Kryptonite Lock Exchange

Quoted message said:

Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

The consensus among people I know is that it takes a long time to get
the shipping label to return your old locks, then two or three weeks for
the exchange once you've sent in your old lock.

I registered to exchange two locks on September 23rd.

Early in December, I grew impatient and telephoned Kryptonite. They
acknowledged the Sept 23 message, but could not give an ETA. It depended
on my place in queue and availability of particular models.

Received shipping label for my old locks on December 29.

Sent my locks Jan 7, so I hope to see new locks before the month is over.

"Andreas Oehler" wrote ...

Quoted message said:

It's been quite a time since Kryptonite startet to offer a free exchange
of old "tubular" key locks (which can be opened with parts of BIC pens).
Here in Germany lots of people did the internet registration in November
2004, but nothing happened so far. Kryptonite claims on their WWW-site to
have already exchanged "nearly" 25,000 locks, but noone reported about
this personally in any bike-related newsgroup.

Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

Andreas

I registered two locks at the end of September, received shipping labels at
the end of December, and mailed the locks last week. We'll see what happens.
--
mark

Andreas Oehler said:

It's been quite a time since Kryptonite startet to offer a free exchange
of old "tubular" key locks (which can be opened with parts of BIC pens).
Here in Germany lots of people did the internet registration in November
2004, but nothing happened so far. Kryptonite claims on their WWW-site to
have already exchanged "nearly" 25,000 locks, but noone reported about
this personally in any bike-related newsgroup.

Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

Andreas

Submitted my info in the first couple of days after Kryptonite set up
the program. Received email and downloaded my UPS label on October 21.
Received replacement locks in about 2-1/2 weeks.

I am in the USA. My locks were EVO 2000 minis, which are near the top
of the line and very popular. I imagine that Kryptonite was already
close to producing these locks as one of the first models to be rolled
over to the new cylinder style when the whole BIC pen mess hit the
fan. Part of the timing is based on these kind of issues. I have no
idea what is going on in Europe.

Our shop got a delivery of replacements along with some spares just
after new year (about three months after pulling the old ones from
sale), none of our customers have seen a sniff of their replacement
crossbar yet. They seem to be making sure they've got stock before
sending out shipping labels, and they do have one hell of a queue to
deal with.

25,000 locks worldwide is pretty minimal compared to their annual
sales: "In the year 2000, Kryptonite had sales of approximately $27
million" according to their website, and their parent company has grown
since then. I'd wave my hands and guess they've got over a million
replacements to do, so you shouldn't be surprised that you haven't got
anything yet.

Andreas Oehler said:

It's been quite a time since Kryptonite startet to offer a free
exchange of old "tubular" key locks (which can be opened with parts
of BIC pens). Here in Germany lots of people did the internet
registration in November 2004, but nothing happened so far.
Kryptonite claims on their WWW-site to have already exchanged
"nearly" 25,000 locks, but noone reported about this personally in
any bike-related newsgroup.

Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

I'm still waiting too -- after internet registration, mail, and a few phone
calls, I've received nothing, not even a response.

Matt O.

Andreas Oehler at [email hidden] wrote on 1/14/05 5:49 AM:

Quoted message said:

It's been quite a time since Kryptonite startet to offer a free exchange
of old "tubular" key locks (which can be opened with parts of BIC pens).
Here in Germany lots of people did the internet registration in November
2004, but nothing happened so far. Kryptonite claims on their WWW-site to
have already exchanged "nearly" 25,000 locks, but noone reported about
this personally in any bike-related newsgroup.

Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

Got a neat little package from the folks at Kryptonite with two brand
spankin' new Evo Mini's with the new non-tubular keys in early December.

They had supplied a return paid label back on 11/20, and I boxed up and
turned in both of my "susceptible" locks in the following Monday. Total
down time (on those locks - I have others) including the Thanksgiving
holiday was 11/22 through 12/7. I had registered with the program back on
9/30.

Oh yeah - location = Northern California, USA

When you consider the size of their customer base and the "NQA" (No
Questions Asked) position they took on the models, this is stellar customer
service. They've really done the right thing in my book. These days, you
don't often get follow-through like that from bigger companies. Kudos to
Kryptonite.

