Clug Bike Clip

Hi Everyone…it’s been a while :slight_smile:

That’s because I’ve been completely and thoroughly distracted by starting my new studio and getting our project ready to show to the world.

We’re finally there!

It’s called Clug. It is a simple little clip for your bike that is an alternative for storing your bike when you’re not using it. Our website will be going live soon: http://www.getclug.com

One of the things we’re going to be doing that we think is nifty, is we will be selling the digital files for anyone that has a 3D printer. Basically, we think that this is going to be the way of the future, so we’ve decided to embrace it.

I’d LOVE to hear what you all have to say. Especially because I know there’s a good pile of cyclists on this site. Don’t hesitate to get a hold of me directly if you’re interested in knowing more. I’ll post some more photos as they come available in the near future.

How does it attach to the wall?

Can it hold a bike up without the wheel being on the floor?

It attaches with two screws. It is a two piece design. The inner piece snaps in and out. It will ship with two screws and two drywall anchors. The packaging has the mounting hole spacing and instructions printed on it.

No, it can’t hold the bike up without a bottom wheel on the ground. We found that there are a lot of variations that already hang the bike. We also believe that you’re not saving space on the floor by lifting it off the ground. You still need to take your bike on and off the wall…so the floor space is going to need to be open if you want stuff under the bike. The winch that gets the bike right over your head is the only solution that you can walk around under it that we can think of.

All of that and we also know we can’t be all things to all people…and we’re not going to try.

So are you going to kick starter it?
It just seems like the type of product that will do well on there.

Cool. I’ve been looking for a simple bike storage solution for my apartment. Ill have to pick up the 3D files when they are up for sale.

So wait are you just going to sell 3D-files? No actual product?
What 3D-printing materials will you recommend?
That inner layer looks like some sort of soft rubber - what sort of 3Dprinter is needed for that? And how durable is it?
What about tire widths? Will it work for a track bike or a mountain bike?
I’m not even sure how it holds the bikes down-force?
Even more worried about side force (looks like wind could knock it over)

Unless you used it outside, I don’t think you would need to worry about the wind. The rear tire sits on the floor, so the Clug clip doesn’t look like it is supporting any real weight, just balancing the bike on it’s rear wheel.

Yes, but I didn’t want that to be the subject of this post. I wanted to show the product and get colleague response.

Sign up on our website mailing list if you want to know more about our Kickstarter campaign and what is going to be happening in the coming weeks/months.

No, we’re working with manufacturers now on the production version. Due to the nature of this product, if it is successful it will be knocked off in nanoseconds. So, we’re embracing the idea that someone could pay a smaller amount and print it on their own machine.

We’ve done all our testing with PLA. We’re doing material exploration now.

That inner layer looks like some sort of soft rubber - what sort of 3Dprinter is needed for that? And how durable is it?

We print ours on a Makerbot. We’ve had ABS versions machined and both work the same.

We’ve been using the PLA versions for about 2 - 3 months (in different variations) and they keep on working the same each time.

What about tire widths? Will it work for a track bike or a mountain bike?

23mm - 28mm currently. Mountain bike version is sitting next to me. Started testing it this past Monday. After going through 3 size tweaks, we believe we have it working as it should. It does lose its proportions a bit going that big…but that’s part of the game sometimes.


I’m not even sure how it holds the bikes down-force?
Even more worried about side force (looks like wind could knock it over)

Side force is an issue. We put our bikes in the studio in a corner…thus it isn’t a problem. But if you put them in a high traffic area, I can see it becoming and issue and this might not be for you.

The down force all rests on the back tire. This isn’t hanging your bike, it is keeping it clipped to the wall.

You know you’ll need a fat bike version for Minnesota…
Also, what if my bike has full fenders?

You could look at setting up an api at a bureau (shapeways/ sculpteo/ formwurx) to let punters customize for tire size. You wouldn’t have the problem of your stl files being released into the wild, but with bureau costs and shipping it would probably be more expensive than buying an I.M part.

I realize that, I mean isn’t there a risk of the bike rear wheel to start to roll backwards because of gravity - will the clip really hold it? I’d feel safer if I could lock it in place. Also, how will the clip work if you haven’t touched your bike all winter? It won’t lose elasticity?

