Quick, name one of the biggest issues behind why people avoid commuting by bike. After time concerns and how to get all your stuff to the office, one of the reasons that’s sure to pop up again and again, is how to keep your bike locked up and safe, due to the fact that many businesses still do not offer bike lockers for safe keeping.
Regardless of the reason for needing to lock up your bike, bike locks are still a bit of a better than nothing approach to security. Even the best locks are able to be breached in a relatively short amount of time, and there have been countless stories of thieves taking angle grinders to bike locks in the middle of the day, with passerbys either completely oblivious, or unwilling to get involved.
So the question becomes how do you make the bike lock better, and make it so that the thief isn’t willing to waste his time in the end? When the question was posed to Savannah College of Art and Design student Jaryn Miller, Jaryn thought that it made sense if the bike lock was integral to the bicycle. Jaryn’s final concept is a lock that is fully integrated into the bike, locks all the major parts, and if broken will cause the bicycle to be difficult to ride.
Sound intriguing? See how it would work after the break!
While the concept of a frame mounted rear wheel lock is nothing new, Jaryn had visions of the rear lock actually locking both the seatpost and the wheel at the same time. From the looks of the rear lock from his artist rendering above, for the rear lock to have that capability it would have to be a fairly specific frame for it to work, so that the seatpost extended below the seat tube. Again, though, this is an idea, not necessarily a product. The idea of creating some kind of lock that served to keep both your seat and your rear wheel safe could be a more elegant solution than the permanent seat leash.
While the rear is interesting, the really intriguing idea is the concept of building in a lock to the handlebars. Sure, you would have to come up with some ingenious way to attach the lock halves to the base bar to withstand the stress of actually riding the bike, along with a host of other issues. But, as a concept, it’s interesting to say the least.
Imagine, just jumping on you bike and riding. No searching for your lock, fussing with frame brackets, or loading your bag down with 15 pounds of metal. Instead you just ride your bike to the destination, and upon arrival unlock the ends of your handlebar which is then locked around your front wheel and frame. Not only would the lock provide security, it would mean that if the lock is compromised in order for someone to steal the bike, that means the handlebars would be damaged as well. Granted in the pictures shown, the section of the bar remaining on the bike is still wider than the bars on some fixed gears, but if it could be designed so that the handlebar was basically useless it may cause thieves to think twice.
Clearly, this design would really only be practical for commuters and city bikes due to the added weight, but in reality it seems like it could be feasible. So what do you think? If someone actually manufactured a integrated lock/handlebar would it be of interest?
