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TECH NEWS
Quick Caps locksBristol engineer seeks Kickstarter funding for quick release skewer lock (+ video)
A Bristol-based engineer has devised a locking device for quick release skewers – and he is looking to crowdfunding site Kickstarter for finance to help bring it to market.
It’s a dilemma that faces many cyclists. Quick release wheels have obvious benefits, but can be attractive to thieves, and not only because wheels can be valuable.
Some may take an unsecured front wheel in the expectation that the bike will remain in situ for long enough for them to go to work on the lock when it is quiet.
That means taking two locks with you, meaning added weight in the backpack, using a cable with eyelets at either end, not much use against boltcroppers in determined hands,or removing the front wheel to secure it to the back one, not an ideal workaround.
Curtis Dorrington believes he has the answer, however.
His product, Quick Caps is pitched as a “fit and forget” solution to the problem.
Dorrington says that after qualifying as an engineer, “I thought I'd use my skills to create a device to allow only-me operation of my quick release, so I began trying countless amounts of solutions which mainly resulted in failure but definite learning curves.
“One year ago the problem was solved... it was so simple, but it was not pretty.”
After a stint working with Sustrans, where he says he got positive feedback on his idea, he secured a job working in quality inspection in the aerospace industry and also took a course in CAD design.
“Realising the necessity for quality and intuitive design I refined the product and with the assistance of some amazing companies based locally Quick Caps was complete, it worked, it looked and felt great,” he added.
With 10 days of his Kickstarter campaign left, he has achieved more than £12,000 towards his £15,000 target.
He adds: “I need funding to move forward into production, to pay the upfront tooling costs so that we can manufacture Quick Caps at an affordable price. When manufacturing this sort of product, material needs to be bought upfront by the ton.
“As well as the cost of pledge items, I will use the money to fund the extrusion tool for the aluminium body of Quick Caps, the upfront costs of bulk orders of the internal components.”
You can back the project here.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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17 comments
I can't see the point, I could unscrew the other end with mole grips or drop out the entire fork in seconds, hell if you have a carbon fork I can just snap it with a wrecking bar. The only practical solution is to use a rat bike for times when it needs to be left on the street.
Disappointed it only works with the weaker exposed cam skewer with an in-line lever. I use Shimano enclosed cam skewers on all my bikes with an offset lever. Much stronger system; wouldn't want to use a front disc brake with an inline skewer, certainly.
Apart from that, neat product well pitched and I hope it does well enough for an external cam version to come along in future.
Eh? I've had lockable skewers on my bike for 4 years. Cost me £13. Aaaand I don't need to carry around a bulky padlock.
You can unlock or shim open a single pawl padlock with a bit cut from a aluminum coke can - google 'coke can padlock' if you want to watch it done and I have done this many times at work to open tool boxes and such when people forget their keys and it is how magicians unlock padlocks without a key.
So I shan't be buying this - nice idea, but if I can unlock it and just look like I am using a key then so can a tea leaf.
It's double locking, one shim wouldn't do it. Two shims with it in place, forget it, too fiddly. Internals shown at 54 seconds on the video.
Biggest weakness is probably the physical strength of a 50g lock. But that's always that compromise with bike locks, a balance of better security for minimum weight and inconvenience. I've now ordered a pair as I think these look pretty good.
Your right - its got two pawls - that means it will take me a few seconds more to open it over a single pawl mechanism and it is as fiddly as using a key - this is how Harry Houdini opened padlocks - it is how magicians like Brian Brushwood and Dan Martin open padlocks today and it doesn't look like your doing anything much more than using a key.
Best of luck with them and I hope they work, but by their very design normal pawled padlocks are flawed because a thief, with some thing they can pick up in the street and a pair of scissors can make a thing to open one in seconds.
Any lock is a pragmatic choice, but I'm not too worried about the shim risk, and with the lock on the skewer it certainly would be quite fiddly. Living in London I've had a fair amount of experience with bike thieves and the methods they use, and they're just not that sophisticated. The tools of the trade are basically bolt cutters, hacksaws and sometimes a hammer (more likely a rock or housebrick). I haven't yet encountered any Houdini's in the bike theft trade.
That said, I'd still use two proper locks if I had to leave a commuter bike on the street for a few hours. It's the weight of these that I like, for the longer leisure rides I can keep one of these in the saddle bag along with a short cable lock, and that's perfect for cake stops.
I may be missing a simple point as I can't listen to the sound at work, but what stops a thief just unscrewing the other end of the skewer with a pair of pliers (or ring spanner in some instances)?
Also backed these, I think they look good as they're easy to remove if I'm just going out for a ride from home and back, leaving the normal QR in place, but security if I use the bike to go somewhere it'll be locked up unattended.
Nothing to stop the bike being lifted and TGBs taking a small plasma cutting disc to these locks.
A neat idea… backed now!
Whyte bikes have a tool you screw into the QR, without it you can't remove the QR.
Seems like a decent idea and worth backing. There is already a good security solution out there though - the pitlock skewers have been out for a number of years and work really well. They're a bit spendy but secure the seat post as well as both wheels
There's a budget alternative to the pitlocks. Search for Tranz X security skewers, you can find them for around £10-15. They use an unusual five sided key, which whilst nowhere near as secure as the pitlock, but will stop most thieves. I use a set on my shopping/pootling bike, which allows me to make stops quickly with just a d-lock, whilst running local errands.
On an XC bike, I have also simply used a chunky padlock to secure the front wheel, passing through the brake rotor and the mounting point for the caliper.
I will take a closer look at these little locks as well. I note on the kickstarter page it's not compatible with all quick release levers, and at the moment I think I have the wrong type on at least one bike.
... Aaaand I've backed it
Thumbs up from me - I could definitely find a place for these on my winter/commuter.
I'll also mirror what Larry said, corrosion resistance will be a big deciding factor in customer satisfaction.
Gotta admit, looks like he's done his homework. Good solution against carrying two dlocks and/or a cable. Its at least as good (though almost certainly better) than the cable lock and at that pretty reasonable price a good security protection for your commuter or runabout.
Does mean difficulties if you get a flat and have forgotten the key, or the lock seizes. Corrosion resistance is another worry, more from the point of the locking mechanism itself than the lock hoop or body.
That said I wouldn't trust anything to secure really decent wheels, best thing there is not to leave it anywhere in the first place!