Thursday, September 23, 2004

Bike-lock maker Kryptonite to announce program to prevent U-lock tampering

Full story here


Wed Sep 22, 7:25 PM ET
JOHN COTTER
EDMONTON (CP) - Bike-lock maker Kryptonite is offering customers a free product exchange after discovering some models of its famous U-locks can be picked open with a simple ballpoint pen.

Under the program, consumers will be able to exchange their current tubular cylinder look for a new lock impervious to Bic pens, said David Bowman, president of Outdoor Gear Canada, Kryptonite's Canadian distributor to independent bike shops. "It will be at no charge," Bowman said Wednesday from Montreal.
"Kryptonite has moved remarkably quickly. We are very pleased how quickly and thoroughly they have developed a solution."

Details of the program were posted on the U.S.-based company's website (kryptonitelock.com) late Wednesday.

"We decided to simplify and expand our planned product upgrade program so that we can expedite the process for consumers and eliminate any lingering doubts in their minds about their locks," said Steve Down, Kryptonite general manager, said in a statement posted on the website.

Last week, cyclists and company officials learned to their horror that a design flaw in the popular locks could allow thieves to pop them open by jamming a pen shaft into the tubular cylinder of the lock.
As Kryptonite officials scrambled to deal with the problem, bike shop owners pulled the U-locks from store shelves as a precaution while cyclists turned to other types of security devices.

> More >

No comments: