https://preview.redd.it/uq3p0e1llyvb1.jpg?width=1152&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=78a1a414fd29beb352e71900e54c74211798edcc
Can you imagine being confronted in the middle of the night, all alone, with the knowledge that your beloved bike has just been stolen?
That was the sad truth I was faced with the other day. After a very long university session, I discovered at 3:30am that my 1300€ sushi e-bike, which I had foolishly secured with a cheap spiral lock, had been stolen. Despite the ironic foreshadowing, the loss was shocking. Fortunately, I had an air tag (GPS locator chip) hidden in the battery holder, which sent out a signal to a neighborhood 5km away. The next day, I went to the police with the purchase contract and GPS location, and two officers drove with me to the last location signal of the Air-Tag. Despite low expectations, due to the size of the apartment building, we searched the basement and stairwell. Suddenly, my smartphone found the exact signal in front of one of the apartment doors. After several knocks and an accidental bump against the unstable door, we found my bike in the midst of chaotic conditions. After identification via the frame number and the key for the battery, I was allowed to ride my e-bike home again. If I hadn’t made that €30 investment in the air tag, I would never have seen my bike again. But even after this experience, I was not satisfied with my new, more expensive lock. You never know if it’s really secure and the ease of use also left a lot to be desired.
As an industrial design student, I decided to take a closer look at the security and usability of bicycle locks. With a team of motivated students we would like to collect your experiences, wishes and ideas regarding bicycle locks in order to develop locks that really meet your needs. As a thank you for your participation in our survey, we will raffle off a high-quality ABUS Tresor chain lock among all participants.
[https://uni-wuppertal.typeform.com/bikelock](https://uni-wuppertal.typeform.com/bikelock)
Your feedback can make the difference, so that the next person is not standing in front of his or her cracked bike lock at 3:30 a.m. soon!
by Studis_Uni_Wuppertal
1 Comment
Oh boy good job getting your bike back though, you are incredibly lucky. Often the police wouldn’t do anything or not have enough “proof” to investigate an apartment building.
That lock was your mistake but this is an excellent lesson so hopefully you won’t make the mistake again.
Get a U-Lock. I have a kryptonite forgetaboutit. I know someone can angle grind through it in one minute but I always park in front of a populated place so no their would dare. Still don’t always trust it though. In sketchy areas I do use a wire lock but just to go around my front my front wheel so that isn’t stolen. Of course my backup is also have my airtag.
I still never park it overnight outside.
If you want to be really secure they make angle grinder proof locks like litelock or the hiplock d1000. They are more than $300 but it takes like 20 minutes to get through it with an angle grinder