[JackMcMack]

I'm aware of no off the shelf solution, but this does sound like a problem that can be solved with electronics.

The motor controller could do electric braking if the rider's phone isn't in the vicinity of the bike. This would mean you can't push the pedals, but the wheels will still turn without resistance. If you forget to unlock it, you won't break the spokes, and there's no sudden halt, so you can still manually and safely break.

You could still run off with the bike on foot of course. But maybe if the pedals are blocked by the motor, you can use the standard lock without breaking the spokes?

[Gaessaki]

We’ve increasingly been looking at electronics as you’ve suggested. I like the idea of tying the controller to the rider’s device. It would require some hacking with our current setup.

One of the big risks is that the cargo bikes are worth stealing with a truck or pickup. The resell value is great and even if the bike is inoperable, the parts can be easily dismantled and sold off. I worry that the tactics will shift more towards that direction as the bikes themselves get harder to ride off on.

[Filligree]

You can have a GPS unit installed in the frame, e.g. from PowUnity.

That won’t stop anyone stealing it, but it should vastly increase the chances of recovery.

[dayofthedaleks]

When your threat model is two guys with a pickup truck and an angle grinder your only real mitigation is a claim against your insurance policy.

I think market is very close to a solution. I'm waiting for shipment on a Boomerang, which is an anti theft GPS that secures to the frame's water bottle attachment points. It's designed enough around connectivity that I could imagine motor lockdown in the next iteration.

Unfortunately one of the most competent motor builders, Bafang, just moved to a more closed CANBUS interface to penetrate markets that heavily regulate speed. Bosch has anti theft logic in their systems but there seems to be a smaller ecosystem for modding.

[deivid]

sounds like the old tilt sensor from arcade games could be useful? start blasting an alarm if the rider is not around and the bike shakes

[Filligree]

There are bike locks which do basically that. The only way to disarm them is to use the key, or pick them, and few thieves have the skill to do the latter.

[mensetmanusman]

Social problems probably can’t be solved by electronics.