Behold: Skylock, the solar-powered, Wi-Fi–equipped bike lock

YouTube/Skylock

Behold: Skylock, the solar-powered, Wi-Fi–equipped bike lock
(Image credit: YouTube/Skylock)

There are all sorts of bike locks. There's the cable lock, the U-Lock, the industrial chain, the looped-string-secured-with-a-combo-lock — and now, there's a keyless lock whose developers hope it can create a new Airbnb-type market for two-wheeled transport.

The Skylock isn't the world's first keyless bike lock, but it's uniquely innovative in other ways. It's coated in solar panels to charge the internal Bluetooth that serves as the locking mechanism, and it can hook up to Wi-Fi networks to boost the Bluetooth range and send for help if you take a spill. Skylock owners can also program time-sensitive passwords into an accompanying app, essentially allowing them to rent their locks, and bikes, to anyone.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.