General Cycling Discussion - Your brand new bicycle u-lock is not safe!

i've been at my yellow krypto NYC EV lock for about 20 minutes now and i haven't been able to crack it.

SSenorPedro, can you post pictures of you key? I cannot crack my lock, but I have some pins that are very different lengths. I wonder how similar/dissimilar your pins are to each other.

Well, I got mine. Bummer.

EDIT: On an Evo 2000 Mini LS. Also, only a quarter turn is necessary to unlock.

So, how good are OnGuard locks? the flat key models to be specific. I'm not even going to try to get mine sent in, I just want new locks if they are that crappy.

i just went to the shop i used to work at and opened every lock with a circular style key using a bic pen. it was WAY too easy.

i recently purchased an onguard ulock with a flat style key and obviously you can't open it with a pen, but i haven't heard a ton about how they hold up to saws/grinders/etc.

but the pen worked on both onguard and krypto locks with circular keys, and only took about 5-10sec once i got used to it.

wow. so we now have a bunch of novice Krypto-pickers. I think the pudding is before us. If anyone who had attempted/made contact with Kryptonite has anything worthwhile to share, please post it. I am very curious to hear about their response. Now we have lock hackers. I just wonder if Kryptonite will hire the individual who mastered this technique and bring them in-house as a developer...yawn

And i spent all day sunday looking for my key to my u-lock because i was tired of lugging my chain around. Glad i didn't find it.

I had a friend send me this link, and within 15 minutes of practice, i could unlock and re-lock both his 3 krypto's of varying age and model, and my cheepo Schwinn U-lock. By the end, i could unlock in about 10 secs, and relock in about 15. So, all told: 30 secs to steal any bike using a barrel lock, and relock the lock to the pole/rack.

What's the relevance here? Does the site show you how to open these locks? Do they have Kryptonite stuff?

Umm.. Click the link and find out?

It's about laptop cable locks that can be picked with a bic pen.

hey everyone!

here's the amazing video that SenorPedro made - it's about 6 MB in size.

krypto lock picking in AVI format (http://thirdrate.com/misc/krypto.avi)

This is movie of the year right here on Bikeforums.

master lock has a "street links" chain and padlock which uses a standard key, is the only kryptonite not using a cylinder type key the Fahgettaboudit? I guess these are the only solutions?

SSenorPedro, can you post pictures of you key? I cannot crack my lock, but I have some pins that are very different lengths. I wonder how similar/dissimilar your pins are to each other.

Yep. Heres a shot I had lying around. The pin lengths are quite different all the way around, used to have a little plastic cover on the handle but that broke off.

Thanks a lot to Ben (Brunning) for getting the vid up on his site.

I sent the video to Kryptonite and they were starting freak a little. Still no word as of yet, though.

Ahhh, off to the night shift - keep your steeds secure while I am gone.

-Pete

man, that's just f-ed up right there. I still can't get over how wrong that is.

I MUST buy some quality u-bolts this week. Now that I figured out how to mount my light battery pack to my stem, I can free up a bottle mount and put a nice u-bolt in there...I'm half tempted to go with one of those on-guard's but the lack of testing data scares me. Given i could get it, and put it through my tests...but with my knack for breaking things I don't think my breaking a lock would mean much... basically just that their idiot-proofing has met the better idiot :(

so. my kid uses a kryptolok combination at school, because it's easier for him to remember a number than it is to keep track of a key. before this bic thing came to light, were we like massively less secure in our decision to use the combo instead of the key? was buying a combo lock serendipitous? can you open one with, like, a potato chip or something?

******* info about the movie *******

that 6.1 MB AVI file was killing my server.

i've transferred over 2.1 gigs worth of that movie alone in the last few hours, so i've compressed it down to a 532 K quicktime movie. the quality is still pretty good.


here's the new movie link (http://thirdrate.com/misc/krypto.mov)

removing the sound would probably drop the size even more. Quality is still great, BTW

thx for posting the clip.

some crazy shyte

The EV Disc lock on the NYC Chains is being reported as vunerable also.

I guess I may have to just buy the best padlock the hardware store has for the time being.

"strange how attached I am to having a kryptonite on my bike. I keep thinking of everything else as a cheap rip-off."

word.

i am thinking about just buying a lenght of generic chain and a masterlock.

The EV Disc lock on the NYC Chains is being reported as vunerable also.

I guess I may have to just buy the best padlock the hardware store has for the time being.

i can confirm this. i just unlocked and relocked my NY Noose EV disc lock in the span of about a minute.

So what kind of lock should I use to replace the EV disc lock on my NYC chain?

I am going to buy a Masterlock or similar high security keyed padlock for the time being.

Has anyone noticed how many "newbies" have posted to this thread who just signed up in september?

I registered in August, thank you very much.

Ps. Probably many more people read this forum than ever post on it. A fair amount of the internet community I normally post at happen to be on here also and I didn't realize it until today. This is the kind of issue that is going to snowball and it started here so expect many more first time posters.

I registered in August, thank you very much.

Ps. Probably many more people read this forum than ever post on it. A fair amount of the internet community I normally post at happen to be on here also and I didn't realize it until today. This is the kind of issue that is going to snowball and it started here so expect many more first time posters.

