The best places to buy are staples and dollar stores. Product Price on Average: $3–$5 per pack* It turns out that storing a bike with a U-lock isn't necessarily the safest option. All you need to simply crack this kind of lock is a basic Bic pen. To ease the pen in, the pen holder only needed to make four incisions in the barrel. The lock, based on a design that was fifty years old, was made unusable with a single twist.