Stair Hook: Hang your bicycle from your stair

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Stair Hook: Hang your bicycle from your stair

(41 posts)

Started 7 years ago by craigwalton
Latest reply from acsimpson

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craigwalton
Member

I live in a tenement stair in Marchmont where there's rarely any space to securely lock up my bike. So I've designed and 3D printed some hooks which clasp onto any banister pole between 20mm-30mm diameter and support any bike up to 20kg by the saddle rails. I've been using it for over a year and it's been great! It means that my bike is close enough to the stair to use a U-lock on the frame+back wheel and another on the front wheel (I've had just my front wheel stolen before >:( ) without needing to muck around with a cable lock.

Was wondering if anyone else who struggles to find a good place to lock up their bike would like one? I'm selling them for £10+postage. I've made a website with some more photos and information here stairhook.com.

They're 3D printed in ABS then submerged in an acetone vapour bath to add gloss and strength. They're are supplied with the required rubber for grip and nuts and bolts.

Posted 7 years ago #
Klaxon
Member

Are you all registered up for patents and so on? This looks amazing, could be a real big hit, and without that protection you'll have your design stolen in the blink of an eye

Posted 7 years ago #
LivM
Member

That does indeed look amazing. Hawk them round local bike shops, and put your price up.

Posted 7 years ago #
craigwalton
Member

Hi there, I did look into getting a patent but the advice that I found was that only 1/20 applicants manage to get one without professional legal help, which costs ~£2000-£4000. In addition, I think you're unable to tell the public (including putting it on sale obviously) until the patent is obtained or at least the patent application is filed. My aim in this venture is to help others, rather than exclusively making money so I thought it would be worth the risk.

Thanks for your comments though, it's nice to hear that it's not just me who thinks this could be very useful to many bike owners, especially in places like Edinburgh where tenement stairwells can be crowded with bikes!

Posted 7 years ago #
craigwalton
Member

My flat mate also suggested a higher price - what would you guys suggest? Thanks for any input, much appreciated!

Posted 7 years ago #
neddie
Member

Looks great for hanging a bike. Good idea.

I'd be wary of locking only to the cast iron balusters though, as they are easily smashed with a hammer. Best to lock around the wooden banister.

Posted 7 years ago #
Klaxon
Member

If you're not too worried about patents, I'm going to suggest a sidekick product of a pair of wheel rests so you could use one of these on an upper floor without putting undue strain on your lock or any single railing (obvious consequences of falling bikes are obvious)

Posted 7 years ago #
gembo
Member

Fifteen quid

Posted 7 years ago #
Frenchy
Member

That's fantastic!

£10 sounds like a very good deal.

Posted 7 years ago #
daisydaisy
Member

Nice design! I'd've liked that when I lived in a tenement. My bikes gears got bashed about in amongst all the bikes at the bottom of the stairs.

Posted 7 years ago #
chdot
Admin

Minor problem in a stair with lots of bikes is what do if someone decides to use your 'reserved parking space'.

Posted 7 years ago #
LaidBack
Member

Very creative and result looks very polished. Think this might be first 3D printed item produced by a forum member?
£15 inc p&p (should be cheap to post)
Web site explains it well with good pictures.

Posted 7 years ago #
Morningsider
Member

A practical question - how do you get your bike up? Stand at the bottom and hoik it up, or dangle it over the railings? Either would seem to require reasonable upper body strength and (certainly above ground floor) might not be very safe.

It does look smart though - and £15 to £20 would seem reasonable.

Posted 7 years ago #
chdot
Admin

'Need' to have non-removable bolts otherwise they will become a new 'must have' item.

Posted 7 years ago #
qwerty
Member

Without wanting to cause offense, I think you're totally mad to not get patents on this! You don't know where this might end up or have future applications with.

Even an amateur patent application without full hands-on professional support would be worth it IMHO vs. doing nothing - but realise your motivations are more than just to make money from it. But to play devil's advocate... maybe the best use of this is to patent it, make a bit of cash, and then do good with whatever the proceeds allow? Would offer a little bit more flexibility...

On a different note - looks interesting/well thought out... I wouldn't use it because we have bike parking but I can imagine this would be super helpful to some folk if the circumstances enable its use (living in a fairly "safe"/stable stairwell, having the strength to hook it on, etc). Good luck.

Also think the tenner price tag is too low.

