Four more pounds, four more pounds! Kryptonite U-Lock

[dgk]

I just got a Kryptonite U-Lock to replace my "lost" chain. It's four
pounds and I don't want to keep carrying it around. I used to leave my
lock/chain around the fence where I locked the bike but the folks who
owned the building decided it shouldn't be there anymore and discarded
it one day (after telling me that it was ok to leave it there two
years earlier).

I moved to a new bike rack nearby, but I'm not sure about just leaving
the ULock there. While they are supposed to be pretty well theftproof,
perhaps someone would like to practice on it? And it's exposed to the
weather, which was not the case in my old location.

Still, l lugged the lock with me today and was very sluggish; four lbs
does seem to make a difference. I had it in the saddle bag; I'll have
to mount the bracket and see if the weight distribution makes a
difference. There is a LOT of weight on the back of the bike, most of
it being me.

 

[Alan Hoyle]

On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:58:07, dgk wrote:
> I just got a Kryptonite U-Lock to replace my "lost" chain. It's four
> pounds and I don't want to keep carrying it around. I used to leave my
> lock/chain around the fence where I locked the bike but the folks who
> owned the building decided it shouldn't be there anymore and discarded
> it one day (after telling me that it was ok to leave it there two
> years earlier).

> I moved to a new bike rack nearby, but I'm not sure about just leaving
> the ULock there. While they are supposed to be pretty well theftproof,
> perhaps someone would like to practice on it? And it's exposed to the
> weather, which was not the case in my old location.

> Still, l lugged the lock with me today and was very sluggish; four lbs
> does seem to make a difference. I had it in the saddle bag; I'll have
> to mount the bracket and see if the weight distribution makes a
> difference. There is a LOT of weight on the back of the bike, most of
> it being me.

I've left a Kryptonite New-York U-lock locked to the bike rack outside
of my office for several years. It has held up to weather very well,
though I've been pretty consistent about using the keyhole cover.
Once it started to feel a bit gritty, but a squirt of Tri-Flo fixed
it. On the u-lock I have, the keyhole cover isn't one of the
"rotating sleeves" but is instead a sliding cover attached to the
outside. The plastic cover attaching it to the lock broke once (with
no detrimental security effect), and Kryptonite shipped me a
replacement.

The plastic keyhole cover is visible at the bottom of the lock in the
following image:

http://www.kryptonitelock.com/images/products/997986.jpg

I wouldn't worry about someone "stealing" it. I mean, if you can't
trust the lock to stay there, how could you trust it to keep your bike
there? Just lock it to the rack and leave it there.

-alan

--
Alan Hoyle - [email protected] - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.

 

[dgk]

On 31 Jan 2008 15:46:26 GMT, Alan Hoyle <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:58:07, dgk wrote:
>> I just got a Kryptonite U-Lock to replace my "lost" chain. It's four
>> pounds and I don't want to keep carrying it around. I used to leave my
>> lock/chain around the fence where I locked the bike but the folks who
>> owned the building decided it shouldn't be there anymore and discarded
>> it one day (after telling me that it was ok to leave it there two
>> years earlier).
>
>> I moved to a new bike rack nearby, but I'm not sure about just leaving
>> the ULock there. While they are supposed to be pretty well theftproof,
>> perhaps someone would like to practice on it? And it's exposed to the
>> weather, which was not the case in my old location.
>
>> Still, l lugged the lock with me today and was very sluggish; four lbs
>> does seem to make a difference. I had it in the saddle bag; I'll have
>> to mount the bracket and see if the weight distribution makes a
>> difference. There is a LOT of weight on the back of the bike, most of
>> it being me.
>
>I've left a Kryptonite New-York U-lock locked to the bike rack outside
>of my office for several years. It has held up to weather very well,
>though I've been pretty consistent about using the keyhole cover.
>Once it started to feel a bit gritty, but a squirt of Tri-Flo fixed
>it. On the u-lock I have, the keyhole cover isn't one of the
>"rotating sleeves" but is instead a sliding cover attached to the
>outside. The plastic cover attaching it to the lock broke once (with
>no detrimental security effect), and Kryptonite shipped me a
>replacement.
>
>The plastic keyhole cover is visible at the bottom of the lock in the
>following image:
>
>http://www.kryptonitelock.com/images/products/997986.jpg
>
>I wouldn't worry about someone "stealing" it. I mean, if you can't
>trust the lock to stay there, how could you trust it to keep your bike
>there? Just lock it to the rack and leave it there.
>
>-alan


That's the lock, more or less. It's the New York Lock STD. Get's an 11
on the security scale. It's also 4*8" so it can lock my frame and
front wheel to the rack (it fits by a few mm). I'll just leave it on
the rack. I've been leaving my temporary ULock (a not very secure
Masterlock) on the rack so I guess I can leave this one.

