At first, the e-mail Jaime Zurheide got from a friend warning her that her bike lock could be picked with a ballpoint pen seemed like just another Internet rumor.
But Zurheide, who already had a bike stolen from her Ukrainian Village building, wasn’t taking any chances. She stopped by a local bike shop the next day, and when she heard that the rumor was true and the
U-locks that have cylinder-shaped keys could be picked with a pen, she bought a more secure and more expensive one right away.
“I didn’t want to spend $80, but it’s better than losing the bike,” Zurheide said.
The discovery that many U-locks with the tubular keys, including the very popular and trusted Kryptonite brand, could be thwarted with just the plastic shaft of a pen has bicyclists around the country–including many in Chicago’s large bike community–wondering what they should do to keep their bikes safe.
Since the story surfaced last week on Internet message boards and biking Web sites, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has been fielding at least a couple of calls an hour, said Rob Sadowski, executive director of the group. Some of the callers were amused that a lock considered all but unbreakable was vulnerable to something so simple, but many of the callers were alarmed.
“For many people, this is their only or main means of transportation,” Sadowski said. “All of a sudden, it’s at risk.”
Federation employees tried it themselves and quickly picked four of their seven locks. The hardest part was taking the top off the pen, Sadowski said.
Many stores have taken the locks off the shelves and say they are waiting to hear from Kryptonite about how the locks will be replaced. The company has promised to post details of an upgrade offer on their Web site Wednesday afternoon.
Kryptonite says the upgrades will involve new cross bars with disc-style keys for people who purchased the Evolution and KryptoLok series products. To get a free upgrade, lock owners must have bought the lock within the last two years and kept their proof of purchase or registered their key number for the company’s anti-theft protection.
For those who have had their locks longer than two years, the company says it will offer a “sizable rebate” on new, upgraded products.
At Rapid Transit cycle shop in Wicker Park, employees have been telling customers they’ll do everything in their power to make the situation better, but first they need to hear from Kryptonite about what the company plans to do.
In the meantime, they’re encouraging riders to keep their bikes inside whenever possible and to use an alternate lock if they have one. “You spend the extra money for Kryptonite, but people understand it’s more of an unlucky coincidence than a design flaw,” said Ben Whiting, a Rapid Transit employee.
Some bicyclists in Rapid Transit on Monday said they’d make sure to only park their bikes in places where they could see it until Kryptonite settles the problem, but others who used their bikes more often felt they needed to act immediately.
Hans Ballard, who lives in Ukrainian Village, says it makes him nervous that something as simple as a ballpoint pen can be used to steal his bike.
“I have to get a new lock,” Ballard said. “The odds are too big.”
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What you can do
– If you have a U-lock from Kryptonite that uses a barrel-shaped key, you can find out about upgrading your lock on the company’s Web site Wednesday afternoon. www.kryptonitelock.com.
– To keep your bike safe, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation recommends cross locking–using two separate locking devices, such as a U-lock with a flat key and a cable and chain, on two parts of your bike. That way, two kinds of locks may deter a thief, said Rob Sadowsky, executive director of the group.
– Also, bikers should not lock their bikes close to the ground. It’s easier for thieves with hammers or sledgehammers to smash locks when they’re close to cement, Sadowsky said.
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kmasterson@tribune.com
