Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/10/22/crowdfunding-a-bike-lock-that.html
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4 Likes
I assume that works equally well on the building staff who cut the locks of bikes locked the railing of the wheelchair ramp.
33 Likes
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How long does it last? Like, can YOU ride your bike again?
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Wow - so who is buying all the stolen bikes? Are they people who had their bikes stolen and need an new used bike? Do they sell it out of the area for used bikes?
Last day of college my freshman year someone cut the lock off my bike and fucked it up and threw it in the trash. It was like a $100 Walmart bike, so no biggie I guess. I don’t know if it was someone I knew “pranking” me - or just dicks who lived in the dorm. So that was my only stolen bike story. Ask me about my stolen car story.
Next year I bought a Murry bike on clearance at walmart - and it lasted nearly a year before arm that connects to the pedal to the crank(?) sheared of (that happened a few years ago on my paper route too.) Kept the receipt and my manager at walmart was cool enough to refund me.
Bought a “real” bike - a used entry level Diamond back and it lasted me till I traded it for a couch a few years ago.
11 Likes
Or if some you dislike has one, just hit with a ball-peen hammer and run. Or if some you fislike is standing next someones else’s bike with one… Or if you just think it’s funny…
Part of the kickstarter should be the required research on chemical safety laws and liability for damages, including for foreseeable harm to children by creating an attractive nuisance
16 Likes
And the Chinese clones appear on the market in 3, 2…
12 Likes
if encapsulating it in a bike lock is the best business model you can come up with for freaking vomit gas i’d say you’re just not thinking smoking hard enough
15 Likes
Anybody who has been even near the vicinity of MACE or a bear spray will tell you that this is a bad idea. Not only will the perpetrator get sprayed but everyone in the near area and down wind will also suffer the effects.
24 Likes
Eh - how many people are watching others steal bikes and why?
4 Likes
Not standing around watching, just passing by.
Someone once sprayed bear spray at someone, don’t know why, but it was outside our office. We had to shut down the whole ground floor inside the building because of that spray. Its powerful! People fled the area when it happened. People downwind had had to turn around and find another way to get to where they were going. And the spray lingered for hours.
So, it wouldn’t matter if anyone was watching and just standing there, they only have to be within a half a block or a block away and they would also suffer the effects.
Keep in mind, the spray has an area effect, it doesn’t target only the one person.
19 Likes
Yeah, judging by the sheer volume of bikes stolen in SF, I was wondering what might keep the next thief who stumbles along from taking a bike with an already-borked lock. I guess you’d have to hope you’d be back within that few-hour window.
Crap, so now you have to figure out how to get close enough to your own bike…
3 Likes
And then they come back in 5 minutes and take the bike anyway. What, if you punish them they stay away? People aren’t puppies.
5 Likes
I’m not even sure this is legal. Mantraps aren’t legal. Trap guns aren’t legal. Chemical weapons aren’t legal. Why would a trap using a less-lethal chemical agent be legal?
33 Likes
Some things on Kickstarter violate the laws of physics. What are the laws of mere mortals to them?
34 Likes
I am not sure if this stuff is nearly as potent as bear spray. But it doesn’t appear to be the same thing as far as what it does, potency, and effect.
Just like a hand held pepper spray, while has an area of effect, is different than bear spray.
But anyway, I think the attraction here is the deterrent factor. The point is no one will be cutting the locks.
I don’t think this is either a man trap or chemical weapon.
That sounds like a selling point.
For over a hundred bucks, why not just a bike lock that’s really fucking difficult to cut? Seems doable for that price, surely?
4 Likes
Even if you could guarantee that only the thief would be sprayed, it’s still a horrible idea, no more legitimate than a bike lock-gun that shoots thieves in the face. There’s no such thing as a nonlethal chemical weapon, only one that doesn’t always kill. If you accidentally inhale vomit, you can die. If you happen to be allergic to the ingredients in the gas, you can die (i have a friend who has a severe allergy to peppers - she doesn’t dare attend rallies or demonstrations because one whiff of pepper spray can kill her).
And if a would-be thief (or non-thief unlucky enough to accidentally set off your lock for whatever reason) dies because of a trap you set, legally, you are liable for their death.
10 Likes
They make them thicker that are impossible to cut with regular bolt cutters. But angle grinders still can cut them. I imagine you could make ones even more cut proof, but I imagine materials costs will rise, and the added factor that stuff like that tends to be super bulky and heavy.
2 Likes
This guy (at least until a few years ago):
Apparently his shop was known as the place to get cash for a stolen bike. His arrest was famous enough that there is a graphic novel about him:
After he was caught, I went to the warehouse where the police had collected all the bikes, in the hope of finding mine that had disappeared about two years before. The bikes and parts were arranged by manufacturer - .a long row of Treks, another of Giants, etc. etc. I didn’t find mine.
Most bikes are stolen by petty thieves/drug addicts hoping for a quick $50 on Craigslist.
6 Likes