I just have this feeling that someone will think "hey, that lock is
supposed to be theftproof, I think I'll try this torch on it". I guess
they're more likely to try it on a lock that has a bike attached
though.

 

[Jay]

"dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I just got a Kryptonite U-Lock to replace my "lost" chain. It's four
> pounds and I don't want to keep carrying it around. I used to leave my
> lock/chain around the fence where I locked the bike but the folks who
> owned the building decided it shouldn't be there anymore and discarded
> it one day (after telling me that it was ok to leave it there two
> years earlier).
>
> (snip)
> I think a very important lesson has been learned. If you are talking about
> an ordinary steel chain like this pic
> http://www.123rf.com/photo_584695.html , that type of chain can be very
> easily cut with a common hardware store bolt cutter, and not much effort.
> You are better off without that chain, for bike protection.

I would look for a place to 'store' your new U-Lock, rather than carry it. 4
lbs is way too much weight to carry around, if it can be avoided. No
building maintenance worker is going to try to remove a U-Lock. What they
might do, however, is squirt super glue into it. So the lock is worthless to
you at that point, but they have no way to remove it, either. So they would
be cutting off their nose to spite their face.

J.

 

[Tom Sherman]

Jay Bollyn wrote:
>
> I would look for a place to 'store' your new U-Lock, rather than carry it. 4
> lbs is way too much weight to carry around, if it can be avoided. No
> building maintenance worker is going to try to remove a U-Lock. What they
> might do, however, is squirt super glue into it. So the lock is worthless to
> you at that point, but they have no way to remove it, either....
>
Is this based on experience (presumably as the lock user, not the
cretinous maintenance person)?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"And never forget, life ultimately makes failures of all people."
- A. Derleth

 

[Brian Huntley]

On Jan 31, 10:57 pm, Tom Sherman <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Jay Bollyn wrote:
>
> > I would look for a place to 'store' your new U-Lock, rather than carry it. 4
> > lbs is way too much weight to carry around, if it can be avoided. No
> > building maintenance worker is going to try to remove a U-Lock. What they
> > might do, however, is squirt super glue into it. So the lock is worthless to
> > you at that point, but they have no way to remove it, either....
>
> Is this based on experience (presumably as the lock user, not the
> cretinous maintenance person)?

On the Sunday before the start of Bike Week in Toronto last spring,
maintenance crews at the Toronto Dominion Centre removed 3 bike racks
outside the TD tower and put them in storage. Several bike locks were
attached at the time, including at least one of those massive
Kryptonite chains.

I protested the removal of the parking (to make a temporary smoking
area, no less!) and they repositioned the racks elsewhere for the
spring and summer. The manager responsible was really ticked off about
the locks - he was of the attitude that people should not leave them
there, so had no right to complain about them disappearing.

I suggested they at least put up a warning before doing it again.

 

[dgk]

On Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:22:28 -0800 (PST), Brian Huntley
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Jan 31, 10:57 pm, Tom Sherman <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>> Jay Bollyn wrote:
>>
>> > I would look for a place to 'store' your new U-Lock, rather than carry it. 4
>> > lbs is way too much weight to carry around, if it can be avoided. No
>> > building maintenance worker is going to try to remove a U-Lock. What they
>> > might do, however, is squirt super glue into it. So the lock is worthless to
>> > you at that point, but they have no way to remove it, either....
>>
>> Is this based on experience (presumably as the lock user, not the
>> cretinous maintenance person)?
>
>On the Sunday before the start of Bike Week in Toronto last spring,
>maintenance crews at the Toronto Dominion Centre removed 3 bike racks
>outside the TD tower and put them in storage. Several bike locks were
>attached at the time, including at least one of those massive
>Kryptonite chains.
>
>I protested the removal of the parking (to make a temporary smoking
>area, no less!) and they repositioned the racks elsewhere for the
>spring and summer. The manager responsible was really ticked off about
>the locks - he was of the attitude that people should not leave them
>there, so had no right to complain about them disappearing.
>
>I suggested they at least put up a warning before doing it again.


That was my main complaint to the manager of the building that
"discarded" my old OnGuard lock and chain. They certainly have the
right to refuse bike parking (though it was SO convenient) but they
didn't even post a sign asking that bikes/chains be removed. And after
allowing it for years, posting a sign for a week wouldn't have killed
them.

