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The Legendary Durability of Kryptonite Locks
The first big test for Kryptonite locks came in 1972, when Kryptonite founder Michael Zane directed the Second Avenue Bicycle Shop in New York City to lock a three-speed bicycle to a signpost in Greenwich Village. Although thieves immediately stripped all of the bicycle's removable parts, the bicycle itself remained for 30 days and 30 nights. The Kryptonite lock and the bike frame were still in place, even though the lock had been attacked numerous times. The publicity gave Kryptonite the boost it needed and forever changed the face of bicycle security. Twenty-two years later, Kryptonite returned to the streets of the Big Apple to test its latest innovation, the New York lock. In April 1994, the New York Post laid down the ultimate challenge: Could Kryptonite's New York lock last 48 hours on the toughest streets of New York? In a city where more than 100,000 bikes are stolen each year, Kryptonite and the Post locked a brand new, bright green Univega road bike worth $600 to a parking meter in the East Village--the Bermuda Triangle of New York bicycle thievery. For a full 48 hours, the bike remained locked on the corner of Avenue A and 11th Street. Zane and Neil McDaid, director of product development and design for Kryptonite, watched from around the corner as the bike came under every possible means of assault, stumping thieves at every turn. After 48 hours the bike remained intact except for the gear derailleur, which had been stripped off. The lock showed definite signs of abuse, but it had not failed. The New York lock had met the Post's challenge.
Not satisfied with the length of the test, Zane moved the bike to SoHo for another six days and, finally, uptown near the Lincoln Center. Even in these high-theft areas the properly locked bike lasted another three weeks before being pulled off the streets by Zane and McDaid. The Post also ran the New York lock through a battery of street tests using common bike theft tools: a 4-foot bolt cutter, a crowbar, and a hammer. The non-Kryptonite locks cracked in seconds, but all methods failed on the New York lock, even the monstrous bolt cutter, which was rendered useless with large dents in its jaws.
About Kryptonite
In the early 1970s, Michael Zane was a free-spirited, bearded kid with a VW van and a big idea for a new kind of lock. He traveled thousands of miles showing the unique U-shaped locking device and spreading his passion for bicycle security to bike dealers all around the country and forged lifetime relationships. The company soon expanded its product line to include power sports, hardware, and snow sports security. Through innovative product designs, cutting-edge marketing savvy, legendary customer service, and pure fanaticism for security, Kryptonite grew with a cult-like following. In 2001, the company that was started in a VW van was purchased by industry giant Ingersoll Rand and became a flagship brand in the company's Security Technologies sector. Publications such as Bicycling, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, and a host of others continued to tout Kryptonite products as the best on the market. The company's dedication to its customers is best represented by its actions during the fall of 2004, when it was discovered that the industry-standard tubular cylinder could be compromised, at times, with a household item. Kryptonite flew into action, created a voluntary lock exchange program, and replaced more than 400,000 locks in 21 countries for free. In essence, the company redesigned the equivalent of nine years worth of new products in just 10 short months. Kryptonite is the only company in the world that offered such a comprehensive plan to customers, taking its "legendary customer service" pledge to new heights.
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Customer Reviews
This lock is widely regarded as the most secure lock currently available, and weighs much less than the fahgettaboudit chain locks (which seem to be about equally secure). Mine weighs 4 lbs 6 oz, and to lock the tires I need to also use a 12 oz 4 foot Kryptonite cable lock. So the whole locking system is about 5 lbs, which is a lot.
The most important feature of this lock is the small size, which doesn't allow thieves to get their manual tools like levers or car jacks in to break it. The only known way of breaking this lock is to saw it by hand (at least a half hour of intense effort), or to use a powered angle grinder (probably at least 5 minutes). So most thieves would end up cutting through the frame of the bike if they really wanted it.
There are other small U locks that are also unbreakable except for lots of sawing or power tools, like the Kryptonite Evolution Mini, and the Onguard Mini U lock, but which weigh much less. I almost went with one of these because I hate to carry a lot of weight, and they may be good alternatives to this lock for most people.
I figure the bike theft scene is escalating with the thieves getting more and more sophisticated over time, so even though this is overkill now, it provides me peace of mind that I will be able to keep it for many years without having to worry about it becoming obsolete. And I have the peace of mind knowing that if my bike gets stolen again there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.
Be aware that this lock doesn't come with a mounting bracket, and there is no bracket available for it. I've found the best way to carry it on my bike is to thread it up through the top and side of the rear rack on my bike, but if you don't have a rear rack you'll need to either let it jangle around looped over the handlebars or carry it in a bag or big pocket, which can be uncomfortable.
