Did Amazon rip me off?

[Freewheeling]

I just ordered and received a Master Lock "Street Cuff" from Amazon for
$49.95 plus shipping, and it turns out that the thing has TUBULAR LOCKS!
You know, the kind that can be picked with a Bic pen? I'm pretty
angry. The item was manufactured in 2002 in China, so probably
pre-dates the discovery that this type of lock simply doesn't work. I
wonder if there's a chance that this is a pick-proof tubular lock, or
have I just been screwed?

 

[Freewheeling]

Freewheeling wrote:
> I just ordered and received a Master Lock "Street Cuff" from Amazon for
> $49.95 plus shipping, and it turns out that the thing has TUBULAR LOCKS!
> You know, the kind that can be picked with a Bic pen? I'm pretty
> angry. The item was manufactured in 2002 in China, so probably
> pre-dates the discovery that this type of lock simply doesn't work. I
> wonder if there's a chance that this is a pick-proof tubular lock, or
> have I just been screwed?

OK let me try this. Has the tubular lock been improved or corrected so
that it's no longer pickable using a round plastic tube such as a Bic
pen, or are these people selling a useless item for $50 to $100 a pop?
Apparently I can return the item to Amazon, so I'm OK there except for a
little inconvenience, but if this is an improved evolution of the
tubular lock design maybe I won't bother, and I'll just use the thing.

Anyone know?

I've sent a request for information to the MasterLock company, but if
they're dumb enough to be selling unmodified tubular locks they may not
know their ear from a hole in the ground. The size of the lock core
seems to be a little bigger than a conventional tubular lock, but that
won't be much help since one could simply use a slightly larger pen.

 

[Freewheeling]

Freewheeling wrote:
> Freewheeling wrote:
>> I just ordered and received a Master Lock "Street Cuff" from Amazon
>> for $49.95 plus shipping, and it turns out that the thing has TUBULAR
>> LOCKS! You know, the kind that can be picked with a Bic pen? I'm
>> pretty angry. The item was manufactured in 2002 in China, so probably
>> pre-dates the discovery that this type of lock simply doesn't work. I
>> wonder if there's a chance that this is a pick-proof tubular lock, or
>> have I just been screwed?
>
> OK let me try this. Has the tubular lock been improved or corrected so
> that it's no longer pickable using a round plastic tube such as a Bic
> pen, or are these people selling a useless item for $50 to $100 a pop?
> Apparently I can return the item to Amazon, so I'm OK there except for a
> little inconvenience, but if this is an improved evolution of the
> tubular lock design maybe I won't bother, and I'll just use the thing.
>
> Anyone know?
>
> I've sent a request for information to the MasterLock company, but if
> they're dumb enough to be selling unmodified tubular locks they may not
> know their ear from a hole in the ground. The size of the lock core
> seems to be a little bigger than a conventional tubular lock, but that
> won't be much help since one could simply use a slightly larger pen.

Couldn't stand it so I opened the thing and used the supplied keys. The
lock certainly doesn't act like the old version of the tubular lock, and
I couldn't get a Bic pen to work on it. Might have just been a size
thing, or else they have something that prevents the tube from going in
the hole. Also, once it was unlocked the whole center unit of the lock
pops out and you can click the lock closed but it won't actually "lock"
until you press the center piece back down. I'm still not convinced
that it's secure though. Those might just be bells and whistles added
to a bad design, and I just need a bigger plastic pen tube to get into it.

 

[GoHabsGo]

Freewheeling <[email protected]> wrote in
>
> Couldn't stand it so I opened the thing and used the supplied keys.
> The lock certainly doesn't act like the old version of the tubular
> lock, and I couldn't get a Bic pen to work on it. Might have just
> been a size thing, or else they have something that prevents the tube
> from going in the hole. Also, once it was unlocked the whole center
> unit of the lock pops out and you can click the lock closed but it
> won't actually "lock" until you press the center piece back down. I'm
> still not convinced that it's secure though. Those might just be
> bells and whistles added to a bad design, and I just need a bigger
> plastic pen tube to get into it.

I thought it was Kryptonite that had this bic pen feature.

 

[Freewheeling]

GoHabsGo wrote:
> Freewheeling <[email protected]> wrote in
>> Couldn't stand it so I opened the thing and used the supplied keys.
>> The lock certainly doesn't act like the old version of the tubular
>> lock, and I couldn't get a Bic pen to work on it. Might have just
>> been a size thing, or else they have something that prevents the tube
>> from going in the hole. Also, once it was unlocked the whole center
>> unit of the lock pops out and you can click the lock closed but it
>> won't actually "lock" until you press the center piece back down. I'm
>> still not convinced that it's secure though. Those might just be
>> bells and whistles added to a bad design, and I just need a bigger
>> plastic pen tube to get into it.
>
> I thought it was Kryptonite that had this bic pen feature.
Well, anything that had a tubular lock. I haven't seen a tubular lock
core on a bike lock device in a couple of years. Bulldog doesn't use
them. No one uses them, or at least that's what I thought.

 

[Victor Kan]

>> Freewheeling <[email protected]> wrote in
>>
>>> Couldn't stand it so I opened the thing and used the supplied keys.
>>> The lock certainly doesn't act like the old version of the tubular
>>> lock, and I couldn't get a Bic pen to work on it.

I bought a pair of Street Cuffs a couple of months ago despite reading
everything I could find about the Bic pen issue and knowing full well
that the lock may not be particularly secure. For my intended use
though, the "keeping 'honest' people honest" type of lock is what I need
and for the type of bike I have (including a recumbent "stick bike" with
no frame triangulation to secure a lock to), it was a good solution.

From what could find via Google, it seemed that there are a couple of
well publicized (on the web anyway) failures--one with a broken/cut link
and one claim of a successful picking via plastic pen along with a
report of stupifyingly poor/clueless customer service/support. But
there seemed to be many more folks who tried picking via plastic pen and
failed. I wouldn't be surprised if more results have been put on the
web since I last looked, but it is good enough for what I need, at least
combined with a second, flat key lock.

--
I do not accept unsolicited commercial e-mail. Remove NO_UCE for
legitimate replies.

 

[Freewheeling]

Victor Kan wrote:
>>> Freewheeling <[email protected]> wrote in
>>>
>>>> Couldn't stand it so I opened the thing and used the supplied keys.
>>>> The lock certainly doesn't act like the old version of the tubular
>>>> lock, and I couldn't get a Bic pen to work on it.
>
> I bought a pair of Street Cuffs a couple of months ago despite reading
> everything I could find about the Bic pen issue and knowing full well
> that the lock may not be particularly secure. For my intended use
> though, the "keeping 'honest' people honest" type of lock is what I need
> and for the type of bike I have (including a recumbent "stick bike" with
> no frame triangulation to secure a lock to), it was a good solution.
>
> From what could find via Google, it seemed that there are a couple of
> well publicized (on the web anyway) failures--one with a broken/cut link
> and one claim of a successful picking via plastic pen along with a
> report of stupifyingly poor/clueless customer service/support. But
> there seemed to be many more folks who tried picking via plastic pen and
> failed. I wouldn't be surprised if more results have been put on the
> web since I last looked, but it is good enough for what I need, at least
> combined with a second, flat key lock.
>
Thanks. I got an email from the customer service folks who indicated
they couldn't help unless I told them the model number. Now, why
wouldn't they know the model number of their "Streetcuff" product
already? Anyway, I sent them that information a week ago, but haven't
heard from them. Clueless is about right.

Regarding failure, I'm a little concerned that if their customer service
dept. is this clueless, the $3000 failure insurance may not be worth
much. Odds are they can't count that high.