I was going to get a bit nasty about it but just figured that the lost
lock/chain was cheap for two year's rent on a sheltered parking space.
It was a nice fence around an ornamental "reflecting pool" under an
overhang outside the entrance to a Staples.

 

[Jay]

"Tom Sherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Jay Bollyn wrote:
>>
>> I would look for a place to 'store' your new U-Lock, rather than carry
>> it. 4 lbs is way too much weight to carry around, if it can be avoided.
>> No building maintenance worker is going to try to remove a U-Lock. What
>> they might do, however, is squirt super glue into it. So the lock is
>> worthless to you at that point, but they have no way to remove it,
>> either....
>>
> Is this based on experience (presumably as the lock user, not the
> cretinous maintenance person)?
>
> --
> Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
> "And never forget, life ultimately makes failures of all people."
> - A. Derleth
>
It is just some fairly useless info I picked up on the Internet. If you
google 'super glue lock' (without quotes), most of the hits involve teenage
pranksters. I am pretty sure squirting super glue into locks has been in at
least one Hollywood movie.

Most of the Internet suggestions for removing super glue from a lock,
involve nail polish remover or a similar solvent, knowledge of the inside of
the lock mechanism, and a lot of tedious labor. If that does not work, you
would need to use a brute force method. I guess a cutting torch might
eventually get through it. The following link mentions 'leverage attacks',
which I believe involves using a small hydraulic jack.

http://carlhart.com/page.cfm?pageID=180

J.

 

[Ben Pfaff]

dgk <[email protected]> writes:

> I used to leave my lock/chain around the fence where I locked
> the bike but the folks who owned the building decided it
> shouldn't be there anymore and discarded it one day (after
> telling me that it was ok to leave it there two years earlier).

How did they detach it from the fence?
--
Ben Pfaff
http://benpfaff.org

 

[It's Chris]

I carried my Kryptonite on the bike for about a week beore I finally got
the bright idea to just leave it locked to the bike rack.

The locking mech is quite weather resistant. Bring a small tube of a
good water resistant oil and drop some in from time to time to keep it
happy. You might also wrap the locking end with a plastic bag to keep
most of the water out.

- -
Compliments of:
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

If you want to E-mail me use:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

My website:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

 

[It's Chris]

From: [email protected] (Tom Sherman)

>Is this based on experience (presumably
>as the lock user, not the cretinous\
>maintenance person)?

There was one place I worked where the big problem was not theft but
vandalism. I would lock the bike to a guard rail in the shipping area,
and come back to find the combo dial pried off, or the keyhole stuffed
with silicone. At least they had the sense to leave the bike undamaged.
Other than delating the tires every now and then that is.

I tried complaining to the management about this, and they even went as
far as to hold a plant meeting threatening anyone with immediate
termination if caught. Of course, no one was caught and so one squealed.
So I took things into my own hands :-3)

I replaced the easily vandalized combo and keyed locks with a Weir
magnetic lock. No dial to pry, no keyhole to plug. A special magnetic
"key" is held against the side of the lock body (which was one piece).
As for the tires, I managed to put a sufficient amount of pepper spray
into the tubes, and locked the bike so that the wheels I made sure the
valves were positioned at the bottom, pointing up.

First they tried gluing things to the lock, which I simplly scraped off
and unlocked with no trouble. I did find my rear slightly deflated one
day, and smelling more than a little spicy, so I guess that idea worked
too. At least they finally gave up.

- -
Compliments of:
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

If you want to E-mail me use:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

My website:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
dgk <[email protected]> writes:
> I just got a Kryptonite U-Lock to replace my "lost" chain. It's four
> pounds and I don't want to keep carrying it around.

It's much harder to smugly blow past all the
other riders when you're so weighed down.

And it's /so/ imperatively important to do that
(yeah, right.)

To be "stuck" behind a bicycle -- even a fellow cyclist --
is ignonamous, shameful and incountenancable.

Hell, even if you're walking your bike on the sidewalk,
pedestrians will practically bust their legs trying to
get ahead of you & your bike.

To many, a bicycle is just something to get ahead of.

Sometimes it's just best to let 'em get ahead of ya.
Then they're either outa yer way, or where you can
get in some target practice.

4 lb lock? Boo-hoo to you. I know you're type.
When I'm riding home w/ 40 lbs of groceries (including
a dozen eggs I have to be careful about,) you zoom past
me and feel good about having smoked another cyclist.

