Kryptonite New York Standard vs Via Velo Elite – Bike Lock Teardown Testing

In this video, we attempt to destroy the Kryptonite New York Standard and the Via Velo Elite to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of either lock.

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Via Velo Elite – Launching Summer 2024
Kryptonite New York STD – https://geni.us/dhwu0F [Amazon Link]

We worked with Via Velo to produce this content. We had full control of production and testing, and all of the views expressed in this video come from months of first-hand experience with the products featured.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on our testing and are always looking for ways to improve the quality of the content we produce. Leave us a comment below if you have any feedback/ideas and we’ll get back to you!

As promised here are the specs for the four lock models featured in the video:

Via Velo Elite:
Weight – 1.36kg (3lb)
Internal Dimensions – 115mm x 233mm

Kryptonite New York STD:
Weight – 1.84kg (4.06lb)
Internal Dimensions – 101mm x 207mm

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Chapters:
0:00 – Introduction
0:09 – Drop Test
0:34 – Torsion Test
1:13 – Hammer Test
1:41 – 42″ Bolt Cutter Test
2:30 – Angle Grinder Test
4:06 – Characteristics & Features
10:14 – Summary

I’m James from bik Lock Wiki and in this video we’ll attempt to destroy the Kryptonite New York standard and the Vio Elite to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of either lock we start off our testing with a drop test dropping each lock 10 times from shoulder height to simulate the knocks and drops a bike lock receives over its lifetime the Kryptonite New York’s cover broke during this test and had to be removed from the lock before I could use it again but apart from this no other damage to speak of really the V Elite showed light marking to its outer plastic cing and some splits in the shackle sleeve no real damage overall and worked fine afterwards next we move on to a torsion test to find out how well a lock resists twist and hydraulic attacks locks with weak shackles locking systems or those that are single bolted are vulnerable to this method of attack so I got to work with a meter long Wrecking Bar trying to pry both locks open the New York standard showed hardly any play in the shackle and despite using my full body weight 95 kilos for leverage I could get it to budge the V was also very resistant to this attack type but did have a bit more Flex in its shackle which is slightly thinner than the New York’s still both locks resisted this test with ease on to the hammer test next Hammer testing gives us a good understanding of the strength of a Lock’s internal mechanism housing 10 firm blows to either lock using a lump hammer and an anvil the Vio lost a few pieces of its external plastic housing whilst the rubber casing on the outside of the Kryptonite New York standard split and its Keyhole cover blew off on one of the last strikes surprisingly both locks continue to work as they should proving they both provide good protection against blunt impact attacks 42-in Bol Cutters are always exciting to use as these are the biggest readily available Bol Cutters on the market 16 mm bike lock shackles are commonly considered bolt cutter proof so I wasn’t expecting muchh to happen to the 15.9 mm shackle of the New York standard and it didn’t after struggling for over a minute and a half I’d hardly inflicted any damage so I took the L and moved on an Easy Pass here the Vio Elite shackle is 13 mm thick but its square shape means that it puts more metal in the way of your bike than a circular shackle with a 13 mm diameter despite being nearly 3 mm thinner the elite shackle resisted my cropping attempts very well and beat me black and blue when it ejected from the jaws of the Cutters giving my knee and the concrete floor a nice bonding session didn’t hurt one bit the V Veo Elite sold secure Diamond rating makes it suitable for use with ebikes and if securing one it is more likely to be targeted by angle grinder attacks so it’s only right that we analyze its performance against a grinder this time we’re cutting away from the vice in closer to real world conditions I also wanted to test the anti-rotation features of either lock at this stage so I cut both locks at the top of the shackle to see how wide I could open them and if I could remove them from the bite crack which is 4.8 mm thick with both locks cut I wasn’t able to remove either from the bike rack the Kryptonite New York standard hardly had any play in its shackle and there was no chance of Shifting it the Vio Elite had slightly more play but resisted being opened wide enough to remove it from the rack some bikes with the skinnier frame tuing may have been removable here but remember power tools were required to get to this stage carrying on with the grinder test we cut either lock a further four times to establish average resistance to grinder attacks the kryponite New York standard and its chunky 15.9 mm shackle gave an average cutting time of 28.432177 overall performance during testing from both locks both displaying strengths and weaknesses but nothing unexpected now cyclists don’t want to Lug around super heavy bike locks but equally heavier locks are typically more secure swi security is your priority you will need to compromise somewhat with the locks weight the Vio mini weighs in at 1.36 kilos or3 lb whereas the Kryptonite New York standard is substantially heavier weighing 1.84 kilos or 4.06 pound it is noticeably heavier to carry than the V Elite but both locks come with a mounting system to help you carry them and we’ll take a look at these later on in the video comparing the internal shackle measurements the Vio Elite offers slightly more locking space measuring 23.3 cm long by 11.5 CM wide whereas the Kryptonite New York standard is slightly smaller measuring 20.7 cm long by 10.1 CM wide when locking your bike with either of these they’re designed to secure to standard bike racks or thin poles these