My wife and I love to ride our bikes. We often meet our friends at coffee shops to begin our rides. Of course, we all lean our bikes against the building and shuffle inside to have a cup before we get going. I had never worried much about the safety of our bikes sitting alone out there. Then, one day, a friend told me that he had gone into a restaurant for lunch and when he came out his bike was g
one; they cut right through the lock. Then, another friend had the same thing happen. It wasn't long before I started to worry that it would happen to us. I thought, wouldn't it be nice if there was a little device that would alarm if someone was getting tricky with our bikes? It had to be small, easily put on my bike, and loud enough to scare away thieves. I also wanted a device that I can use while I'm riding. Sometimes, I ride on multi-use paths. I like to let folks know that I'm coming up. When the path is busy, I feel like a broken record ("On your left . . . I'M ON YOUR LEFT!"). I want a device that will let people know that I'm there, and all with a little push of a button. After a lot of thought and many hours in the workshop, the Chirp was born! I made a prototype and started to use it. I have come to love that little one. It does everything that I had imagined. The alarm is plenty loud (90 dB). I'd like to share my piece of mind with everyone who's ever wondered, "Is my bike ok?" We love our Chirp and I think you will love it, too. How exactly does a rainbow work? How exactly does a sun set? How exactly does a posi-trac rear-end on a Plymouth work? It just does. But seriously, the Chirp has been designed to be very easy to use. Early testers have found that the most useful place to mount the Chirp is on the handlebars near the stem. While riding, it is nearly effortless to move your thumb slightly over to press the audible signal button on the side of the Chirp. Please see a brief demonstration of the Chirp prototype here. When you leave your bike unattended, simply hold down the alarm mode button (on the bottom of the Chirp) for a moment. *Please note the Chirp video is of the Chirp prototype, which has a switch to enter alarm mode. The finished product does not use a switch, it uses a push-button that is flush with the Chirp housing. When entering alarm mode, the Chirp will make a short "Chirp". The Chirp will allow 5 seconds before entering alarm mode to account for any settling that happens when parking the bike. Now, if anyone grabs your bike, the Chirp will emit a loud siren! The Chirp is deactivated using a simple code that you choose when setting up the Chirp. Now, it's simple and inexpensive to keep your bike safe.