FWIW, despite ruining a box of the recommended pens, I was never able to
crack the old ones with the BIC-Attack method. I figure (since I'm not a
locksmith and am not likely to play one on TV) that it has something to do
with a similar detent level on the tumblers, and mine were both pretty
varied.
--

CycloFiend

to reply directly, replace the dashes to create the name above

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 08:28:37 -0800, Dan Daniel:

Quoted message said:

I imagine that Kryptonite was already
close to producing these locks as one of the first models to be rolled
over to the new cylinder style when the whole BIC pen mess hit the
fan.

The story really isn't new - just the media hype around it is bigger this
time... The first time the method of "openig a tubular cylinder on a
Kryptonite lock with a BIC pen" was publisher was in 1992 in the british
magazine "New Cyclist". See:
http://groups.google.de/groups?hl=de&lr=&selm=1992Nov24.130535.9995%40ericsson.se

Thanks to anyone who answered! I am still interested if someone in Europe
heard something new from Kryptonite.

Andreas

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 09:18:50 -0800, Cyclofiend
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[snip]

Quoted message said:

FWIW, despite ruining a box of the recommended pens, I was never able to
crack the old ones with the BIC-Attack method. I figure (since I'm not a
locksmith and am not likely to play one on TV) that it has something to do
with a similar detent level on the tumblers, and mine were both pretty
varied.

Dear Fiend,

Yes, some pin height patterns are harder to rattle, rake, or
rumble open on pin-tumbler locks.

This is why master-keyed locks are easier to pick. Instead
of just one pin atop the other, they have three (or even
four) pins stacked, which greatly increases the chances of
their ends lining up with the break of the lock.

(On a traditional rather than rotary lock, you want the pins
in front to stick up because then they get in the way of the
pick trying to reach the pins in back. This is one reason
why a good key often has a deep cut nearest your fingers.)

But like the vibrato on a violin, a lot of it is just plain
stinkin' practice--the experienced locksmith has a better
idea than the casual lockpicker of how much rattling the
pins need and how much to vary the tension on the lock.

Carl Fogel

Andreas Oehler said:

It's been quite a time since Kryptonite startet to offer a free exchange
of old "tubular" key locks (which can be opened with parts of BIC pens).
Here in Germany lots of people did the internet registration in November
2004, but nothing happened so far. Kryptonite claims on their WWW-site to
have already exchanged "nearly" 25,000 locks, but noone reported about
this personally in any bike-related newsgroup.
Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

I should've paid attention to the dates, but I think it took about
three weeks from when I registered for the replacement program until I
got my shipping label e-mailed to me. The problem was, I don't go
anywhere without a bike, so I needed to have something to lock with
while waiting for replacements, and I didn't feel like spending money
on yet another lock. I called Krypto, and after a little bit of phone
runaround, I found out that if I gave them my credit card number,
they'd send my replacements first, after which I could use the same box
and the aforementioned shipping label to send my old locks. The
replacement showed up within a week.

This was in the good ol' US of A, but it's worth finding out if they'll
do the same in Germany..

the gist: yes, I got my (3) replacement locks, and everyone I dealt
with was very courteous.. Hope it works similarly for you soon..

y.

"Andreas Oehler" wrote

Quoted message said:

Thanks to anyone who answered! I am still interested if someone in Europe
heard something new from Kryptonite.

Andreas

There's a thread on this subject on uk.rec.cycling.
--
mark

<[email hidden]> wrote (clip) (On a traditional rather than rotary
lock, you want the pins in front to stick up because then they get in the
way of the pick trying to reach the pins in back. This is one reason why a
good key often has a deep cut nearest your fingers.) (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Interesting thought. However, this has a down-side. Many people get in the
lazy habit of starting to twist the key before it is fully inserted--the
keys you are describing are more easily broken.

Leo Lichtman said:

<[email hidden]> wrote (clip) (On a traditional rather than rotary
lock, you want the pins in front to stick up because then they get in the
way of the pick trying to reach the pins in back. This is one reason why a
good key often has a deep cut nearest your fingers.) (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Interesting thought. However, this has a down-side. Many people get in the
lazy habit of starting to twist the key before it is fully inserted--the
keys you are describing are more easily broken.

