Locking device for a spoke wheel of a bicycle, moped or similar vehicle

Claim 1

A locking device for locking a spoked wheel carried in a plurality of fork prongs said locking device comprising: a housing attached to one fork prong; locking pin receiving means attached to another fork prong; a lock lever having a bore therethrough and being pivotally attached to said housing by way of an axle located non-coplanar with the axis of the bore, the lock lever being movable between a release position in which the wheel is free to rotate and a locked position in which the lock lever is in line with said locking pin receiving means, a locking pin movably mounted within the lock lever such that it may be moved to protrude from one end of the bore extending through the lock lever to engage said locking pin receiving means; a lock member mounted in the lock lever and engaging the locking pin so as to move the locking pin into and out of engagement with the locking pin receiving means, wherein the lock member is lockable by means of a key insertable into the lock member in a direction parallel to the axis of the locking pin, and at least three surfaces on the lock lever which are closely adjacent to corresponding surfaces on the locking pin receiving means and the housing such that at least one of the surfaces contacts its corresponding surface to retain the lock lever in its locked position upon removal of the axle.