Interbike Wrap-Up - Inside Our Booth in Photos

Ok, so here's the last batch of photos from Interbike. As I mentioned, I'd try to do a little different spin on Interbike at times - life from inside a booth. Here are some more things I saw from inside our booth....

Karen and Craig take a short break to smile for the camera before getting back to talking with customers. Our booth was jammed pretty much from the get-go right up until Friday afternoon when it was very sloooowww...so slow all around that I heard booths coming down by 4ish (the show is open until 6pm).

Simon and Lisa from Colin Lewis Cycles in the UK were greeted by our in-transition European/South American Sales Manager, Gustavo. They won a trip to Interbike through a Kryptonite contest held this past winter. It was great having them with us. Last I heard they were headed for some sight seeing and shopping....hope they had fun on the rest of their trip.

Bob Roll chats with and signs a poster for one of our customers. Bob joined us in the morning both Wednesday and Thursday and was, as usual, a crowd favorite!

Craig and Eric serve up some coffee to the folks that stopped by to see Bob. They did a great job! Sandy, too, but I learned during this show that Sandy is about as comfortable in front of the camera as I am.

Chris and Cyndie from Cool Breeze Cyclery stopped by to say 'hello' to Bob. It was so much fun meeting them in person!

Eric Hawkins, owner of Park Tool, also stopped by to greet Bobke. The Park Tool booth is right near ours at Interbike, which is great because we've known those guys forever and they are always fun to hang out with.


Through the power of the internet and the telephone, I've "known" Mark Alker from Singletrack Magazine for years. We are even Facebook friends and connect on MySpace. However, since I think he is never allowed out of the office for some reason, I've never met him in person....until Interbike! It was great meeting him in person. From what I can gather, Mark's first trip to Vegas was a full experience....he needed the coffee we were serving, big time!

Century Cycles in Ohio won "An Evening with Bob Roll" during our Interbike contest a few years ago. Scott, the owner, came by to say a quick hello and drop his card in to win a ride with Bob this year.

Craig checks out a funky bike that made its way to the booth.

One of our favorite visitors to the booth every year is Marilyn Price from Trips for Kids. She was telling Karen here about all the new chapters she's opening. Bravo!!

Tim Grahl stopped by for a bit at the show and showed us that he's all in tune with our new Justice League padlocks. By the way, he was telling me some amazing things about the growth of his Commute By Bike site. Check it out!

Our friend Eric from Pedro's stopped by on Friday at just the right time. We asked him to pick the winners for our 'Win a Ride with Bob' contest and he did a great job. And the winners are....

Nevrik and Hrach from Velo Pasadena are the grand prize winners! Bob's going to be visiting their shop the first week of November. We are very happy they won since they are such great customers.

Christian (MN), Kevin/Squid (NY) and Billy (CA) are way loyal Kryptonite customers. Each has been a bike messenger for more years than they'd probably want me to tell you about and have become friends over the years. Ok, I just met Billy, but he was hanging with Kevin so it's all good. I know they don't go anywhere with their bikes without a Kryptonite lock. Congrats to Kevin on opening is own messenger company recently.

Lucky gal, version 2. The best part of any job, for me, has always been the people I meet along the way. I've been truly lucky in this job to meet some wonderful folks. Some I am fortunate enough to see more than once a year, some I only see at Interbike and some only come to the show every other year or so. This was a special year...the gang's just about all here (John seemed to be missing during this photo, but he was there, too).

And that's Interbike for another year. I think that Bob may have his own wrap-up later this week, but his will be very different from any of ours and I'm sure it will include a mention of the 7-Eleven team reunion. Stay tuned for that.

Now, on to the fall...

Bicycling Has Minneapolis Bike Commuter Story

Bicycling Magazine has a section of their website where they highlight people's bike adventures and stories. This week they have a doozie - one very worth reading. Bicycle commuter Dan Schueller was at the base of the I-35W bridge that collapsed last month in Minneapolis. His story and photos are riveting. He was a perfect person to be there since he didn't think of his own well-being, he just jumped in to help.

Amazing. Bravo, Dan, Bravo.

The New York Times & Urban Velo

Our friend Brad over at Urban Velo teamed up with The New York Times to do a review of some bike locks. We think Brad did a great job! You can see most of the piece online, but what you will only see in print is a photo of Brad, his bike and the New York Fahgettaboudit U-lock that keeps it safe. Go pick one up; you'll find him in the Style section.