Maybe you're one of those guys who eke past (and rudely
butt-in on) me at the stop line to get the jump on me,
too, just to artifically feel faster & better than me.

Pffft.

Screw such razmatazz nonsense.

Maybe lose 4 lbs of body weight to make up for
the weight of the lock, and break even.

Y'see, if a 4 lb lock for a bike is appropriate,
it's definitely not a racing bike. So don't
worry about it. Use the bike to get to where
you're going, and screw everything else, especially
bus fare.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (It's Chris) wrote:

> From: [email protected] (Tom Sherman)
>
> >Is this based on experience (presumably
> >as the lock user, not the cretinous\
> >maintenance person)?
>
> There was one place I worked where the big problem was not theft but
> vandalism.

> As for the tires, I managed to put a sufficient amount of pepper spray
> into the tubes, and locked the bike so that the wheels I made sure the
> valves were positioned at the bottom, pointing up.
>
> First they tried gluing things to the lock, which I simplly scraped off
> and unlocked with no trouble. I did find my rear slightly deflated one
> day, and smelling more than a little spicy, so I guess that idea worked
> too. At least they finally gave up.

Pepper spray in the tubes? Evil genius!

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

 

[Jay]

"Ben Pfaff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> dgk <[email protected]> writes:
>
>> I used to leave my lock/chain around the fence where I locked
>> the bike but the folks who owned the building decided it
>> shouldn't be there anymore and discarded it one day (after
>> telling me that it was ok to leave it there two years earlier).
>
> How did they detach it from the fence?
> --
> Ben Pfaff
> http://benpfaff.org
>
If it was just a cheap chain with round/oval links, those are surprisingly
easy to cut with a common hardware store bolt cutter.

The design of this high-security chain
http://www.kryptonitelock.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?cid=1001&scid=1002&pid=1168
is much better, because it is hard to get a good grip on it with a bolt
cutter. And it is made of hardened steel.

J.

 

[dgk]

On Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:07:00 -0800, Ben Pfaff <[email protected]>
wrote:

>dgk <[email protected]> writes:
>
>> I used to leave my lock/chain around the fence where I locked
>> the bike but the folks who owned the building decided it
>> shouldn't be there anymore and discarded it one day (after
>> telling me that it was ok to leave it there two years earlier).
>
>How did they detach it from the fence?


I don't know, but it was an OnGuard chain/lock. Not Kryptonite but not
cheap either. They are the managment of a 20 or 30 story building
which houses an NYU dormitory, so I would guess they have bolt cutters
and torches and all sorts of cutting implements.

 

[dgk]

On Sat, 2 Feb 2008 04:35:21 -0800, [email protected] (Tom Keats)
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> dgk <[email protected]> writes:
>> I just got a Kryptonite U-Lock to replace my "lost" chain. It's four
>> pounds and I don't want to keep carrying it around.
>
>It's much harder to smugly blow past all the
>other riders when you're so weighed down.
>
>And it's /so/ imperatively important to do that
>(yeah, right.)
>
>To be "stuck" behind a bicycle -- even a fellow cyclist --
>is ignonamous, shameful and incountenancable.
>
>Hell, even if you're walking your bike on the sidewalk,
>pedestrians will practically bust their legs trying to
>get ahead of you & your bike.
>
>To many, a bicycle is just something to get ahead of.
>
>Sometimes it's just best to let 'em get ahead of ya.
>Then they're either outa yer way, or where you can
>get in some target practice.
>
>4 lb lock? Boo-hoo to you. I know you're type.
>When I'm riding home w/ 40 lbs of groceries (including
>a dozen eggs I have to be careful about,) you zoom past
>me and feel good about having smoked another cyclist.
>
>Maybe you're one of those guys who eke past (and rudely
>butt-in on) me at the stop line to get the jump on me,
>too, just to artifically feel faster & better than me.
>
>Pffft.
>
>Screw such razmatazz nonsense.
>
>Maybe lose 4 lbs of body weight to make up for
>the weight of the lock, and break even.
>
>Y'see, if a 4 lb lock for a bike is appropriate,
>it's definitely not a racing bike. So don't
>worry about it. Use the bike to get to where
>you're going, and screw everything else, especially
>bus fare.
>
>
>cheers,
> Tom

No Tom, I'm not the one going past you. I average around 10.6 mph on
my commute. Oh, I have a record of 13.2 on May 30, 2007; must have
been a great tailwind.

Winter is bad for ny bike weight though. In addition to heavy clothes
and shoes, I have lots of batteries. Hotronic batteries for my toes. D
cells for my mittens. That big sucker for the headlight, various
things for other lights.

