Unveiling the theft-proof bike

26 November 2003

AMSTERDAM — Cyclists association Fietsersbond has enthusiastically greeted the invention of a new bike lock that cannot be broken open without rendering the bike unusable.

Dutch company Multicycle unveiled the practically theft-proof bike on Wednesday in Nijmegen and the cyclists union said the new lock could signal a “strong decline in the number of bike thefts”, ANP reported.

Anyone who has lived in or even visited the Netherlands will be able to testify to the huge number of bike thefts here. City streets are literally littered with locked bike tyres missing the should-be attached frames and trashed, stolen and dumped bikes are found scattered along streets and canals.

But the bicycles from manufacturer Multicycle now come equipped with a so-called MC trapasslot (MC Pedal Lock). When the bike is locked, a pin inside the bar supporting the seat is locked into the pedals so they no longer turn. A bike locked up in this way can still be stolen, but the thieves will need to cut through the frame.

And the cyclists union has labelled the new system “better than all existing security locks”. But the association is still advising cyclists to use a second device to lock their bike to a fixed object, preventing a thief from taking the entire bike or its front wheel away.

The new lock is temporarily only available on Multicycle bikes and cannot be built into older bikes. The bikes need a special frame because the locking pin is located inside the frame and is locked into the pedals.

But the cyclists union hopes other manufacturers will adopt the same system so that it can be fitted to existing bikes.

Cyclists will be compensated for the cost of a new lock if a Multicycle bike is damaged by an attempted theft. But be warned: a locked Multicycle bike can no longer be used if the owner loses his or her keys and the manufacturer will install a new lock at the cost of the bicycle owner.

Subject: Dutch news