Lock Your Bike - Ebike Security

A keyed Padlock represents one method of locking

HOW SECURE IS YOUR EBIKE?
 
A NEW GUIDE: HOW TO LOCK AND PROTECT YOUR MODERN BIKE

You've spent anywhere from US$1,000 to $5,000 for your electronic motorized bike and now you need to park it somewhere. You park it and lock it, but when you return a few hours later, there's nothing there! Shock & Horror!

http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/02/electric-bike.html

As the numbers of Ebikes increase due to popularity, so does the number of theft incidences. Law enforcement has no solution and often has no emphasis on bike theft crime prevention. What can be done about this concerning problem of theft in society?

A variety of lock choices including DIY chain, padlock, ubolts, steel woven cables

Spend a day researching the challenge of safely locking a bike to deter crime and one will discover that all methods of locking up a bike can be defeated by a professional thief. So what's the answer to preventing bike theft?

THE PLAN
First, you won't need to do 100% of the things to protect your bike. Maybe 90% will do. We'll provide some pattern plans for protection in most situations against the average thief. Nothing is 100% secure, however, by adding 90% protection, the odds of having the bike stolen can be reduced.

DETERMINE BEST TRANSPORTATION MODE
There are times when you will want to forgo the bike and walk to a nearby store, take the MRT to a far away distance, go by train on a trip, go on a family outing by car, or take the bus. Use the bike when the situation is best for the bike. This is when you can keep the bike in your sight, withing hearing distance with a bike alarm, or when the bike will be locked to a solid object and you will be away for a few minutes. You may also use the bike when perhaps the bike will not be parked, as when riding with a friend, or sight seeing.

NEW & UNIQUE BIKE
You may want to buy a new and unique bike which has parts not compatible with other bikes. This will make the bike less desirable for resale. Plus, the resale of such a bike would be an outstanding target.

Woven cable locks the front wheel to chassis or post

BIKE ONLY GOES IN A CIRCLE
No one will ride away with the bike when the front wheel is turned 90-degrees and locked into position. This will cause the bike to go in a circle, if it could move.

PICK UP AND WALK AWAY
There are several locking techniques to perhaps reduce the chances of a bike being stolen, but none of these are 100% safe for the bike. The bike can be protected from an average person picking it up and walking away with it. But the fact of this matter is that a professional thief can use tools to defeat any locking system. However, one can slow down a thief.

A Chinese Ubolt that disassembles

It's not easy to pick up the Ebike and walk very far with it due to its heavy weight. Much of this weight is from the battery. Lead acid batteries will add more weight over Lithium batteries. If the battery is removed to reduce the value of the bike, the bike will be easier to pick up and walk away with it, however, it will also have lower value. Weight is not a 100% deterrent as a thief can drive up his van and simply stow the bike, even with all the locks on. The bike can be chained to metal post or pole but the chain needs to be of tractor strength and this will only slow down the process of defeating the lock.

EYES ON TARGET
The method here is to lock both wheels of the bike outside and keep your eyes on it at all times. How is this possible? A roadside restaurant has windows, for example. Watch for any suspicious activity by your bike, especially someone pretending to talk on a cell phone and standing nearby.

LOCK EVERYTHING
To a thief, every little item represents cash and stripping your bike of anything puts cash in his pocket. A bike seat can easily cost $30 and up, so lock it down. The handlebar set may be a gold mine with a motor throttle, controller, two brake hand calipers, cables, bell, grips, mirror, basket and other accessories. The photo shows how a woven steel cable can be threaded through the seat to lock it down. The other end of the cable threads through the rear wheel. Choose the largest shank that will still fit through the seat's metal anchor. We recommend a keyed locking cable as the combination lock may be the easiest to defeat without any tools.

DO NOT PARK IT AT NIGHT
Parking a bike somewhere overnight gives the thief a longer period of time to make plans on stealing the bike, and the cover of the night to achieve it.

FIND A SECURITY CAMERA
Park your bike directly by the security camera so if the bike is stolen, there will be image records available doing the stealing. 

ROTATE THE PARKING POSITION
Do not lock the bike in the same place all the time. Change locations to prevent thieves from observing and catching on to your routine.

