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news
Video: SkunkLock – the bike lock that sprays thieves and makes them vomit
Any lock can be cut in a minute or less, say the makers of SkunkLock. They therefore devised a noxious surprise for anyone who attempted to get through theirs.
SkunkLock has a unique chemical compound pressurised inside and so anyone who takes it on with an angle grinder is in for an unpleasant experience. The designers say that the chemicals are so disgusting they induce vomit in the majority of cases.
Daniel Idzkowski, one of the designers of SkunkLock, told The Guardian that the final straw had been when a friend’s bike was stolen despite the use of two locks, each of which cost $120. “I blurted out, ‘why didn’t it blow his balls off?’”
Idzkowski says thieves talk in seconds: “A 15-second bike, a 20-second bike, and it goes up to 30-60-second bikes, with Kryptonite locks that require two cuts, each about 25 seconds.”
Looking to raise $20,000 on Indiegogo (it’s just passed $4,000 with a month to go), SkunkLock looks pretty standard from the outside. Made from hardened medium-carbon steel, it’s not easy to cut through – but the idea is that you wouldn’t want to. About 30 per cent of the way through the lock, a would-be thief will hit a secure hollow chamber and “formula D_1” will be released.
Idzkowski says the chemical had passed US compliance tests and says variants are designed to be compliant according to the varying rules of 50 states, major cities and EU nations. The UK is one country they hope to be able to ship to in summer 2017.
You can reserve one of the locks by pledging $99 to the Indiegogo campaign, a price that does not include local taxes or shipping.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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10 comments
No matter what anti theft device, the thief will get around it eventually. Changes are needed in the law, anyone caught stealing should have one of their hands amputated. Now that's a deterrent! Not a new thing in parts of the world in which we live. Brutal but effective. (It won't happen here as we are too civilised (soft)
I applaud any advances in bike security tech that get us closer to the eventual goal, this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX9wHZSRTl0
Damn, I thought of this is about 2000 when I was a chemistry student at uni and a housemate had her bike nicked. Just a thought that we should have booby-trapped it with a particularly smelly compound. Or some explosives.
Seems I was just 17 years and the invention of Kickstarter away from millions of pounds!
I would check out the legal position on this before using it in the UK.
In the same way as it is illegal to set a booby trap in your home designed to injure a burgler - you owe them a duty of care even if they break in.
You might be in hot water if you are deemed to have "injured" the bike thief
Is it still legal if you clearly declare it. ie "this bike bike is wired up to 20,000 volts. touching it will fry your balls, then release a heavy weight to drop and your tiny brain before opening a door to let in the pigs to devour you", that kind of thing.
Yeah, marketing spiel notwithstanding, this sounds like the kind of thing that's only really legal in Texas, Florida and Brazil. Hope the put up the videos on YouTube, though.
So crim #1 arrives and does the cutting to the point the juice is released. Crim #2 arrives 10-15 mins later (less on a breezy day) and finishes the job.
I'll stick with a GPS tracker. Getting the bike back is more important than anoying the thief.
Knowing where the f..ker lives is even better!
Like it a lot. Would consider it.
Small numbers of the savviest, 'professional' cretins will simply hold their breath/stop inhaling while they cut your lock in less than a minute, but if the stink is hard to wash out of clothes then there's some minor consolation.
What about adding a dye to it? It's already pressurised so get some nasty purple dye into the mix, or is that illegal? Banks do it with cash so..