The Yerka is new to crowdfunding site Indiegogo, and is billed as the first ‘unstealable’ bike – it uses its own frame as a locking mechanism.
The Yerka, designed by Chilean engineering students, can be quickly secured thanks to the clever down tube design, which splits into two folding arms. Thread these either side of an immovable object up to 8in in depth, then join them with the bike’s seatpost, turn the key and walk away. This process is said to take just 10 seconds.
The three students behind the Yerka are aiming to begin shipping the bikes this October following the search for US$50,000. The designers are also planning to add special wheel nuts to secure wheels (perhaps a little like the Kryptonite Security Wheelnutz we saw at IceBike) and create a Bluetooth app interface for locking and unlocking of the frame.
The Yerka bike will be available in a variety of colours as well as in frame-only options. Retail prices haven't been set, but the first 1,000 were available for US$399 as a special offer.
Check out Yerka on Indiegogo – the campaign runs until 18 April.