FIND RELIABLE EYES
Become a regular at a local business and ask the workers there to keep a casual eye on your bike whenever it’s locked out front.

KEEP AWAY FROM THE CURB
Protect your bike from street cleaners, buses, and careless drivers by locking it a few feet away from the curb. Position the bike on the sidewalk side of signposts with the wheels parallel to the gutter to avoid bike mangling.

DO NOT PARK IT AT THE STATION
Do not park a bike at the MRT, Subway, Train Station, Bus Station, Museum, Theater, School, or other similar place - it's like a red flag signaling the bike will be available for some time.

USE REMOVABLE ACCESSORIES
You can strip the bike rather than the thief. Most popular accessories are now made for removal. Choose accessories with mounts that allow device removal and stow in your carry-with-you bag.
 

Giant's Ubolt has a bike mount and extra long shank

TAKE THE BATTERY WITH YOU
The battery often costs as much as half the bike cost. It can be removed to lower the value of the bike. It's unlikely a thief will pay an additional $400 to $600 for a battery to make the bike usable. Take it with you - the battery is usually metal peg locked into place when the key is removed. However, the metal peg simply slides into a piece of battery casing plastic, thus negating most of its secure feature. You probably won't want to carry around a lead acid battery. Keep it on the bike to give it massive weight. Based on the weight of batteries, lead acid is so heavy that one would probably not remove it or carry it. A Lithium battery is lighter weight and more practical for the removal and carry approach.

REGISTER YOUR BIKE
The bike register is designed to alert others to a stolen bike and have access to a data base of necessary information to return it to its proper owner.

ENGRAVE YOUR BIKE 
Metal engraving your own name or identification on the underside and painting over it so it's still visible to you, will help you identify your bike should you see it somewhere.

MAKE THE BIKE UNIQUE
Painting a color strip on the bike will make it identifiable and unique. The stripe cannot be easily removed during the time of theft and the bike will likely need a repaint job by the thief, making this is another deterrent.

KEEP IT WITH YOU
Strange as it may seem, it's possible to keep the bike with you in some situations. While shopping at the grocery store, a young man was seen walking through the isles shopping with his bike. As he rolled it along, it looked like a very expensive racer bike, one in which he would not let out of his touch.

EARS ON TARGET - BIKE ALARM
Use a bike alarm. There are several types. One will sound a loud decibel alarm by detecting vibrations. Another type will switch on automatically when the lock has tampering. It is hoped the loud sound will slow down a thief. However, the real use of the alarm is when the bike owner can hear it.

MAKE IT OLD
This is a very popular technique in some areas of China and Taiwan where owners will take a can of flat black spray paint and spot paint the new bike to make it look old and blend it in with other old black bikes. However, the owner of a new bike may be against doing this. There are many debates about this at bike Forums.

RUBBER INNER TUBE IT
You can age a bike by cutting up an old inner tube and wrapping the new bike with it. Secure the tube with plastic ties.

LOCK TYPES
There are numerous locks but can be summarized into three categories.

1) U-Bolt 
2) Chain & Padlock
4) Steel Cable Weave A) Flat Key Lock
B) Round Key Lock
C) Combination Lock 

One of the strongest Chinese Ubolt locks

OPENING LOCKS 
Choose quality locks that are not so easy to defeat. It helps to have a lock that takes longer to defeat. Consult the web for this type of information. It's a little shocking to discover some of these locks sell for $1,000 to $3,000 dollars. In public, probably the thief would find it easier to cut the post or the chain rather than the lock.

SLOWING DOWN A THIEF
A thief can be slowed a bit by locking the bike with several different locks, each having a different locking system. This forces the thief to use and carry more than one tool. It is hoped that the extra work will make the thief pass over the bike.

ULTIMATE GPS SYSTEM
It may be possible to hide a built in GPS tranmitter system and follow your bike should it be stolen. The GPS may be hidden in the seat or stowed in a frame tube.

THE BEST PROTECTION
The best protection is to not leave your bike somewhere accessible to thieves.

LOCKS OFF
Do not lock to hand rails as people with disabilities and the elderly depend on these being non-obstructed. It may be illegal to lock a bike to a parking meter in some locations.

