Thursday, July 12, 2012

Bike pedal doubles as a lock

I boldly predict this product will not catch on in any big way.

It's a set of pedals that you unscrew from their places on the crank, and attach to the rim, preventing it from rolling. And according to this article, it won a couple of product design awards.

Really?

First of all, what's to prevent the thief from just picking up the whole bike and carting it off? Maybe he wouldn't be able to recover the wheel, but even that is a "maybe" - those pedals look to be made out of chintzy plastic or something.

And second... would you be willing to unscrew your pedals, use 'em to lock your bike, and then screw 'em back on at every stop? Do they come with a pedal wrench, or do you furnish and carry your own?

(I try to not let my bike out of sight if it's not secure. And if I need to lock it, I use an old-fashioned chain and padlock. Yeah, it's not a sure bet, but it will deter an opportunist or a joy-rider. And it takes 15 seconds to lock the bike up... the pedal thing could take five minutes or more.  Hint - if you use a chain you can reduce the chance of it scratching your valuable ride by encasing it in an old bike tube, with the valve-stem section cut away.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're right; looks like junk. Bike Nazi, do you own or ride a cruiser; the bicycle variety?

Bikeboy said...

I don't own a bike-style "cruiser." My alternate ride is an old mountain bike. ($25 on the craigslist, and another $50 for smooth-rollin' tires, cables, etc.)