Commuters check these out

http://www.urbanbiketech.com/Pitlock-Locking-Skewers-Wheels-Seat-Fo...

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ad on November 20, 2009 at 8:06am

Pitlocks have a pretty good reputation. There are supposedly over 250 different key combinations, so a thief would have to make a substantial investment and spend a lot of time to figure out how to get a wheel off.

A neat trick I learned for bolt-on style seat post collars and the saddle bolt on my seat post is to use a small ball bearing to fill the hex nut space and then seal it with candle wax. Obviously not a fool-proof system, but it would slow down most thieves to the point where they would hopefully move on to a different target. You can dig the wax and ball bearing out with a needle pretty easily on the rare ocassions you need to adjust the saddle or remove the post.

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Permalink Reply by Primitive Don on November 21, 2009 at 2:53pm

Was kinda curious what people thought of these type of locking skewers. I picked up a set of Pinheads recently and have put them on my commuter. Along the lines of what Iggi said, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get enough grip (I'm a big dude), but was pleasantly surprised at how well they worked on my LeTour to support my weight. The QR skewers work great, but the seatpost lock doesn't mate well with my frame. It is weird, though, just using a single U-lock.

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Permalink Reply by PJ on November 21, 2009 at 4:11pm

I have pinhead on both my bikes. I find that over time I have gotten better at applying some good torque on the small key they give you. It's just a matter of pushing in to keep the key in place as you turn. I've never had a problem with anything loosening, except for the seat the first time I put them on a bike when I was new to them.

Also, if you every loose your key pinhead provided free key replacement, as long as you've registered it.

Primitive Don said:

Was kinda curious what people thought of these type of locking skewers. I picked up a set of Pinheads recently and have put them on my commuter. Along the lines of what Iggi said, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get enough grip (I'm a big dude), but was pleasantly surprised at how well they worked on my LeTour to support my weight. The QR skewers work great, but the seatpost lock doesn't mate well with my frame. It is weird, though, just using a single U-lock.

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Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on November 22, 2011 at 6:06am

Does anyone know if any of the shops in Chicago sell either the Pinhead or Pitlock skewers?

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Permalink Reply by igz on November 22, 2011 at 6:13am

REI. im sure many others

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Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on November 22, 2011 at 6:23am

Cool. REI has the On Guard version, which seem the same or similar to the Pinheads.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hainey on November 22, 2011 at 6:29am

I used hose clamps on my commuter bike as well. A great easy and cheap solution.

iggi said:

makes perfect sense now...thanks. i think ill do that.

Chucko said:
You put the hose clamp around the fork blade, and around the quick release skewer lever. Or around the seat stay and quick release lever. If you can't release the lever, you can't get the wheel off. Basically doesn't make it theft proof, but you'd have to loosen the clamp and slide it off before you'd be able to release the skewer. I've seen that a lot.

iggi said:
im missing something here...how?

Chicago Bicycle Advocate said:
When I've ridden a bike with quick release skewers I've used small hose clamps from the hardware store to keep the thieves at bay. Never lost a wheel and they cost about 20 cents a piece.