LOCKS ON
Th following may be potential places to anchor a bike:

Bike Rack
High Post
Fence
Sign Post
Tree
Utility Pole  

MODIFY YOUR NUTS
A bike often has its handle bars, brakes, seat and other parts attached with a simple hex nut that any old allen wrench can fit for quick removal. The nuts can be replaced with something like Zorx nuts that require a more exotic wrench to remove. It's more unlikely a thief will carry exotic tools around.

LOCK IT AT HOME
Keep the bike locked in the garage, in your yard, in a storage shed, and in your apartment.

LINKS
HOW TO CHOOSE A LOCK
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bike-lock.html
  
TYPICAL EBIKE
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/02/electric-bike.html

HOW TO LOCK YOUR BIKE STRATEGICALLY
http://bicycling.com/blogs/ramblingman/2012/11/14/how-to-lock-your-bike-strategically/ 

THE BICYCLE COALITION
http://www.sfbike.org/?theft_locking

HOW TO LOCK YOUR BIKE
http://www.kryptonitelock.com/Pages/HowtoSecure.aspx

THE PROPER WAY TO LOCK YOUR BICYCLE
http://lifehacker.com/5942301/the-proper-way-to-lock-your-bicycle

OTHER LOCKING SYSTEMS LOCKS AT AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=194614011

http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/sporting-goods/194614011

FOLDING LOCK
http://www.amazon.com/Abus-Bordo-Granit-X-Plus-Foldable/dp/B005F3EPY4/ref=zg_tr_194614011_15

PITLOCK
http://www.pitlock.com/

BLOGS 
http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.tw/2012/08/seriously-why-not-just-spell-it-wensday.html

LOCK REVIEWS
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/shopping/2006/04/avoiding_the_bicycle_thief.4.html

http://www.bicyclesource.com/choosing_bike_lock

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/buyers-guide-to-bike-locks-20408/

KRYPTONITE
http://ibookmarkedit.com/kryptonite-black-18mm-new-york-fahgettaboudit-u-lock-997986/ 

WIKI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_lock

DIY YOUR OWN LOCK
http://www.instructables.com/id/Super-Easy-Bike-Chain-Lock/ 


(to be continued) 

Electric Bike

Giant LaFree ebike with PAP & VSC

ELECTRIC EBIKE URBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS

New inventions open the door to new transportation...

Tired of buying and maintaining very expensive automobiles and paying the rising cost of expensive gasoline? Tired of going through the time consuming and stress creating steps of getting a license (written test, eye test, driving test, vehicle plates, registration, etc.) and paying all the rising costs of licensing? Do you really want to pay that expensive required auto insurance and renew it every 6 months or annually? Is the city traffic becoming increasingly dangerous and annoying, and you'd like an extra margin of safety? Would you like to stop burning fossil fuels and stop contributing to global warming and the demise of the Earth? Here is one city solution - the electric ebike!

WHY the eBIKE?
The bike has many advantages. It's small footprint can ride almost anywhere. In a recent Big Brain Initiative survey in Taiwan, it was found the ebike can traverse over roads and streets, sidewalks, bike trails, drip paths, parking lots, pathways, and the alley in between skyscrapers. It can park in most places, exempt from parking tickets. The bike is also minimally wide, as determined by the distance from foot pedal to foot pedal. This is only about 16-inches for the EA-201 model.

MORE ADVANTAGES
For city travel, the electric bike is almost like a car with far more advantages than disadvantages. In most locations, it does not require licensing or tests and in some places no registration. It does not need a drivers license and no trips to the gas station to fill up on fossil fuel. It's quiet and convenient. It parks inside the home for safekeeping and outside it does not get parking tickets. The ebike does the pedaling for you, with the option to manually pedal without any assist.

ELECTRICITY AS FUEL
Electric bikes are simply charged with electricity. Modern electricity is clean, derived from wind, solar, nuclear and hydro sources. Compared to the cost of gasoline, it costs only a few pennies for a charge that can often go 40km distance.

NEW BATTERY
The new Lithium battery is a far step above the old lead acid batteries. The new battery has no memory problems and can be topped off with a charge at any time. It can deep cycle and store for longer periods of time without use. It can have more capacity and drive the ebike to farther distances. It charges faster and it weighs less. Since a lithium battery can cost as much as half the cost of the bike, it can be removed for safekeeping or charging at another location.

