Second hand bicycle I bought from Ebay has anti theft nuts..

[andrew_s]

Would you be prepared to say what the make and model of the bike are? Was it expensive?

From the photos, it's a VSF Fahrradmanufaktur trekking or expedition bike - fairly uncommon in the UK.
Current cost would be somewhere between about £950 for T-300 Deore 3x9, up to £1700 for the TX-800 XT model (trigger shifters exclude the really expensive Rohloff or Pinion gearbox models).
It's also got an expensive upgrade Schmidt Edelux front light on (£130, assuming it's the old version). This is also protected by 2 matching security bolts.

It the owner went as far as protecting the light, I'd also expect that the saddle and seatpost may also have Pitlocks, and probably the wheel QR skewers too.
That would add up to £100 or £150 of Pitlocks.
I'd expect a genuine owner to retrieve the Pitlocks and front light light for transfer to a replacement bike, and replace them with the original light and fasteners. The light could have been left on for an upgrade to the Edelux II on a new bike, but there's no reason to leave the Pitlocks on other than not possessing the key, and if the wheel skewers are protected, that's unlikely for the original owner, as he'd use the key for every puncture.

It all adds up to stolen bike, IMO.

[PH]

It all adds up to stolen bike, IMO.

There are other equally plausible explanations, such as the person who fitted the security measures no longer being with us.

[le.voyageur]

It's got to be worth contacting Pitlock, new owner should be able to showEbay advert and if the vendor was willing to mail Pitlock as backup. Might be the vendor never registered them with Pitlock.

[horizon]

It all adds up to stolen bike, IMO.

There are other equally plausible explanations, such as the person who fitted the security measures no longer being with us.

There are. But the perhaps most plausible at this stage is that it was stolen. We would need the OP to fill in a bit more background to know for sure. As things stand I agree with andrew_s but accept that this may be doing the OP's seller a great disservice.

[horizon]

Worth checking out?

https://stolen-bikes.co.uk/stolen-bikes ... -alfine-8/

[Revolution]

Can I ask the OP if they have contacted the owner of the bike featured in https://stolen-bikes.co.uk/stolen-bikes/vsf-fahrradmanufaktur-t-500-alfine-8/
to check the frame number of the bike in question isn't the stolen one?
Better the OP does this than they get 1000 emails from the rest of us.
Let us know that it isn't stolen before anyone else gives advise on removing the anti-theft bolts.

[Paulatic]

If it’s the same bike as stolen it’s had new forks and longer steerer tube added has it not?

[horizon]

If it’s the same bike as stolen it’s had new forks and longer steerer tube added has it not?

The bike in the ad is a stock photo from the VSF website - it isn't the actual bike. Everything else so far fits.

[Paulatic]

If it’s the same bike as stolen it’s had new forks and longer steerer tube added has it not?

The bike in the ad is a stock photo from the VSF website - it isn't the actual bike. Everything else so far fits.

Ah OK I didn’t realise it wasn’t the exact bike. Thanks

[jeatsy]

I wonder how many people, like me, are watching this thread in interest because they have a full set of Pitlocks...

[Rusty Rider]

What does the reverse side of the nut look like, reason I ask is when I was a factory worker we used to make anti theft bolts for what was the GPO, the nuts would be specially hardened but the bolt was standard steel, the reason for this was that GPO engineers were always losing stuff.

[Northern_Monkey]

I had pondered how to remove them from my commuter if I ever lost the special key. Best option I could think of was packing around the bolt head with metal filled epoxy putty and then pressing in a long hex nut into it, taking care not to gum the axle threads and use a spanner or shallow socket to remove once it is set. Worth a shot before breaking out the angle grinder cutting discs!

[foxyrider]

If it is a Pitlock, my suggestion to hacksaw a slot may not work as it appears there is some mechanism behind the nut that needs to be engaged by the individual Pitlock key. A more destructive technique may be needed. Stainless steel is quite tough to hacksaw and drill but it can be done if you have good workshop skills. I'd be very cautious for your own safety, and destroying the bike to save it.

I have Pitlocks and on occasion (lost key!) have managed to open them by turning the fixed end using a lock jaw wrench and a strong flat blade screwdriver. The locking part is an oddly shaped nut. Given the price of Pitlocks i'd try to remove in one piece before attacking too heavily. If you contact Pitlock in Germany directly they are quite helpful.

Good luck

[Graham]

I have saved three recent posts suggesting how to remove Pitlocks without the official tools.

We are not yet aware whether the subject bike is stolen goods - even if it has ended up in innocent hands.

I'm not sure where we go from here.

EDIT : I have moved the three saved posts back ( above ).
It appears that we have already covered a lot of detail on how to deal with security devices in another historic topic, linked-to by others.
Thus trying to hide it here doesn't make much sense.
It would appear to be a difficult/workshop activity anyway.

[pete75]

It appears to have Pitlocks on the Magura hydraulic brake arms. These usually have a quick release mechanism because you need to remove the brake arms to take the wheel out. Any previous owner who used the bike to any great extent would need the pitlock key otherwise he wouldn't have been able to remove the wheels.

This thread might be worth a look viewtopic.php?t=67372