Slava Menn is not only a clever engineer and entrepreneur, but he and Fortified Bicycle co-founder Tivan Amour have a knack for dramatic marketing. To launch their theft-resistant bike light two years ago, the duo held an event in Cambridge where passersby were invited to steal it; anyone who managed to get it off of the bike in under two minutes would be allowed to keep it. Menn and Amour even provided tools, but of the 20 to 30 people who tried to pull it off, no one managed to.
Their latest campaign involves setting up an on-camera sting to confront an actual bike parts thief. After learning their friend had his $180 Brooks Bike Saddle stolen off of his bike, then spotting it for sale on Craigslist, Menn and Amour set up a meet with the buyer—and brought a plainclothes cop along. (See video below.)
Following this event, Menn realized:
The current solutions to seat-post and saddle theft are severely lacking. Some city cyclists protect their saddle by threading a thin cable or chain between the saddle and the bicycle frame, but that's cumbersome, ugly and easy to cut. Other cyclists splurge for expensive security seat post clamps and while those are great for protecting the seat post from being removed, they don't secure the seat itself. The bottom-line is that city cyclists are left choosing the 'least-worst' solution among a number of underwhelming options.
Thus the duo set about designing a way to prevent bike seats from being stolen. Called Payback, it's a $15 device that can be installed in less than two minutes. Here's the Kickstarter pitch:
Menn and Amour are also offering a $25 Payback Policy, "which includes an additional saddle security bolt and an anti-theft guarantee that promises cyclists a replacement for the seat post or saddle if either is ever stolen."