don’t fit around the chunkier bases of street lights that we have in the UK but easily work with other Street posts and poles and bicycle specific racks the Vio uses a square shackle and each side is 12.97% [Music] quality bike locks is that when a single cut is made through the shackle a thief can rotate the shackle open in the locking mechanism until your belonging can be removed a square shackle inside a square locking lug won’t rotate this is what the Vio exploits for its anti-rotation performance kryptonite’s lock also offers impressive anti-rotation features because the ends of the shackle are tapered slightly and set inside a matching shaped locking lug the V Elite offers the so secure pedal cycle Diamond rating whereas the Kryptonite New York standard only offers the gold rating which is one level lower for context here the pedal cycle Diamond rating means a lock is suitable for securing very high value bikes and ebikes in high-risk areas for longer periods of time whereas the gold rating means a lock provides protection for high value conventional push bikes in high-risk areas having personally tested and destroyed many bike locks I am slightly surprised that the New York standard only holds the gold r maybe Kryptonite didn’t submit it for testing at the diamond level or maybe there’s a vulnerability that I didn’t manage to uncover in our testing who knows the New York standard uses a disc detainer locking cylinder whereas the Vio uses a slider cylinder both of these cylinders require a lot of practice and understanding to pick successfully and in reality thieves aren’t picking locks on the street instead they opt for brute force or power tool attacks which require a single brain cell to carry out the vehic voo Elite is supplied with four Keys whereas the Kryptonite New York standard only comes with three keys but one is accompanied with an LED key fob which is Handy for operating the lock in the dark both sets of keys are coded and both Brands offer a key replacement service should you require new keys to be cut one really nice benefit that Vio offer their customers that kryptonite lack is their Kik system which allows you to unlock all of your V products with a single key this is is a great feature for families who need to lock multiple bikes or if your bike requires maximum security and you decide to lock it with two locks kryptonite on the other hand don’t offer keyto like locks so if you want to lock up with multiple Kryptonite locks you have to carry multiple Keys additionally both of these locks are double bolted meaning either side of the shackle is secured in place by a dead bolt system the Vio shackle is secured in place by its quad locking mechanism which provides additional resistance against rotation attacks whereas the cryptonite new New York standard shackle is secured by two locking bolts neither system is preferable here both achieving the same goal as standard both locks offer Keyhole covers to prevent dirt from entering the locking mechanism the Vos is automatic whereas you’ll need to remember to close the New York standards after locking up when locking your bike with any bike lock it’s important to prioritize your bike’s most valuable components these are typically your rear wheel and frame so secure these to a sturdy immovable object and throw in a cable extension to secure your front wheel especially if you use Quick Release axles also make sure to fill the lock shackle as much as possible when locking up as this helps to prevent twist and hydraulic attacks price is always going to be a deciding factor with all of our purchases and to be honest both of these locks are reasonably priced considering the security they offer the Vio Elite is launching to the US market in July and will retail for just under $100 whereas the Kryptonite New York standard retails are just above this so in terms of price there isn’t a huge difference here both of these locks are manufactured in the Far East the New York standard is built in Taiwan and the Vio is built in China the Kryptonite website contains the classic corporate ESG waffle and points to the allegian website kryptonite’s parent company but it is very hard to tell which of allean’s ESG achievements relate directly to Kryptonite Vio are a substantially smaller company and don’t reveal any of their sustain ability goals if they have any unlike Kryptonite Vio only use cardboard in their packaging whereas Kryptonite use cardboard and plastic blister packaging both of these materials can be easily recycled but plastic packaging for a bike lock is somewhat unnecessary now the Kryptonite New York standard is provided with kryptonite’s flexframe mounting system which has been upgraded over the years and does a good job of holding the lock still when riding despite being slightly fiddly to mount in place I don’t currently have the mount bracket that the elite will be supplied with on launch but the Vio team are working on this at the moment without amount I found that the elite can easily be carried in a bag and is fairly lightweight for a lock of its size so it’s not uncomfortable to carry to summarize both of these locks are great high security bike locks suitable for use in high-risk areas as already stated the Vio Elite has the pedal cycle Diamond sold secure rating whereas the Kryptonite New York standard only earned the gold rating both locks have their benefits the elite is more portable and offers more internal locking space whereas the New York standard has a thicker shackle and whilst neither lock Was Defeated during my bulut test the New York standard hardly suffered a scratch whereas the V had a visible Nick on either side of the shackle if you do decide to purchase either of these locks make sure to check your bike insurance policy to ensure that you’re using a lock in line with your policy requirements if you do have any questions regarding either of these locks leave a comment down below and I’ll back to you otherwise you can find all of the key details down in the description below thanks for watching