Hiplok’s new Airlok combines security and storage, and it wants £70,000 funding on Kickstarter to make it reality

Innerlube wrote:

Note that all the pictures show the lock mounted on brick work, and I would be concerned at how easy it would be to simply lever the whole thing off the wall. None of the brick work on our house would withstand much in the way of direct force from a reasonable length lever, and this seems to have a couple of inviting spots to insert a crowbar.

i once spent a morning and a couple of bits drilling holes into a concrete slab in order to secure a similar locking station. Eventually it worked out but still at the hands of any thief who has the leisure to attack my lock.

All these things work on a deterrent level, and for sure this is a lot better than nothing at all.

A valid point, because brick is a fragile ceramic held in by even weaker morter *; plasterboard or wood would be even less sensible!  A more sensible idea is a fixing to a heavy lump of concrete or to a thick metal structure, possibly in a wall or the ground.

* use of a cold chisel could probably crack this in-situ making it easier to break the whole mounting out of the wall.

Al__S wrote:

another "proper" company abusing Kickstarter

That is an interesting point, but is it really "abuse" of Kickstarter?

I understand that Kickstarter was originally for all those ideas that got booted off of Dragons Den, and then there seemed to be a batch of 'bad apples' who took money, never finished their product but kept the money anyway.

It does seem that a growing number of established companies are using Kickstarter to raise funds and guaranteed orders before they start manufacturing something - shifting the risk from the company to the customer, I suppose.  I know Knog did it recently with their bike bell (full disclosure: I committed and ordered one).

Once upon a time I think it was called "pre-ordering".

brooksby wrote:

Al__S wrote:

another "proper" company abusing Kickstarter

That is an interesting point, but is it really "abuse" of Kickstarter?

I understand that Kickstarter was originally for all those ideas that got booted off of Dragons Den, and then there seemed to be a batch of 'bad apples' who took money, never finished their product but kept the money anyway.

It does seem that a growing number of established companies are using Kickstarter to raise funds and guaranteed orders before they start manufacturing something - shifting the risk from the company to the customer, I suppose.  I know Knog did it recently with their bike bell (full disclosure: I committed and ordered one).

Once upon a time I think it was called "pre-ordering".

If you think of available funds on Kickstarter being a certain sum, such that the more projects started, the more likely one goes unfunded, then such a claim of abuse could be valid.

Personally, with the projects I've funded, the chance of getting the finished article is the prime consideration for me, such that I'd rather fund hiplok than a couple of chancers out of design school who're using an alibiba contact. 

In that respect, I'd argue that the presence of established "names" and companies brings in more money and interest, and is a tide that raises all boats.

(also awaiting Knog Oi)

Beecho wrote:

Exactly whose bikes are ever clean enough to hang on the pristine white wall, above your pristine desk, at your marketing company in Hoxton?  Oh, I've just answered my own question...

My wife won't let me bring mine into the house under any circumstances.  Really not sure she'd bite for me hanging it off a wall in the front room...

Paul_C wrote:

As for 'heavy' E-bikes... Just fix it to the wall lower so that the bike's wheels take the weight... dur...

Thats what I was thinking, it's not rocket science is it!