MODERN EBIKES
Modern electric bikes are a new breed in technology. The latest invention includes a combination of PAP and VSC. PAP is Power Assisted Pedaling. 

SPEED
The bike in general has a sweet spot for speed. Go too slow and balance is lost. Go too fast and dangers result - people and vehicles cannot see the small footprint bike so easily and accidents can happen. A combination is recommended, depending on the conditions - pedal the bike, walk the bike, engage the motor.

SECURITY
Keeping your ebike secure is a priority. The ebike can be locked to fences, bike racks, trees, large signs and tall posts, and even by itself if you can keep one eye on it. The most security is just to keep it with you at all times. We recommend four different locking devices for the two wheels. Try using tractor chains, with large enough links where it will not be easy to cut with a large cutters or grind through. By having different locks and methods, it would take a thief more time to abscond with your property and maybe pass it by for an easier target. On rule is never park your bike in the same place twice. Another idea is to take the battery with you as it represents up to half the cost of the bike. Other factors are important too, i.e. the weight of the bike, when and where it's parked, and its visibility relative to the expense of other surrounding bikes.

ABOUT GIANT
A Giant bike is a brand name bike built with quality. For example, the new EA-201 ebike models come with 3-speeds, a dual kickstand, front 36V motor drive, Lithium battery, charger, PAP & VSC, horn, front headlight, rear red reflector, rear luggage rack, front vegetable basket, seat cover, inline wheel reflectors, and a promotion for a bike helmet and large keyed U-Bolt lock.

EXTRAS
You won't need many extras but the following are recommended: Rear view mirror, folding tool with hex wrenches, padlocks & chains, waterproof saddlebag, bungee cords, raincoat.

continued...

Transportation Survey

Surveying Taipei City for
Safety Car Transport Analysis

CLEAR SIDEWALKS
This is the conventional relatively unobstructed sidewalk in good clean brick paved condition. Many sidewalks are more narrow than this one. Farther back, this sidewalk had serious and dangerous drop-offs and was completely obstructed.

Note there is a potted plant to the right of the walkway about midway to the intersection and a sign that overhangs into the walking space. Also visible is a large sewer cover. This one is cast iron and strong. Beware of many weak covers made from thin aluminum that may not support the weight of a heavy person or vehicle.

OBSTRUCTED SIDEWALKS
Although this walkway is unusually large, it's common to see a car blocking the narrow sidewalk path and to remain parked unattended directly on the sidewalk for considerable time.

Almost always, there is insufficient space (less than 24-inches) to pass around with a small 2-foot wide vehicle. This demands a diversion into the street or alternate route, perhaps backtracking to find a congestion free path.

PETROL SCOOTER PARKING
Scooter parking is not always an option as specifically designated parking areas are often maxed out with no remaining parking places as far as the eye can see.

Bikes with no place to park will often take up at least one scooter parking stall during busy times. These stalls usually do not have 24-inches width available, because of the extra large footprint of the two adjacent parked scooters.

In the photo, two people on a scooter are patrolling the area looking for a place to park.

SPECIAL PATHWAYS
A little known secret is the dark poorly illuminated special pathways that exist between some skyscrapers as left over space after the construction was completed. Amazingly, these are time saving short cuts to new places within the city.

These are not entirely untapped as some people have attached connecting "roofs" between the skyscrapers and made places to live, places to hang clothes, places to store junk, a place to store and discard garbage, and others have created a parking place for scooters (as seen in the photo). Bikers frequent these areas as traffic free shortcuts.

Generally, special pathways have a 24-inch wide clearance for a safety vehicle. A project is now underway to map all the downtown special pathways. Special pathways have some advantages for testing vehicle prototypes as they are not generally patrolled and are more private than more public streets and sidewalks. However, keep in mind that official patrolling motorcycles can fit into and traverse these small areas too.

BIKE & MOTOR LANE
Both manual bikes and gasoline powered scooters are given this lane to travel upon alongside the main traffic. However, we noted the main traffic was also using this designated area and it was not very safe. It takes a very brave person to ride a slow bike in this lane and be buzzed by reckless fast other vehicles.