The locking mechanism is very smooth; it's easy to insert the shackle onto the U, and it's easy to turn the key. This is a welcome improvement over all the cheap U locks I've owned which were fidgety to close.
Update after owning this lock for two years:
I still like it a lot. The weight has bent my rear rack a little so it now nestles just perfectly for rattle free tranport. I spray teflon lube on it every 6 months or so and the locking mechanism is still butter smooth, by far the smoothest U lock I've ever used.
The only annoyance is that the plastic rainguard that covers the keyhole was very flimsy and broke off after just a month or so, leaving sharp mounting rivets that scratched me a few times drawing blood before I got some pliers and pulled them off.
The theft guarantee had too many restrictions to be useful, so I didn't even register.
I also learned a bit more about how to protect the rest of my bicycle after spending three figures replacing a stolen seat and associated components. Search "Pitlocks USA" to find the best system for permanently locking your wheels, seat, and headset to the bike. It's worth the extra cost for the convenience, security, and weight savings of only needing the U lock. And for the other components here's a really cool way to secure them: get ball bearings that will just barely fit inside the allen sockets. Drip some candle wax into the allen sockets, and press the bearing in place before the wax dries. The bearing prevents allen keys from being insertable, and the wax makes it necessary to have a sharp pointy tool (and some time) to get the bearing out, which a thief might not have. This works well for securing brake and shifting systems, racks, handlebars, and crank arms to the bike. I used cable ties around the pedal wrench flats to make it difficult for wrenches to fit. I drilled and drove a screw into the plastic mounting bracket for my LED light and used a cable tie to make it difficult to remove.
With all the components secured to the bike, I no longer need a cable lock, and I can leave the bike on city streets for hours without worrying too much. Bike Security Nirvana!
Anyway, received the lock, seems solid enough, but was a disappointed after reading all of the various conditions and qualifications related to the anti theft protection, which basically renders the protection worthless. First of all, they only pay for the deductible for your insurance not for the replacement of your bike, so you need to have insurance in the first place for this to have any value. Secondly, you need to provide so much back up information: bike registration, bike receipt, lock receipt, etc where it makes it very cumbersome process to even apply for the protection in the first place. Then there is the rigourous post theft requirements: report teft to police within 72 hours, mail notice to Kryptonite within 7 days, report to insurance company. most of these aren't too bad, but the one thing that you need to do which is likely not possible is that you have to send them the broken lock. so if the thief just takes the lock, which they did in both instances where I had bikes stolen, you are out of luck. So basically colecting on the anti-theft protection requires that the thief is nice enough to leave the lock behind.
The moral of this story is that Krytonite's anti-theft protection offer is worthless and should not be a consideration in purchasing one of thier locks. as far as their locks being the best and most theft resistant available, not sure this is true given my past experience.
Sure enough, a few months in, someone attempted to steal my bike while I was at work. The thief failed miserably, managing only to cut through the vinyl sheath on the shackle and scratch the paint on the steel. I think that the thief may have even broken his bolt cutters, because he didn't snip the cable that secured my wheels. The jerk did take the time to unbolt and steal my fork, brakes, handlebars, stem, and shifters, but in saving my frame and wheels this lock paid for itself and then some.
After replacing the stolen components, I invested in a Pitlock set to protect my wheels, brakes, and fork. Most of the remaining hex bolts have been filled with solder to discourage theft. With these measures in place alongside my Kryptonite Fahgettaboutit, I have no worries about leaving my ride outside and no one has made a visible attempt to take it.
The lock is heavy, but I'm not a gram-counter, so it doesn't bug me. The main downside is that there is no frame mount for this lock.
It's worth noting that the shackle locks at both ends. In other words, to add insult to injury, a thief would probably have to cut through the shackle twice in order to get the bike out.
The Fahgettaboutit doesn't like to get wet- the mechanism will get stiff if left out in the rain. However, I was able to remedy the problem easily by applying some bearing grease in the pits. This lubricated the locking mechanism and prevented any more water from entering.
If you're even moderately worried about bike theft, then buy this lock. The peace of mind is wonderful.
I think it is secure enough to protect my bike.
If the sun exploded, the only thing left would be Keith Richards, cockroaches and... Read more
It doesn't seem like anyone has tried to steal my bike recently, so I cannot comment on the strength of this... Read more
Lock is very well built, and I'm confident that it will make somebody think twice before attempting to cut/break... Read more
