Hi there,
I've just noticed a few people visiting my site thanks to this thread.
I just thought I'd pass on a little info that may be of interest.
The video posted is indeed an advert for Almax (which is part one of a two part advert. The second part is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =ozppzywsLsk&feature=related, for which my company was paid and, obviously, makes me, theoretically at least, highly biased.
However, I have to add that I've been a professional motorcycle journalist for over 13 years, who was absolutely appalled when I saw just how easy it was to crop so-called 'uncroppable' chains. All of the chains were brand new, except where stated, and they were all checked by myself and the journo from the magazine Riders Digest, who was also there as an independent witness.
As you should have seen, at the end of the video there's a statement from my company regarding the genuine results of the cropping and that I was prepared to go to court and state this. Kryptonite, one of the manufacturers, claimed the video was fake, and by association, that my company was responsible for producing a dishonest video. After the threat of legal action, they withdrew this accusation.
The history behind these two videos is, obviously, part of Almax's advertising, however it's also part of their long running battle with Sold Secure and Thatcham regarding their, frankly, amateurish, misleading testing procedures.
After making these two videos I researched the subject further for a magazine article. What I found was chains like the Oxford Monster (at the time, the most popular bike chain sold in the UK) could be cropped with the small croppers sold at places like Lidl. I checked this with a police officer friend who works for the Met, who not only confirmed this but then told me the story of nicking three kids (13 and under) who had stolen over 20 mopeds and who had a pile of cropped chains, most of which were apparently Oxford Monster (Sold Secure and Thatcham approved) in their shed.
When I looked at cycle chains the results were even worse. A normal U-
Lock and cable can both be cut with the smallest croppers in seconds.
The absolute, undeniable conclusion was that the Sold Secure and Thatcham seals of approval are, quite simply, meaningless.
Unfortunately, for cyclists at least, Almax chains are not the solution as they're very big and very heavy. Possibly perfect for home security (for motorcycles this is where the vast majority are stolen from) but rather impractical for carrying around.
For a truly enlightening, and depressing, discussion on the subject, you really need to talk to Captain Cropper who is a mine of information regarding this subject.
