One of the inventors of SkunkLock is Daniel Idzkowski, from San Francisco, and he said the device was created because the last straw was when his friend parked his expensive electric bicycle outside a grocery store. When his friend went inside to eat lunch and chat, he came out and the bike was gone.
Idzkowski’s friend used two locks, each costing $120, but they were not enough to stop the thief. This led to the creation of the SkunkLock.
The lock looks like a regular metal U-shape lock that is used by cyclists around the world. However, it contains a noxious chemical designed to temporarily disable thieves. It causes them to vomit and it makes it difficult for them to breathe or see. A cloud of chemicals appear, which is to raise public awareness of the theft.
A number of different repellent gases were created for the SkunkLock. This is to keep them in compliant with legal statures across the 50 states and throughout European Union nations. As of now, SkunkLock has not been tested in the field on a real bike thief. However, the creators of the device and volunteers have tested out the potency of the gas. They described it as bad and very unpleasant.
In the future there will be a bike lock that will make thieves throw up.
No, really. @skunklock October 21, 2016
New bike lock releases vomit inducing chemicals when compromised. October 22, 2016
Idzkowski said nobody can prevent theft 100%, and that is why the lock is called a deterrent lock. He added that all you have to do is be better than the bicycle across the street.
SkunkLock is seeking backers via Indiegogo and it is expected to be available in summer 2017.