Hubdock

The most innovative and different component product at this year's Sea Otter wasn't at the SRAM booth (although they did an impressive job of sponsoring the event and had a huge booth) and it wasn't another familiar company like Ritchey (although I did see some new stuff there too), it was at Hubdock. Born and raised in the USA, Northern California to be exact, the Hubdock is a patented rear wheel quick release system meant to greatly improve the speed and ease with which the rear wheel is removed from the bike. No fuss, no muss. The wheel, rim, spokes and hub come out while the chain, cassette and drive side axle end stay on. I know, it doesn't make any sense. Look at this picture to see what I mean:

How does it operate? Watch the video.

You can't really see it, but a nut tightens down the drive side. They had a more advanced version of the non-drive side quick release than what's shown in the video. As a wise man told me last weekend, there's nothing new in bicycle technology. That's probably true, and this new method no doubt builds on mechanisms attempted in the past but you can't blame them for trying.

They're currently looking for larger companies interested in their technology. That shouldn't be too hard. Most of the component and bike manufacturers are doing things to improve the casual user's experience with cycling whether that is internally geared hubs, belt drives or electronic shifting. The Hubdock aims at that mark.