How to remove a bike lock when you’ve lost the key
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007Stephanie’s old bike has had an albatross of a chain around its handlebars for years. The key is long lost, and the chain is wrapped around the front of the frame between the handlebars and the fork.
There are two commonly accepted ways of dealing with this problem. First, and most obviously, dissemble the bike. Because the cable is mercifully long, it could fit around the top of the handlebars if the brake and gearshift cables weren’t there. To remove them, you remove the brake assembly from the fork and detach the gear shift cable that goes to the crank. Easy enough, however this method is incorrect.
Method two involves getting out your Sawzall® (Milwaukee, of course) and cutting the cable. Problem solved inside of 30 seconds. Let me tell you that there’s no more gratifying way to solve a problem than the way that pointlessly involves senseless destruction yet saves you time.