BOSTON – Bicycle lock maker Kryptonite struggled to reassure customers and protect its reputation on Friday after the disclosure that its famous U-lock can be opened with a ballpoint pen. Retailers swept the locks from their shelves.
Kryptonite said it will accelerate introduction of a pen-proof version of the locks. In a statement, the Canton, Mass.-based company also said it would give owners of the flawed locks an upgrade “where possible,” though it offered few details.
A design flaw enables thieves to open Kryptonite U-Locks with the hollow shaft of a Bic pen. The pens can beat the tubular cylinders used in some Kryptonite locks, including the Evolution and KryptoLok series.
The company said it was upgrading the locks to a disc-style cylinder that is pen-proof and is already used in its top-of-the-line New York lock.
New York City bike shop manager Ismael Torres took the flawed locks off the shelf the minute he read about the problem, though he is still selling the New York lock. He added that a Kryptonite representative later advised him to remove the flawed locks from display and to refer concerned customers to Kryptonite’s customer service number.
Attorney Marc Weber Tobias, a security expert, said Kryptonite should already have been using its pen-proof design in all its locks.
“God forbid, they should have figured it out earlier,” said Tobias, who notes that the company will face claims from people who say their bikes were stolen because of the faulty locks.
Kryptonite offers insurance policies that promise reimbursements of up to $3,000, depending on the lock model, to replace bikes stolen while secured with one of its locks.
Tobias said Kryptonite has America’s “two-minute attention span” in its favor. Then again, he said, “Bicycling guys are a pretty tight group, and they’ll remember this.”
Megan Tompkins, managing editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, said Kryptonite must act quickly and aggressively to win back customers.
“It’s absolutely critical to communicate with retailers and make sure the retailers are serving as a point person to tell consumers, ‘No, Kryptonite has resolved this problem,’” she said.
Associated Press
Bicycle lock maker Kryptonite says it will accelerate production of a pen-proof version of its locks.
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