Asking for Feedback about my bike lock invention

[BickeyLover]

Hey guys, my name's Liang I'm a college student and cyclist at USC. I've had three bikes stolen while at USC and it really pissed me off so now I'm doing something about it.

I've created a lock that specifically secures the wheels of a bike. It works by replacing the hex nuts or quick release skewers holding a bike in place. It's designed so none of the common theft tools (i.e. wrenches, vice grips, bolt cutters, flamethrowers, that laser gun from Goldeneye, etc.) can get through it or get any leverage on it.

The nut can only be tightened / loosened with the specific wrench that comes in each package. There are multiple variations of these nut:wrench combinations.

I'd love to get some feedback from you guys on the product, whether or not you'd use it, and any advice you have (from business/marketing ideas to product improvements).

Cheers,
-Liang

[JimK]

There are several products like this on the market already. You might be able to improve enough on them to win a place alongside them or who knows, you might knock them out! But anyway you need to study them and understand the differences.

e.g. pitlocks http://www.pitlock.com/

[sd]

  Nice one but do they regularly only steal wheels? If you remembered to carry the spanner with you there would be no down side. Wouldn't the scum bags at least the more professional ones buy the spanner?  Either way you are bound to reduce the risk if not guarantee it.

[onrbikes]

Although it looks cool and see a fair bit of work went into it the spanner may be a bit heavy.
Is the end with the hole in it actually required a sit looks like the other end fits the skewer nut.

The potluck is extremely light. I dare say this one may be removed with the help of a vice grip and a file, to file a flat if the vice grip doesn't bite properly.

Most bikes worth anything get stolen complete as opposed to wheels only.
Once you do the costing may find it unviable.

[bikerwaser]

I doubt that your average drug addict would go to the trouble to buy up the right spanner for one of these. they generally just go for the easy targets so i think it's quite a good idea. unless...

... you're living in London or any major city and then i'd have these plus all the gold secure locks i could carry.

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

Looks like it could very easily be tapped undone with a hammer and screwdriver.  My issue with all of these systems is that its not easy to see if the skewer is coming loose...

My 2p, Dave

[BickeyLover]

There are several products like this on the market already. You might be able to improve enough on them to win a place alongside them or who knows, you might knock them out! But anyway you need to study them and understand the differences.

e.g. pitlocks http://www.pitlock.com/

Wow sorry for the late reply, I didn't get any notifications for some reason :/ to respond to your guys' points:

@JimK - yeah there's a few guys in this space already. Being a cyclist myself who's had my wheels stolen twice and my bike a third time, I've went through each of these competitors (i.e. pinhead, pitlock, etc.) and they all seem to be off in one way or another... i.e. too high of a price point, poor build quality, difficulty of use, needing two tools to remove the security parts, etc. I've been engineering this for over a while and am confident we did a good job so far... but there definitely is more room for feedback (like from ya'll!).

@sd - wheel theft depends on where you're from. In bike heavy areas, i.e. college campuses, NYC, los angeles, there's tons of it (I'd say I see a new stolen bike frame or leftover bike wheel walking around campus every other day). But in more quieter neighborhoods, wheel theft is much less common. Seems to be a growing trend - one that we can hopefully put a dent in.

@onrbikes - one side of the wrench is functional to remove the nut. The other is a bottle opener ( I DID say I was a college student now didn't I ). More pics attached below. In terms of removing it, we tried to get as aggressive as possible with every common theft tool we could find, i.e. wrenches, needle nose pliers, vice grips, etc. and after a bunch of prototypes, we couldn't get any leverage.

We're making many variations of spanner/nut combinations, to reduce theft as much as possible.

@Dave - if you spent a while... probably. You can never eliminate theft, just create a $hit ton of deterrents... which is what we're going for.

Here's some more pics guys. Thanks for your feedback so far - keep it up!! Responding to tough comments helps me hone the pitch even better. Thanks guys

http://imgur.com/IDYoaqY
http://imgur.com/BYruRbO
http://imgur.com/mMZuxTE

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

Good luck, be intrested to see one, pinhead, pitlock, etc I can defeat with hand tools in less than 1min.

[Andybg]

One consideration worth considering is how tight do you have to fit them before they are secure. I know that Rohloffs are sensative to overtightening of the bolts.

Andy

[Donerol]

Good luck, be intrested to see one, pinhead, pitlock, and atomic22's I can defeat with hand tools in less than 1min.

 

[BickeyLover]

Good luck, be intrested to see one, pinhead, pitlock, I can defeat with hand tools in less than 1min.

We'll be doing further testing in a mechanic shop next week. Any suggestions for tools we should try?

@Andybg - overtightening shouldn't be a big issue as it's being done by hand and without a standard wrench. It's been just enough to be stable but not enough to damage any components from overtightening