My University Bike Lock Design - Youtube Video

Use a bigger grinder with a cutting disc and try to cut it like you mean it...

the material stops a chain saw at full revs pretty quickly
bigger grinder = same result
it'll just mess up the motor on the grinder before it has a chance at getting to the chain

the type of chain being used is pretty important
what spec is the chain ?

Mapperley Rd and a bit of Elm Bank I think :) Whereabouts are you?

First instinct was Elm Bank. I'm on Redcliffe Rd about 40 metres away....weird

see if you can steal the bike

the material stops a chain saw at full revs pretty quickly
bigger grinder = same result
it'll just mess up the motor on the grinder before it has a chance at getting to the chain

the type of chain being used is pretty important
what spec is the chain ?

Sadly, it doesn't stop it that quickly in the case of a big saw at full pelt. The material relies on the 'hooks' of the chain grabbing it and pulling the fibers round and into the drive sprocket. As a cutting disc has a comparatively smooth running edge I imagine the fiber is less likely to be grabbed by the disc. It's definitely better than it not being there as the test shows the disc getting gunked up but I imagine a powerful disc cutter would laugh in the face of it... The length of fiber is important, the longer the strands are the better, obvs in the test piece they can only be so long but for the final product the longer the better.

Not criticizing cos I think it's a great design, I'm just thinking aloud and poking holes that probably aren't there!

And yes, definitely call it the 'Dench'

the material stops a chain saw at full revs pretty quickly
bigger grinder = same result
it'll just mess up the motor on the grinder before it has a chance at getting to the chain
the type of chain being used is pretty important
what spec is the chain ?

I'll believe that when a 3rd-party tests it. It doesn't look like there's not enough material to stop a decent grinder.

Your best bet would be to incoorperate something likely to cause the disc to shatter into the padding.

Well, it took a while for someone to actually try it, I've been talking (on here) about chainsaw-trouser fibres in a lock for ages.

Really hope it works out as a viable buisness, I'd be first in line to buy one/get involved in the kickstarter.

Your best bet would be to incoorperate something likely to cause the disc to shatter into the padding.

This is an awesome idea! Not that I know about shattering cutting discs. What does that? Diamonds? Might up the price of the lock ...

Misc chunks of stuff that are a different density to the surrounding material can do it. A rougue oversized flint or similar in a bit of concrete can certainly wreck a thin disc. Not sure how it could be applied in this situation but combining the chainsaw material with something likely to break the disc has got to be worth looking into. Guessing many thieves using battery powered grinders with thin discs would be thwarted pretty quickly..

Obviously almost all cutting discs have a mesh incoorperated to stop them shattering but exposing the sharp mesh would help grab more of the long fibers to gum up the works with.

If you're really set on getting ASA invovlved, how about showing Dame Judi Dench, with a body that's hench, doing a bench.

Called it Hench. It's good.

Watching the video, I wonder if you need to test a little more in situ - aren't you trying to cut it while folded? It should be opened up as it will be when locking up, stretched around a bike and a post, and probably tried to be cut when slack but also when taught.

When it's just sitting on a surface and able to move around freely when cut at, it's not a realistic test.

Also I think the frame wrapping to carry idea is OK but not essential to the concept of using the fibres. How about trying a fibrous cover for a rigid lock, like Oliver and others^ ... ^ have been discussing?

Maybe make a version that goes around seat posts? After all, glue and ball bearings won't do much to stop a determined thief with a hack saw.

+1 for dench

+1

Maybe make a version that goes around seat posts? After all, glue and ball bearings won't do much to stop a determined thief with a hack saw.

Ditto. There are DIY solutions, but AFAIK no specific product yet that protects seat and seatpost - that stays on when you ride that is.
Instead of fighting for a corner of the lock market you could create a whole little niche for yourself with something a bit smaller and neater.
I'd pay up to £30 for something nice, light and user friendly to secure seat+seatpost.

Hey guys, I'm pleased to say that I'm now on Kickstarter :)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1255965155/the-hench-bicycle-lock-see-video

welldone for brilliant design, I would actually buy your lock.

is it legal to make a lock out of a material, or with a certain layer/filling, that would make cutting it not impossible for the device (i.e. saw) but for the user - i.e. thief?

I'm thinking noxious clouds. Asbestos outer layers with a steel core. Anthrax-impregnated cables. That sort of thing.

Fundamentally this is no different to barbed wire - if you try to steal my things you might get hurt. But I can imagine that it would be exceedingly illegal.

What's the burning point of the fabric? Could you not just fluff it up with a saw then burn a patch away?

is it legal to make a lock out of a material, or with a certain layer/filling, that would make cutting it not impossible for the device (i.e. saw) but for the user - i.e. thief?

I'm thinking noxious clouds. Asbestos outer layers with a steel core. Anthrax-impregnated cables. That sort of thing.

Asbestos you would be able to use but due to the way it flakes and stuff and that it could/would take 20+ years to kill a thief after they inhaled it(and even then it's not as likely as people make asbestos out to be) then I doubt it would work. Also if you did market a lock with asbestos in be sure to get sued by customers down the line. You might also need to justify that it's needed for it's industry uses against heat and explain why/how the lock would be used daily near furnaces and things.

Anthrax is more full on illegal as it's pretty much classed as a chemical weapon.

You could probably layer a couple of chemicals so once you cut past one to the other they react and it turns into a flare but then if it did stop the theft would using a flare wrapped around a carbon frame leave you much of a bike to come back to?

hummmm

two materials, when heated or come into contact due to an attempt to break through the layers react to make a poisonous/irritant gas. unlikely to harm the bike too much since bikes don't respire...

Poo bomb

.

http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/news/article/student-creates-worlds-most-cut-proof-bike-lock-41252/

nice publicity right on bikeradar, not a big fan of bikeradar, but having you there will help you. Good lock! *get it? good luck? pah, nevermind.. :p