Two Bike-Friendly Kickstarter Campaigns

We found two Kickstarter projects that are looking to make bike commuters’ lives a little bit easier and safer.

Nutlock: Lock Your Nuts

Fundraising goal: $15,000
Deadline: Sept. 14, 2014

University of Southern California grads Mikey Ahdoot and Amir Atighehchi are looking to eliminate the ever-growing problem of bike wheel theft. To combat the 1.5 million bikes stolen every year, these young entrepreneurs are developing a simple anti-theft tool—and it’s not another bike lock. Nutlock is a replacement system for your bike’s wheel skewers. They still function the same, but instead of generic and easily-removable nuts or quick releases securing your wheels, Nutlock comes with custom caps that can only be removed with the corresponding key. The key is engineered to be small enough to fit onto a key ring for quick and convenient access.

When discussing the motivation for Nutlock, co-founder Mikey Ahdoot stated that he and his college roommate had their bike wheels stolen a combined total of five times. This simple, but brilliant fix is great for all types of bikes, but it is especially relevant to bike commuters and college students. Anyone who plans on leaving their bike locked in a public place for extended periods of time would benefit from the added security of Nutlock. The public has already funded $8,266 and Nutlock still has more than a month until its deadline. When Nutlock goes to retail, the pricing will be $25 for one skewer and $39 for a set of two skewers.

To find out more information about Nutlock or to fund this product, visit:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/274365669/nutlock-outsmart-thieves-save-your-wheels-lock-you

Bike Lift & Carry

Fundraising goal: $32,000
Deadline: Sept. 25, 2014

The idea that originated from inventor Henry Teterian of Ukraine truly was a case where necessity was the mother of invention. Teterian and his wife were tired of carrying their bikes up and down stairs due to their awkward handling and size; that is when he invented Bike Lift & Carry. It’s a shoulder strap that attaches to your bike’s seat post—when you want to carry your bike, the strap gets extended from the seat post up to the handlebars. You no longer need two hands for the complicated task of carrying your bike, and the strap stabilizes the front wheel, eliminating the awkward rotation. While it is a product that may not be suited for the average road racer, it is a simple design that could solve complex problems for many bike commuters. Unfortunately for Bike Lift & Carry, the fundraising process has been underwhelming so far—only $1,071 has been crowd funded.

For more information or to help fund this product, visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1851066701/bike-liftandcarry