A little help to tackle cycle security in cities

[Frottish]

Hello everyone, I'm currently working on a startup that is looking to reduce bike crime in large cities through the use of a smart network of bike locks. It is still pretty early stage and I'm trying to prove out the idea, so I have a quick 30 second (it really is very short!) questionnaire to help gauge demand that I need help with:

GoVelo.typeform.com/to/cux7UOCm

It doesn't ask any personal questions and is 100% anonymous. Feel free to pass it around, the more answers I can get the stronger a case I can make

Thanks in advance!

 

[rogerzilla]

It's SOP to leave a heavy D-lock around a bike stand at your place of work to avoid carrying it; my lock weighs more than my messenger bag and all its other contents!

 

[vickster]

It's SOP to leave a heavy D-lock around a bike stand at your place of work to avoid carrying it; my lock weighs more than my messenger bag and all its other contents!

Although there’s a risk that if you do not have secure/controlled workplace parking (as many in London) and you leave a lock out in the open, it could be tampered with

 

[Milkfloat]

To me the idea is pretty good. Not for places like offices where a lock could be left, but more more for occasional places, like the shops or near bars etc. I guess one of the problems would be making sure locks don't go wandering or worse get locked to someone else bike. There would also need to be a guarantee that there would be a lock ready for me when I arrived at my destination.

 

[Milkfloat]

To me the idea is pretty good. Not for places like offices where I could leave my own lock permanently, but more more for occasional places, like the shops or near bars etc. I guess one of the problems would be making sure locks don't go wandering or worse get locked to someone else bike. There would also need to be a guarantee that there would be a lock ready for me when I arrived at my destination.

 

[Frottish]

It's SOP to leave a heavy D-lock around a bike stand at your place of work to avoid carrying it; my lock weighs more than my messenger bag and all its other contents!

Yes that is how it has been done for a long time, I still do it to this day myself as there are not other options really. However many new buildings and shops who are looking to adopt more cycling infrastructure do not like how this solution looks, both aesthetically and in terms of the hassle it poses when locks get left behind when people move out and forget them. The idea is for buildings to provide clean good parking and locking solutions that do not require users to pay £100 of a motorbike lock that is left on the ground.

 

[Frottish]

This is especially true for shops who recognise that more people are shopping by bike, and removing the load of a lock helps them buy more. Cyclists win, shops win, thieves lose. Not to mention that more visible cycle adoption by businesses will help more people feel that they can get out of a car and ride to places, society wins

 

[newfhouse]

How will the scheme be funded? Subscription?

 

[Frottish]

The plan is to make it free to end users (cyclists) and charge the businesses and buildings a fee. I've floated the idea around a few different companies already and the charge I have in mind is low enough that it is peanuts compared to marketing budgets but will send a strong forward thinking / social good message, so it is not too difficult to justify.

 

[roley poley]

Knowing your locks are of the same type and brand securing a bike that is probably of some value as some one pays the extra for your services ,would you not think the professional thieves could study "the lock picking lawyer " on ewechewb buy the same and refine technique to do a batch in a day?? or am I paranoid???PS all the best with this

 

[Frottish]

Thankfully these locks are not pickable as they have no entry point. The lock is totally sealed and operated remotely by an encrypted key stored on your phone, they key changes every 2 hours, each lock uses a different key. The lock will be using the same technology to encrypt as banks use to secure accounts.

Before anyone says something about bank accounts being breached, let me say that those have always been human error breaches where people give their information to a hacker after clicking on an email or banner ad offering them free cash. No one has ever hacked the actual security systems. And if you could, you would be stealing from banks, not trying to get a bike.

A much faster way to break into our locks is having some sort of oxy-fuel cutting torch, but that would break into any lock no matter how hench. And if it did happen, this would be where insurance kicks in

 

[classic33]

https://www.bikecitizens.net/10-smart-bike-locks/

 

[Ming the Merciless]

What happens if your phone battery dies or the app crashes?

 

[classic33]

Thankfully these locks are not pickable as they have no entry point. The lock is totally sealed and operated remotely by an encrypted key stored on your phone, they key changes every 2 hours, each lock uses a different key. The lock will be using the same technology to encrypt as banks use to secure accounts.

Before anyone says something about bank accounts being breached, let me say that those have always been human error breaches where people give their information to a hacker after clicking on an email or banner ad offering them free cash. No one has ever hacked the actual security systems. And if you could, you would be stealing from banks, not trying to get a bike.

A much faster way to break into our locks is having some sort of oxy-fuel cutting torch, but that would break into any lock no matter how hench. And if it did happen, this would be where insurance kicks in

Capital One would disagree,
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/29/business/capital-one-data-breach-hacked.html
as would Finstra
https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2020/finastra-suspected-ransowmare-attack/

What happens if the power supply in the lock fails. And will a simple rare earth magnet render the electronics useless?

 

[raleighnut]

I don't have a smartphone.