DANGEROUS SIDEWALK
DROP OFFS
Sidewalks randomly have very steep drop offs, which are very dangerous. At night, they are invisible due to either poor or no illumination. In the daytime, one can see the steps are not even and have different sizes. Hitting one of these with a small vehicle to damage the vehicle. The only solution is to map all the sidewalks before traversing those areas and avoid all the drop off sidewalks. Drop offs are more or less frequent depending on the area of the city.

COMPLETELY BLOCKED SIDEWALKS
This sidewalk and drip path are completely blocked. A mobile restaurant has moved onto the sidewalk and a food grill and and a large electrical transformer are blocking the drip path.





NARROW PASSAGEWAYS
This sidewalk merges large square tiles with the drip path where garbage is dumped and a scooter blocks the way. The clear area in the passage way is about 11 inches wide, with only enough clearance for a pedestrian walking sideways through the opening.

CRAZY TRAFFIC LINES
Don't try to follow these ultimately crazy dashed white traffic lines or an accident is sure to result.










 

Big Brain City Transport

BIG BRAIN URBAN TRANSPORT INITIATIVE
BIG BRAIN SEEKS TO DEVELOP NEW URBAN TRANSPORT

Can a multi hybrid urban Emcycle design hold a very large Brain?

We don't know why exactly but the Big Brain is seeking a means of transportation in the big city and looking to create some methodical city urban transport.

This is possibly for an autonomous application or perhaps to more readily find local parts for the needs of a scientific brain conducting experiments.

The transport could also assist in initiatives that construct various scientific projects, and research. It could simply supply the day to day needs of a hungry Big Brain. Whatever it's up to, it looks very interesting.

Follow along as this project unfolds into something that could affect the future of personal transports!

1st step: tiny blueprint

The first step was the research initiative that has comprehensively explored the designs of tens of thousands of cars, motorcycles, scooters, bikes, trikes, flying machines, skateboards, and alternate transport vehicles. Included in this study are future designs, artistic visions and far thinking hybrids. A hybrid may be a half mix of car and bike. The Emcycle design, for example, is part motorcycle, part tricycle, and part car. The trike design employs a third wheel with two wheels in a side by side config. This takes up considerable space on pathways with some obstructions, compared to inline transporting, so we're saying this design is only one possible reference for study.

Three wheeled city transport design looks interesting

What criteria should a personal transport vehicle include? This is a rather large question. The answer to this varies depending on the local laws and conditions, and the needs and requirements of the intended purpose.

Some climates are mild year round and some have fierce winters. Some cities are highly congested and some less populated areas are less crowed. This will dramatically affect the designs. Here's the base list of criteria established by the Big Brain Urban Transport Initiative.

Small car steering: wheel, joystick, handle bar

LEFT: Concept car design shows suggested interior

The interior layout may end up with a completely different design, especially in the cargo area and sizing proportions. A design this small would likely have significant changes, with steering located in the center, for example.

Note the bottom pedals for human power. Spartan doors open upwards to enable access within minimal space environments. Each door has a reason for being open on the bottom, to facilitate human feet to protrude and access the manual human-powered pedals.

BIG BRAIN URBAN TRANSPORT INITIATIVE GOALS

• Safe
• Good visibility to other traffic
• Craft has a cargo area
• Keyed use of sporting canvas construction
• Vehicle space fits human & Big Brain
• Small transport
• Appealing in shape, design, appearance
• Very narrow footprint to increase mobility
• Multi-operation: sidewalk, bike trail, street, path, park
• Electric driven with Green matter propulsion
• Wheeled
• Take away portions for added security
• Folds for storage & shipping
• Transforms from one shape to another
• Operates with human power or electricity
• Multi-axis shock absorbers
• Body protects against sun, wind, rain
• Comfortable and convenient
• Low power LED lighting interior & exterior
• Light weight: Ultra light construction
• Battery pack reserve
• Alternative hybrid propulsion
• Low cost and affordable to the masses
• Multiple hybrid designs
• Fast recharging
• Self contained recharging system
• Good range and speed for urban use
• Minimal to maintain
• Maintained by existing infrastructures
• Dual braking system
• Control panel
• Front & rear lights 
• Safety reflectors
• Multi & rear view system
• Keyed safety ignition 
• Parks inside the home or outside
• All weather vehicle
• Most terrain vehicle, dirt, asphalt, sidewalk concrete, grass
• Navigates steep inclines with multi-power assist
• Fits into elevator
• Parks in tiny places, with bike designated zones
• Compatible with many country laws describing bicycles

