In case you haven’t heard, it was discovered a while back that most (all?) Kryptonite U-Locks with a “cylindrical locking mechanism” can be opened in a few seconds, by almost anyone, using nothing fancier than the barrel of a Round Stic pen. [One of my favorite pens, by the way - preferably a Medium point, with black ink.] Engadget even posted a video clip of Phillip Torrone opening his own Kryptonite lock with a pen barrel, which was an overnight sensation in the blogosphere.

So, a lot of noise was made about it, and a class action suit was filed, and Kryptonite, humiliated beyond belief, settled but quick. The upshot is that if you own a Kryptonite U-Lock with a cylindrical locking mechanism (and who doesn’t – there’s one on my bike, and another just like it on Em’s bike), and you live in Canada or the United States, then you want to head over to the Kryptonite Settlement site and read through the PDFs. Among other forms of relief, you can exchange your lock for a similar one that does NOT have a cylindrical locking mechanism, with postage paid both ways.

Once you’re fully briefed on the legal situation, head on over to the actual Kryptonite Lock web site. The Claim Forms link on the Settlement site is useless, but there’s actually a very simple lock exchange registration page (pages, actually) right off the Kryptonite home page. Although of course I’d rather (proudly) say that I’ll never own or use a Kryptonite lock again, the reality is that any other replacement lock would probably set me back forty or fifty dollars. And I’d *like* to think that all of the negative publicity and public scrutiny that arose from the “pick with a Bic” fiasco will translate into the replacement lock actually being (relatively) secure. Or, to be more cynical about it, no bike lock on the market (that isn’t worth more than your bike) will stop a professional thief, so why sweat it? Go get yourself a shiny, new, pick-resistant (?) Kryptonite lock. And in the meantime, have fun picking your old one with a pen barrel – it’s both fascinating and depressing to confirm that it really is as easy as the Engadget video suggests.

This has been a public service announcement from DanRochman.com.