I recently picked up a rusty old bike for yet another project, but it came with a cable lock around the back wheel that the seller had lost the key for. Now, for a while I've fancied having a go at chopping a cable lock to see just how easy it is but haven't wanted to ruin any of my own. So this was the perfect chance to give it a try. Hopefully this will show just how easy it is for a chav with a set of bolt cutters (quite easy to carry inside your coat) can have away with you pride and joy within seconds if it's only locked up with a cable.
Saying that though, I locked my mountain bike up with just a cable for my entire time whilst at uni. I even once left it outside Morrisons for a whole weekend without trouble. The problem really is if someone does want to nick your bike then a cable is not much of a challenge if they've come with a set of cutters.
You can see that it's a pretty old crappy cable lock, but the metal cable inside of it is pretty much the same thickness as will be inside a new Kryptonite cable etc...
