A video has appeared on YouTube showing a new bike lock, called the Forever Lock, that is apparently unpickable.
The reason that the lock is described as unpickable is that you can't see the keyhole, let alone access it because it is hidden internally.
The obvious question: how do you get the key in there, then?
Well, the easiest way to find out is to watch the video (below). Essentially, you put the key into a hollow metal chamber in the shackle, then spin that section of the lock around so that the key is fully inside the lock body, then you push the key into the hidden keyhole. Oh, just watch the vid and it’ll make much more sense.
Of course, saying that it’s impossible to pick this lock is just asking for someone to come along and prove you wrong, but it does look like a very smart design. If you can’t get to the keyhole, you’re going to struggle to pick the lock by any conventional means.
The video has been posted by Lockman28, a US lock specialist, but the Forever Lock isn’t his design, it comes from Asia.
According to Lockman28’s YouTube page, the first batch of Forever Locks will be available within the next two months and the price will be about US$140 plus shipping. If you’re interested in putting in an order, go to Lockman28’s YouTube page and send a message.
As Lockman28 acknowledges, “This lock, like all other locks, can be destructively opened.”
In other words, no one is claiming that the Forever Lock can’t be destroyed with an angle grinder, a lump hammer or some other means that thieves are employing these days.
Still, this looks like a really interesting development in bike security. What do you think?
19 thoughts on “Forever Lock: the ‘unpickable’ bike lock + video”
“What do you think?”
I think
“What do you think?”
I think the video author could get to the point a bit quicker 😉
If any scrote did have a go at this, the risk is not that he’d open the lock, but he/she would render the lock inoperable.
Is having the lock picked
Is having the lock picked really much of an issue?
I’d have thought having it broken open somehow was the main worry.
but what’s it like when faced
but what’s it like when faced with a bottle jack?
Bike thieves don’t pick
Bike thieves don’t pick locks, they physically break them. E.g. cutting through wire locks with a bolt-cutter, or using a bottle jack to burst open D-locks. Hell, even the frame of the *bicycle itself* can give enough leverage to break some D-locks in seconds, just by twisting the bicycle around.
If picking the locks isn’t how thieves steal bikes, then making a lock harder to pick won’t have any effect on bike theft, obviously.
Paul J wrote:Bike thieves
Correct. Well, usually anyway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LahDQ2ZQ3e0
What a load of faff, that’ll
What a load of faff, that’ll never sell as well as traditional D-Locks.
Clever stuff,but totally
Clever stuff,but totally useless in the real world. I sort of guessed that it wouldn’t really be a meaningfull development in security when the little plastic caps came out (unless the guy in the vid got it wrong and they are just part of the packaging)
I don’t think any thief tries
I don’t think any thief tries to pick a lock. So as long as the lock is semi-decent, the traditional way in seems to be cutting the shackle.
Pity they don’t show how this thing holds up to an angle grinder…
OK, that’s dumb.
Difficult to
OK, that’s dumb.
Difficult to use mechanism, with a key you are likely to drop and lose.
The shackle is under-engineered as it’s too thin to withstand bolt cutters. The hinge on the shackle means it’s hart to lock through the frame (frame and back wheel is best) so will likely be used on the top tube only: This means the frame can be cut in a few seconds, and the bike taken and stripped for parts elsewhere. ‘Clever’ engineering looking for a non-existent problem to solve.
Quality locks aren’t picked for bike theft, they’re broken with bolt cutters or angle grinders.
Saw this the other day
Saw this the other day elsewhere so can only repeat what was said there:
Video seriously needs a TL;DW as that guy waffles (in a most patronising way) something cronic.
Thieves break locks, not pick them. Therefore fancy anodised twisty clever lock gets ‘anglegrinded’ in 30 seconds.
Tells you how stupid the guy making the video is: he thinks the packaging is a nice cover they have thrown in for the anodised shell!
Frankly, its going to be an expensive, over engineered lock that doesnt deal with the issue of how thieves circumvent them.
The chances of having any
The chances of having any decent d-lock picked are near zero. However, squirting superglue into the mechanism is a quite a common trick.
The thief does this to force the owner to leave their bike locked up somewhere. They can then return at night whilst no one is watching to either break the lock, or strip the bike of parts.
If someone does try this to your lock, use acetone (nail polish remover) first. It’s a lot cheaper than a locksmith.
If it’s too unbreakable, it
If it’s too unbreakable, it won’t be popular with councils who have to remove bikes that have been abandoned (not that they ever can be bothered).
Up to now, the best one I’ve found is an Abus disc lock – without a spring, as well as being really tough steel, they are popular with the Dutch. I learnt to my loss, the lock is only as good as the chain.
If it comes under £70 I might be interested, especially as I’m moving back to Holland, where bike thieves are pretty specialist.
I think that the
I think that the manufacturers should give me a test one to use when i park a bike in Croydon…….if its still there at 5pm then its unbeatable 🙂
Design looks good, but I
Design looks good, but I would wait to see reviews in a years’ time. Will be interesting to see whether that mechanism will fail and whether people cannot unlock their bikes?
Over engineered Heath
Over engineered Heath Robinson type arrangement. Lock picking is a myth. Yes there was the very brief period TEN YEARS AGO when Kryptonite made the mistake of sticking cheap cylinder key barrels in some locks that could be raked with a pen barrel. That’s about the limit of it unless you use a very cheap cable lock or padlock. Good quality high security and tubular keys are not easily picked, they will simply use a cordless angle grinder instead. A much simpler design would be a D shackle you can lock with a padlock leaving you with a massive choice of practically un pickable high security closed shackle pad locks to choose from. A stronger shackle please, not the lock barrel.
Nice idea but too fussy by
Nice idea but too fussy by far. What about the lock’s resistance to being destructively opened?
It’s very pretty though. I
It’s very pretty though. I expect to see it hanging off hipster belts in Hackney very soon.
lol, I bought 4 Kryptonite
lol, I bought 4 Kryptonite New York locks for that price. I got a couple of D locks, and a couple of Noose types with disc brake mini-D. Two per bike. With a car jack, they’ll get through the D lock of Kryptonite or this brand, but not the Mini-D.
Yeah, you can access the port, but good luck picking it. Those blade type locks held up to the thieves convention folk – the best in the world. The losers around my place haven’t a prayer.
How ironic that the banner ad
How ironic that the banner ad that came up whilst the vid was playing was for lock-picking tools =))