I love my bike.
I found that the 30-minute walk to my 1:40 p.m. class in 1000-degree weather takes a third of the time when I hop on my trusty Murray.
So, naturally I want to take care of it. Since bike theft is a huge issue on campus, I went out and bought one of those tubular locks that you see on almost every bike on campus, thinking it would keep my bike safe.
Boy, was I wrong.
Turns out that all that you need to pick one of these locks is a pen. Yes, that's right, a plain old Bic pen with the top removed.
Don't believe me? You can see the video for yourself at www.engadget.com.
In the video, a man takes a pen, inserts the tube into a Kryptonite Evolution 2000 U-Lock, (which is advertised as the "toughest bicycle security for moderate to high crime areas") jiggles the pen a few times and the top pops right off.
Apparently, the insides of these locks have varying numbers of pins that are depressed to open the lock. All you have to do is find a pen that will fit into the lock, push the pins down and, voila, you're the proud new owner of someone else's beloved Schwinn.
So given this information, I wanted to test my own lock to make sure it couldn't be compromised by an object that almost every person at ASU has at all times. I have a generic Bicycles West lock, not nearly as expensive as the Evolution 2000.
First, I tried a Bic pen (from Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas, in case you wanted to know). I couldn't get the top off, so I had to use a saw. Then I couldn't fit it into the lock, so I used a pair of scissors to widen the tube and a hammer to jam it into the opening. After about 10 minutes and one very sore hand, I still couldn't get the lock open. I then tried a Paper Mate Flexgrip Ultra, but it was too thick to fit into the lock. Take that bike thieves!
However, the Internet is rife with tales of people who aren't so lucky. One person who posted on the engadget forum wrote, "I widened the Bic pen tube a bit with a vegetable peeler, jammed it in the lock on my Sentry 2180 Fire Safe (same cylindrical lock as the Kryptonite bike locks) and turned. It opened with no problem. I requested a new safe from Sentry."
Another post points out exactly why those of us biking on campus should be concerned. The person wrote: "Took me 30 seconds to steal my roommates bike ... Wish I knew about this when I was 16. I'd be rich." Makes you wonder where he keeps the bike.
Fortunately, the people at Kryptonite have been alerted to the problem and are providing new locks to replace models that have been compromised. All you have to do is register on the company's Web site, (www.kryptonite.com) and they will e-mail further instructions to exchange your lock.
We always knew that the pen is mightier than the sword; I guess now we can add the lock to that list as well.
Julie Messner is journalism senior and would like to ask all bike thieves to stay away from pink and gray Murrays. Reach her at julie.messner@asu.edu.
