Progress in everyday life: Too hard, too smart and easy to forget

Bicycle locks are the passwords of the analog world. Due to the lack of better alternatives, people use them more out of necessity than with enthusiasm. The really good ones are actually far too heavy - and as a result they are often forgotten. If that happens and you just leave the bike in front of the bakery for a moment, it's gone. Just like access to social media, email or bank accounts without a password.

When it comes to passwords, the tech industry has been promising to make them obsolete for years. Optionally through biometric data such as a fingerprint, iris scan or – very fancy – the heartbeat pattern. Or through devices that are not dissimilar to USB sticks and are designed to generate one-time passwords. Neither has been implemented so far, for both good and less good reasons. Instead, there are password generators, password managers - and if you are a Berlin administration and want to show how you shouldn't do it, a file called password.docx.

The bicycle industry has also been trying for years to find an alternative to kilo-heavy metal monsters. For example, through discreet locks that can be unlocked using an app and through built-in trackers. Both are somewhat common in e-bikes. But those who ride without a motor usually stick with the metal monster, and those who can't reliably park the e-bike in a lockable basement usually do the same.

The range of locks has been differentiated to the maximum: U-lock, chain lock, cable lock or spiral lock, armored lock, folding lock or frame lock? Small, medium, large, what weight should it be and where on the bike is there room for a holder? And if you've finally decided, you shouldn't make the mistake of just checking with Stiftung Warentest to see how your favorite fared in the pollutant analysis. Otherwise it can get back to work very quickly.

But a bicycle manufacturer now really wants to have it done. His e-bike has a triple theft deterrent system, without any lock: motion detectors plus an alarm system with a yelp and a human voice plus a lockable front wheel hub are designed to prevent it from being pushed or carried away. And if it does, the locked front wheel makes the bike unrideable. Sounds somehow familiar as a principle, even if without a voice? Exactly, the electronic immobilizer in cars says hello. By the way, this has been standard there for 30 years.

The catch, of course, is that this security system is based on electronics, so it requires electricity. Maybe someone will develop a battery that charges slowly when pedaling and whose capacity can then be used for the electronic lock, so that non-e-bikes can also be protected with it. The prerequisite would then probably be that you drive a few charging laps every few days at the latest. Which would certainly be good for fitness, but probably not so good for widespread acceptance among cyclists. Maybe there is an even quicker alternative to the good old password.