Saddle lock design wins Red Dot award

This new bike security system features a seatpost that pivots backwards and a rear wheel lock integrated into the saddle. The Korean innovation has just won a Red Dot design award.

The design is the work of Lee Sang Hwa, Kim Jin Ho and Yeo Min Gu. Of course, if you really want to make sure your bike is still there when you get back – or at least to stand a fighting chance – you actually need to lock it to something immovable. That’s obvious. This is intended as a quick and simple way to lock your bike when you’re making a short stop – maybe even easy enough for Damon Albarn to use. 

The designers say, “In complex cities, the number of people using bicycles to travel short distances is increasing. Following the trend, bicycle design has been evolving rapidly. On the contrary, the evolution of the bicycle lock has been slow. When they make a quick stop – such as at a coffee counter or a convenience store – people still look for something to lock their bicycle to. Even though they are only stopping for a few minutes, they must perform quite a number of actions to lock their bike.

“Saddle Lock provides a way to quickly lock the rear wheel without the need for additional locking accessories. The seat post swings down around the main frame when a button is pushed. The saddle features a cut-away shape that allows it to sit over the rear wheel. A combination lock allows the release of a special alloy rotating lock that extends from one end of the saddle to the other, securing its connection to the wheel.”

Red Dot awards are bestowed by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany for design excellence.

Here at caring, sharing road.cc, we like to support innovation wherever possible, but while we appreciate the design is intended for commuting rather than for all-out performance, we can’t help wondering what the lack of any triangulation at the rear of that bike does in terms of frame flex. Admittedly, those tubes do look pretty sturdy.

We’re also curious about saddle height adjustment – in that there really isn’t going to be a lot here. Maybe you can chop the seatpost to length.

It seems to us like quite a lot is forfeited for the sake of the ability to immobilise the rear wheel.

We remain to be convinced but, still, interesting stuff.