Also today over at Urban Velo is a very good reminder of why you should always wear a helmet when riding your bike. We are just thankful that Jeff is ok and hope he mends quickly.

Safe riding to you all.

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 letters@irco.com

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.

Rumor Patrol

We hear lots of rumors as we are out and about on the road and cruising through the internet. Some make us just laugh out loud, shake our head or roll our eyes. Others we take a little more seriously. Over the last couple of months, we’ve noticed that one particular video on YouTube has been getting conversations going about security chains.

Recently, our friend Fritz, asked us if we’d seen the video yet and added his comments to a blog that posted the video. Since you asked, we’ll be more than happy to address this, Fritz!

Yes, we have seen the video of a competitor breaking security chains. It’s one that doesn’t have us laughing out loud, but it does have us rolling our eyes a little bit. Listen to the woman as she introduces the last two chains, of which the supposed New York Fahgettaboudit is one. She plainly states that the last two chains “aren’t brand new. They were kindly donated by Visadown users.” (I may have that name wrong)

The Kryptonite ‘lock’ does not have a lock on it at all. It’s a length of chain in a Kryptonite sleeve that even the women from our competitor can not say is a length of Kryptonite chain because she didn’t purchase it from a dealer. However, that’s neither here nor there - when the gentleman shows the link after he’s cut it, check it out, pause the video like we did (7:07 into the video). It doesn’t look like a 6-sided Fahgettaboudit link, more like a 4-sided link. Hmmm…if that’s not right, what else isn’t right with that video?

We are much more apt to trust truly non-biased testers who have honest to goodness Kryptonite products to test, like Cycling Plus. We also submit our products to test with independent testing agencies like Sold Secure, ART and a host of others. They aren’t competitors, testing is what they do for insurance companies. They are unbiased parties testing the products for a living. They are good at it, just like the guys at Cycling Plus.

Cycling Plus Recommends Kryptonite Locks

Although the May issue of Cycling Plus Magazine hasn’t hit my mailbox yet, I have seen a sneak peek of what everyone in the UK has already seen – the results of their annual lock test – thanks to a scanned PDF from a colleague across the Pond.

Each year the guys at C+ do a very thorough lock test with all the popular brands represented. They are master testers and have provided us with some great feedback over the years (thanks, guys!). They do such great testing that their ‘Recommended Buy’ ratings are highly coveted in the industry.

I’m bouncing in my chair like a 5 year old at Christmas because of the results. Bouncing. Bouncing. Bouncing!

When asked, we submitted two locks to the C+ test. In the chain category we went with the New York Fahgettaboudit chain and kept it all in the family for the U-locks, submitting the New York Fahgettaboudit U-lock. The magazine recommends both of these locks!
I’m bouncing…really.

They test the locks two different times. The first they use “an extending bar for leverage to twist locks, a hammer, pliers, mole grips, wire cutters, chisel and the trusty axe. This year we’ve added large bolt croppers. The locks are subjected to a maximum of five minutes abuse in test one.”

The second test is where they go at the locks with a barrage of power tools. I think they do this more for their enjoyment than anything since they do say, “When reading through this test remember that Test 1 is the more important test; the Test 2 is used only by professional thieves.”

So….how did they do in the tests?

The chain passed test 1 with flying colors and with all the power tools it lasted 1 minute 19.6 seconds. The next closest chain lasted 1 minute 18.8 seconds and then it dropped off dramatically from there with the third best lasting 52 seconds. Now 1 minute 19.6 seconds doesn’t seem all that long does it? But, remember that’s with sparks flying…and lots of noise….“the noise and commotion this created would draw a crowd unless you’re silly enough to park your bike in a cave”. Thieves do not like to draw attention to themselves, it is detrimental to them staying out of jail.

The U-lock went through a similar test. It passed the first battery of tests without breaking a sweat, and in the second with the power tools? 2 minutes and 59.5 seconds. (in my best carnival voice)… “We have a winnah, folks”! The next closest was 2:34 and then the drop off to only 30 seconds! Woa….

What did they say about our ‘little baby’? “The Fahgettaboudit Mini is the stiffest, toughest lock we’ve ever put to the sword…At one point we used our 4.5ft lever in the shackle and two people (25+st) hung off the bar and it still didn’t budge.” Yes, they mention that it is a little more expensive than the rest of the bunch, but your bicycle will be there when you get back. Me thinks it might be worth a few extra dollars/pounds. But that’s just me.

It’s spring here in New England (64 degrees and sunny) and we just put the C+ guys to a full workout. It’s a good day….