Secure Seatpost Clamp? Possible to Just Change Screw?

blobert

Hello,

Having recently had my seatpost and saddle stolen I'm just wondering is it possible to get a seatpost clamp that is undone using something other than an allen key (hex) and uses something less common such as torx?

Or if possible just replace the hex socket head screw with a torx one?

Anyone know if this is possible? I'm not interested in an expensive solution
but if there was a simple option out there that would be great.

Had a look on CRC but did not see anything suitable.

Thanks

Lumen

I have a Pitlock locking seat post bolt.

It requires a (presumably traditional) clamp with parallel bolt faces (bad description). I ignored this requirement and tried in on a conventional clamp , bending the bolt. So it's sitting in the drawer until I can be bothered to Dremel it out. I tried briefly but it is unbelievably secure.

Also, this only solves part of the problem, since the thief can just unscrew your saddle at the rails.

So you then need a short cable lock for the rails. Which can be cropped anyway.

I also have a set of Pinhead secure skewers and headset bolt, which are more user-friendly than the Pitlocks, but I'm not sure they do a seat post clamp.

Snapper1

One method I have heard of is supergluing a ballbearing into the head of the hex screw, thus not allowing an allen key in.

The glue can be picked out with a scalpel (by you) at a later date, and the ballbearing removed, if and when you need to (re)move the seatpost.

It may be a more permanent solution than you were looking for but worth consideration.

blobert

Thanks for the reply, That Pitlock stuff looks quite pricey.

If there was a way I could just replace the allen key screw with something else I think that would deter the majority of thieves.

My wheels can be easily removed with a spanner and I don't have a seperate lock for them.

I just thought if there was a cheap solution it might be worth doing.

Lumen

The Pinhead locks are cheaper than the Pitlocks, but the seatpost clamp issue is the same as with the Pitlocks.

edit: the cheap solution is to melt solder into the allen key head.

blobert

Lumen wrote: »

the cheap solution is to melt solder into the allen key head.

That sounds a great idea, would it be easy to melt the solder out without damaging the original hex screw if I wanted to adjust remove the seat?

Gavin

Wax was one I saw, but solder is a good idea. Carry a lighter around and it would be easy to heat it up and melt it out

blobert

Ok well as long as you don't think they'll be a problem removing it I will give this a go.

Thanks for the help.

blobert

Just as an update to this I had my saddle (Brown Charge Spoon) and Seatpost:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=35805

stolen from my bike while I was in work today. I leave it locked on the side of a busy path on O'Connell St where I figured it would be relatively safe.

Its my own fault for not securing the seatpost and saddle better, it was far too easy to allen key them off, quite brave of someone to do this on a crowded street in the middle of the day.

Quite annoying, partly because the combo was worth about €100 but moreso as the Charge saddles seem to be out of stock everywhere till September..

Its probably some kind of divine justice, I Chain Reaction sent me the carbon seatpost by mistake and I kept it as opposed to returning it...

Not a great start to the weekend...

crazydingo

That sucks! Did you use the wax/solder idea and they still got it?

I might have to resort to the spare chain in an old tube idea

blobert

No I didn't get around to the solder plan, which having thought about it, started a thread here, and been offered a solution, makes me all the more annoyed with myself:)

crazydingo

It's still crap to know that there's someone going around with allen keys to nick stuff from people's bikes. I heard about the chain in an old tube to use as a lock idea a good while ago but I thought "Nah, no-one in Dublin ever gets their seatpost/saddle nicked unless they have quick-release"

copacetic

Halo do replacment wheel skewers, requiring a special allen key with a void in the middle, making it a bit more difficult to remove them

Maybe they do seatpost bolts too?

tomasrojo

Just this weekend I tried waxing a 3/16" (front wheel) ball bearing into the hex nut. It'll hold there, I think, but it wouldn't be very hard to get it out again, which is both good and bad.

Maybe it would be just enough to make the thief move on to another bike, if all he had with him was an allen key.

I think maybe I'll superglue it in, and use nailpolish remover for when I need to get the saddle off.