Bike thieves beware, there’s a new lock on the scene that will leave you feeling sick to your stomach – literally.
The brilliantly named SkunkLock consisits of a U-shaped, carbon and steel lock with a hollow chamber to hold a pressurised gas, reports The Guardian.
The anti-theft device is the brainchild of San Francisco based duo Yves Perrenoud and Daniel Idzkowski after a friend of theirs had his electric bike stolen.
Daniel said:
We went to have lunch and chat and when we went back his bike was gone. He’d used two locks – each $120 – I blurted out: “Why didn’t it blow his balls off?”
He eventually landed on a less violent, more legal, innovation.
The biggest problem is that with the right tools most thieves can cut through most locks in less than a minute. So, when someone cuts about 30 per cent of the way into the SkunkLock, a cloud of noxious gas erupts in their face.
The guys tested the device on themselves and volunteers at distances of two to twenty feet.
Daniel said:
It’s pretty much immediately vomit inducing and causes difficulty breathing – a lot of similar symptoms to pepper spray.
At two feet it was pretty bad. It was absolutely vomit inducing in 99 per cent of people. At five feet it’s very noticeable and the initial reaction is to move away from it. At 10ft it’s definitely detectable and very unpleasant.
The chemical has passed compliance tests according to the rules of 50 states, major cities and EU nations.
He admitted the lock was not foolproof. It could be picked, but even skilled pickers took up to half an hour – easily long enough to draw attention
The SkunkLock creators are crowdfunding to develop further and if you donate $99 (£80) to their Indiegogo fund you can receive your very own SkunkLock in June 2017.
Could be worth a go…
