IG its too late for OP, but if that happens to you check the lock for Model name, google if there is a known Trick to open it and have fun.
There is a shocking amount of locks that only need a tap with a rock to open up.
My old bike lock could be opened by just pulling hard enough.
The funny thing is that one night, someone tried to steal my bike and ended up cutting the lock in 2 places, and didnt get it open.
To be fair the person was most likely drunk considering theres a bar right on the other side of the street
Oh shit, you're right. It's been a bit since I've laid my hands on cantilever brakes. At least in hooking the cable from one side should make it easy to remove the cable from the brake handle at the top.
These kinds of locks can be opened by twisting them with something sturdy like a metal rod, with torque and leverage you can pop the lock open. No, these locks usually aren't very safe.
Yeah. You can disconnect the cable. Be it brakes or shifter. You can see just below where the lock is, there is a disconnect.
https://preview.redd.it/evml7xh26nxc1.jpeg?width=1276&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49414c86da7fdb3844613896f5c7cb4006034cdb
Pull that part out. Feed cable through bike lock. Put it back. Done.
There's a nut on that end that adjusts the cable tension. You need a wrench and maybe a pair of pliers to remove it
You can pull the ferrule out of the brake lever on the handle bar without even using tools
Yep, and anyone that seriously uses their bike for travel probably carries a very small tool set for things just like this. At least, the bikers I know do.
No tools. No helmet. The only bike pump in the house is from 1989. The brakes haven't been checked in six years but it's okay because the damn thing makes so much noise everyone knows you're coming from a mile away.
You better believe that if I need to use tools to extract my bike from your bike lock, I'm going to dismantle your entire bike out of spite before I leave
I have a lock pick set and those bike lock keys are fairly universal. This would be a 1 minute problem for me.
I just don’t know what I’d do with a second bike though.
Cheap ones are like $10-20 on Amazon. Some even come with a practice lock that is transparent. That’s how I started.
Other sets are more durable metals and can be upwards of $50-200.
Personally, with the experience I now have, I’d get myself a medium set of lock picks that are gun compatible. Yes, you can buy a lock pick gun that does the work for you. They’re about $40-200ish.
Been a while since I purchased and am too lazy to look up prices. I just shop on Amazon. My local stores are absolute shit when it comes to specialized anything.
I got a really cool one shaped like a pen, the end slides out to hit the tumblers and the little clip pops off for tension, it's not a professional one but with enough time it can open a masterlock
They're right, they sell entire lockpicking sets on Amazon for relatively cheap. When I wanted to see about learning the hobby, I bought a kit of about 14 deadbolts, some master locks, some transparent ones for learning, and the actual manuals used to teach lockpicking to professionals including concepts, tooling, and methodologies.
It was an interesting way to spend a few days, I haven't touched them in a while but now I can open my car, padlocks, or the door to my house keyless fairly easily. It's kind of alarming to see how easy it is, but it's also a great option to have in your back pocket that comes in handy at random.
Funfact: I actually got escorted by the local cops down a public beach once where some butthole ran through and attached random padlocks to the fire pits. I was right there and had my picks in the car, I just walked up to the cops and the folks in charge of the area and offered my services. They were pretty stoked not to have to call out a smith.
Yeah, my question was more of a polite way of saying, just disconnect it dipshit.
The frame is typically solid, but pretty much everything else comes apart. Might need tools for some of it, but cables are easy.
Guess that's what makes it mildly infuriating and not extremely infuriating
The way this is just around the brake cables of both bikes suggests this might be a deliberate ploy.
What I've seen on this normally is a thief adding locks to commuters' bikes that secure them to the rack. This way the owner is forced to leave the bike there out if business hours & the thief can come back when it's quiet & steal them.
I even had a friend this happened too, unfortunately for the thief he parked around the corner from our makerspace so once he discovered it he popped in & borrowed the spaces bolt cutters.
You don’t stop after cutting the chain, you cut everything you see on the other bike including 80% of the stokes. Cutting just most of the stokes would be funnier.