OPTIONS

• Solar Cell Panel on-the-fly trickle charger
• Cooling fan
• Removable roof and panels
• Added comfort package
• Carpeting
• Sound proofing
• Long range options
• On hand tool kit
• Audio sound system
• Special effects system
• MP3, iTunes, Net Radio, USB
• Ventillation reveal
• Added rain guards & directors 
• Splash guards for mud
• Torrential downpour guides
• Electronic horn
• Sensor options instrument package/ GPS etc. 
• Selective Stored Navigation emaps
• Surrounding electronic mirrors
• Internal vehicle programmable computer chip
• Netbook Portable Laptop (removable)
• Real time operations security recorder CAM
• Internet
• Language Translator
• Real time weather system
• Global communications, email, chat, voice, video, conference
• Notes recorder
• Calculator
• Converter (Currency, Length, Weight, Distance)
• Satellite access for weather maps
• Google maps for navigation

50 Cent Computer

One switch 9-LED 50-cent computer for hacking

BIG BRAIN BUYS A NEW 50-CENT COMPUTER

Showing lenses above LEDs

WHO KNEW THE BIKE LIGHT IS A FULL COMPUTER?

 FOR HACKING
This is a simple low cost new preprogrammed computer. This surprising find is made possible by the visions of the Big Brain initiative. Sometimes we need to look at things in a new light.

Imagine the Big Brain on tour within the R.O.C.,  can you predict what it will buy - the large multi-wire gripping clawed head scratcher, the plastic shrunken head, the fierce vicious swimming robot fish, or the 50-cent computer? It was the computer that was too good to pass up. This find came from deep within the mystical night market by the ocean inlet harbor at a dollar store with many unusual and "great find" items priced less than a dollar. This is one amazing example.

OVERVIEW
This item is a complete programmed computer, with a single push button input that controls seven modes of operation and output.

OUTPUT
The output display is made up of seven super bright LEDs enhanced with built in panel of convex lenses that collect and focus the light. It has 360 degree visibility around its perimeter and it's entirely portable, clipping to a belt or to a bike with the enclosed mount.

DISCUSSION & DATA
The cost was US 50 cents though these lights go for US$12 at bike stores. It easily removes from the mount. Designed as a person or bike light, and running from two AAA batteries, this item can be hacked for some very useful parts or used for its intended purpose. This is packaged as part number XY-118 and made in China as a "9 LED Multifunction Caution Light" for uses a a high brightness tail light. The light is claimed to run up to 150 hours or 6.25 continuous days and nights. The interesting icons on the back of the blister pack show the light mounted on a pedestrian's backpack, near the peak roof of a house or tent, inside a car positioned up by the rear window, on the back of a bike, mounted on the front of a person who is skiing, and positioned as an obstacle warning light located by debris.

USAGE
The Big Brain thinks it can be recycled and used for parts, or computer programmed for 7 different multi-functions complete with input and output from processor pins. It runs from a 3-volt power supply, making it compatible with a Parallax Propeller chip, or able to operate independently. It can be used as an 8-bit port display with LEDs showing bits 0-7 and a byte condition in binary code representations and one LED for a power indicator. The nine white LEDs can double as input sensors, the lenses taking parallel light and focusing it onto each LED for greater precision.

ADDITIONAL APPS
The lenses are ideal for making a light beam communications machine where the transmission of parallel light is needed. Nine lenses can drive nine channels of LED electromagnetic radiation. Additional circuits are needed to modulate the LEDs with voice, however, no extra parts are needed to send binary and Morse Code. This is an experimenter's bonanza with many more possible uses!

LIST OF PARTS
Housing
Mount
Computer
Switch
Lenses
Nine White LEDs
Hardware