Frozen Bike Lock

patrickf

I have a Kryptonite New York D-Lock that I leave at work outside.

Problem is it froze yesterday and again today. Other than bathing it in de-icer every morning do any of you have any tips on preventing the lock freezing in the first place?

ride_whenever

dont leave it outside in sub zero temperatures.

R0M

Lubricate it. Anything will help, GT85 or the the likes.
I've not tried this...but grease, or vaseline should work, it would be a bit messy, on the key etc.

BigLee1

Dry it out properly and oil it regularly

patrickf

As expected then. I filled it with GT85 today but obviously it needs a good clean first.

As to not leaving the lock outside, I'd rather not carry it in my bag with suit trousers and shirt. Leaving it inside at work would also mean leaving my bike unattended while I walk to the office and back.

Sadly work don't provide any form of cycle facilities other than a rack to lock bikes to. They'd rather people drove to work.

Thanks for the advice - I'll make sure I prepare better in future.

Headhuunter

Yep, even a regular spray of trusty WD40 will help...

ride_whenever

None of it helps because once the metal drops below the dew point then water will condense on it/inside it out of the
air. As the temperature drops further it'll then freeze solid.

The different metals in locks doesn't help much either as they tend to get a lot stiffer when cold due to different rates of contraction.

On the plus side, you can strip and rebuilt your kryptonite!

Headhuunter

ride_whenever wrote:

None of it helps because once the metal drops below the dew point then water will condense on it/inside it out of the
air. As the temperature drops further it'll then freeze solid.

The different metals in locks doesn't help much either as they tend to get a lot stiffer when cold due to different rates of contraction.

On the plus side, you can strip and rebuilt your kryptonite!

Yeah but WD40 and oil based products displace water so if you lubricate the lock regularly, water can't get in that easily

Daz555

Dry it out properly on a radiator and then stick a load of oil in it.

Alinshearah

Have you tried urinating on it to thaw it out?

patrickf

Luckily I didn't need to resort to that in the company car park!

A good bit of boiling water sorted out the key lock and lots of GT85 eventually got the shackles going again.

The Rookie

Alinshearah wrote:

Have you tried urinating on it to thaw it out?

Thus filling it with water (and other less desireable compounds) to freeze even worse the next time?

Lots of WD40 to drive moisture out, then I use a light oil which will sit in the crevices and occasionally add a bit more, small can of lock de-icer spray as an emergency backup.

patrickf

Got a can of deicer in my bag now. Luckily clearing out the rubbish from where the shackles go and emptying half a can of GT85 to flush it all out seems to have done the trick. Had absolutely no problem this morning.

danlikesbikes

GT85 or WD40 take your pick, looks like you've solved the problem though. As others has suggested you could always try a heavier type of oil/lube if you still find it sticking.