Honestly: yes. Given enough time and cutting discs, a cordless angle grinder will get through any chain, disc lock, U-lock, or clamp you can buy. Anyone selling you a "grinder-proof" lock at any price is overpromising. The right response isn't despair — it's understanding what locks are actually for.
A lock's real job is to raise the cost of the attack:
- Time. The toughest modern locks and chains can demand multiple discs and long minutes of continuous cutting. Some newer lock materials are specifically engineered to chew up discs and stretch that time dramatically.
- Noise and light. A grinder on hardened steel screams and throws a fountain of sparks — hard to explain to anyone who looks over.
- Commitment. Most theft is opportunistic. The grinder crew is a small minority, and even they prefer the bike with one cheap lock over the one demanding two loud cuts.
So layer accordingly: two different locks means two separate cutting jobs; parking in lit, watched spots makes the noise matter; an alarm starts the clock early. And because a sufficiently determined crew can still win, the final layer is recoverability — a hidden GPS tracker that alerts your phone and shows live location, so a defeated lock isn't a bike gone forever.
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