A thief acts quickly, under pressure, and chooses the easiest target. Will they equip themselves with a suitable mask, check for airtightness, etc.? Maybe. But will they take that risk when another bike of similar value, discreet, with no visible message, is parked 3 meters away?

CactUs Lock operates on a simple principle, comparable to a metal pipe.

The shackle of the lock is composed of a thick, reinforced steel structure, with a hollow channel running through its entire length at the center.

Inside this channel is a pressurized gas containing a molecule associated with putrefaction: putrescine.

As long as the lock is not attacked, the gas remains completely confined inside.

However, if someone tries to cut the lock with an angle grinder, the cut eventually reaches this channel. At that moment, the gas is released under pressure: 1/3 of the metal section has been cut.

The extremely repulsive odor that is released makes the attack very difficult to continue, which prompts the thief to abandon it.

And even in this case, one point is often forgotten: hair, body hair. The molecule clings to them. The odor remains for several hours, sometimes several days. A thief wants to leave quickly and cleanly. Not marked, with an odor that will follow them.

Theft is an opportunistic decision.
CactUs does not aim to defeat a commando. It aims to ensure that your bike is not chosen.

The odor is released only during an attempted cut.

When a tool like an angle grinder attacks the anti-theft device, it must first cut through a significant thickness of metal.

Once approximately one-third of the material has been cut into, the cut reaches the internal channel, and the gas is released under pressure.

This creates a very intense olfactory cloud within a radius of approximately 2 to 3 meters around the anti-theft device.

At this stage, the attack becomes extremely difficult to continue, especially since two-thirds of the anti-theft device still need to be cut to free the bicycle or motorcycle.

Good question. But what really happens during a theft?
A thief acts quickly, under pressure, and chooses the easiest target. Will he equip himself with a suitable mask, check its airtightness, anticipate a system he doesn't know? Maybe. But will he take that risk when another item of similar value, discreet, with no visible message, is attached 3 meters away?

Next, let's talk technicalities. Putrescine is a very small and volatile molecule. It easily passes through many textiles and conventional protections. A simple surgical mask, a neck gaiter, or even an FFP2 are not enough to completely isolate it. The only truly effective equipment would be a gas mask with a suitable filter. And then we're no longer talking about an opportunistic theft. We're talking about a premeditated theft, with heavy, visible equipment, assimilated to military equipment on public roads.

And even in that case, one point is often forgotten: hair, body hair. The molecule attaches to it. The smell lingers for several hours, sometimes several days. A thief wants to leave quickly and cleanly. Not marked, with a smell that will follow him.

3 keys supplied, numbered key, reproduction possible.

No.

Shocks, vibrations, normal handling, or even an accidental fall will not trigger anything.

The system is designed to react only to a cutting attempt, when the material of the anti-theft device is actually breached.

As long as the anti-theft device is not attacked, the gas remains perfectly confined inside.

This reaction is very human. We associate an odor with a simple discomfort, with something secondary. As if only force mattered. As if only mechanical resistance held sway. Yet, our brain doesn't work that way.

Disgust is one of the oldest defense systems of the human species. Long before laws, insurance, or hardened steel anti-theft devices. Studies published by the Hygiene Centre (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) describe disgust as an adaptive protection mechanism against illness. It instinctively distances us from what threatens our biological integrity: putrefaction, contamination, decomposition. It is neither moral nor cultural. It is physiological.

Putrescine is precisely a molecule associated with tissue decomposition. In 2015, a study published in Frontiers in Psychology (Wisman & Shrira) showed that exposure to putrescine triggers automatic avoidance and flight behaviors. Participants moved away faster, left the premises, even when they didn't consciously identify the smell.

Why? Because olfaction is directly connected to the limbic system, the center of our survival mechanisms. It bypasses rationalization. We don't think. We react.

Conversely, theft is an opportunistic act. It relies on a simple balance: minimal effort, controlled risk, emotional neutrality. Introducing a stimulus that activates an archaic avoidance mechanism changes this balance. It's not "just a smell." It's the body saying no, acting even before the brain thinks, responding automatically, despite our will.

Security is not just a matter of steel. It's a matter of human behavior. And sometimes, the most powerful deterrent is not one that blocks, but one that acts actively.