Locked Up Our Trip with Kryptonite

This past weekend my wife Susan and I went on the road to a show in Pittsburgh, PA. We left early Friday morning making a stop in New Jersey to drop off a freshly built bobber for a customer and then headed to Pittsburgh. We got there late Friday night.

Saturday the show was early morning ‘til early evening. That day was also my wife and mine anniversary. The show was busy throughout the day and the weather was great. We did the same thing on Sunday and packed up around 5 and were on the road home at about 6.

Here is where it gets interesting….the drive from Pittsburgh to Bridgewater, MA is about 11 hours. We get on the road and drive through most of the night till we get to Rhode Island. We were making good time - Susan and I were excited that we might get home before 4 am! We no sooner get into Rhode Island and we get a blow out. No big deal. We pull over, I change the tire and get back on the road. I didn’t even get a chance to turn the radio back up and we heard a loud pop noise! The spare tire blew out! Now we are in trouble!

I pull over and examine the trailer and tire. We are on the rim. What can we do? After making some phone calls, waking a few people up at 4 am, I realized there was nothing I could do till a tire place opened.

We didn’t want to sit on the side of the highway with $140,000 worth of bikes in the trailer so we decided to pretty much drag the trailer on the grass to the next exit. Thankfully there was a 24 hour gas station right off the exit. We decided to leave the trailer there locked up and come back for it later.

Well, I was a little nervous leaving it there because this is something we never do but I was a little more confident knowing that Kryptonite was protecting it. I backed it up to a light pole so no one could open the door, put 2 locks on the back door, one on the front door, one on the tongue, a rotor lock on each bike, chained the bikes together with a Fahgettaboudit, and put a chain around the one good wheel and tire. I would have to say someone would have a hard time stealing it if they tried. So all together I had almost 10 locks on everything. We told the clerk we were leaving it there and they said they would keep their eye on it.

At about 9 am Jody and Jeff headed down to pick it up with a new tire. The trailer must have looked terrible, sitting on the rim, fender ripped off, dirt and grass hanging out the back, ay what a site! But we got it home safe and sound! What a way to end a trip.

The Dark Knight

For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath for the beginning of our contest - the wait is over. Batman, the Caped Crusader is the first superhero that we will test your knowledge of. Again as a reminder the first 25 respondants will be entered into a drawing where the grand prize will be a full set of the padlocks, plus the winners picture,if so interested, on our website. The question is:

What is the profession of Batman's father?

Kryptonite Addresses Customer Concerns Regarding ITV Show (UK)

Kryptonite sent a comment to Alex Nott, Producer of tonight’s ITV show “Gone in 60 Seconds – The Bike Crime Wave” last week. But, we wanted to talk to our customers because we are confident in our products (we use them every day) and want our customers to feel confident as well.

We weren’t offered the opportunity to participate in, attend or view an unedited version of this “test”. What we did see was a clearly edited video performed by a competitor whose products, we are told, are not used in this show.

Kryptonite takes the security of its customers’ property very seriously and does not condone or support any form of media that publicly educates or encourages criminal or other illegal activity on any brand of lock. We also don’t condone or support product demonstrations that do not fully educate the viewer on the types of tools used and the conditions in which such tools would be used.

This televised demonstration leads viewers to believe that 42-inch bolt cutters are common tools used by thieves. They are not. The 42-inch bolt cutters used in the show are large in size, expensive to purchase and difficult to obtain (according to our research).

Please note that the price of this 42 inch bolt cutter, like the one used in the show, retails for approximately £291-360 ($600-742 U.S. Dollars), and replacement jaws retail for approximately £100.00 ($206 U.S. Dollars). Unfortunately, there will always be people who think it is necessary to publicize ways to perform criminal or other illegal activity. We recognize that and are committed to constantly evaluating technologies and methods for providing products that guard against these most common methods.

The methods described on this show are not common methods currently in use in the UK or elsewhere. The New York Fahgettaboudit chain is covered by Kryptonite’s anti-theft protection offer. In the last two years, in the UK, there have been no claims of property being stolen that was secured with a New York Fahgettaboudit chain. Zero.