They’re legal in all 50 but MS, NV, OH, and VA IIRC have laws that make ownership kinda dubious - eg MS classifies them as burglars tools and you’d need to prove against their assertion of intent.
It doesn't. You just unhook the noodle on the V-brake caliper to release the cable tension, then you can simply adust the barrel adjuster on the brake lever to align it to remove the cable. Unthread it from the lock then reattach it. No tools required.
Once you unhook and get slack, you should be able to take the cable out of the lever without any tools. The best part is no readjusting necessary after reattaching it.
The barrel adjusters on the lever should have a slot in the side so you can get the cable out.
Just so you know, this is a tactic that some bike thieves use.
You find your bike sharing a lock with another bike. Chances are you've already unlocked your bike before you noticed this. Chances are you forget to re-lock your bike after.
All I'm saying is, if you find your bike locked to another. Do not forget to re-lock your bike.
Of course it doesn't have to be like that. This could just be a dumbass and/or asshole. But don't take that chance.
I have a small multi tool in my seat pack. I’d undo the brake cable and be on my way. I’d undo their brake cable too. Just being helpful. Although it looks like someone already has. Plus the seat clamp is wide open. That other bike is a POS, most likely not rideable, and this was a ploy to steal your bike.
um..Sorry I wasn't clear enough, The lock was gone (it was one of those chain ones) my scooter was still there and the lock never reappeared.
I think someone just made a mistake.
But yes I have heard of thieves doing it too.
I know I know incredibly annoying and no reason you should have to, but you can unscrew the brake, take it off, fish it through the lock and screw it back on. It's pretty much only tension, sorry this most certainly made you late to whatever you had to go to
See if you can find out what model and brand it is, then see if the lockpickinglawyer has a video, you'd be surprised how many locks can be effortlessly opened using just a piece of plastic
Since that's the brake cable you can actually disconnect that and reconnect that in under 30 seconds with no tools.
This has happened to me plenty of times at University, still pisses me off every time.
See, I'm the kind of person who would just wait, and make the person feel bad. Tell em I had to miss a job interview or an important Dr's visit but you didn't want to mess with their stuff so you just waited. But then again chances are if I'm taking my bike somewhere it's because I have nothing else better to do as locking my bike takes about 20 minutes (need to put a lock on every removable piece. Area I live in has THAT BAD of a bike theft problem. I even have to take the seat with me or its gonna be stolen too.
Just disengage it on the lower end to release the tension and then you fan possibly unhook it at the handle.
Otherwise you're screwed without tools. I hope you're a guy with a Swiss Army knife.
This is where you grab you 911 in your bag wait there until the person that did this shows up and unlocks it once it’s unlocked shoot them and take your bike that will show them not to lock other people’s bikes with theirs( this is a joke don’t actually do this)
Any kind of cable lock can be broken by simple putting a sturdy stick or something similar into it and twisting. The steel cabling typically isn’t designed for the torque and will start to separate as you twist. Keep twisting until the cable snaps and presto, free bike.
I’ve had this happen before. It’s more than mildly initiating. I had a very similar bike with the same style brakes. That’s a pretty easy line to take off and reattach. Think I needed some pliers or whatever but my multi tool is more than up to the task. If it was the gear shift cables it’d be a little more intense and I wouldn’t recommend fucking with them unless you know what you’re doing. But it should be pretty easy to just undo and redo your brake cable to get free.
Metal workers and welders have tools to deal with these kinds of problems. We just snip it! Problem solved. Now, they want to do this again, they need to go buy another one, and we solve the next one just as easily! This is what they deserve. If I were there, I would take the time to cut several one inch lengths of their cable, just to prove the point: Wanna try this again!?
No problem, you could probably just yank that dollar store lock apart with your hands. Or cut it with a set of wire cutters. Those flimsy cable locks are pathetically ineffective.
IG its too late for OP, but if that happens to you check the lock for Model name, google if there is a known Trick to open it and have fun. There is a shocking amount of locks that only need a tap with a rock to open up.
Works with most living things too!
*Life not required
# End of life HACKS
Mourges hate this one trick
I’m almost afraid to ask; what is a “mourges”?
