Bicycles

Saddle Lock provides built-in bicycle security

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Saddle Lock is a concept design for a simple, efficient form of bicycle security
How a bicycle with Saddle Lock installed looks when the saddle is in place and secured to the rear wheel
Saddle Lock is a concept design for a simple, efficient form of bicycle security
Using Saddle Lock involves nothing more than twisting the saddle down onto the wheel where it can be secured
A close-up view of Saddle Lock shows the cutout and bar which enables the saddle to be secured to the rear wheel
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The number of people choosing to ride a bicycle, particularly for short journeys, is on the increase. The reasons are clear: environmental concerns, health benefits, the rising cost of fuel; but owning and using a pushbike has its negatives as well as positives. The biggest problem – aside from having to transport bulky shopping bags – is the risk of theft ... and sometimes the numerous traditional styles of locks aren't suitable. Enter Saddle Lock, which seeks to minimize the fuss of locking and unlocking your bicycle.

Saddle Lock is a concept from Korean design students Lee Sang Hwa, Kim Jin Ho and Yeo Min Gu. They decided to design a more efficient way of locking bicycles up for short periods of time, such as in front of a convenience store or coffee shop. The thinking is that in city environments, it's unlikely you'll want to lock your bike up for an extended period, meaning a fast and easy way of securing the bike for just a few minutes at a time is needed.

The designers realized that continuously fastening and unfastening a traditional combination lock, or needing to find a permanent fixture (such as a lamppost or metal fence) to lock the bike to, was a laborious process – hence the need to integrate a locking system into the bike itself, so that it would both always be present and would require a minimum of fuss to operate. Saddle Lock does this in the way its name suggests.

A close-up view of Saddle Lock shows the cutout and bar which enables the saddle to be secured to the rear wheel

Saddle Lock features a saddle with a circular cutout at the back. This means it can sit over the rear wheel of the bicycle, where a locking bar can secure the two together. The saddle pivots from the vertical position used for riding to the horizontal position used for locking.

As with the Pedal Lock we previously featured, this method wouldn't prevent thieves from carrying the bike away, but it would prevent anyone from riding off on it thanks to the duality of removing the seat from the equation and incapacitating the rear wheel.

Unfortunately Saddle Lock couldn't be sold as a separate product, and would therefore have to be included as part of the original design of the bicycle. It's presently only a concept design, but Lee Sang Hwa is keen to explore the possibility of turning it from concept into reality. Doing so would mean additional work ironing out any issues with the current design.

In its present form, Saddle Lock is a Red Dot Design award winner.

Source: Red Dot via Yanko Design

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11 comments
Anne Ominous
I would not buy one as-is. The lower part (especially the crank region) appears to be structurally inadequate for any kind of real stress.
Michael Mantion
WOW what an overly complex way to not protect your bike. Rarely does anyone steal the back wheel. The bike is not secure and the seat height would not be easily adjustable. Over all a simple cable lock will weigh about the same and offer real security.
Slowburn
Aside from it is ugly the structural design is about as bad as it can get and you can still just walk off with it.
Jimbo Jim
another case of designing the bike by people who never really rode a bike for any real distance maybe around the block twice!
there were bike locks for rear wheel where its mounted to the rear frame, all the rider needs to do is to click her lock. if your front wheel is not locked thats an exactly low hanging fruit, easily picked.
if your bike worth any money u would chain the front & back wheel.
and for real expensive bike u never let her out of sight period, not with standing going to the sand box.
LR
why not just lock the helmet over the seat, who would ride it like that, some big bandy legged cowboy??
Freyr Gunnar
Obviously, bikes don't get stolen as much in Korea as in the West.
The only way to possibly keep your bike is to lock it to a secure point with a solid U/D-lock, possibly two. And that's provided the thief doesn't go for a battery-powered grinder.
In addition, use anti-theft axles to keep your wheels and saddle.
That's part of living in societies with increasing wealth disparity.
wle
uh no how do you adjust saddle height? what if you need a different saddle design?
heavy complex thief can still carry the stupid bike off
maybe the real deterrent is the ugliness of such a bike
wle
Bruce H. Anderson
Allow me to chime in with the previous posters...totally lame!! Makes you wonder who these "Red Dot" people are.
Michael Wolffhechel
I don't care. I freakin' love that design.
Michael Crumpton
Aside from the obvious problem of securing your bicycle, it has the problem that it puts your seat in contact with the tire that has just recently rolled through mud. Also if you want to be a will to adjust the height of your seat post it looks like you are out of luck.
A better solution would've been to make a pivoting arm that comes out sideways off the top tube that had a hinge so it could go around a pole and then clip to your wheel. Hey, that could even be a device that attaches to existing bikes...