SKUNKLOCK Chemical V3

Contains pressurized noxious chemicals that are released upon cutting, deterring theft

New and improved lock version for pre-order only. Expected to ship March 2025.

SKUNKLOCK Chemical V3 is a patented bike U-Lock design that includes highly pressurized, extremely potent, nausea and vomit inducing chemicals inside it's shackle, that get released and dispersed upon cutting. Made of the highest quality medium carbon steel alloy, it's very resistant to abuse and attacks of all kinds, even if it's primary protection comes from it's ability to fight back when attacked, the ultimate theft deterrent!

It's the only lock on the market that assumes that a very determined thief will eventually be able to find a way to cut through any lock with enough time and motivation, and hence adds a completely unique and effective theft deterrence to an already physically robust lock.

  • Highly pressurized and extremely potent nausea and vomit inducing chemicals that get released upon cutting (and only upon cutting), acting as very effective deterrent against theft.
  • Disc tumbler lock cylinder that is virtually impossible to pick (only the absolute best lock pickers in the world can pick those, in ideal conditions and it requires highly specialized and expensive picking tools)
  • Large amounts of high quality medium carbon steel alloy used throughout the lock, built to withstand serious abuse.
  • Anti rotation features to protect against single cuts.
  • Angle grinder resistant crossbar.
  • Distinctive patented design that conveys the risk of cutting, in addition to multiple printed warnings and a warning label.

SKUNKLOCK Chemical V3 is a patented U-Lock design that includes highly pressurized chemicals inside it's shackle. The chemical formula is chosen to have minimal negative impact to humans (no other liquid but water has no side effects on humans), but have an insanely potent and unpleasant smell. It involves chemicals that the human nose can detect at 1 part per billion, and the smell is incredibly unpleasant, nausea and vomit inducing. The shackle is made of the highest quality medium carbon steel alloy, and despite being a hollow tube, the wall thickness is such, that the volume of steel is the same as a 16mm solid steel shackle (hence why the shackle diameter is larger than most u-locks on the market). So this is a very strong u-lock in it's own right, and as long as you don't attempt to cut the lock, you can physically abuse it, and there's no risk of the chemicals suddenly releasing.

The theft deterrent principles

Upon cutting the shackle with an angle grinder, once the outer wall is pierced slightly, the extremely high pressure inside the lock will immediately start releasing the fairly significant volume of chemicals inside, in a highly aerosolized manner and the thief will instantly realize his mistake. The vast majority of thieves will immediately create as much distance between them and the lock (which will continue releasing the chemicals for some time), due to the shock and the nausea induced. It's a subconscious reaction in humans to want to remove themselves from a situation that involves extremely unpleasant odors, especially nausea and vomit inducing ones this potent. The cutting tool will be covered in the liquid, so will the clothes of the thief. The chemicals can fairly easily be cleaned off solid objects (the bike), but it's extremely difficult to remove the smell from clothing, the smell will haunt the thief for weeks. It's unlikely a thief who attempts to cut the lock, will ever attempt it again, too many other bikes with locks that don't fight back to steal, to ever consider attacking a Skunklock again!

Crossbar attack resistance

The crossbar was designed using patented technology (has some very hard ceramic components embedded inside) to resist angle grinders, though the diameter of the crossbar is large enough that successful angle grinder attacks are completely impractical anyway (the standard wheel diameter of portable angle grinders don't physically permit getting through), but we still added countermeasures just to be sure. Larger wheels are harder to find but do exist, but the larger diameter makes them too fragile to practically cut through and since you can't fit them with the angle grinder's protective cover in place, sparks will fly towards the thief's face and when they fail during the cut attempt (and they usually do), debris will be very likely to come flying towards the operator's body, hence very dangerous. So the combination of crossbar diameter and the countermeasures inside, make this a completely impractical attack.

Design goals

The lock was first and foremost designed for our personal use, optimized in it's dimensions for maximum locking practicality on the streets ( modified Sheldon Brown method) and we've been using the lock for years in an extremely high theft environment without any successful thefts.

Dimensions: 173 x 295 mm
Weight: 1.96 kg
Inner Clearance: 108 x 229 mm
Shackle diameter: 24 mm
Crossbar diameter: 43.2 mm