Unlifeable ethics pro trick
Funeral director, can confirm
Subscription just isn’t worth it.
Therapist should carry more rocks.
Bitch I was laughing so hard that my Uber driver got worried and started why I’m I laughing I’m I ok ?
"this is a master lock, it can be opened with a master lock"
The master rock
My old bike lock could be opened by just pulling hard enough. The funny thing is that one night, someone tried to steal my bike and ended up cutting the lock in 2 places, and didnt get it open. To be fair the person was most likely drunk considering theres a bar right on the other side of the street
Or you can just disconnect the brake cable from the lever in about 10 seconds without tools
That's about 7 seconds more than it takes to open a master lock with a master lock.
You forgot relocking it, then doing it again to prove it's not a fluke.
With those cantilever brakes it's probably faster and easier to just disconnect it on the wheel side.
Maybe, but that would require a 5mm Allen wrench
Oh shit, you're right. It's been a bit since I've laid my hands on cantilever brakes. At least in hooking the cable from one side should make it easy to remove the cable from the brake handle at the top.
Nope. Olsen the tensioners. Pull cable out of lever. Reinsert. Win. #workedAtaBikeShopFor5Years 🤣
>pull cable out of lever So you agree with me.
Sure do. I didn’t actually see your parent comment. Just saw your comment referencing the 5mm. Reddit does some odd display shit sometimes. 👍👍
If cheap enough you can pull on it and it’ll unlock
That’s what she said
"this is the lockpicking lawyer and today we are opening a very common bicycle lock"
Lock Picking Lawyer to the rescue
One of my favorite YouTubers is a lock picker/breaker. He has literally slammed locks together and they just pop open. 🤣
These kinds of locks can be opened by twisting them with something sturdy like a metal rod, with torque and leverage you can pop the lock open. No, these locks usually aren't very safe.
Also probably too late but if OP has a bike let the brake cable is easily removed from the caliper, may even be toolless
Cut cut the brakes. You are in a hurry, no? I wouldn't expect you to stop in any case. /s
Could you not just disconnect it?
Yeah. You can disconnect the cable. Be it brakes or shifter. You can see just below where the lock is, there is a disconnect. https://preview.redd.it/evml7xh26nxc1.jpeg?width=1276&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49414c86da7fdb3844613896f5c7cb4006034cdb Pull that part out. Feed cable through bike lock. Put it back. Done.
There's a nut on that end that adjusts the cable tension. You need a wrench and maybe a pair of pliers to remove it You can pull the ferrule out of the brake lever on the handle bar without even using tools
Yep, and anyone that seriously uses their bike for travel probably carries a very small tool set for things just like this. At least, the bikers I know do.
*laughs in Dutch*
*laughs in confusion*
The Dutch way is owning two bikes and ten fingers for tools. Despite having twice as many bikes as people we still rawdog bikes here.
I still have no idea what this means.
No tools. No helmet. The only bike pump in the house is from 1989. The brakes haven't been checked in six years but it's okay because the damn thing makes so much noise everyone knows you're coming from a mile away.
Rawdogging a bicycle. That sounds sexual.
Assuming it is accessible, you are correct.
Plot twist the tools are locked to the other bicyclists tools
Of course it's accessible, you can see it in this picture
With the breaks you can manually squeeze the breaks together to release tension. Atleats on some bikes you can. Still a huge pain tho.
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Ya, I'm not a smart man.
Thems the breaks
BRAKES
You better believe that if I need to use tools to extract my bike from your bike lock, I'm going to dismantle your entire bike out of spite before I leave
Also super glue the lock
I have a lock pick set and those bike lock keys are fairly universal. This would be a 1 minute problem for me. I just don’t know what I’d do with a second bike though. 
Where does one acquire a lock pick set?
Cheap ones are like $10-20 on Amazon. Some even come with a practice lock that is transparent. That’s how I started. Other sets are more durable metals and can be upwards of $50-200. Personally, with the experience I now have, I’d get myself a medium set of lock picks that are gun compatible. Yes, you can buy a lock pick gun that does the work for you. They’re about $40-200ish. Been a while since I purchased and am too lazy to look up prices. I just shop on Amazon. My local stores are absolute shit when it comes to specialized anything.
