Cyclists Fight Back with Exploding Bike Lock

That's awesome. Where can I get one?

Needs also some butyric acid and stabilizer to make it smell like puke for a few days. That'll make it unsalable.

50,000 volts works too. Just blame the ash on spontaneous combustion.

Yes I know, neither intelligent or civil. :)

What happens if you get the bike back? Everyone is going to think you stole it.

Absolutly right Logan. And what if you lose the key and have to cut it yourself?

Looks like all you need to do to defeat this lock is to have a towel to put over your bolt cutters. The towel would soak up most of the paint and the bolt cutters make turn a little purple ... but would a theif care?

Also, what happens when the lock has to be removed for a legitimate purpose? Say, when an a**hole locks it to a fire door or other emergency exit? Or, when the bike is abandoned for an extended period of time?

Finally, what makes the bike so unsellable when it is purple? Has no one heard of spray paint?

Next time I see someone running around with purple paint all over their jeans I am calling the cops.

This is a great idea. As well, who will want to ride around on a stolen bike covered in ink. Plus, people may gripe that their bike is covered in ink, but the thing is, I'd rather have my bike covered in ink than stolen.

great concept, but flawed.

I would say that since it's a cable lock your bike will specifically targeted -even if the lock has dye in it.Face it some ass-hat bike thief isn't going to care or know that you have a the wonder dye lock.

I guarantee that it would be the first lock in a bike rack to be cut. Thieves aren't hard working and for this simple reason a cable is easy pickings. If this is in production and not just sample the cable pictured could EASILY be cut in less that 5 seconds. Here are several higher quality armored cables being cut in less time then that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1yImVLW_Q0.

You don't need bolt cutters to go through a cable lock.

A small puncture in the outer tube to release the pressure in a controlled manner like slowly inserting a needle into a balloon and your in. This lock is a POS.

they could alternate dye filled beads with beads filled with pepper spray and tear gas. i think that would be a much better deterrent.

Made in China, leak-proof for life.

I'll take 5!

Most thieves are too lazy to deal with professional, heavy-duty locks. So they don't bother, unless it's a really expensive looking bike.

how about something that follows the headline better, "exploding bike lock". a stick of dynimite that explodes upon puncture leaving the thief and bike forever useless.

Use plastic sheet wrap up the lock first then cut it, won't be too messy.

I'm thinking cayenne pepper would be a great addition to the dye... Your bike would be much easier to find... Look for the guy screaming and rubbing his eyes...

The idea is that someone won't cut the lock and steal the bike. Better having a dyed bike back than no bike at all.

http://boards.core77.com/viewtopic.php?t=15327&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30 Look at "Jesse Daniel's" post about 3/4 the way down the page....Purple paint and everything. I wonder where the inspiration came from?

If used as a deterrent, how would said thief know that he's in for a surprise before cutting the lock? Meaning...is it labeled in some way? If not, thief and bike are then covered in paint, leaving you with a if not stolen bike, one that then looks like it's been stolen. Good idea in principle, but won't actually be practical until popularized.

Yeah, clever idea, but give me a solid chain instead any time. The pros will find ways around the ink (like the plastic suggested above) and the junkies won't know enough to care.

If you're worried, paint the bike pink or something like that. Make it stand out. At least they have to re-paint it then.

Hey, dummies, that lock will also ruin your bike so even if you get it back, you can't use it either! What morons.

love

Sarah Palin
Your Average Sock-Her Mom

Dye? How boring.

Acid. Dissolves everything on contact. No thief, bike, evidence, floor, ground, earth. Gone. All of it.

The ultimate doomsday device/bike lock. You'll think twice (or at least 1.5) before cutting the lock.

"Let's see...this might destroy the earth, but then again...NEW BIKE! Okay..."

Soon after the thief cuts the line the acid spills and begins to dissolve everything. Pretty soon the acid gets into the infrastructure and the power gets cut of..skdff(#*&(FOEF

###

carrier lost.

Joe's got it right load it with pepper spray and forget the dye. The bike might stink but you can wash it off!

It would be better if there was an odorant in the dye. You know, like "eau de Skunk." That'd learn 'em.

Not a bad idea. Maybe it isn't perfect, but at least it offers something different.

Easy way to by-pass the exploding device in order to cut the cable without getting dyed all over:

1. Cut a piece of old bike tube (the bigger the better) and cut it open to form a big squarre shape patch.

2. Squirt some caulking or industrial glue over the holes

3. Wrap the patch all over the wholes to cover them.

4. Use electric tape and seal the whole thing air tight.

5. Let the whole thing dry.

6. Then proceed to cut the cable and voilà!

That's what I would do in case I'd loose my keys of my own lock!!

Most bike thieves ride the bike away. If people concentrated on making a device inaccessible to bolt cutters, ie fixed under bottom bracket, turning a key in this device could make a chunky rod go through chainring, then you couldn't ride it away. Team it up with usual lock/chain, and it's instantly more of a deterrent. Of course you can pick it up and grind the lower device off in a workshop, but who would be bothered?

i like the acid idea, it would totally deter people from a) stealing bikes, and b) forgetting their key,
heh heh
obviously it might have some unwanted side effects, but hey, every other medicine out there does anyway! so who cares!:)

Also, your landlord will charge you to repaint the hallway, and they'll probably hire one of those 100K mob painters.