Dear Leo,

True, but the fate of such people does not tug at the
heartstrings of locksmiths.

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

the gist: yes, I got my (3) replacement locks, and everyone I dealt with
was very courteous.

I am behaving very well in this life.

Because if I am bad, I may be reincarnated as a Kryptonite customer
service representative, circa September 2004.

Andreas Oehler said:

It's been quite a time since Kryptonite startet to offer a free

exchange

Quoted message said:

of old "tubular" key locks (which can be opened with parts of BIC

pens).

Quoted message said:

Here in Germany lots of people did the internet registration in

November

Quoted message said:

2004, but nothing happened so far. Kryptonite claims on their

WWW-site to

Quoted message said:

have already exchanged "nearly" 25,000 locks, but noone reported

about

Quoted message said:

this personally in any bike-related newsgroup.

Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

Yeah.

Sent my information to Kryptonite September 24. Got my prepaid UPS
labels via email December 29. Mailed the locks December 31. The
replacement locks arrived today, January 15.

My location is Düssedorf, Germany.

I got the ups-lable on monday, locks where picked up on tuesday and
are delivered today (according to ups-tracking).

So the new ones should be here within 2 weeks...

Andreas Oehler said:

It's been quite a time since Kryptonite startet to offer a free exchange
of old "tubular" key locks (which can be opened with parts of BIC pens).
Here in Germany lots of people did the internet registration in November
2004, but nothing happened so far. Kryptonite claims on their WWW-site to
have already exchanged "nearly" 25,000 locks, but noone reported about
this personally in any bike-related newsgroup.

Quoted message said:

Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

I received my UPS label via email on Jan 12. I printed it out, but
didn't actually mail my locks (an EvoLite and an Evolution 2000 mini)
until January 26th. According to the UPS tracking site, they received
them on Jan 28th. This past Wednesday, I found a UPS package in my
Car port. Inside was a new Evolution Mini and a standard Kryptolok.

I have a few minor complaints about the recall:

It seems they don't make the EvoLite anymore but the KryptoLok is the
closest equivalent. My original Evolution 2000 had a key with a
built-in LED, and this one didn't include one. Neither lock included
mounting hardware either.

My overall experience with Kryptonite customer service has been
excellent, even outside of the current recall. A had one of their
locking skewer sets on my old MTB and when I bought a road bike, I
wanted a set for it as well. I ordered a "keyed-alike" set, but the
keys ended up being slightly different. They sent me two complete new
sets of the locking nuts that were keyed alike for free. (This
occured in the late fall of 2003.)

-aaln

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

I had a New York City lock and they sent me the latest of that design. It
included one key with a light and mounting hardware. Mine arrived in
December.

--
Larry
"Alan Hoyle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Andreas Oehler said:

It's been quite a time since Kryptonite startet to offer a free exchange
of old "tubular" key locks (which can be opened with parts of BIC pens).
Here in Germany lots of people did the internet registration in November
2004, but nothing happened so far. Kryptonite claims on their WWW-site

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

have already exchanged "nearly" 25,000 locks, but noone reported about
this personally in any bike-related newsgroup.

Quoted message said:

Has anybody here get a new Kryptonite for free so far?

I received my UPS label via email on Jan 12. I printed it out, but
didn't actually mail my locks (an EvoLite and an Evolution 2000 mini)
until January 26th. According to the UPS tracking site, they received
them on Jan 28th. This past Wednesday, I found a UPS package in my
Car port. Inside was a new Evolution Mini and a standard Kryptolok.

I have a few minor complaints about the recall:

It seems they don't make the EvoLite anymore but the KryptoLok is the
closest equivalent. My original Evolution 2000 had a key with a
built-in LED, and this one didn't include one. Neither lock included
mounting hardware either.

My overall experience with Kryptonite customer service has been
excellent, even outside of the current recall. A had one of their
locking skewer sets on my old MTB and when I bought a road bike, I
wanted a set for it as well. I ordered a "keyed-alike" set, but the
keys ended up being slightly different. They sent me two complete new
sets of the locking nuts that were keyed alike for free. (This
occured in the late fall of 2003.)

-aaln

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