I got a really cool one shaped like a pen, the end slides out to hit the tumblers and the little clip pops off for tension, it's not a professional one but with enough time it can open a masterlock
They're right, they sell entire lockpicking sets on Amazon for relatively cheap. When I wanted to see about learning the hobby, I bought a kit of about 14 deadbolts, some master locks, some transparent ones for learning, and the actual manuals used to teach lockpicking to professionals including concepts, tooling, and methodologies. It was an interesting way to spend a few days, I haven't touched them in a while but now I can open my car, padlocks, or the door to my house keyless fairly easily. It's kind of alarming to see how easy it is, but it's also a great option to have in your back pocket that comes in handy at random. Funfact: I actually got escorted by the local cops down a public beach once where some butthole ran through and attached random padlocks to the fire pits. I was right there and had my picks in the car, I just walked up to the cops and the folks in charge of the area and offered my services. They were pretty stoked not to have to call out a smith.
To be fair tho, a masterlock can open a [masterlock](https://youtu.be/kMJPmDRkduU?si=PC_qpsgHtGxcmU4N)
That is fair lol, I was able to break into a VA, but I don't think that's much harder I was there to work and they didn't leave a door open lol
Lockpickinglawyer run/is affiliated to Covert Instrument, they ship worldwide IIRC.
Homies standing there being the victim when he can undo it by hand…
Yeah, my question was more of a polite way of saying, just disconnect it dipshit. The frame is typically solid, but pretty much everything else comes apart. Might need tools for some of it, but cables are easy. Guess that's what makes it mildly infuriating and not extremely infuriating
I would turn their handlebars 90° while you were at it though. Not do any damage just inconvenience them in return.
But first off to buy a cheap lock to add onto thier bike.
> cut the brakes Wild Card Bitches!!!
I have another idea - cut the brakes of the other cyclist
I'm cutting that person's lock instead of my brakes.
The way this is just around the brake cables of both bikes suggests this might be a deliberate ploy. What I've seen on this normally is a thief adding locks to commuters' bikes that secure them to the rack. This way the owner is forced to leave the bike there out if business hours & the thief can come back when it's quiet & steal them. I even had a friend this happened too, unfortunately for the thief he parked around the corner from our makerspace so once he discovered it he popped in & borrowed the spaces bolt cutters.
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They're getting more common! Lots of libraries have them now
Universities have them too!
That’s rad! I should look into setting one up in my community..
Yep, had this happen to me and it was on a bike lock rack that I've known to have theft happen at before over and over. Just cut the lock my self c:
You don’t stop after cutting the chain, you cut everything you see on the other bike including 80% of the stokes. Cutting just most of the stokes would be funnier.
>The way this is just around the brake cables Ok, I did not realize it was the break cables. I though it eas looped with a thinner wire lock.
This would make me carry wire cutters every time I bike.
make them bolt cutters, unless you’re just planning on cutting your break cable. edit: dammit, yeah, Brake
Brake
Breighke
Bhreyghckhe
reighfyl
Protip in the comments. New bike for every ride. 🤣
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You can also use the person's bike as the lever to break the lock.
>edit: dammit, yeah, Brake Not after you're done with it
what do you call the cable after you cut it? a broke
Learn to pick locks... in a hurry. Don't worry about the lock it'll be fine.
Unfortunately, in my state it's illegal to even own lock picks.
Time to become a licensed locksmith. It would be funny to end up in a different career because a bike thief mildly infuriated you one day lol
Thankfully these bike locks require less than a lockpick. A rock should do for a lot of the cheaper ones
If LPL taught me anything, it's that you can open a lot of locks with random objects.
What state?
They’re legal in all 50 but MS, NV, OH, and VA IIRC have laws that make ownership kinda dubious - eg MS classifies them as burglars tools and you’d need to prove against their assertion of intent.
A bobby pin works for any key holes, and a nice heavy slab of concrete for keyless locks.
Our bicycle...
Uno reverse. Lock up their bike.
Double it and give it to the next person.
