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This bike loves the city.
This bike loves the city. (Photo: Fortified Bicycles)

The Fortified Invincible Is a $399 Theft-Proof Commuter

The most city-proof bike we鈥檝e ever ridden

Published: 
This bike loves the city
(Photo: Fortified Bicycles)

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Last month,聽Boston-based Fortified Bicycles, a company bent on quashing rampant bike theft, launched a Kickstarter campaign for its latest dig at urban bike thieves: a $399聽鈥渃ity-proof鈥 commuter called 聽that can鈥檛 be stolen and looks built to ride out anything.聽

鈥淢ost bikes die in the city,鈥 says Fortified co-founder Slava Menn. 鈥淭his bike loves the city.鈥澛

Menn should know. While living in New York City after grad school, he bought a $50 Gary Fisher, then spent $80 on two locks to secure it. No use. The wheels were stolen, then the lights, until one day the entire bike was gone. 鈥淚t was this huge frustration [for me],鈥 he says.

Invincible is his answer to that frustration. Menn and Fortified co-founder Tivan Amour surveyed about 350 cyclists to learn what biking in the city was like and what people needed in a commuter. 鈥淲e realized that [bike commuters] operate out of fear,鈥 says Menn. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e scared of leaving the bike in the rain because it鈥檚 gonna get rusty. They鈥檙e scared of locking it up in a certain neighborhood overnight because it鈥檚 gonna get stolen. We鈥檙e trying to eliminate fear.鈥

(Fortified Bicycles)

To make the new bike, Fortified, which debuted with and seatpost clamps, started by locking down all the components鈥攈andlebars, wheels, saddle, and front and rear lights鈥攚ith its proprietary bolts, and then threw in a tough, custom-designed U-lock. The result: what the company聽calls聽the world鈥檚 only bike guaranteed against theft. Fortified is so confident that no part of Invincible will be stolen鈥攋ust a fraction of 1 percent of its products have ever been filched鈥攖hat it鈥檒l replace any of its components within 24 hours for free.

The most involved part of its security efforts is FortifiedProtect, a team of bike-security experts whose sole responsibilities are keeping bikes safe and tracking down thieves. Each Invincible comes with an electronic title and prominently displayed serial number that makes the buyer the only owner鈥攎uch like a title on a car.聽

If a bike does go missing, the security team trawls Craigslist and eBay, where more than 80 percent of stolen bikes are resold. If they find a Fortified bike, they鈥檒l contact the owner. If your bike鈥檚 been stolen, Fortified works with local authorities to track and apprehend the thief聽(something they last year when a friend鈥檚 saddle was stolen in Cambridge, Massachusetts).聽

If that isn鈥檛 enough, the company prints the聽name of your choice on the bike聽with a permanent, unique decal that鈥檚 hard to miss. (Ride on, Shadowfax, king of steeds!) 聽

Invincible should also hold up to standard urban wear and tear. Puncture-resistant tires prevent flats, while a rust-proof 6061 aluminum frame, waterproof saddle, and zinc-coated, corrosion-resistant chain stand聽up to grime. 鈥淩ide it over potholes.聽Ride it over glass,鈥 Menn says. 鈥淟eave it in the rain.鈥 Barring a major聽crash or an persistent thief with a drill and hacksaw, this bike will outlast your antics.

Lead Photo: Fortified Bicycles

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