By Megan Stoker
Scandal has hit the biking world with the discovery that the Kryptonite ''U-Lock'', previously thought to be unbreakable, can be picked in under five seconds by a ball point pen.
'I think it''s devastating for the industry, especially for the lock company, and for us,' said Travis Martin, manager of Mad Dog Cycles. 'It''s devastating for Kryptonite for obvious reasons, they have an insurance policy where they have to pay for defective locks, and since the locks have been picked they''re obviously defective. It''s devastating for us because we''ve been selling these locks for years.'
''U-Lock'' was not as invincible when videos started airing on the Internet, showing how the lock can be picked in five seconds by the hollow shaft of a ball point pen.
Reacting to the discovery, many bicycle stores have stopped carrying Kryptonite locks all together until the problem is solved.
'We stopped selling them,' said Gregg Andreoli, bike technician at Copeland''s Sports Superstore. 'You don''t want to go selling something to somebody that can be picked with a simple key.'
Other stores, however, maintain their faith in the Kryptonite company, if not in the ''U-Lock'' itself.
'I think it was just a batch of bad locks and we''ll continue to carry them,' said Randy Maughan, an associate at Speedy Bikes.
Although local stores haven''t received any formal complaints about the locks, consumers in the area are thinking twice about the safety of their bicycles.
'It''s disturbing to think that these locks can be picked so easily,' said Patrick Shortt, 24, a student at UVSC studying Engineering.
' I mean, you spend so much to protect your bike spending all this money on locks and stuff, but then you find out that it doesn''t work because it can be picked with a ball-point pen.'
In response to the growing number of complaints, the Kryptonite company is working with bicycle shops to make sure that the consumer complaints are addressed.
'Kryptonite is taking care of it,' Martin said. 'We just take customers names and numbers and Kryptonite deals with the consumers directly.'
In order to keep its customers happy, Kryptonite is offering a free upgrade to its new, ''disk shaped'' bike lock that is purportedly theft-proof.
'Customers who have purchased an, ''Evolution'' or ''Kryptolock'' lock in the last two years are eligible for a product upgrade free of charge from Kryptonite,' the Kryptonite Web site states. 'Consumers who have had one of the locks mentioned, with a tubular cylinder, for longer than two years will be eligible for a sizeable rebate on the upgraded products.'
The ''Kryptolock'' and ''Evolution'' lines of U-locks typically sell between $30 and $55, and are covered by a $2,000 anti-theft protection policy. To learn more about refunds go to the Kryptonite Web site at www.kryptonitelocks.com.