Our high end security products, including the New York Fahgettaboudit chain, meet or exceed industry testing standards and are also tested by internal and external professionals in a variety of ways to guard against methods commonly and uncommonly used by thieves. Kryptonite has manufactured and sold high quality products for 35 years and has been testing the products for just as long. As a matter of fact, Kryptonite team members who test the products have an impressive combined testing knowledge of 46 years.

Our internal tests involve a variety of tools used by thieves, such as bolt cutters (including 42 inch bolt cutters), hack saws, hammers, pry bars, grinders, hydraulic devices and a host of other common and uncommon methods. The products are tested to the point of failure in order to understand the limitations and the environments for which the products are best suited. If a new method is heard of by Kryptonite, the products will be retested against that method as well.

Despite the internal testing done by Kryptonite employees, we do not ask that our current or future customers just take our word for it. We rely on independent, third party testing to expertly attack the chains and locks. We submit our high end locks to industry respected testing agencies such as Sold Secure (UK), ART (NL), VdS (DE), N.F. (FRA), Classe SRA (FRA) and SSF (Sweden). In total, Kryptonite has received over 70 approvals from these agencies for a variety of its products. The New York Fahgettaboudit chain received the highest ratings of Gold and 4+ from both Sold Secure and ART.

Another highly respected third party tester, Cycling Plus Magazine, tested the New York Fahgettaboudit chain in its annual lock test this spring and it fared very well over the other chains submitted, receiving a coveted “recommend.” The chain held up over one minute to power tools after it was already attacked for 5 minutes with more common street tools, such as bolt cutters.

We understand and respect the fact that people are passionate about the brand of lock they choose. We are not interested in a back and forth with our competitors or their supporters; we’ve said our peace and will leave it at that. If you have a question or concern about one of your own Kryptonite locks, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service at 

We offer a broad range of products so customers can select products to create security levels specific to their unique needs and environments. The products are and will be continuously tested, both internally and externally, to provide customers with products that will protect their property in a variety of environments and give them general piece of mind.

Having said all that, as we go forward on this blog, we’d like to ask that everyone refer to our very first post in the blogosphere. It requests, “that people be respectful with their comments. Constructive criticism is welcome, slander is not. Profanity is not. Basically, please don’t say something here that you wouldn’t say in one of our living rooms. We would appreciate that.” This is a common request in the blogosphere and we don’t find it unreasonable. We will ask again that everyone please keep that in mind.

Thanks for your time. Now we suggest you turn off the computer and go out for a nice ride. You can feel confident that Kryptonite will continue to meet the challenges of the street.

My Weekend at Iowa Speedway

We returned on Sunday after what was a fun and exciting weekend at Iowa Speedway. This was the first time that motorcycles have ever run this new 1.3 mile road course. So in the inaugural year of the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series we are all anxious to see what comes of a first trip to a new track.

I have to say, the facility was outstanding. The fans in Iowa are diehard and so enthusiastic to see racers. They were very welcoming and made the event a lot of fun.

I didn’t race this weekend due to my on-going back spasms and pain. Since I help run the team there is no shortage of things that need to be done. I stayed busy all weekend writing press releases, taking photos and updating the Team RightsforBikers.com Web site. I enjoy attending the entrant meetings, rider meeting and organizing logistics of the team. We have a great team so sometimes that comes easy even though there is so much to do.

The team had 3 practice sessions: one Thursday, one Friday and a quick practice on Saturday. The riders all got out there and learned the track and starting picking up some good lap times. Our SST bike (Suzuki SV1000) ridden by Mark Crozier and Nathan Dressman ran the second fastest in practice and usually that is a good indication of the outcome of the race. My fill-in rider, Justin Filice was amazing. He was running almost as fast on the SV650 as some were on the bigger bikes. It was fun to watch him and his dad (Jimmy Filice) out in practice. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Jimmy, click on his name…he is well known in motorcycle racing. Jimmy was showing Justin the lines and the way around the track and Justin was picking up time.

Race day was getting last minute details completed, such as lights on the bikes (since the even falls past sun down, lights are required and PIAA, our sponsor really helped us out here). As with any and all MOTO-ST events, we have an autograph session for the fans. We couldn’t believe the turn-out! They were lined up for more than an hour to walk through and get ever rider’s autograph. Different to motorcycle racing, but common in NASCAR are the rider introductions on stage. This was the first time riders had done this and it really added to the show.