Posted 7 years ago #
craigwalton
Member

Thank you very much for all your comments, I'm overwhelmed by the positive and constructive response!

As for the price, I think £15 including 2nd class postage sounds good, meaning I could offer a discounts (e.g. cycling club who may buy multiple ones) when needed and still make a little profit.

Had not considered that the balusters could be relatively easily smashed/broken. Might change the website advice to be to use a D/U-lock around the banister. Thanks for the heads up.

Haven't considered the issue much of someone else using my "reserved space" as it hasn't happened to me yet, but maybe it's an opportunity to further monetise the product by offering "custom text" on the front where stairhook.com is printed, for example your name or your flat number - it's not too much extra work for me to print some different text.

Personally, I lift it up from the ground floor (I am quite tall though), my bike is a fixie so is really quite light but I've tried it with a mountain bike too and its doable, though I appreciate it might take some getting used to. In the safety instructions I've deliberately said though it will work from non-ground floors, it's not recommended in case the user drops the bike (just to hopefully keep me out of any trouble).

No offence taken about the patents at all! I see where you're coming from. I'll look into it again today and maybe even consider registering a design which I understand is less complex than a patent.

Thank you again for all the constructive advice, much appreciated!

Posted 7 years ago #
craigwalton
Member

Oh and I nearly forgot, what did you mean chdot by needing non-removable bolts? Some way to prevent theft of the hook itself?

Posted 7 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"Some way to prevent theft of the hook itself?"

Yes.

Posted 7 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"Had not considered that the balusters could be relatively easily smashed/broken"

Not an issue with 'your' banisters.

Many stairs have older cast iron ones.

Posted 7 years ago #
LaidBack
Member

Neat packaging makes life easier for P&P.
The 'story' here just isn't the brackets. 3D printing is still novel so would mention.
Not sure how long it takes to make a set.
Plain brown card box with neat label to seal? Faff time to p&p reduced. Check min post size first - Forrest Rd PO friendly. People may buy a variant in future. All in all a great start. All interesting / rewarding businesses are prototypes!

Posted 7 years ago #
chdot
Admin

The key to postal cost is 1" -

"

Large Letter

Max length: 35.3cm
Max width: 25cm
Max thickness: 2.5cm
Max weight: 750g

"

Posted 7 years ago #
gembo
Member

The bike is best situated in the place in the photo as it is out of the way of the bannister. If somoeone wants to lock to a bannister then that should be done with a cable as that means the bike need t=not be lifted quite so high and the bike will also not interfere with the handrail function of the bannister

Posted 7 years ago #
Blueth
Member

Reserve the space with something locked through a hole in the hook part.

Re the patent, many may not know that the Minoura Space Mount was effectively designed and manufactured (but it was made from alloy) by an Edinburgh Audaxer some years before Minoura brought it out. If only he'd patented it.

Posted 7 years ago #
gembo
Member

Dolby was invented by the BBC lab but they did not patent it, or it might have been Nicam.

Spokes have reposted the stairwell mount on fcebook. Only really about dozen max react to spokes on Facebook, often just me but I do like them.

Posted 7 years ago #
hunnymonster
Member

Nicam was the BBC (Well, their R&D division, in conjunction with the EBU's boffins)... Dolby was invented by Ray Dolby, whilst he was working at ?Ampex? (Amongst other things they made magnetic tape recorders)

Posted 7 years ago #
gembo
Member

@hunnymonster, ta. Man I thought Thomas Dolby might have had a say? Borehamwood that is where BBC lab was.?

Posted 7 years ago #
Rosie
Member

Spokes have reposted the stairwell mount on fcebook. Only really about dozen max react to spokes on Facebook, often just me but I do like them.

Only a dozen or so reacts but that post has reached over 1000 people i.e. appeared in their timelines.

Posted 7 years ago #
gembo
Member

@rosie, good to know 988 non reactors receiving spokes intel

Posted 7 years ago #
Rosie
Member

@gembo If you're the S** W***** who regularly hits the like, thanks.

The Spokes FB page has about 1200 followers, but with posts getting shared and reshared a popular post will reach about 5000.

Posted 7 years ago #
gkgk
Member

I agree 10 too cheap, if that has you walking to the post office for <£2 profit, for example.

12, 14, 16, 18 are better numbers than 15 for hobby business pricing, I think. They have a good gravity to them, sound more reasoned.

Increasing from 10 you'll surely double profit way before you lose half your customers.

Posted 7 years ago #