This lock could be a steal
When the video of a bicycle lock being picked with the end of a ballpoint pen hit his E-mail in box a few weeks ago, Mark Kerlin of Washington, D.C., was skeptical. Still, the former bike courier worried. A Kryptonite-brand lock--the type in the video--was all that stood between thieves and his $4,000 bike in the building's parking garage. "A coworker and I went down and opened the lock in a couple of minutes," Kerlin says. "I was stunned."
Since news spread that bike locks with a certain type of key could be popped open with a 10-cent pen, cyclists around the country have been scrambling to keep their two-wheeled transport safe. So far, Kryptonite has caught most of the flak, even though the company began phasing out the tubular key system four years ago. But the same vulnerable lock technology is found in a wide range of products including gun cabinets, laptop computers, soda machines, and steering-wheel locks.
All of the susceptible locks use a hollow, tube-based key. The recently revealed flaw of this design is that the shaft of a simple plastic pen can be jammed into the round opening of the lock and twisted so the pen's soft plastic grabs the tumblers at the bottom of the lock. According to the Associated Locksmiths of America's David Lowell, the problem isn't with all tubular locks: Only those with a smaller-diameter cylinder are affected. How to tell if you're at risk? "If you can take a pen and it fits in, it's the small diameter," Lowell said, laughing.
So far, products affected include locks made by Master Lock and Kryptonite (including locks sold under the Harley-Davidson, Trek, and Avenir brand names), some laptop locks (including several sold by Kensington), and even gun cabinets (like Stack-On's). Manufacturers are rushing locks with different style keys to market. Kryptonite ( kryptonite.com ), Master Lock ( masterlockbike.com ), and some other companies are offering replacement programs: Mail in your old lock or keys, depending on the company, and they'll send you a new one, free. Owners of other tubular key locks are advised to call the manufacturer for refund options.
Frustrated consumers say the replacement programs take too long. Kerlin was able to cut the waiting by exchanging his at a local City Bikes store. And some people are turning to other companies altogether. OnGuard ( onguardlock.com ), which has been selling flat-key locks in Europe for years, is now doing booming business here. "As soon as the story broke, we sold every piece of stock we had," says OnGuard's Neal Todrys. "We're sold out through the end of October, and the next shipment is sold out too." The good news for folks stuck with an old lock: If you ever lose the key, all you need to do is pick up a pen.
This story appears in the November 1, 2004 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
advertisement
