The Joy and Frustration of Owning a Bicycle: My Experience with the Ellipse Smart Bike Lock

As I reflect on my experience with owning a bicycle, I am reminded of the tremendous amount of joy it brings me. There's something about the immediacy of riding a bike through a city, stopping off to explore shops or cafes, that cannot be beat. However, there is one major downside to such adventures: needing to lock my bike up and hoping that it won't get stolen.

Last year, I had a frightening experience with bike theft. The thief snuck up to my parked bike while I was inside the coffee shop, and by the time I returned, my bike was gone. Ever since then, I have been on the lookout for a reliable smart bike lock that can keep my bike safe and secure.

That's why I was excited when I heard about the Ellipse Smart Bike Lock, which was recently released with all sorts of innovative features. This lock is packed with sensors, batteries, and a solar panel that connects to your phone via Bluetooth. The best part? There's no key in sight! Instead, I can lock and unlock it using the Ellipse app on my phone or by pressing the keypad built into the side.

The app works simply enough, and I tap the big blue button on the screen to lock it up, which instantly secures my bike. I then tap it again to unlock it, which is also incredibly easy. However, I did find that the built-in keypad has a painfully slow and deliberate touch interface, which works best when I use a more forceful touch. I was worried that I would drop my phone while trying to enter the passcode, but thankfully, I didn't end up with a cracked screen.

The lock itself is made of hardened steel, similar to other premium bike locks on the market, and the shackle is flattened to make it more difficult for thieves to cut off. One feature that I would have liked to see was an option for a longer shackle, as it was incredibly difficult to get my frame and wheel into the lock's opening.

Despite some struggles with using the Ellipse Smart Bike Lock, such as trying to hold two pieces of the lock together and my phone at the same time while tapping the screen, I was relieved to find that the app does provide a hands-free alternative called Auto Lock and Auto Unlock. When these settings are enabled, the lock triggers automatically when I close it around my bike in a rack or reverse when I approach it. This works pretty well, but there were some inconsistencies, such as when it took a while for the phone to detect the lock.

Another feature that I was excited about was the integration with Apple Watch or Wear OS, which would allow me to free up one hand for locking. Unfortunately, since the Ellipse is smart and has built-in batteries, it does not currently support this feature. However, I did appreciate that the solar panel always kept the lock charged during my time using it.

In terms of protection, the Ellipse Smart Bike Lock provided some peace of mind. When my bike was within Bluetooth range and had theft detection enabled, I was notified if someone thought they were tampering with the lock. Additionally, I have crash detection on my handlebars while riding, which sends an SMS to a person I choose in case of an accident.

Despite its innovative features and spot-on design approach, the execution of the Ellipse Smart Bike Lock did not quite live up to my expectations. The app needs some improvements, especially the sharing feature, for $199 in the US. It's hard for me to recommend this lock due to these issues. Nevertheless, I still believe that owning a bicycle brings me tremendous joy, and with a reliable smart bike lock like the Ellipse, I can feel even more secure while exploring my city on two wheels.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enowning a bicycle brings me a tremendous amount of joy I love the immediacy I feel riding a bike through a city and stopping off to explore shop or cafe the downside to such adventures is needing to lock my bike up and even that doesn't guarantee that it won't be stolen last year latus released the elipse smart bike lock packed with sensors batteries a solar panel and Bluetooth that connects to your phone there's no key instead I lock and unlock it using the ellipse app on my phone or touch the keypad built in to the side for basic locking and unlocking the app works simply enough I tap the big blue button on the screen and voila it's locked tap it again and bam it's unlocked the built-in keypad has four arrows button and it feels like touch technology from ten years ago I found a painfully slow deliberate touch work best to enter the passcode the ellipsis forged from hardened steel similar to other premium bike locks the shackle is flattened to make it more difficult to cut off I wish there was an option for a longer shackle because it was near impossible to get my frame wheel in a parking meter pull within the ellipse and close it though the smaller design is pocketable and use the lock was okay though I definitely had some struggles using it for example trying to hold two pieces of the lock together and my phone and tap the screen was tricky I felt it was only a matter of time until I dropped my phone which I did hence the cracked screen however the ellipse app does provide a hands-free alternative called auto lock and auto unlock when these settings are on I closed the ellipse around my bike in the rack and then as I walk away the app triggers it to lock the same thing happens in Reverse to unlock it this works pretty well but is not consistent sometimes it takes a while for the phone to detect the lock also I wish the ellipse could be integrated with Apple watch or wear OS to free up your hand for locking but since the ellipse is smart it has built-in batteries and there are two ways to charge through the micro USB port or via the cleverly designed solar panel during the months I used a lock it always had a charge thanks to that solar panel though I'm curious how long these batteries will last over years of use as far as protection my bike wasn't stolen when I was in Bluetooth range and had theft detection on it notified me when it thought somebody was tampering with the lock there's also crash detection which sends an SMS to a person you choose I have the ellipse on my handlebars while riding and the bumpy streets shook it enough to trigger a crash detection notification lattices approach to design is spot-on but the execution doesn't hold up well in real-world use it's inconsistent and frustrating the app needs some improvements too especially the sharing feature for 199 dollars in the US it's hard for me to recommend this lockowning a bicycle brings me a tremendous amount of joy I love the immediacy I feel riding a bike through a city and stopping off to explore shop or cafe the downside to such adventures is needing to lock my bike up and even that doesn't guarantee that it won't be stolen last year latus released the elipse smart bike lock packed with sensors batteries a solar panel and Bluetooth that connects to your phone there's no key instead I lock and unlock it using the ellipse app on my phone or touch the keypad built in to the side for basic locking and unlocking the app works simply enough I tap the big blue button on the screen and voila it's locked tap it again and bam it's unlocked the built-in keypad has four arrows button and it feels like touch technology from ten years ago I found a painfully slow deliberate touch work best to enter the passcode the ellipsis forged from hardened steel similar to other premium bike locks the shackle is flattened to make it more difficult to cut off I wish there was an option for a longer shackle because it was near impossible to get my frame wheel in a parking meter pull within the ellipse and close it though the smaller design is pocketable and use the lock was okay though I definitely had some struggles using it for example trying to hold two pieces of the lock together and my phone and tap the screen was tricky I felt it was only a matter of time until I dropped my phone which I did hence the cracked screen however the ellipse app does provide a hands-free alternative called auto lock and auto unlock when these settings are on I closed the ellipse around my bike in the rack and then as I walk away the app triggers it to lock the same thing happens in Reverse to unlock it this works pretty well but is not consistent sometimes it takes a while for the phone to detect the lock also I wish the ellipse could be integrated with Apple watch or wear OS to free up your hand for locking but since the ellipse is smart it has built-in batteries and there are two ways to charge through the micro USB port or via the cleverly designed solar panel during the months I used a lock it always had a charge thanks to that solar panel though I'm curious how long these batteries will last over years of use as far as protection my bike wasn't stolen when I was in Bluetooth range and had theft detection on it notified me when it thought somebody was tampering with the lock there's also crash detection which sends an SMS to a person you choose I have the ellipse on my handlebars while riding and the bumpy streets shook it enough to trigger a crash detection notification lattices approach to design is spot-on but the execution doesn't hold up well in real-world use it's inconsistent and frustrating the app needs some improvements too especially the sharing feature for 199 dollars in the US it's hard for me to recommend this lock\n"