But it seems like you’ve tested enough with real prototypes so I suppose you know what you’re doing. The first rendered image and talk of selling 3D files made me think you hadn’t actually done any real world testing…

Good answers on the rest, thanks.

For my .02.

I have several bikes, all with different wheelbases. With this design, I would have to place the clips at different heights on the wall for optimum “clippage”. Not the end of the world, but it isn’t easy either.

What about marks on the wall from the lower tire? Will you offer something or will it be up to the customer?

When hanging or clipping a bike to the wall in this manner, it will twist from side to side. The edge of your clip furthest from the wall will be under a torque load when the bike twists. Being a printed part, my concern would be breakage at the corner where the wall surface and the protruding surface meet.

Is the “lip” intended to grab the ID of the rim? If yes, you will obviously have issues with with different tire sizes, rim heights and rim profiles.

And finally, I don’t know if this matters, but it is more efficient to store bikes alternating nose to tail because of the width of the bars (42cm is 16.5 inches, studs are 16 inches on center). Your image has only the front wheel clipped but you should consider the rear wheel could be clipped.

James here at the office has a fender on the back wheel of his bike. He ends up resting the bike on the fender. Not ideal, but it works.

You can also turn it sideways and clip the handle bars into Clug as well…but doesn’t work for straight bars.

We have a mountain bike tire in the works.

I’m less concerned about the elasticity and more concerned about tires losing their tire pressure. It won’t really be an issue on mountain bike tires, but the road bike tires do end up releasing if you have a slow leak.

We’re considering adding a strap to the design. That starts to compromise the simplicity of the design though. Our target user is an apartment dweller or bike commuter that needs something at work. Where the bike is less likely to be stored for months on end.

It isn’t intended on being a product for everyone.

You’re right, you would need to have a Clug for each bike and you would (likely) need to have them mounted at different heights.

What about marks on the wall from the lower tire? Will you offer something or will it be up to the customer?

You can mount 2 Clugs (one for each wheel) to prevent the marks on the wall. That’s our only solution at the moment. Well, unless you count our office where we have an electrical conduit at exactly the right height that keeps the wall from getting scuffed :slight_smile:

When hanging or clipping a bike to the wall in this manner, it will twist from side to side. The edge of your clip furthest from the wall will be under a torque load when the bike twists. Being a printed part, my concern would be breakage at the corner where the wall surface and the protruding surface meet.

We thought this would be a problem as well. But, testing so far has proven otherwise. The final production parts will be injection molded out of Nylon (to start) and we will be testing with other recyclable materials once the tooling is done.

Is the “lip” intended to grab the ID of the rim? If yes, you will obviously have issues with with different tire sizes, rim heights and rim profiles.

No, it grips the tire. Sizes are an issue. The current model works well with 23mm - 28mm. We have a 2" mountain bike version being tested now.

And finally, I don’t know if this matters, but it is more efficient to store bikes alternating nose to tail because of the width of the bars (42cm is 16.5 inches, studs are 16 inches on center). Your image has only the front wheel clipped but you should consider the rear wheel could be clipped.

Yup, there are compromises in the design. But there are in all designs. It also ships with two drywall anchors and screws. So you don’t need a stud…although it is recommended. You can back the bike against the wall and clip it that way…which is what I think you’re describing…not sure.

We stressed over this a bit. We likely will also set up at shapeways, etc. But at the of the day,I believe that whether the STL files make it into the wild or not, this is the kind of product that will be knocked off in a nano second. We’re simply saving the pirates a few hours of CAD modelling. Conceivably is has been knocked off already if there’s trolls on this forum looking for such a thing. Like music and books, designers have to face this in the coming years. Part of this is an experiment for me to see if facing the problem head on is the right thing to do or not.

This project is more about Hurdler Studios, and less about Clug. If we can make them both a success, all the better.

Touring, randonneuring, cross and urban commuting tires run the 28mm-50mm between the road and mountain tire sizes. You may to fill in your line. :wink:

And one other thing.

Several of my bikes have latex tubes which loose all of their air in a week. Will my bike drop?

Yes…this isn’t for those bikes.