
Some have suggested traps (electrify, etc). Fun to consider, sadly illegal. Some have suggested alarms. Its a good avenue, but, I have to consider that the current lock was cut w/ a grinder for probably 4 minutes. That would have been probably as load as any siren I would install, and it didn’t help.
Some have suggested GPS trackers. I think this is a good avenue as well. I suspect, however, that the thief who has a battery-powered angle grinder, spare disks, etc, walking around, knows how to maximise their return and minimise their risk. We are not talking about a simple opportunist here, they defeated the locked cage and had the tools.
I could go Mel Gibson Ransom and make a reward for the head of the thief. Maybe double the reward for their supply chain. Fun to consider, but not that practical.
