much appreciate advice from anyone who's used pitlocks to keep their wheels on their bikes instead of on ebay.

i just built beautiful wheels for my tour easy, for commuting and touring, and especially for the urban commute, wanted to protect my wheels without carrying extra u-locks.

my concern over the pitlock is about the inevitable flats -- what's getting the wheels on and off the bike like? also, do they adequately secure the wheel to the bike?

anything else to think about?

thanks, much appreciate the help,

jeff

https://www.bicycletouringoncarfreepaths.org/

Getting them on/off is only a little harder than using a quick release. You just need to use some kind of tool to turn the pitlock key instead of just your hand. They seem to hold as securely as any other quick release/old fashioned technique.

I've never felt that they were in any way insecure; however, the old diatribe about no method is completely secure... There are a large number of keys; however, while that puts the odds in your favor. If the thief happens to have the key that fits YOUR PITLOCKS, then stealing your wheels are not much more difficult than if they only had quick releases...

I just put the bike registry locking skewers on my bike. Basically all you need is 2 wrenches to take them on and off. For my commute I think they will be adequate given my environment.

The thing with the other locking skewers I was looking at is the need for the "special tools".

I have Pitlocks on three of my four bikes. (The fourth one has regular bolt-on skewers.) A got all my Pitlock sets keyed-alike for convenience. I use the sets that also have the seatpost bolt and headset cap .

I find they're a lot easier to use than QRs. I don't have much finger strength and by the time I get QRs tight enough, I can't remove them without using a prying tool of some sort, which scratches the paint on the frame or fork as well.

With the Pitlocks, I tighten the skewers hand tight, then use a wrench to tighten either one more full turn or until the first creak, whichever comes first. Wheel removal is just the reverse. I use a wrench on the pit for the first turn, then fingers for the rest.

The wrench I use varies by location. At home I use a 14mm socket. On the road, the pit has a hole in its flank. I stick my multi-tool's 5mm hex wench through the hole, and crank with that. Easy peasy.

When you get your Pitlocks, stop by the hardware store, spend $1.19 and get a yourself a clevis pin.

Put the pit on the clevis pin, then put the clevis pin on your keyring. You'll always have it with you when you need it.

Havem on my LHT. I purchased the kit that also includes the stem, seat post and wheels. Paid under $100 from Urbanbike tech. Money well spent if you ask me