theft proof bike

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alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
sorry for no link, but on bbc breakfast this morning thry had a design for a theft proof bike. essentially it was a folding mtb in form, with the downtube replaced by a taut set of cables which doubled as a locking device. snip the cable and the bike is rendered useless.

anyone else see it? wonder how easily a new cable could be procured/attached?
 
My first thought was that some vindictive little sh*t would probably just cut the cable to screw your bike up!
 

Chris James

Über Member
Location
Huddersfield
I thought that since the downtube is a (the?) critical part of your frame, then presumably the cable would have to be under tension. So how would you get it off to use it as a lock, and how would you get it back on again?
 
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alecstilleyedye

alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
this wasn't demoed but my guess is that the bike folds up, freeing the cable to be employed as the lock. i imagine that once the bike in unfolded, the tension returns to the cable.

i have to say that emd has probably spotted the major flaw…;)
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Yeah, I saw that, and I've seen it before somewhere. I seem to remember bonj saying it looked crap back on C+...

I assume the thing about the cable is that if someone has come equipped to cut cable (I assume it's pretty tough cable), it makes more sense to cut a cable lock that enables them to nick a bike they can ride off. Some scroat out to vandalise a bike for 'fun' could just as easily stamp on your wheel or something with no tools needed...
 
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alecstilleyedye

alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
i thought the cable looked a bit lightweight to be honest. not sure if the bike shown was a prototype or not.

as for bonj, just add it to the "crap" list; fixed, recumbent, downtube shifters etc. if he says it's crap you can be sure he's never ridden one… ;)
 
alecstilleyedye said:
i thought the cable looked a bit lightweight to be honest. not sure if the bike shown was a prototype or not.

as for bonj, just add it to the "crap" list; fixed, recumbent, downtube shifters etc. if he says it's crap you can be sure he's never ridden one… ;)

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
Lets face reality, nothing theft proof, if a theft wants it enough they will find a way to stealing it...
 
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alecstilleyedye

alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
 

cupoftea

New Member
Location
London
I saw a folding bike last night without the central lock.

It looked like it ah broken off

The bike was all squeif, god it looked odd on the embankment
 

Pete

Guest
I don't fancy that. Come off at speed, would it cheese-wire a neat slice out of your leg?

Only one sort of theft-proof bike. That's the sort you never, ever, take your eyes off of.

But, failing that, I prefer chain to wire locks. Reason: anyone can carry a pair of heavy cutters in a pocket, whip them out, a deft snip and away! I get the impression that manipulating a hacksaw would be slower and attract more attention.

But maybe someone will prove me wrong...
 

bonj2

Guest
alecstilleyedye said:
as for bonj, just add it to the "crap" list; fixed, recumbent, downtube shifters etc. if he says it's crap you can be sure he's never ridden one… ;)

I was going to say you can probably guess my feelings on that bike, but it looks like you already have. :biggrin: :biggrin:

(Actually though your list is slightly incorrect - replace 'recumbents' with 'folders' though and you're bang on.)

But that 'cable' bike is a genuine work of crapola. The stresses on the downtube are not purely tensional and cannot be assumed to be such, so the stresses on the thin bit just behind the locking bit on the top tube must be immense. And saying "it's been tested and it's been shown to work" isn't good enough, because metal suffers fatigue and metal suffering too much stress may not break immediately but will gradually weaken over time due to fatigue and get weaker and weaker until eventually it can't stand it any more and will break. Probably a week after the warranty expires and it's long been forgotten by the press. If cable was good enough for the downtube, then why don't more bikes have one to save weight? Because it places much more stress on the rest of the bike, that's why.
That join in the top tube looks like it will rattle horrendously aswell, has it got a proper rubber bush or is it just metal on metal? I suspect the latter.
I just wouldn't go within a mile of that, it just looks a completely horrendous deathtrap.
 
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