Tubular locks — the round-key locks on vending machines, laptop locks, some bike locks and cabinets — arrange their pins in a circle. They need a tubular pick that presses all pins at once. This page has beginner tubular picks and clear tubular practice locks.
Guide
Tubular Locks & Tubular Picks
A tubular lock is a pin tumbler lock bent into a ring: 7 or 8 pin stacks arranged around a central post, pushed by a hollow round key with notches on its rim. The shear line is a circle. Because all pins are pushed at once, tubular locks are picked with a tubular pick: a sleeve of spring-loaded needles that you tension and push in gently until each needle settles at the right depth.
Tubular picks are a specialist tool; they are not included in standard lock pick sets.
A transparent tubular lock shows the ring of pins and the needles settling; a standard tubular cam lock is the real-world follow-up. Both come with two keys.
Basic tubular locks are among the easiest to open with the right tool — the pick does most of the work. High-security tubular locks (with tighter tolerances or security pins) are considerably harder. In the belt ranking the basic ones sit low; they are a good "different mechanism" to add once you are comfortable with single pin picking.
Tubular picks are legal for hobby use in nearly all of Europe (legality by country). Only use them on locks you own — practice locks are here for that. If you are brand new to picking, start with the pin tumbler basics in how to pick a lock for beginners.
