Welcome to Part Two of this bike series. As you've seen, Part One was geared towards a more futuristic machine that a bike is fully capable of becoming. Now in Part Two, I'm going to show you about two ingenious concepts that, with luck, will become standards in bike security.
Would you believe me if I told you that there are two ways that bikes cant be stolen? That's right! I bring you the Yerka Project and the Seatylock.
The Yerka Project is a one of a kind concept that was created from three Chilean childhood friends who are now engineering students who have no small amount of experience with having their bikes stolen. A play on the Nordic word for strength, the Yerka is based on the idea that there's less incentive to steal a bike when you have to destroy it in the process of getting to it.
What I like about the Yerka is that it gives you that urban, funky colored casual appeal that could almost resemble a traditional lightweight bike, but with a significant twist. You see, here, the bike frame itself is actually it's own lock. Coconuts, right?! How it works is once you pull up to a bike rack, street post or any stationary item, you pull out the seatpost, flip out the downtube, and create a lock with the frame itself. It creates a security feature that if anyone decides to hack open the lock, they are actually going to destroy the frame itself...and it also looks pretty rad around a tree.
The Yerka Project expects their first batch of bikes to be available within six to eight months. The guys are also planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign by December to raise funds for mass production.
Designing a perfect bike lock is a constant ongoing challenge that will forever be one upped by the thieving douchenozzles who want your bike. Most are pretty bulky, obnoxious and sometimes a pain to remember when you're running out in a rush. The Seatylock which is currently being funded on Kickstarter aims to keep your bike and all of it's bits and pieces from being stolen.
What's pretty creative about this design is that it looks like a normal bicycle saddle, but once unclipped turns into a three foot steel chain lock and takes only 30 seconds to secure your bike to any fixed object. An additional thumbs up goes to it's universal adaptor. In other words, no matter what bike you own, this bad boy will be there for you. It adjusts to any seating position that your little tush desires. It'll be available in a range of colors and designs for those of you who like to turn your ride into an expressive fashion statement.
I highly recommend checking out the Seatylock Kickstarter campaign with bids starting at $75. Once fully funded, it has been estimated to ship on out in March of 2015.
Keep a look out for Part Three in the bike series! If you can dig it, don't forget to hit the like button.
