The £50,000 Hands Off My Bike Challenge called on people from all over the UK to come up with breakthrough ideas to make it more difficult to steal bikes, which had the potential to increase the number of people who cycle in the UK.
Bikes have always been targets for thieves. Cyclists are more likely to have their bikes stolen than motorcyclists or car owners; last year over 500,000 bikes were stolen in the UK (one each minute), with a recovery rate of under 5%.
The challenge was open to any UK legal resident aged 14 or over or organisation with a UK base that could come up with a breakthrough innovation to make it more difficult to steal bikes and have the potential to increase numbers of people cycling in the UK.
The ideas were judged by the amount of time it took to free the bike, the impact on the environment, cost and potential for commercialisation and/or implementation at scale.
Over a period of 8 months, we received 130 applications for the challenge. From this initial group of entries, the judges assessed and selected 24 semi-finalists. The 24 semi-finalists were then tested by SoldSecure. 11 products passed the security testing. At the final judges meeting, the judging panel selected two finalists.
The winner, BiKLOX, is a light, portable bike lock with a locking bar that fits between wheel spokes and stave to immobilise the pedal, with an additional cable lock to further secure the bike. Designer Steve Blanks received a prize of £35,000 to take the product to market.
The runner-up, Therefore Product Design with GLock, is a portable lock that can be attached to the bike frame. It is a different take on a D Shackle in that the longer arm is the bit that moves rather than the traditional short arm.