The race began at 6:30pm CT and was a 3-hour long race. Our team had 2 podium finishes for which the entire team – crew and riders – was extremely excited. We have worked so hard to get to the top of the podium and we were within 40 seconds behind the leader when a red flag came out and the race was called with 30 minutes remaining. This race was a testament to the strength of the team and we can’t wait for the 8 Hours at Daytona in October!

Oh and by the way…at Road America for the Red Flag Fund auction…the custom painted trash can by Dave Perewitz raised $225! All the items auctioned off can be found here. The proceeds go to help injured motorcycle racers. A great cause for a great community of people.

Hellllooooo Austin!

As part of our brand relaunch this year we've done some 'out of home' advertising. Check out these billboards in Austin, Texas.

There are more than two in Austin. Let us know if you spy one. Send a photo, we'd love to see it.

We aren't stopping there either, Austin. There is more to come...something very different - on ground level. Stay tuned!

Man of Steel Padlock Contest

Hi everyone! I’m Ryan, Kryptonite’s recently-acquired graphic and packaging designer. Being a huge comic book geek, I am thrilled to be assigned the task of blogging about Superman. What can I say about the Man of Steel that hasn’t been said a thousand times in books, news articles, psychiatric journals (the interplay of the Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El personalities is quite interesting), physics books, Biblical parallels…the cultural impact that Superman has brought to the world is mind-boggling.

Before radio, television and comic books, stories about our heroes were communicated through oral tradition. People like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill were told to have incredible powers and perform awesome feats of strength. Naturally, the key to good storytelling is embellishment, and while many of these stories were either exaggerated or just flat-out untrue, you couldn’t help but look up to the courage and strength of these heroes. Superman is the closest thing we have to folklore in America today. He’s the ultimate hero…the strength of Paul Bunyan, the moral steadfastness of Atticus Finch…and despite being 100% alien, he has a unique "Americanity" (yup, I’m making up words now) that’s rivaled only by Captain America (rest in peace, Cap).

I could go on and on, but I’m going to restrain my inner-geek and wrap this up. If comic books could be boiled down to only ONE hero, I have no doubt that it would be Superman. He wasn’t the first superhero…we’ve been telling stories of super-powered people for thousands of years…but for the past 70 years, he’s been far and above the most loved and recognized. One day, many years from now, when WWIII has wiped out all electronics on Earth and we’re living by candlelight once again, I hope to tell my grandchildren the stories of a young child, sent from the doomed planet of Krypton to a small blue marble in the Milky Way galaxy.

And now, on to the trivia question. I was going to ask what Clark Kent’s middle name is, but there’s some dispute over whether it’s Joseph or Jerome (see, this is what happens when you ret-con stories, it screws everything up). Therefore, I decided to go with something a little less debatable. And don’t cheat by going to Wikipedia!

What is the full name of Superman birth mother?

Please email your answers to Donna -- donna(underscore)tocci(at)irco(dot)com

The correct answers will be placed into a hat and the randomly-chosen winner gets a cool Superman combination padlock, which is perfect for lockers...or telephone booths. ;)

Crazy Busy with Trade Shows

Wow - it's been awhile since we posted here. It's just been crazy busy. Although our dealers will know, most people don't know that the trade show season is upon us. There's Eurobike at the end of this month in Germany. Then the Canadian bike show. Then Interbike in Las Vegas. And then Intermot back in Germany. All before the middle of October.

We need new catalogs for the shows, give-aways, design trade show booths, order show shirts, arrange travel and shipping and...oh, yes, get the products there and display them so they all look pretty. Does a lock look pretty? Hmmm....

Our photographer tries to make them all look great. What starts out as just a lock laying on a table....

..ends up as a great 'beauty shot'.

This is the one we are using in our catalog - it shows off the oval pretty well rather than just a straight vertical shot. Oh, did I mention that we finished the catalog today!? It's off to the printer. Yiiipppppeeee!

CMWC & Mountain Mayhem

Since our home office is in the US, we tend to talk a lot about events and such here. But, we are a worldwide company and we are involved in some pretty cool things in other countries, too.

