Lock Your Nuts: Bike Wheel Theft Solution

A group of students from University of Southern California (USC) have what they feel is the answer to bike wheel theft.  By racking their educated brains and “thinking like a thief”, they created the patent pending Nutlock design to help with the all too familiar problem many cyclists face.

Today, the Nutlock crew launches their Kickstarter campaign with hopes of turning their idea into reality.  Their idea specifically addresses the issue that commuters and students have when locking their bikes.  When wheels are not locked up with the rest of the bike, they often get swiped.

Nutlock was thought up by Amir Atighehchi and Mikey Ahdoot and is based around the idea of replacing quick release skewers with unique lug nuts.  The Nutlock can only be taken off with the custom tool which in theory means they are safe.  And hey, the tool doubles as a bottle opener which is pretty cool.

I wish the best for these guys, but I did have one concern before reading more about the product.  I had originally thought each Nutlock tool was the same….but I was wrong.  Each Nutlock can only be removed with the customized paired key in the package.

The idea has been enough to impress USC’s competitive accelerator incubator program who recently presented them with $15,000.  Now they are hoping to equal that with their Kickstarter campaign.

With early-bird rewards starting from $19, Nutlock aims to put an end to bicycle wheel theft, protecting cyclists’ investments in quality bikes and improving overall security.

How it Works:

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nm65R_-0DM’]

If you think it’s a cool idea, head over to the Nutlock Kickstarter page and give them a kick.  Otherwise, feel free to leave your thoughts and/or well-wishes in the comments section below.