Updated: Thursday 21 July 2022

Unsurprisingly, I’ve spent years on thinking about the bicycle theft problem. Currently, the variant which the M!nder tackles is for regular bikes–commuters, and recreational riders. These tend to park for significant durations, in various settings.

Roadies (ie cyclists who use lean, fast, road bikes) put a lot of emphasis on weight, and they tend not to park, or to park for long periods out-of-sight of the owner. They might not even carry a lock, or anything more than a very small, minimal lock, let alone alarm systems.

Single-track, downhill/enduro, mountain bikes tend not to park at all. They are subject to a great deal of theft, because they are high-priced. But the thefts tend to be by organized gangs/thieves, from backs of trucks or from garages, rather than on-street by opportunists, itinerants or addicts.

Fixies (fixed-gear bikes), and single-gear bikes that look like fixies, are locked, and nowadays are often used as commuters or as courier bicycles. So, as commuters, some may well be interested in a minder.

Commuters are typically either hybrids or road bikes. They may be modified in tyres or handlebars; and lights, panniers and other accessories are often added to them. They are parked for long durations, spanning the work day, or daily/weekly shopping. They may be parked at a great variety of spots, especially on non-work days.

Recreational bikes are often parked for short durations, to go in-and-out of a shop, or for longer durations at a cinema, a pub or a restaurant.

Originally, the M!nder was designed with commuter and recreational parking-sessions in mind.

I’d expected that ebikes, too, will be very attracted to a minder. They are an increasing entrant into the commuter domain. Far higher-priced, often bulkier than a regular bicycle, and a major target of theft, they have needs of their own. But, I do not yet know their parking behaviour. They tend to use alarms, of the kinds seen on Amazon, so they should be highly interested in the M!nder (because it kicks those alarms’ ass)!

I’d thought of cargo bikes as well. But they are highly vulnerable to a particular kind of theft that is, as yet, hard to defend against. As such, I’d postponed catering to them till after the M!nder succeeds in the market.

However, the popularity of cargo bikes and ebikes (and indeed of all bicycles) has really accelerated. While the foundation for this had been laid over decades of increasing awareness/action on Global Warming, the Covid-19 pandemic caused a great shift in behaviour as well.

The Problem with Cargo Bikes

They’re long! And bulky!

And gorgeous! And they make my heart warm, seeing kids in them, in a perfect autumnal scene of maple leaves and cool, crisp days! Their designs allow for great creativity as well.

But, they are hard to park at home. Almost no-one takes them indoors. People park them in back yards, or–horror of horrors–in underground bike-rooms, bike cages or ‘secure’ parking lots.

The Problem with ‘Secure’ Bike Cages, ‘Secure’ Bike Rooms, ‘Secure’ Underground Parking

They’re not secure.

My advice to people is undiluted: If the lease/contract has any prohibitions against bikes, walk away!

The building owner is telling you to leave a pile of cash on the sidewalk!

To a bicycle thief, stealing bikes from any of these facilities is like shooting fish in a barrel. If you doubt me, go ahead.

Overnight Parking for Cargo Bikes

So, what can be done for cargo bikes? They are often expensive; even when not, they are too easy to steal because they’re not taken indoors. Replacing one is not only very costly, your devastation at the loss of your bicycle is compounded by its impact upon your kids.

Consequently, I am now (Oct. 2021) thinking of a minder that at least can be used on a cargo bike parked in a back yard. (Underground parking/rooms/cages still remain ruled out; I do have a solution for them, but that will be only after the current minder succeeds in the market.) Since the current minder does not use any connectivity, it alerts the owner via its very loud siren. This’ll wake up the neighbours, but I’m sure they’d want to know if a thief is striking their neighbourhood. After all, such thieves often return.

Stalking Cargo Bikes

Looking at theft reports, it is clear that sometimes thieves are following a cargo bike, to find out where it will be parked. I’ve even read reports of thefts from front/back yards, while the rider is away temporarily, not having locked the bike. The night-time thefts involve cutting the lock; the daytime might just need quietly following! One report involved two guys hauling the cargo bike onto their truck! I suppose you can just drive around until you spot a rider; gangs seem to do that for the equally-expensive downhill mountain-bikes. So, cargo bikes must be subject to the same tactic.