It isn't only the additional weight I guess. It's also where to put
the damn thing. The bracket either hits the water bottle area or
blocks the area where the bottle for the airhorn is supposed to go.
But I gave up the airhorn for the winter because there is too much
other stuff that I need to setup/arrange for the commute.

Ugh. There are days that I enjoy biking in the winter, but I really
prefer summertime.

 

[Jay]

"dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:07:00 -0800, Ben Pfaff <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>dgk <[email protected]> writes:
>>
>>> I used to leave my lock/chain around the fence where I locked
>>> the bike but the folks who owned the building decided it
>>> shouldn't be there anymore and discarded it one day (after
>>> telling me that it was ok to leave it there two years earlier).
>>
>>How did they detach it from the fence?
>
>
> I don't know, but it was an OnGuard chain/lock. Not Kryptonite but not
> cheap either. They are the managment of a 20 or 30 story building
> which houses an NYU dormitory, so I would guess they have bolt cutters
> and torches and all sorts of cutting implements.
>
If some building maintenance worker was able to cut your chain/lock, IMO you
did not want that chain/lock anyway. Just be glad your bike was not
involved.

I doubt they cut it with a torch. A 44" bolt cutter from these guys
http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/Bolt-Cutter/EN/index.htm would make short work
of most chains, or a padlock shackle. One could, of course, gain more
leverage by slipping a length of pipe over one of the bolt cutter handles,
with the other handle wedged against the ground.

Am I giving away too many of my secrets? (Nothing that is not learned in
Plumbing 101.)

J.

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Jay" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > On Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:07:00 -0800, Ben Pfaff <[email protected]>
> > wrote:
> >
> >>dgk <[email protected]> writes:
> >>
> >>> I used to leave my lock/chain around the fence where I locked
> >>> the bike but the folks who owned the building decided it
> >>> shouldn't be there anymore and discarded it one day (after
> >>> telling me that it was ok to leave it there two years earlier).
> >>
> >>How did they detach it from the fence?
> >
> >
> > I don't know, but it was an OnGuard chain/lock. Not Kryptonite but not
> > cheap either. They are the managment of a 20 or 30 story building
> > which houses an NYU dormitory, so I would guess they have bolt cutters
> > and torches and all sorts of cutting implements.
> >
> If some building maintenance worker was able to cut your chain/lock, IMO you
> did not want that chain/lock anyway. Just be glad your bike was not
> involved.
>
> I doubt they cut it with a torch. A 44" bolt cutter from these guys
> http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/Bolt-Cutter/EN/index.htm would make short work
> of most chains, or a padlock shackle. One could, of course, gain more
> leverage by slipping a length of pipe over one of the bolt cutter handles,
> with the other handle wedged against the ground.
>
> Am I giving away too many of my secrets? (Nothing that is not learned in
> Plumbing 101.)

In all seriousness, bolt-cutters are the common tool of the maintenance
worker, but the ever-popular disc grinder can open almost any lock in
seconds.

Something like this:

<http://www.absolutehome.com/web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?pid=61201&cm
_ven=Froogle&cm_cat=Tools&cm_pla=Hitachi&cm_ite=Hitachi-Power%20Tools-612
01&cid=92F54A24D037E786E409CBCB4DF3FE9B>

$50, and if a thief wants your bike, they can use that to either cut the
lock, cut the thing the lock is on, or cut the cheapest part of your
bike that will allow the rest to be removed.

And since you asked, yes, there is a cordless version!

<http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=141858&Referrer=NexTag>

I don't know if it would be quite as impressively ruthless as its corded
bretheren.

The downside of these tools is the noise, which is why thieves aren't
especially keen on them, but their cut-darned-near-anything feature is a
big attraction for maintenance types.

In the right hands, a big gas version of this tool will go through
serious stuff like wheel clamps:

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/3112670.stm>

Superhero costume not included.

More on Angle Grinder Man:

<http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E3DC103CF934A35753C1A
9659C8B63>

AGM activity appears to have petered off sometime in 2004, and now his
website is down.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

 

[[email protected]]

I used to carry around an eight pound chain bandoleer style, fit real
snug. But after getting a beater and moving to a U lock (bulldog
mini), I've found that it fits real nicely if you put the curved part
around the seat tube and let the straight part with the locking
mechanism rest on the seat stays or rack. But mine is small, so it
might not work with a rack less bike and large lock. Rattles slightly,
but so does everything else on the bike.