Harbus

Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Features

The finalists after NYC auditions on Wall Street

Forest, who just finished his Ph.D at MIT grad-school, and Moeller, a student at Harvard Business School - college friends turned business partners - are bringing a solution to cyclists everywhere with The Claw, a replacement for a ceiling hook from which to hang a bicycle. The Claw automatically grabs hold of a bicycle hoisted into its clutches, a more user-friendly solution than maneuvering a bike onto a conventional hook.

After thousands auditioned, Forest and Moeller's bicycle rack invention was one of six finalists on "American Inventor." As regional winners, the duo received $50,000 to tweak the product. A majority of the panel of judges - including boxer-turned-grill-entrepreneur George Foreman - called The Claw exciting, ingenious and worthy of private venture capital.

"We share a common passion for invention, solving problems in everyday society," Forest said. "Our long-term goal is to really have an impact on the world as spokesmen for the engineering community."

Today, The Claw - for which the team currently has a provisional patent - is better than ever: as a ceiling or wall-mounted bicycle storage mechanism, the invention is perfect for any cyclist who is frustrated by the lack of secure, simple, elegant storage options. The Claw will be available by the end of 2007.

A demonstration can be viewed at americaninventorclaw.com.

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