Chileans design a 'bike that can't be stolen'

Nov 16, 12:14 AM EST

Chileans design a 'bike that can't be stolen'

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO
Associated Press



SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- It's a bicyclist's dream: a bike that can't be stolen.

The "Yerka," a prototype designed by three young Chilean engineering students, is the latest entry in a recent trend of bikes that can be locked using some of their own parts. They include Brooklyn-based "Seatylock," which uses its saddle seat as a lock, and Seattle-based "Denny," which is locked with its detachable handlebars.

But the inventors of the Yerka have made a twist in that approach. The bike's lower frame opens up into two arms that are then connected to the seat post and locked to a post, so thieves would have to destroy a Yerka to get it unlocked, leaving it valueless.

"That's why our motto is `a bike that gets stolen is no longer a bike.' What we have here is truly an unstealable bike," said Cristobal Cabello, who came up with the design during a college engineering class with childhood friends Andres Roi Eggers and Juan Jose Monsalve.

In Chile and elsewhere in Latin America, the spread of designated cycling lanes, storage racks and bike share programs are encouraging commuters to switch from cars to bikes, which are cheaper and environmentally friendly.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_CHILE_UNSTEALABLE_BIKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-11-16-00-01-27