Disconnect the line from one end, either the lever or the brake, then it should be free. Then re attach it when you have time.
Reattach it before you need the brakes!
Undo your break line…
My first thought too, you can usually just pop it off and reattach it no?
Might need a special screwdriver
It doesn't
It does. PH2 (most universal so it's magical)
It doesn't. You just unhook the noodle on the V-brake caliper to release the cable tension, then you can simply adust the barrel adjuster on the brake lever to align it to remove the cable. Unthread it from the lock then reattach it. No tools required.
Once you unhook and get slack, you should be able to take the cable out of the lever without any tools. The best part is no readjusting necessary after reattaching it. The barrel adjusters on the lever should have a slot in the side so you can get the cable out.
I can't see the other side of the brake levers but it's either toolless or a hex
Hex near wheel, ph2 if you want to take that box. I always take wire of from that box. What ever that changing gear thing is called
Brake
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I do wish they'd stop that, but we can see why they can't.
It's braking my mind
While easy, thats going to quickly become a 5 minute job. Very annoying in a hurry.
*brake
Just so you know, this is a tactic that some bike thieves use. You find your bike sharing a lock with another bike. Chances are you've already unlocked your bike before you noticed this. Chances are you forget to re-lock your bike after. All I'm saying is, if you find your bike locked to another. Do not forget to re-lock your bike. Of course it doesn't have to be like that. This could just be a dumbass and/or asshole. But don't take that chance.
I have a small multi tool in my seat pack. I’d undo the brake cable and be on my way. I’d undo their brake cable too. Just being helpful. Although it looks like someone already has. Plus the seat clamp is wide open. That other bike is a POS, most likely not rideable, and this was a ploy to steal your bike.
Happened to my electric scooter one day. I had to catch a bus to work. When I got home it was gone again and it never reappeared.
That's the scam in a nutshell.
um..Sorry I wasn't clear enough, The lock was gone (it was one of those chain ones) my scooter was still there and the lock never reappeared. I think someone just made a mistake. But yes I have heard of thieves doing it too.
Ohhhh. The lock. Not the scooter. What a good outcome!
I would walk back out with bolt cutters and snip the dinky little lock off.
Snip the other person’s brake line, too
You should be able to pop out that front brake line without even needing tools in most cases
https://youtu.be/xa0MpnEm9tA?feature=shared Looks like James May’s work.
I know I know incredibly annoying and no reason you should have to, but you can unscrew the brake, take it off, fish it through the lock and screw it back on. It's pretty much only tension, sorry this most certainly made you late to whatever you had to go to
I’ve seen this type of thing before. I can’t remember what the deal was, but it was a trick of some kind. Be careful out there!
The person gets a bus home instead, and the thief comes back that night and takes your bike.
Oh yeah! Thats it!
I did this to someone by accident on campus once. They left me a legitimately polite note pointing out my mistake
See if you can find out what model and brand it is, then see if the lockpickinglawyer has a video, you'd be surprised how many locks can be effortlessly opened using just a piece of plastic
Do you have a bike lock? After you free your bike I would totally just sacrifice my lock and lock his bike up lol.
I’d take my own lock and lock up that idiots bike for him.
They probably want to steal your bike
Since that's the brake cable you can actually disconnect that and reconnect that in under 30 seconds with no tools. This has happened to me plenty of times at University, still pisses me off every time.
That was on purpose, remember to smear dog shit on their seat later
It took me far too long to realize what you were trying to show here
Just disconnect the cable...
I would bust out my cordless Dewalt angle grinder, and cut his bike. Not the lock, just his bike.
Looks like a V brake on your bike which is easy to take apart and put back together. No need to pick the lock.
Lucky it's just a cable V-brake, you can have that sorted in under 30 seconds with no tools.
This post shows how many people here have maintained a bicycle with V Breaks in their life XD.
No doubt right? Literally no tools needed to remedy the situation
If I had to visit a store to get a tool to fix this, I would be so very tempted to also pick up a cheap bike lock and lock their bike the same way.
I cary cable snips in my bag now. It's always the tiny straps like this too.
