20 Likes
The LPL never competed in locksport until very recently (like within the last year or two.) He was invited to one, so he entered it. He took first place.
I don’t know that he’s going to enter more competitions. Seems to me that his skills place him in a completely non-existent class. At that level, there’s not much joy in simply showing up and moving everyone else down to second place. It’d be like a Kareem or Jordan showing up at a high school all-star basketball competition. The only thing he’d stand to gain would be some weird locksport version of fame, and he values his privacy over that.
7 Likes
Clearly your average locksmith cannot pick it, they lack the skill and tools to do so. they need to make angle grinder noises for 2.5 minutes to open a disc lock.
Maybe my bike isn’t safe from everyone, but it’s at least safe from a locksmith.
6 Likes
Speak, friend. And enter.
6 Likes
I do admit to having once raised an eyebrow at the ease with which LPL picked some locks, suspecting that he picked them methodically off-camera, memorized the pick procedure, then picked them super quick on camera to make himself look more impressive. However, he has done enough of this kind of video, where he picks locks he cuts out of sealed packaging, to assuage any doubts I might have had. He’s genuinely impressive.
6 Likes
I would presume lockpickers do research and also practice on various mechanisms so i wouldn’t consider it cheating if he had a go at a lock beforehand. I would actually expect it to be the case unless he was presented a lock he had never seen before, though the mechanisms would likely be based on something that already exists. Entirely novel mechanisms are likely rare but i’m sure they pop up occasionally.
3 Likes
Where else are you going to get a $10 angle grinder? 
Even if it only works once you’ve still saved $65.
4 Likes
Explaining things takes time, and he had only 2 minutes and 14 seconds to pick the lock.
From lockwiki
Disc-detainers are subject to all the same attacks as traditional lock designs, though the tools used are less common. Lockpicking tools designed for disc-detainer locks closely resemble the 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 picks used with lever locks. The main anti-lockpicking feature of disc-detainers is the use of false gates (or notches), but more advanced designs include a disc locking system that prevents discs from being individually manipulated.
I’m guessing that the Kyptonite locks aren’t that sophisticated, and it wasn’t that necessary to plan for the unexpected.
2 Likes
I envision a world in which this locksmith shows up with only an angle grinder regardless of how complicated the job is. “Sorry, sir/ma’am, every lock is perfectly secure… except from MY ANGLE GRINDER!!! RAAAWRR, TEH INTERWEBS IS FAKE!!!11!! Now point me to your closest 220v outlet, you stupid plebe, and I’ll take care of this in slightly more than 2 minutes.”
5 Likes
Which pays more, lawyering or locksmithing?
2 Likes
He did mention that it appeared to be one of the older model locks, so if they had made improvements over the years that guys bike lock might not have it.
To be fair to the locksmith, LPL did mention that it required a specialized tool and that your average on-call locksmith might not have it, making the lock effectively impossible for them to pick. If the locksmith had been honest with the guy we wouldn’t have gotten this amusing video.
6 Likes
I bought a new bike lock this week. At the moment I’m slightly* regretting not checking the LPL vids on bike locks before choosing.
*(slightly just because professional bike thieves just cut the lock and throw the bike in the back of the waiting pick up)
2 Likes
There are fake lock picking channels out there. LPL does a lot of subtle things to show he isn’t one of them. For instance: all of his videos are one continuous shot with nothing that wipes across the camera, which makes camera tricks much harder (like inserting hidden cuts). He periodically opens the packaging on camera (as mentioned elsewhere in thread). He also picks in a real world position, meaning, padlocks in hand, door locks in a vice, &c. It’s for the same reason that speedruns tend to be streamed these days and why everyone gets all up in arms about steroid use and fake weights in fitness YouTube. There’s money and status in social media.
The locksmith was probably also a crappy lockpick, and didn’t believe that level of skill is possible, and that anything that shows that level of skill has to be cheated. Which just ignores all the evidence of what humans are capable of.
5 Likes
I think he took longer on the packaging than the lock.
6 Likes
Well, he managed to get there by bike, the locksmith destroyed his lock.
Certainly you do not.
How do you know I don’t know? Maybe I know the guy, or maybe I am the guy. 
(I am not the guy)
2 Likes
This exactly. The real “pick resistance” of a bike lock is how long it can resist an angle grinder or bolt cutter. The same way the real pick resistance of a traditional lock is the strength of the door and frame.
Lockpicking is a skill that requires time and effort to learn. People who steal bikes don’t put that kind of work into anything in their life. They’re looking for some easy cash for their next fix, not a life skill.
6 Likes
he’s not just one of them. He’s “the worst offender”. 
3 Likes
Mailing yourself a package seems like a movie plot. Heck, in this example the lawyer wouldn’t even have to spend money on postage.
1 Like
Having done a little amateur lockpicking (though nowhere near LPL’s level), sometimes things just fall into place and you can pop a lock open in no time. Especially if the tolerances are poor. I remember one video where even he seemed startled by how quickly he opened a lock and had to try it again to see if it was a fluke.
8 Likes
It’s useful to lock up something you don’t ever want to unlock. 
But seriously, the lock owner said he had a spare key at home. And Kryptonite offers a key replacement service if you have the original key code.
4 Likes