Here's a shot of the bike parking area at Mountain Mayhem at Eastnor Castle this summer.

Thanks to our great distributor partner, Madison, it looks pretty snazzy doesn't it? This was during set-up. I'm told that once the event got started it was a madhouse!

Look for this same set up at the Tour of Britain at Crystal Palace in London on September 9th. Madison set this up last year, too, but this year the parking area will be much bigger. Way to go, guys!

Off to Ireland....

This past weekend was the 15th Annual Cycle Messenger World Championships in Dublin. I haven't heard from the event organizer yet. I'm assuming he's still recovering. But, he'll check in soon.

In the mean time, here are some photos of the event from a participant in Germany. They really capture the fun of the event.

There are a few on the CMWC MySpace page, too. And a few here...my favorite of this bunch? This one, of course. And there are more here and a couple here.

We have been a proud supporter of most of the CMWC events and look forward to being involved next year, too!

Portland, San Fran & Del Sol

Last week we had photos of our new billboards in Austin. This week we have photos of some new placements in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. This is pretty exciting stuff to us because we've never done anything like this before.

Here are some shots from Portland, Oregon..

My favorite is the penguin one. I just love them. They are too cute.

Here's a shot in San Francisco...

Why the crazy, "out there" places to secure a bike? Part of that is to catch your eye as you are going by the photos. Part is to really convey that we know there are fascinating adventures to be had off the bike - Go. Do. Explore. We've got your back; no matter where you properly lock your bike.

Speaking of bikes....I'd like to thank Del Sol for jumping right in and providing the bikes for our new campaign. They were so eager to help and got a bike right to us for photography; they made the whole process an easy one. The bike is perfect for the photos. I hope they are happy with the results, too. Thanks, Jill!

So, look around when you are riding or walking in Portland and San Fran....I'll bet you'll see some of these placements. Let us know what you think. And, if you see one while you are out and about, let us know!

In Falmouth!

Each of the last 16 years I've headed to Falmouth, MA for the internationally famous Falmouth Road Race. This year is no different; I arrived yesterday afternoon and started working on getting organized and settled.

During my morning walk, I was reminded why I love it so much here - there's such a wonderful, vacation atmosphere in the whole town. Everyone you meet along the way says 'good morning' or 'hello'. There are walkers, runners and cyclists out early on the roads enjoying the nice sea air during their rides/walks. Me, included. It was lovely breathing in that salt air along the finish line route. And, yes, I even visited my special brick at the finish line park.

Interestingly enough, I saw as many cyclists as runners this morning, which is amazing considering that it is road race weekend. But, this is a great cycling town - a couple of people riding to work, a mother and daughter out for a morning Tour Day Neighborhood and two guys in their Discovery kits out for a training ride, among others. It's good to see.

I even saw a two seater at the hotel.

But, this weekend is mainly about running so, good luck to all the runners. I hope you all enjoy the 35th running of the CIGNA Falmouth Road Race!

See You at the Perewitz Bike Night Tonight!

Tim and I will both be at the Perewitz Bike Night tonight. If you are in the area, c'mon down and say 'hi'. I haven't seen Dave, Jody, Susan and the rest of the team since Sturgis so I'm looking forward to hearing all about it. That, and seeing my four legged friends, too, of course.

Zipp's the official greeter at Perewitz Cycle Fab

See you there!

Kids Don't Do This At Home

After my beloved fixie went missing from campus a few weeks back, I decided to invest in your company. I got your lock in the mail today, and I'm afraid that it needed a little personal touch. I hope your not offended with my 'upgrade' - but I just couldn't run around campus with a stock'er - even if it's just the lock. JSM, Lincoln, NE

J, we'll just ask everyone to cut us a little slack for language that's a little saltier than we normally use here, because we probably all have to agree that if we're really truthful, we'd say the exact same thing if we were in your shoes!

PS - We're happy to report that the police found J's bike at a local pawn shop and he's going to be reunited with it today!

iThink iCan iThink iCan

Car and Driver reports that Steve Jobs recently met with VW CEO Martin Winterkorn to talk about the possibility of an iCar! How wild would that be?? I wonder if you'd have to send the car back to Apple when it was time to change the battery, like your iPod?

Let's see if there's talk soon of an iBike or iCycle...

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