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Kickstarter: Thin is Key with the TIK Keychain

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TIK KEychain 2 Pocket space is always limited, so a new Kickstarter campaign aims to minimize the profile of your keys by upcycling old bicycle chains.TIK Keychain TIK KEychain thicknessThe advantage of using bicycle chains is the thin profile. According the Kickstarter “80% of TIK’s surface is as thin as possible: no thicker than your key’s blade. And the rest 20% (the chain structure) is only 2,4mm thicker.”TIK KeychaibnAnother advantage to the design is weight. By removing the excess metal around the keyhead, the keychain sheds a few grams. As responsible gram counting cyclists, nothing could be of more importance.

As the chains are recycled, the company plans to offer the links in as many different options as there are chain colors – shiny gold, stealth black, etc…The chains are also modular, so you can link as many keys as possible.

In the future, they also hope to offer bottle openers, memory sticks, and other useful EDC (every day carries).

Interested? A TIK Keychain in silver with 1-6 blanks requires a $35 pledge. Every additional key is another $2. Each set comes with a minimal lanyard and a rare earth magnet dubbed the “Magical Wall Mount,” which will hold your keys to any surface.

They’ve just surpassed the  $1,500 mark on their way to their ultimate goal of $23,000, with 28 days to go. So head here to purchase one, or go to your local bike shop or bike coop and try building your own!

Have you built something similar in the past? Share it with us in the comments!

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Gunnstein
Gunnstein
9 years ago

I was somewhat impressed until I got to this little gem of arrogant snobbery (of course accompanied by a photo of a moleskine and a fruitphone):
“Most people are OK with their ugly keychain but there are some who appreciate craftsmanship, design and who care about the items they use daily.”

Well, thanks. Since I apparently have no appreciation of craftsmanship and design, I’ll leave this to the hipsters, and keep using my “ugly” keychain, sony phone and recumbent bike. (Some of us carry keys for which there are no blanks available, and non-flat keys, and frequently change keys, to minimize the amount of keys carried. The good old mini-carabiner works great for this.)

Ryan
Ryan
9 years ago

You could just carry less of the other crap with you?

kjbkje
kjbkje
9 years ago

“rare earth magnet dubbed the “Magical Wall Mount,” which will hold your keys to any surface.”

Wow! That’s really rare rare earth magnet! What is it about this product that can’t be re-produced at home with common tools for almost free?

Ryan
Ryan
9 years ago

But does it do anything for the male nightmare of getting the occasional key stab in the bits?

i
i
9 years ago

I realize most of kickstarter is sales, and not just sales but products that couldn’t find support by conventional means, and most of sales is trumping up inventions that really aren’t that revolutionary, but it still surprises me sometimes. I especially like the photo of the scales, showing a whopping 0.9g weight savings – so much that an average person couldn’t tell the difference.

taking a band saw to your keys is “craftsmanship”? The blanks they have don’t include any car keys, yet cover 95% of keys carried? Sure they do. Of the 5 keys I carry regularly, 2 have blanks on their list.
There are people out there that are bothered by the bulk of their keys yet haven’t already come up with a way of dealing with it? This guy pretty much personifies first world problems: “my keys are a fraction of a gram too heavy, and the couple mm of thickness makes my butt look bad in my skinny jeans”

Also, I for one want enough bulk in my keys that I’ll notice if they aren’t there.

Mat Long
9 years ago

I hope that this Kickstarter craze has cruxed, because this is a very stupid idea and also a very diy if you have any skill. Please stop asking for money.

David
David
9 years ago

How do I know which key opens what? At least with the different key heads, I can easily identify the square head opens the door to liquor cabinet, the round one opens the door to my gun armory for SHTF scenario. Kickstarter has gone whore and will accept any campaign no matter how idiotic.

adam
adam
9 years ago

What you need- the 4 links of chain you cut off that new chain you just put on, a chain tool, a drill and small bit, and a hacksaw… oh, and 10 minutes.

Also, lets be honest, do you think the guy in Home Depot or Lowes is going to cut those little blanks in his machine? They dont even look like they’re big enough to fit in those machines!

Also, for $35, I’d at least like to get some Campy SR chains. I’ll start my own Kickstarter and do it for $15. This is NOT novel and NOT Kickstarter worthy.

taylor
taylor
9 years ago

I kind of agree that this isn’t “kickstarter worthy” there are way too many different kinds of blanks needed, plus a multitude of other issues.

It is however a great DIY project that I will be partaking in.

Mike
9 years ago

@adam That SR chain is 0.38mm thinner too!

gino
gino
9 years ago

@i
You have to remember that for most of the hipsters buying these the only keys that they will have are the ones that get them into that apartment they share with 4 other hipsters or for the back door to the basement of their parents house. Those keys are on the list.

Eguy
Eguy
9 years ago

I hope you have a chain tool handy when someone asks to borrow one of your keys.

The Conductor
The Conductor
9 years ago

gino, you forgot to mention the key that opens the coffee shop where they work.

Topmounter
Topmounter
9 years ago

For $35 this hipster tchotchke should come with a hand-crafted and monogrammed sheepskin leather belt / lanyard pouch… or something… since it won’t do much for your top 1% hipster-cool status buried in your skinny-jean pocket.

Regardless, only 1 of the 4 keys on my keychain would work on this thing and it looks ripe for losing.

I’ll stick with my Record downtube shifter for my keychain.

el puerco
el puerco
9 years ago

“Pocket space is always limited”?

No, you’re not an external marketing arm of the bottom-tier mfrs you regularly review.

peter
peter
9 years ago

who carries keys these days anyway? my front door and garage door have a keyless entry pad.

Scotty
Scotty
9 years ago

Besides cutting the key down, we’ve been doing this since when I first worked at a bike shop back in 1991.

RUSTYDOGG
RUSTYDOGG
9 years ago

Just found my drinking beer in the garage project this weekend.

M
M
9 years ago

Where is the kickstarter to defund stolen/lame ideas on kickstarter?

Ride Handsome
Ride Handsome
9 years ago

What about my car key that has a built in key fob? Also, what chain lube do they recommend for this? jk

timmbers
9 years ago

Pretty sure I did this a few years back, though I didn’t remove the handles. Should I get a kick starter to pay for the beer while sitting in the shop punching chain pins?

DorkDisk
DorkDisk
9 years ago

Next product: The chain bracelet

Menga
Menga
9 years ago

Wow, 35usd for something that i can make in my home with and old chain for free. Give me 10.

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