The metallurgist answer is both stainless steel and aluminum threads gall (essentially weld together). Titanium is lighter than steel, stronger than both, and gall-proof.
On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 1:10:33 PM UTC-5 Elisabeth Sherwood wrote: > I'm also (theoretically!) a Pinhead user (and also here in DC). I > actually had them all keyed to the same key. > > But I say "theoretically"... I used to have them on my city/hybrid bikes > -- i.e., the ones whose wheels could potentially be stolen. But I just > found over time that, eh, the wheels on my city/hybrid bikes don't seem to > be theft targets. They both have fenders and rear racks, which I tell > myself makes them less attractive to opportunistic theft. I use a > standard-size kryptonite lock, which I use on the frame and front wheel. > And in the locations where wheel theft might be a problem, my bikes are > rarely parked for more than an hour or so, and are always surrounded by > other bicycles. This includes my Saluki, which is my daily commuter. (That > said, my usual parking destination for the Saluki is inside.) > > I did use the Pinheads for a couple years. But there was an infamous > episode where, while I was out of town on a work trip, my boyfriend and his > mother were doing a week-long trip to Harpers Ferry (a one-day ride to > Harpers Ferry from DC, his mother using my city hybrid; spend a week at a > friend's house there; one-day ride back)... Literally the last thing I > said as I left on my work trip was (while pointing to the Pinhead key!) -- > DON'T FORGET TO TAKE THE PINHEAD KEY! RIGHT HERE! WHERE I'M POINTING! > > Well.... my boyfriend's mother got a flat 11 or so miles from their > destination... Boyfriend tried to fix it (pulling the tube out from under > the tire), but for a variety of reasons the patch(es) kept failing... They > ended up walking the 11 miles. In the dark. Up a gigantic, approximately > 3-mile-long uphill! > > I won't go into the resolution of this, but trust me that the whole story > gets even crazier/more stupid. It is family lore at this point. > > Anyway... I took the Pinheads off that bike not too long after that and > have actually never felt the need to put them back on. > > I hope that perspective is helpful! > > Liz > Washington, DC > > On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 11:21:30 AM UTC-4 Steven Seelig wrote: > >> I am a long-time Pinhead user, being that I live in DC and from time to >> time lock my bike places downtown for a reasonable period of time, usually >> outside sporting events or places with a lot of foot traffic. I have them >> on (counting...) 4 of my bikes. I have never had a failure with them some >> of them are literally 20 years old. The thing is acquiring them across a >> fleet can be pretty costly as can making sure you have enough keys to >> deploy across your fleet. So I need to make sure that the key move to the >> right city bike for a potential flat tire change or else sweat for the >> entire ride. So over 20 years or so, the price per year has been darn >> reasonable for me. >> >> I don't use the seat post lock because I presume a less informed bike >> their couldn't care less about boosting my seat post and Brooks saddle, and >> that has proven true over the years. I will say the Pitlocks did not work >> on my older Look Reynolds 753 racing bike because the dropouts are aligned >> vertically to the rear of the bike, so that bike remains with a quick >> release. >> >> Having Pinhead means I only lock my frame when parking my bike, unless I >> intend to be parked for a longer time. Even then, I tend to park my bike >> in a parking garage underneath whatever building I am visiting downtown. >> Sold at REI or their website: https://www.pinheadbikelocks.com >> >> >> Steve Seelig >> On Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 10:38:02 AM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >> wrote: >> >>> [image: IMG_2030.jpeg]Hi All, >>> >>> I have dyno wheels on all my bikes and on those that get locked up (only >>> Charlie is exempt) I have replaced the QRs with Hexlox locking skewers. I >>> thought it a brilliant system because it requires only one tiny key to pull >>> the magnetic insert and that key can be keyed for alllll your bikes, making >>> only one key on your key ring necessary. >>> >>> But I have an alarming problem. Now, this is on all 3 of my Platys and >>> on my son’s Clem: the aluminum nuts’ threads strip after removing the wheel >>> once or twice. My mechanic said we needed a steel nut; the aluminum is soft >>> and easily stripped. I talked to Hexlox, who acted like I was the only one >>> ever to have this issue, which just cannot be true. They found me a conical >>> steel nut from their site, and we immediately replaced all the bikes’ >>> aluminum nuts with steel nuts. It seemed like all was well. It has been a >>> year or more since… >>> >>> This week I took my red Platy in for a front wheel that was not spinning >>> right, and the mechanics called to say the problem is the axle again. The >>> nut is not holding onto the axle anymore, which means the steel nuts are no >>> good, either. I think they last longer, but they are certainly not a safe >>> long-term replacement. I am pretty disappointed because the Hexlox was such >>> a slick system, but how can I use them now? >>> >>> I do have Pitlocks I bought from the marvelous Peter White that are just >>> sitting here. I bought them when the aluminum Hexlox failed, thinking I’d >>> have to give up those skewers. But I got those steel nuts and so these >>> Pitlocks have sat in their packages. >>> >>> Before I tear apart my bikes again and have to carry 4 different keys >>> around with the Pitlock system, does anyone have a better, slicker solution? >>> >>> I did write to Hexlox today and we’ll see what they say about this… >>> Leah >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/85bcf8a9-fdac-4aea-a577-65d44ed791b3n%40googlegroups.com.
