Ottolock attack.

[Randy_Butternubs]

The lock looks flimsy, and has only three digits to boot.

I have a small/light Abus 202 lock (2.5mm cable so easily cut, but with 4 digits) for audax rides. Won't stop a thief, but will stop someone taking the bike when they're too lazy to walk a few hundred yards.

Having 3 digits does seem strange. Then again, are combination locks ever defeated by thieves methodically working their way through?

That reminds me of another point I forgot to make. Whilst the lock body feels high quality and solid the rollers/tumblers felt a bit cheap and plastic-y. I'm not sure if this has any bearing on security or not. They are also quite small and I found it a bit fiddly to set one number without nudging the others out.

[Brucey]

needless to say you do can wield a junior hacksaw in a tight corner; if the frame and blade are assembled over the cable, such that the blade is facing inwards, you need very little room indeed.

Yes you could do this but you would be sawing against the flat of the belt instead of the edge and your grip/working position would also be compromised I think. I feel that this would either not work or would take a very long time but now that you've mentioned it I realise it's something I should have tested.

you can't test everything; I think you have done well so far to do what you have.

...Having 3 digits does seem strange. Then again, are combination locks ever defeated by thieves methodically working their way through?...

Most inexpensive combination locks have a fundamental design flaw that means that someone who knows what they are doing can open one in a few minutes.  Modern locks are usually improved vs the most basic designs but are by no means proof against being opened this way. 

In reality this does not matter in most cases (e.g.  a cable lock against opportunist thieves with no tools) and any serious crim will probably cut through the lock using tools anyway; it is much faster than opening the lock.

cheers

[Ian H]

Having locked a couple of bikes on to a rear rack with a good quality cable lock, I realised I no longer had the key.  Cheap bolt croppers went through it with almost no effort.

[Jurek]

Combo locks of any sort do not fill me with confidence.
This comes from personal experience of being able to thwart them....
Easily - No tools required.
5 minutes or less. In total darkness. I do them by feel.

[/not a bike thief]

[Cudzoziemiec]

I have hacksawed through a cable lock in my FiL's attic. It took ages but it would have been much quicker if I'd had an extra pair of hands to hold the cable (which was a long one with several loops) tight, if I'd had a sharper blade and if it hadn't been over 30 degrees in that attic.

[Somnolent]

I have a small/light Abus 202 lock (2.5mm cable so easily cut, but with 4 digits) for audax rides. Won't stop a thief, but will stop someone taking the bike when they're too lazy to walk a few hundred yards. 

I had something similar a while back - but not as good quality mechanism as the Abus.
Was able to get through the cable quite easily in less than 5 minutes with the miniature scissors & tiny file/saw blade on my Swiss Army Knife when the lock decided it didnt want to open one day after a cafe stop despite jiggling - and yes I did have the correct combination.   Never mind pliers or side cutters - a decent pair of kitchen scissors would likely go through it on first chomp.

[rogerzilla]

I haven't been able to open the Ottolock by feel.  I could do it with cheap combination locks in the 80s - the "right" digit on each wheel always clicked in a bit more positively than the others.  This was the type that didn't have a resettable combination and probably cost 75p from Halfords.

I have solved my issue of not being able to read the digits and unlock the bike at night...use the front light to make things brighter, it's taken off the bike when parked anyway

[Biggsy]

I too have not found any feely shortcut to open the Ottolock, but I can test all 1000 combinations in less than six minutes (after some practice).  I would prefer a key version.  Never mind.  Really, it'll be rare for a casual passer-by to even try the combination it's left on, let alone many others.

[Paul]

I can suss the right side number by feel, leaving only 2 tumblers to get by testing all combinations, which wouldn't take very long at all.

[Greenbank]

I haven't been able to open the Ottolock by feel.  I could do it with cheap combination locks in the 80s - the "right" digit on each wheel always clicked in a bit more positively than the others.  This was the type that didn't have a resettable combination and probably cost 75p from Halfords.

You could do the old style by look (not feel) too on badly engineered (i.e. cheap) locks.

When you pulled the two ends apart the left (or right depending on how it was made) most incorrect wheel would be at an angle if it was incorrect and flat if it was correct. When you got the correct number you moved onto the next one.

No idea if the Ottolock is engineered well enough for this not to be a useful tactic.

[Biggsy]

No, that doesn't apply to the Ottolock.

And I still can't crack any of the individual tumblers of mine by feel.

[Bobby]

I asked about UK sales :

SKLZ will be our distributor for the UK.
International Distributor for Europe, early 2018


I also asked about the 3digit pin:

At this point in time we are not planning a 4-digit combination. Although it is rather impressive that you were able to do all the combination changes in 5.5mins. Even our most experience operators usually take around 40mins to go through each combination.

[Jakob]

The Lockpicking Lawyer has a very good, somewhat depressing youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3NmIAWRjxI

While picking is probably beyond most people, he still easily forces open most locks.

[Biggsy]

Even our most experience operators usually take around 40mins to go through each combination.

What on Earth are they on about?

[Randy_Butternubs]

The Lockpicking Lawyer has a very good, somewhat depressing youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3NmIAWRjxI

While picking is probably beyond most people, he still easily forces open most locks.

I like his channel. My favorite is the Ramset - an explosive-powered bolt gun used for construction that seems to kill almost any lock instantly.

I get the impression that he puts a bit too much emphasis on pick-resistance. It seems like a skill that he's spent dozens of hours perfecting so the fact that he can crack a lock in under a minute probably doesn't mean much.

The worst is what he calls bypassing on some of the cheap, and some not so cheap, locks. You can use a bit of coke can or whatever on poorly designed locks to slide the locking pin back.

[Jakob]

The Lockpicking Lawyer has a very good, somewhat depressing youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3NmIAWRjxI

While picking is probably beyond most people, he still easily forces open most locks.

I like his channel. My favorite is the Ramset - an explosive-powered bolt gun used for construction that seems to kill almost any lock instantly.

I get the impression that he puts a bit too much emphasis on pick-resistance. It seems like a skill that he's spent dozens of hours perfecting so the fact that he can crack a lock in under a minute probably doesn't mean much.

The worst is what he calls bypassing on some of the cheap, and some not so cheap, locks. You can use a bit of coke can or whatever on poorly designed locks to slide the locking pin back.

Well, in his Kryptonite review, he does say that while the lock was fairly easy for him to pick, it's still one of the best locks he's seen and only a tiny minority of thieves have the skills to pick locks.

[Cudzoziemiec]

They're interesting videos. Morally ambivalent,* on the one hand they show cyclists what to avoid and hopefully manufacturers what to improve, on the other they're a handy guide for thieves.

*All life is morally ambivalent, of course, but this is serious!

[Ham]

....The Lockpicking Lawyer has a very good, somewhat depressing youtube channel:

There's the hint, folks. I don't know if he is a real lawyer or not (quite possibly is) but I do know that the intelligence and dexterity required to pick a lock is inimical to a life of petty crime; someone with those skills is likely to be able to spend their waking hours more profitably engaged than placing their freedom at risk for low profit margins. Which is why worrying that a lock (and especially a cafe lock) can be picked is very likely misplaced.