Ronen Spector has designed a bike lock so integral to the bike’s actual structure that ruining the lock would ruin the bike.
With so many cool bicycle designs out there though, you may still want to sport a rocking bike without worrying about theft. Ronen Spector, a recent industrial design graduate from Shenkar in Israel, has designed an urban bike to suit those requirements and in which a part of the bike frame itself serves as the lock. Meaning, damaging the lock would damage the bike. And what’s the point of stealing a damaged bike?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32WhfPBHOmM[/youtube]
Called the SPiNe bike, the idea behind Spector’s design was that “the spine provides stability for the body and can also damage the body strength, so damage to the locking mechanism (which is a part of the bicycle frame) will damage the structure.”
Spector hopes that his SPiNe bike will provide an adequate (and aesthetic) response to the need to secure urban bikes quickly, easily and effectively.
Cycling is good for you and good for the environment, but bike theft (and laziness) sometimes deter people from getting their pedal on. If you’re afraid to get a fancy two-wheeler for fear of it being stolen, you can either make your bike ugly on purpose as a deterrent or start using a bike-sharing system (such as the ones popping up in Tel Aviv, Doha, Nicosia, and possibly Beirut).
The lock in use:
Hopefully this design will make the experience of cycling more pleasant as well, as cyclists can ride around without being weighed down by heavy locks. “The mechanism of the bicycles allows the use of only part of the bicycle frame as a locking mechanism,” Spector writes. “Using this mechanism for the securing of the bicycle does not require carrying any additional security measures.”
Read more about other bicycle designs:
Ron Arad’s Bike Wheels Will Never Go Flat
Egyptian Bike Rack Design Competition Part of 350.org’s Global Climate Change Work Party
The Recycled Plastic Bike That Never Gets a Flat Tire
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
I think this bike might melt in the hot sun of the Middle East.