Cargo Bikes’ Bulk & Weight

I’ve yet to try a Dutch-style cargo bike, and I don’t know how recent cargo-bikes are made. The only ones I’ve tried are the bulky, heavy ones too over-engineered for carrying two kids and groceries. Really, a trailer would do, if you live in an apartment. Even if you have a back yard, all that weight seems wholly unnecessary. Thick, heavy pipes, with no apparent effort at lightening the total weight. This needlessly consumes battery power. Worse, it underscores no effort on the part of the designers to broaden the appeal of such bikes. And, of course, it exposes cargo bikes to theft!

Update: Thankfully, Terns can be stored vertically, or at least the model shown can. So, if you can afford a Tern, storage inside your home may be possible–which is always the safest option.

A Minder for Overnights

Part of the reason for the delay in the first release of the product has been a change in the power supply. The plan is for the M!nder to be used as follows:

The rider parks her cargo bike in her back yard, overnight. She plugs the M!nder in, for recharging, and activates the system. Even if the thief disconnects the M!nder from its charge-adapter, the system will continue to operate.

This requires circuitry that has been particularly hard to add, due to the Supply Crisis and the heterogeny of applicable standards and components. And the enclosure has had to change to accommodate the USB receptacle.

But, once complete, it should be possible to use a minder overnight. Still, the rider must be within hearing range: If you’re sleeping on the tenth floor, and your bike is in the bike cage in the basement, your bike’ll get stolen!

A M!nder for Overnights (Update)

Wednesday 13 July 2022
As noted elsewhere, the necessary ICs (electronics chips) for this are–bluntly put–absent! Whether due to hoarding of semiconductors, or whatever other cause, I have wasted months on this! So, for now, overnight usage cannot be catered to. I have knocked on numerous doors (which is a euphemism for lots of research, searching, purchasing and testing), with only a door or two remaining. It’s Summer, and everything’s fallen behind!
So, cargo bikes and downhill/single-track bikes need to wait till next year, for an overnight M!nder.

Ebike Counter-Theft Measures

Thursday 21 July 2022
I ran into a discussion, by cargo-bike owners, of how to protect their bikes when at home. The usual thick-chains + floor-anchors came up a lot (not to mention the ramps some use to push the bike onto a porch etc). It’s the usual, ‘more metal’ approach, the dismissal of which led to the invention of the M!nder.
I suppose the approach naturally follows from carrying 1 adult + 2 kids on a bike that is ridiculously heavy for the purpose, with thick, metal pipes galore: If you’ve come this far, you might as well drill through concrete and use heavy, motorcycle chains!

Cargo bikes are often ebikes. There are counter-theft measures that can be implemented, but I do not know of any brand which offers them. Are there ignition locks/keys? Is there a drive-train lock? Is there a siren? There are many possibilities, but I’ve not heard of any being implemented on these bikes! (I think some have a version of an ignition key, or password, though the report I’d encountered failed to impress. And, yes, it is possible to stop a drive-train lock from engaging in mid-ride.)
The conspiracy-minded may argue that it is to the benefit of the brands, because consumers will then have to purchase replacement bikes. That is a weak argument, since consumers could just as well cease purchasing them! People spend lots of money on these things, and they rightly expect them to last–whether in durability or against loss.
‘Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity,’ the saying goes. In this instance, the cause may be more prosaic than a conspiracy: A lot of these brands are new, thus up to their necks in risk anyway; so, they’re not going to endanger themselves even further by trying unproven ideas. Similar to light cargo-bikes, why invest in a radically different approach, when mere tweaks suffice to appeal to a proven market!
On the other hand, they may have to. Years ago, when I started to design what eventually became the M!nder, I’d thought up various approaches that were similar to the aforementioned measures. I did not proceed because I’d have needed a manufacturing partner. Now, ebike brands can provide such features, and it is inevitable that they will have to.