Congrats, you're now a "Junior Member" :)

I sent this thread over to the FIXED GEAR MAILING LIST this morning and they've been having a field day......with successful openings....... expect more new members....

Has anyone noticed how many "newbies" have posted to this thread who just signed up in september?

Yes, I noticed that as well, that it was particularly "n00bs" that were able to get this trick to work, with the exception of SSenorPedro and MKRG. If it wasn't for those two, I would be significantly more skeptical of this trick.

This would be a hell of a reason to do your first post.

I think I opened a very big can of worms.

SHHH! Do you hear that? It's the sound of a millions of dollars in products, inventory, refunds, research, engineering and labor getting unceremoniusly flushed down the toilet. I would hate to be heavily invested in any company that uses this kind of barrel lock right now. I suspect this trick will work on any brand lock that uses a barrel type key or whatever you call it.

you sure did... Mighta put krypto outta biz. They're ****ed.

i couldn't get it to work. the outside diameter of the pen barrel i was using was the same as the diameter of the cylinder of my lock.

Yes, I noticed that as well, that it was particularly "n00bs" that were able to get this trick to work, with the exception of SSenorPedro and MKRG. If it wasn't for those two, I would be significantly more skeptical of this trick.

do you think it's some kind of newbie conspiracy?

what about the ev disc lock, the pen fits but I think it's alitle to complex for a pen

Thank god I have one of those flat locks.

Krypto is one of the largest manufactures of bike product. Do you really think a miner set back like this is going to hurt them? Sure they "might" lose some rep. and pay some money, but in a years time it will all be forgotten. Remember FireStone Tires. Who is to say a small internet thread like this going to hurt them anyway?

Krypto is one of the largest manufactures of bike product. Do you really think a miner set back like this is going to hurt them? Sure they "might" lose some rep. and pay some money, but in a years time it will all be forgotten. Remember FireStone Tires. Who is to say a small internet thread like this going to hurt them anyway?

Didn't firestone go bankrupt?

Does this mean we can open vending machines with a ball point pen? Don't they use a similar cylindrical key? Take a look at the the next soda machine you come upon.

Can anyone confirm whether this affects the EV Disc and it's twin brother the Our Strongest padlocks? I've proven to myself that my Evo 2000 and my Kryptoloks are now useless, but I've been unable (so far) to unlock either the EV Disc or the Our Strongest (which are probably mechanically identical to each other)

Krypto is one of the largest manufactures of bike product. Do you really think a miner set back like this is going to hurt them? Sure they "might" lose some rep. and pay some money, but in a years time it will all be forgotten. Remember FireStone Tires. Who is to say a small internet thread like this going to hurt them anyway?

Edward John Smith

Does this mean we can open vending machines with a ball point pen? Don't they use a similar cylindrical key? Take a look at the the next soda machine you come upon.


There's a big difference, IMO, between trying this on your own locks to see whether they need to be replaced and proposing breaking into other people's things... Whether you can or not, it's illegal to try, and I'd discourage you from doing so.

I didn't suggest we should. I just wondered if we could. The cylindrical key is really old and outdated technology. Vending machines have had them for years. Is it so amazing that they can be easily picked? I was just commenting. I don't condone stealing. I think it is absurb that we even have to lock our bikes up in the first place. I come from small town USA, where you don't. Yes, in some places, people don't steal. And I must be a communist for thinking that should be how it is.

Didn't firestone go bankrupt?
They may have, but if I recall they are now the largest manufacture of tires in the world. Remember, miner set back.

Are these locks SS/FG specific?

Are these locks SS/FG specific?

You mean you think this ought to be in a more-widely-read, less-specific forum, too?

I'm sure that riders of Madones and Cielos would want to know their locks suck. But then again if I had a bike that expensive I wouldn't leave it locked anywhere for any amount of time. Yes I think that all cyclists should know it's time for a new lock.

do you think it's some kind of newbie conspiracy?
As a newbie with 12 new bikes recently attained, I would have to say yes:) Seriously what should be used? New to this forum and to cycling. By the way someone inquired about placing the lock toward the ground so the length of the pen would interfere with the theft, but couldn't they just cut the pen down to the size of an ordinary key so that it fits in their hand (undetectable) and doens't interfere with the ground below?

Hell.......I'm dumpin' all my Kryptonite stock first thing tomorrow morning! ;)
Smartest investment move I've made all year.....

Now if y'all will excuse me, I'm gonna go raid all the parking meters up and down my street.....

firestone was different, they had many other brand names they sold under, and kept selling to car makers, as bridgestone, during and after the ford explorer fiasco. Kryptonite porlly does not have near a much of a guaranteed revenue stream to be able to pay their workers while doing a bankruptcy claim....and the dot-com days are over, few are willing to work for the propmise of pay "once they have the money" anymore.

Damn - I didn't have a bic pen at home, so I had to wait until I got to work.

2 min, if you don't count the time to modify the pen.

And I have no money to get a new lock until friday. Even then, I really don't have money to get a new lock.

Damn.

Went to a friend's house, locked up the bike and asked him for a Bic. Tried it again. Still can't do it on my lock - that's four Bics now. Another friend came over with a recently purchased Mini, the Bic doesn't even fit in there - the chamber is tiny! Maybe they already know and have been making smaller chambers? Either way, I can't pull it off.