kryptonite locks

[topaz]

Many of you have heard the buzz on the street about how easily Kryptonite U-locks can be picked. These locks use those funny little circular keys, and it turns out that on some models, the diameter of the key is almost exactly the diameter of a Bic pen. So if you remove the nib from the barrel of a Bic, you can shove the empty plastic barrel into the keyhole; the plastic pushes the pins into place and molds itself to the shape of the key that should fit it, and the lock springs right open.

Kryptonite offered very quickly to replace the locking mechanism on certain affected models, if the lock was less than two years old and you could prove it with a receipt. Not a terrible response, but not great either.

Well, I guess they're really taking a beating on the P.R. over this issue, because they've announced that they will replace any model of any Kryptonite lock for free. They'll even pay postage.

I'm really impressed. This ought to help stem the customer hemorrhage.