Good Thinking

Pole-climbing bike lock hoists bikes beyond the reach of would-be thieves

Pole-climbing bike lock hoists bikes beyond the reach of would-be thieves
Pole-climbing bike lock
Pole-climbing bike lock
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Pole-climbing bike lock
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Bikes are an all-too-easy target for thieves and protecting your two-wheeled conveyance from their pilfering mitts is almost impossible. While chains and cables are the traditional choice for cyclists looking to make life just a little bit more difficult for would-be thieves, they are usually easily handled with a pair of bolt cutters – even if that results in a nice blast of permanent dye. The latest hard-core solution we've encountered is this innovative bike lock created by a group of German designers that literally puts your bike beyond the reach of thieves by carting it up a light pole.

The lock consists of a metal frame, some skateboard wheels and an electric motor. All the rider does is wrap the frame around a streetlight, secure it in place and sit the bike on the holder attached to the frame. With a push of a remote control, the motor drives the skateboard wheels and the device climbs the pole, bike and all.

Pole-climbing bike lock
Pole-climbing bike lock

The lock probably isn’t overly practical (and its legality would be questionable) as it doesn’t take into account different sized poles. Also, the bike doesn’t appear to be chained to the frame, so any adventurous thieves with some decent climbing skills could likely liberate the bike anyway, but it’s an interesting concept to say the least.

The lock was created in 14 days for a TV ad for Conrad, a German mail-order home electronics and electronic components company. So we probably won’t be seeing such locks hitting the market anytime soon, but if you’re interested in building one and have the requisite know-how, all the components used to create the device are available from Conrad.

Check out the TV spot below, which shows the development of the lock.

Via Boing Boing

Making-of: Das sicherste Fahrradschloss - TV-Spot | Conrad

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6 comments
6 comments
Timothy Neill
And when you use this in a city with ordinances against pole-climbing bicycles, they put a boot on the pole until you pay the fine to get your bike down.
Too many things can go wrong with this idea, starting with the public eyesore complaint, and the possible eventuality of poles being festooned with multiple bikes.
Jeff
What the hell is happening? Seriously? Are you kidding me with this?
This is not a real product. It\'s a commercial for the parts supply website. The ad is saying, \"With stuff from our site, you can build whatever you want to - like, for example, this.\" And so, these three fictitious people built this fictitious project to demonstrate that anything is possible, for the determined DIY\'er, with the help of this parts provider.
And then you people went and took it seriously.
Ugh, and Timothy up there... he was SO CLOSE to realizing this wasn\'t real, and yet went the other far-too-easy-anyway direction, and just shat on it instead.
I\'m just shaking my head.
Ed
What if someone else with a pole climbing bike put theirs under yours? then you can\'t get your bike down until they get theirs down!
robduckman
So...one bike per pole? If multiple parking, how does one recover one\'s bike if there are one or more parked beneath it?
This cannot be a serious solution.
Jeremy Nasmith
Come on, guys, don\'t you realize this was a COMEDY article!?
William H Lanteigne
Misses the Tea Party endorsement due to the lack of the use of shotguns.