Bicycle Lock Warning

smyrna45 said:

Apologies if this has been posted already, but I just read about it
and thought I would pass it along. Reportedly some versions of
Kryponite locks are easily unlocked with a bic pen empty pen.

www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/nyregion/17lock.html?8hpib

Regards

What about other locks. I have a Specialized 5/8 inch cable lock with a
circle key. The barrel is too large for a BIC pen to fit, even after
trying to ream the BIC pen tube. However, other plastic tubing is
available. Could the Specialized lock be picked with larger diameter
plastic tubing.

--
Cheers! OliverS
When replying personally, remove "_nospam_"

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of
the human race." HG Wells

Quoted message said:

tubing is available. Could the Specialized lock be picked with
larger diameter plastic tubing.

Yes.

OliverS said:

smyrna45 said:

Apologies if this has been posted already, but I just read about it
and thought I would pass it along. Reportedly some versions of
Kryponite locks are easily unlocked with a bic pen empty pen.

www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/nyregion/17lock.html?8hpib

Regards

What about other locks. I have a Specialized 5/8 inch cable lock with a
circle key. The barrel is too large for a BIC pen to fit, even after
trying to ream the BIC pen tube. However, other plastic tubing is
available. Could the Specialized lock be picked with larger diameter
plastic tubing.

Maybe. There are other factors which are also relevant to the issue;
most important, if the center post of the lock cylinder assembly is
fixed and non-rotating, the penning trick fails. Part of what makes
the penning method succeed is the fact that the Bic pen body must
stretch to fit the center post, which allows it to grab that post and
put torque on it to make the attack function. If the post doesn't
rotate to operate the lock, then the conditions that allow the attack
to work are not present. Cable locks, though, are easily cut, so a
thief with a cutter is unlikely to waste time trying to pick it
anyway. That cable will stop a cutter for all of about two seconds.
It can take several minutes to pen a lock; thieves like to take the
stuff that can be immediately put in grab-and-go condition with the
tools they have at hand.

I wouldn't trust a cable lock to keep a bike from being stolen.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Quoted message said:

What about other locks. I have a Specialized 5/8 inch cable lock with a
circle key. The barrel is too large for a BIC pen to fit, even after
trying to ream the BIC pen tube.

I have a Specialized cable lock with a circle key that's 6 or 7 years
old, the specs and model of which I do not know. I was able to open
it with a Bic pen tube after cutting a small slit in the tube so it
fit over the center post of the "keyhole". It wasn't exactly quick
work (about 5-10 minutes) but it wasn't especially difficult.