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Exploding bike lock: interesting concept, questionable execution
Crave: The gadget blog —
... gives cyclists one more bullet in the barrel with his SmartLock design. It's a cable lock with colored liquid inside that explodes everywhere if the lock is cut. It's a clever idea, and one almost certainly hatched after a freak skunk accident, and I applaud Michael Lambourn for making an effort to make cycling safer for paranoid city dwellers like myself. The goal is to achieve peace of mind while your bike is locked up, and the SmartLock is definitely a step in the right direction. If this product is successful and helps get people out of their cars and onto the bike, then ...
Exploding bike lock shows bike thieves who's boss
DVICE —
... more people to feel up to using their bikes more often. Enter the exploding bike lock.
The exploding bike lock is pretty self explanatory: it's a bike lock that blows up if you try to cut it instead of opening it properly. It works like anti-theft tags on clothes by spraying a permanent dye everywhere when it's cut, so the potential thief is covered and easily identified. Is it a perfect solution? No, but it's a clever step forward for bike security, so we'll take it.
SmartLock, via Crave
Exploding Lock Marks Thieves, Ruins Bike
Wired: Gadget Lab —
Cut this lock, and it'll blow.
Well, it won't blow up like the bus in Speed, but try to snip the cable and it'll spray colored dye all over a thief, making him easily identifiable to the PoPo. It'll also spray dye all over the bike, too, making it unsellable. Not an ideal solution for your bike, but an interesting mechanism to combat thievery.
Designer Mike Lamboum fashioned the concept, dubbed the Smart Lock. Check out his site for more details.
SmartLock [via DVICE]
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SmartLock Explodes With Dye If Cut
OhGizmo! —
... it around your bike and something immovable. However, the real fun begins when someone decides to cut it off. See, the entire cable is filled with compressed air and liquid, which will explode outward when it is cut open. The person is then covered with dye, and an invisible forensic property marking liquid. Sound familiar? It’s the same principal behind those tags you find on clothing in many stores. It’s only a concept for now, but seems like a brilliant idea.
[ Mike Lambourn ] VIA [ Dvice ]
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SmartLock spatters bicycle thieves with paint
Boing Boing Gadgets —
... by Mike Lambourn, which sprays bike thieves who bolt-cut the locks with paint pellets. It's a good idea, co-opted from the paint explosives they pack into courier bags of bank currency. But Charlie already knows who is stealing his bikes, and most of them are recreational paint huffers besides. This will do him no good. What Charlie needs is a lock that will spray him with testosterone every time it is cut. And, you know, I just don't think that technology exists.
SmartLock [Mike Lambourn via DVICE]
Exploding Bike Locks Only Work On The Clothed Thief
GEARFUSE —
... clothes with bike locks and what do you get? An exploding bike lock that tags a thief with a permanent dye, making the scumbag easily identifiable. It’s called the SmartLock, but there’s only one flaw with it: what if this would be bike-napper isn’t wearing clothes? Then, he finds some clothes in a nearby alleyway, ridding him of any trace of the dye. I’d say if the person who stole your bike was that resourceful, he’s earned it. Then again, it’s not my bike . Link [ via ]
Bike lock spews dye when would-be thieves try to snatch your ride
CrunchGear —
... would-be thief cuts through the lock, said thief along with the bike and everything within a few feet is then sprayed with the dye along with SmartWater, which is an invisible ink.
But the lock itself doesn’t seem to be too bad given its theft deterrent feature. I don’t own a bike so I’m not up on all the latest bike locks, but the lock barrel and lever components are encased in hardened steel and Dupont Hytrel molding.
Ingenious. Someone license the SmartLock ASAP.
Mike Lambourn via Dvice
