How Much of a Problem Is It to Lose the Key to Your Bike Lock?
If you're ever locked out of your vehicle, you can simply call a mobile locksmith. They will quickly make their way to you, and you will promptly be let back into your car. But what about when your transportation is of the two-wheeled, self-propelled variety? Losing the key to your bike lock is certainly an inconvenience, and the ease of fixing the problem can depend on the type of bike lock you use. And perhaps how willing you are to sacrifice that lock to retrieve your bike.
Sacrificing Your Lock to Reclaim Your Bike
When it comes to a simple chain and padlock or even some forms of combination lock, chances are that you will be able to remove the lock yourself. This will entail leaving your bike where it is and returning as soon as you're able with the appropriate tools. A sufficiently strong pair of pliers and enough force should be enough to break the lock. Of course, the lock is now destroyed, but you will at least be able to retrieve your bike. But what about when you have invested in a a heavy duty U-lock or something else equally difficult to break?
Professional Assistance to Reclaim Your Bike (and Save Your Lock)
This is when you will need to call in the services of a mobile locksmith. Such strong locks are difficult to break open unless you have a hacksaw and a lot of time on your hands, and even then there are no guarantees. Attending to a lost bike lock is something that mobile locksmiths have to deal with on a regular basis, and since they might be able to simply deactivate the lock, it can still be used again once the locksmith has cut a duplicate key for it.
Additional Security Considerations
Much like giving a spare house key to a friend or family member for safekeeping, you could wish to do the same with your bike lock in order to prevent your bike from being inaccessible if the key was ever lost again. For additional security, you might decide to register your bike on a national database so that you it can be tracked more easily if someone else decided to break the lock and ride away.
Depending on the nature of the lock, it might be time to bid it a fond farewell when the key goes missing, unless a locksmith is able to offer a workaround.
Talk with a mobile locksmith to make a plan for opening a lock with no key.