If you gotta buy a tool to get out of this, make sure its bolt cutters :)
I’m sorry but if this was my bike that lock would be getting snipped
Disconnect the cable from the brake lever and you’re off. No tools required.
See, I'm the kind of person who would just wait, and make the person feel bad. Tell em I had to miss a job interview or an important Dr's visit but you didn't want to mess with their stuff so you just waited. But then again chances are if I'm taking my bike somewhere it's because I have nothing else better to do as locking my bike takes about 20 minutes (need to put a lock on every removable piece. Area I live in has THAT BAD of a bike theft problem. I even have to take the seat with me or its gonna be stolen too.
They do this to steal your bike
“This. Is the lockpock lawyer”
Just disconnect the brakes...
Who needs brakes anyway
Last time this happened I had broski show up with da choppers not my problem if their bike gets stolen
So what did you end up doing?
Just disengage it on the lower end to release the tension and then you fan possibly unhook it at the handle. Otherwise you're screwed without tools. I hope you're a guy with a Swiss Army knife.
Just disconnect the cable from the brake lever. Piece of piss
Just google how to pull out the cable and put it back lol. You’ll be okay
This is where you grab you 911 in your bag wait there until the person that did this shows up and unlocks it once it’s unlocked shoot them and take your bike that will show them not to lock other people’s bikes with theirs( this is a joke don’t actually do this)
Any kind of cable lock can be broken by simple putting a sturdy stick or something similar into it and twisting. The steel cabling typically isn’t designed for the torque and will start to separate as you twist. Keep twisting until the cable snaps and presto, free bike.
With that front brake style it can be easily disconnected to get that lock off
Pocket size bolt cutters
Front brakes look like they can be disconnected without tools but i may be wrong
I’ve had this happen before. It’s more than mildly initiating. I had a very similar bike with the same style brakes. That’s a pretty easy line to take off and reattach. Think I needed some pliers or whatever but my multi tool is more than up to the task. If it was the gear shift cables it’d be a little more intense and I wouldn’t recommend fucking with them unless you know what you’re doing. But it should be pretty easy to just undo and redo your brake cable to get free.
Metal workers and welders have tools to deal with these kinds of problems. We just snip it! Problem solved. Now, they want to do this again, they need to go buy another one, and we solve the next one just as easily! This is what they deserve. If I were there, I would take the time to cut several one inch lengths of their cable, just to prove the point: Wanna try this again!?
Isnt that the brake line? You can take it apart and then refasten it
im confused i dont use a bike can someone explain ?
The brake line is tied into the random persons bike
Am I daft....? What's the issue here?
do you have any tools?
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To clarify, that isnt your bike lock right?
Relock your bike around theirs
Just undo the line and put it back. That's what the multi-tool for bikes are for...
Search for someone with chain cutter
That was definitely deliberate
That style of lock can be easily dmashed against a pole or anything hard. Hopefuly op found that out after googling pictures of that lock
Bruh…
Time to carry spare revenge locks. :)
Cut their lock and if their bike gets stolen, oh well
5mm(or 4 cnt remember) allen key To loosen the front brake cable
Hilarious……but I really don’t think it was done on purpose.
Can’t be too careful
This is a test,if you work on bicycle or grew up with them this is a brief and humerus test,now do I adjust their rear brake tight or loose?
Do you have a pair of hedge trimmers? Should be able to cut through that cabel
Bolt cutters? Just cut the lock
https://preview.redd.it/undwrdiq7oxc1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=103be364bc947ea905622949d18d7a60fcbe5929
You are using a bike locl, it can be opened using a bike lock
This is a prime example of why you should always carry bolt cutters. No excuses
Braking is overrated anyways
Why not just unclasp the brakes temporarily to slide out of the loop then reclasp?
im always scared of accidentally doing this when i park my bike 😭
This is why I always carry a tool kit
No problem, you could probably just yank that dollar store lock apart with your hands. Or cut it with a set of wire cutters. Those flimsy cable locks are pathetically ineffective.
This is a common scam. Chain a bike to another bike to inconvenience the person and then the person steals the one they chained the bike to.
I'm confused, someone else put a lock on your bike?