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ABUS turns wheel and seat post security on its side with new NutFix locks

Written by Zach Overholt
17 Comments
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As long as thieves have been nabbing bicycles, the opportunistic ones have also gone for pricey wheels and seat posts/saddles. It’s a sad reality that in certain places, if it’s not locked down, it’s likely to be stolen. There are a number of products out there that provide options to keep your components safe once your frame is locked, but ABUS is approaching the problem with an angle of simplicity. Without any special tools, your seat post and wheels can be secured – as long as your bike is locked up tight…

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Called the ABUS NutFix, the system replaces standard axle nuts or quick releases with a bolt-on system with an added twist. Each skewer is replaced with a single sided bolt on skewer with an anti-rotation plate that is positioned under the nut. It’s the nut itself that has the security built in with a clever locking mechanism that will only release when the bike is placed on its side. In a way, this seems similar to Kryptonite’s Gravity WheelNuts which have to be turned upside down in order to be removed. Here though, the nut has a cap that can only be pulled away to access the wrench flats when the bike is at 90°. Otherwise the cap will just spin, preventing the nut from being removed. That will make it very important to tightly lock up your bike. If it’s loosely locked to most bike racks, thieves will probably still be able to position the bike in a way to remove the nuts. Though, they will have to know the trick to get that far.

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Available in multiple colors, the NutFix system will be available for 100 and 135mm quick release wheels, as well as 3/8″, M9, and M10 solid axle kits, and 28.6 and 34.9mm seatpost collars which will include the collar and the NutFix system. Pricing is TBA.

abus.com

 
Zach Overholt
5,729 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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17 Comments
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Shanghaied
Shanghaied
8 years ago

Didn’t Zefal make something similar a few years earlier that required the bike to be upside-down before the skewers can be opened?

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Mike D
Mike D
8 years ago
Reply to  Shanghaied

Those still exist, and yes, they still utterly suck.

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onion
onion
8 years ago
Reply to  Shanghaied

Kryptonite Wheelboltz are the recent ones I know of, and I have a few pairs. I’ve found they’re great for locking up on errands in the city. Fixing flats sucks enough that I wasn’t too bothered by having to invert the bike to get the wheel off.

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Papi
Papi
8 years ago

Oh great, now my wheels and seat are going to fall off every time I lay my bike on the ground?

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Necromancer
Necromancer
8 years ago
Reply to  Papi

you still need to loosen the wheel with a wrench t take it off.

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Seraph
Seraph
8 years ago

This seems all right in general, but it’s super annoying for when you or a mechanic is trying to repair a flat. Now you can’t remove the wheels while the bike is in the stand. Not all shops have enough room to lay a bike down on its side just to get the wheels off.

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M
M
8 years ago

Seraph
I have never seen such a small shop that you cant lay your bike on its side, unless you work in a closet.

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Guy.Ford
Guy.Ford
8 years ago

It’s an interesting solution, however if I go back to the beginning of the video and look at how the rider locked up his bike, which is generally how most people lock up a bike. What’s to stop the thief from just tipping the bike up on its side and unscrewing the NutFix assembly and making off with my wheels and seat\post??? Seems like it would only work in certain situations and even then you’d have to be very choosy as to where\how you locked the bike so it couldnt be tilted onto its side.

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Rampa
Rampa
8 years ago

you only need to lay it flat to lift the cap off the threads, I think. Once exposed, the nuts could then be undone with the bike in a stand.

The size and shape kind of looks like a vice-grip might be able to grab it though.

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Bill
Bill
8 years ago

Hey, they come in colors at least.

The reality is, those special pinhead nuts, Allen wrenches, even plain old six sided hex nuts are basically the same security as these, which is that they are not a quick release. These parts that disappear are opportunity theft: Walk by, see something easy to take and maybe someone will give you 10 dollars for it. That and just yanking off seat posts with back and forth action that ruins your seat tube, which this won’t help either.

There are only two real solutions or bike and bike part theft:

1 – don’t lock your bike up outside.
2 – don’t get attached to your bike, and take out insurance on it.

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Matt
Matt
8 years ago

A thief will cut your frame apart at the lock with a cheap hacksaw and strip the parts later. All he needs is a serrated knife on carbon. To easy to get caught selling a whole bike on Craigslist. Like Bill says, get insurance.

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Frank
Frank
8 years ago

Looks interesting, but I know that I was able to open 2 previous, similar systems (Kryptonite and another brand I can’t remember…) – that supposedly required the bike to be flipped upside down – simply by shaking or bouncing the bike up and down while turning the skewer. I’d be impressed if these can’t be similarly defeated.

If you have to lock the bike up so securely that neither wheel can be moved a couple of inches side-to-side or up-and-down in order for the system to work, then much of the utility is lost.

With current manufacturing technology, I think a better answer is a system using single-use keys of a very complex design. Your lock/skewers come with a couple dozen single-use plastic keys, and you can order more as necessary by code. The design is complex enough that it would be prohibitively expensive for anyone to try and have one of every possible key.

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Bill
Bill
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank

I can see the single use keys now… hole filled with road grit, user breaking single use key after single use key, then just using channel locks anyway 🙂

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suede
suede
8 years ago

Gravity based locks are one of the biggest shams ever sold to bicycle consumers, I wish it would just end rather than evolve into even easier systems to defeat. The only saving grace thus far is the fact that bike thieves are not noted for their intelligence, and have not discovered how incredibly easy all the current systems are to bypass.

If you are genuinely interested in this type of system please lock your bike to your usual rack in the way you are accustomed to, and attempt to turn your bicycle upside down or sideways. You will be surprised at how easy it easy to on anything but a vertical pole with a large cap (parking meter) which are not common, or a traffic/parking sign (which are easy enough themselves to defeat). Most racks are u-shaped, only a pair of u-locks or a very congested rack will prevent it in those cases.

Pitlocks are for me as a mechanic the current champs for keeping wheels on.

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Nash
Nash
8 years ago

Two locks. One a u lock the other a chain very difficult to have tools to cut both. Use locks to secure wheels. Pit bolt saddle and stem . Bike is fairly secure .

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Steve from Bell's Bike Shop
Steve from Bell's Bike Shop
8 years ago

Pinhead has the best system going. In 20 years in a major US city, I’ve never seen them defeated. Coupled with a small U-lock, you can lock your bike for hours. Pitlock is also excellent although pricier in the US since they are from Germany. Pinhead has a patent that the other lock companies can’t get around, hence all these other attempts. For city use, they are truly liberating. You only carry one lock, you can lock your bike at the wheel if it’s a crowded parking spot etc. If you are thinking about it, but thinking it might be cumbersome to deal with flats, you need to upgrade your tires to something more flat-resistant. My personal city bike has Vittoria Rubino Pro Techs (now Rubino Pro Control) on there for 5 years with no flats. Other great tires can be had from Schalbe, Continental, Maxxis etc

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Danka
Danka
8 years ago
Reply to  Steve from Bell's Bike Shop

I agree pinheads are the best. They are pricier so they have been a a harder sell than some of the other other ones like the velo-orangee system. which is great too. People have to remember that these are just deterrents to get the average bike thieve to not have to bother to with spending time with your bike. A set of pinheads, a seat leash and a compact lock is all you need imo

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