Kryptonite lock
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The Kryptonite lock is an Ingersoll Rand-owned brand of bicycle lock for securing a bicycle to a pole or other fixture, when the owner wants to leave the bicycle in a public place. The basic design, made of hardened steel of circular cross section bent into a U-shape with a removable crossbar, has been emulated by numerous other manufacturers, and adapted with variations in size and shape for other applications, such as locking motorcycles.
The Kryptonite lock was developed in 1972. Before then, the only comparable security available was from a chain, which could weigh almost as much as the bicycle itself. (A common humorous observation in bike magazines at the time was that the total weight of a bike plus chain was constant regardless of cost, since owners of more expensive, lighter bikes would buy heavier, more secure chains.) In the early 1970s the only proven method to secure one's bike was by the use of case hardened security chain with hexagonal links. But some cyclists were making the mistake of using inexpensive chains or cables that could be breached by thieves using commonly available tools. Indeed, local hardware stores would often sell inexpensive chain cut to length using simple bolt cutters. The first Kryptonite lock model was made of sheet metal cut and bent to shape, but the company soon went to the now universal circular cross section. A limitation of the Kryptonite lock is that it is heavy and bulky. It is provided with a plastic carrying bracket which will not fit all frames nor will it retain the lock when riding over rough surfaces, making transport of this large lock difficult. For that reason many cyclists leave this lock attached to a single and primary bike rack used for overnight/day bike storage.[who?]
The product was named after kryptonite, the fictitious substance that can thwart the powerful comic-book hero Superman. The name is used under a limited trademark agreement with DC Comics dating back to 1983.[1]
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[edit] History
In an early test of the Kryptonite lock, a bicycle was locked to a signpost in Greenwich Village in New York City for thirty days. Thieves stripped the bike of every part that could be removed, but the lock resisted all attempts to break it.[2] The innovative U-shaped design of the Kryptonite lock was subsequently adopted by several other manufacturers, with varying degrees of security. U-locks can often be seen holding naked rusty bike frames without pedals, gears, or wheels to bike racks.
[edit] Vulnerability
Until 2004, Kryptonite locks used the tubular pin tumbler locking mechanism. In 2004, videos circulating on the Internet demonstrated that some tubular pin tumbler locks of the diameter used on Kryptonite locks could be easily opened with the shaft of an inexpensive Bic ballpoint pen of matching diameter. Trade website BikeBiz.com revealed that the weaknesses of the tubular pin tumbler mechanism had first been described in 1992 by UK journalist John Stuart Clark.[3] For an article in New Cyclist magazine, he teamed up with a bike thief to show how easy it was to break in to the majority of bicycle locks then on the market. One of the methods he revealed was the ballpoint pen method. His article led to follow-ups in bigger circulation bicycle magazines and a BBC TV consumer rights programme also carried a feature on the pen method. Some UK trade distributors of bicycle locks using the tumbler mechanism withdrew the products from the marketplace and introduced locks which were more pick-proof. Following BikeBiz.com's report about this 1992 knowledge of the pen method, the lock-picking video received widespread attention by the mainstream media, and after a few days of negative publicity, the company responded with a lock exchange offer. However, lawyers in the US and Canada had already launched class actions against the Kryptonite Corporation, citing the 1992 revelations on BikeBiz.com. Kryptonite Corporation later settled the claims out of court despite the fact that the 1992 magazine article had not featured a Kryptonite lock and Kryptonite employees said they were unaware of the 1992 article.
Two other methods involving brute force are commonly used to break open Kryptonite locks. One is the use of a small hydraulic bottle jack to spring open the lock. The other method is the use of a long pipe (its length dependent on the quality of the lock) to twist open the lock.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Putting a Legal Lock on 'Kryptonite', Law.com - accessed 25 October 2008
- ^ Stock, Ellen (23 Apr 1973). "Best Bits". New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. http://books.google.ca/books?id=WOcCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA63&dq=%22bicycle+lock%22&lr=&as_brr=0&as_pt=MAGAZINES&ei=9M1jSeaLFoPKkQT47v2QCQ. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
- ^ "The pen is mightier than the... u-lock", BikeBiz.com - accessed 18 July 2008
[edit] External links
- Kryptonite lock manufacturer's website
- "The Kryptonite Lock-Picking Incident" - Benjamin Running's original collection of lock picking videos and press coverage received
- Videos of Kryptonite locks hacked by a Bic pen
- NPR interview with Benjamin Running, discoverer of the Bic pen lock exploit
- Penjacking at Snopes.com
- "Debunking the myth of Kryptonite Locks and the Blogosphere" Dave Taylor, intuitive.com (retrieved 29 Oct 2006)
- "Twist a Pen, Open a Lock" - Wired.com article (in English)
