Okay, before anyone else says it, I'll take care of the obligatory statement that really covers it:
Much, if not most, of Bell's line is [censored].
Yes, there are exceptions. I have come to the conclusion that their bike U-lock is not one of them, however.
Now, I wouldn't rely on a Bell U-lock to secure a bike that I wasn't going to have in line-of-sight anyway, but as a means of slowing down an opportunistic grab-n-run artist, they're more effective than the as-useful-as-twine cable locks. And, bought at the right time, they're very cheap. So I have a couple. And last year, when the whole flap over the Kryptonite (and similar tubular-key) locks erupted, I was surprised to discover that a quirk in the Bell's design actually made it slightly less suceptible to penning than the Kryptonites.
But today my confidence in them (what there was of it) was dashed. Halfway to the grocery store, the locking barrel fell off of the one I had slung over the handlebars. On close examination, it was immediately apparent that the bloody thing's cylinder had vibrated out of the locked position and rotated far enough for the latch to disengage from the shackle. And, to add insult to injury, the very quirk I mentioned which makes the lock resistant to penning also makes it harder unscrew the screwup that has left it useless now.
I've got one on you. I had a Kryptonite on my winter bike. In the spring I was riding along with the lock stowed in its bike mount, when the U just fell out of the locked lock and bounced down the road. Lucky it didn't catch a rear spoke! I examined it and the bike shop techs examined it - road salt had eaten away parts of the lock so that it just rotated freely and vibrated open just as yours did.
At least Kryptonite replaced it with no questions. Any other big lock stories?
My 70's vintage Krypto - the entire lock - fell off with a crash and some bounces. I too was lucky in that the rear wheel didn't strike it. It was operator error though, not lock failure. The old Kryptos have a simple sheet metal hanger that is absolutely secure when properly used. If you don't seat each of its two tongues into the lock after sliding the lock into the hanger, the lock can slide right out. The tongues get a little bent over time, don't slip easily into their corresponding slots without some futzing. It's a pain. If I didn't like this lock so much I'd have replaced it eons ago.
My 70's vintage Krypto - the entire lock - fell off with a crash and some bounces. I too was lucky in that the rear wheel didn't strike it. It was operator error though, not lock failure. The old Kryptos have a simple sheet metal hanger that is absolutely secure when properly used. If you don't seat each of its two tongues into the lock after sliding the lock into the hanger, the lock can slide right out. The tongues get a little bent over time, don't slip easily into their corresponding slots without some futzing. It's a pain. If I didn't like this lock so much I'd have replaced it eons ago.
I have one of the original Kryptonite locks. It is made from flat stainless steel stock with a spot welded cover over a vending machine padlock. I keep it for occasional use because, even though it's heavy as sin, I doubt there's a thief left who remembers how to defeat it. Before the Kryptonite (the original U lock), my friends with nice bikes used motorcycle locking chains, which, in some cases weighed as much as the bike. Less substantial chains didn't last a week in the city.
My 70's vintage Krypto - the entire lock - fell off with a crash and some bounces. I too was lucky in that the rear wheel didn't strike it. It was operator error though, not lock failure. The old Kryptos have a simple sheet metal hanger that is absolutely secure when properly used. If you don't seat each of its two tongues into the lock after sliding the lock into the hanger, the lock can slide right out. The tongues get a little bent over time, don't slip easily into their corresponding slots without some futzing. It's a pain. If I didn't like this lock so much I'd have replaced it eons ago.
I have one of the original Kryptonite locks. It is made from flat stainless steel stock with a spot welded cover over a vending machine padlock. I keep it for occasional use because, even though it's heavy as sin, I doubt there's a thief left who remembers how to defeat it. Before the Kryptonite (the original U lock), my friends with nice bikes used motorcycle locking chains, which, in some cases weighed as much as the bike. Less substantial chains didn't last a week in the city.
Ah-h-h yes. That *is* an oldie. (And here I thought I had a lock on "ancient".) Your model (actually a review of it in the rag, "Boston Phoenix"😉 is what prompted me to shop for a Krypto.
