Things that have not worked (so far):

Youtube video recommended a specific bike lubricant but that didn’t work.

I read hitting it with a hammer could help knock some of the rust loose but so far nada.

How it got stuck: I got doored pretty bad a few months before getting pregnant several years ago and basically stopped riding completely afterwards bc drivers are such assholes in the city where I live.

My stbx always chastised me for storing it in the house, and after we moved together the last time in 2021, he started making me keep it outside under a tarp.

Now he’s gone and it’s my only means of transportation, but the lock is stuck like a yoke around the neck.

I can feel something turning inside after a half revolution when I try to unlock it with a key, but I can’t even remember if it’s supposed to make a full revolution and is getting stuck halfway or if that’s as far as it’s supposed to turn (as in, is the rust is inside the barrel or the keyhole?).

Any other tips or ideas to get it open?

My dad said he thinks worst case scenario we can just cut it off, but it’s a kryptonite lock and I thought they were supposed to be impossible to cut?

  • whoiswrongwithyou@lemmy.ml
    2·
    4 days ago

    You won’t. When you loosen the stem bolt it’ll come up but it needs to go down so loosen it up maybe a half inch or so then hit the bolt head with a hammer. If you’re worried about messing up the bolt face then put a board or something on top of it and hit that. I used to use an old copy of glens complete bicycle manual as a go between for stem bolts and a four pound sledge.

    E: it’s not always clear what’s going on. The stem bolt can keep the stem tight because the stems “base” (the part inside the tube) is cut through diagonally. The part at the bottom is what the stem bolt is actually attached to so when you tighten the bolt the part at the bottom slides out against the rest of the stem and becomes really tight inside the tube. When you loosen it it’s supposed to relieve that tension and become loose but actually it’s rusted in place so you gotta clink the bolt head with a hammer before the stem will come out.