We live in an era where advanced bike locks help bicyclists fend off bike thieves. But two new projects are making bike locks a thing of the past: the Denny from Seattle and the Yerka from Chile.
The Denny is a high-tech bike filled with useful features, including electric power assist, turn signals, automatic headlights, automatic gear shifting – and, last but not least, a rectangle handlebar that can open up and act as a built-in bike lock.
Related: Keep those thieves from stealing the wheels off your Schwinn with this Nutlock
The bike, created by design consultancy TEAGUE and bicycle maker Sizemore Bicycle, recently beat out four other designs to win The Bike Design Project competition held by Oregon Manifest. Bike manufacturer Fuji Bikes will produce the Denny, which is expected to be available to the masses next year.
Meanwhile, three engineering students in Chile have built the Yerka, a bike whose frame (or more specifically, down tube) can be undone to fit the removable seat, forming a large bike lock from the bike itself.
Back in the summer of 2010, a collapsible bike from industrial designer Kevin Scott received some buzz for being able to securely wrap itself around a pole. That feature alone wasn’t enough to propel that design into mainstream adoption, but maybe these newer creations can get over the hump.
