About ▪︎ Kraken Rack Monitor

The Story

From one nervous first drive to a real product

Last fall, I bought a vacuum-mounted SeaSucker bike rack so I could transport my bike without installing permanent racks on my Mustang. It worked great, but the uncertainty took the fun out of the drive: were the vacuum mounts still secure?

The first time I used it, I even had a friend drive behind me the entire trip, just in case. The rack itself was doing its job, but I had no way to see the vacuum indicators while driving.

So I built a small monitoring system for myself. It monitored the position of the vacuum plungers, showed their status on my phone, and alerted me if one moved past the alert threshold.

With that in place, the rack finally felt complete. I still installed and checked the rack properly, but now I had extra visibility while driving.

Timothy E. Johansson

Creator of Kraken Rack Monitor

Timothy holding his son next to the Mustang with a bike mounted on the SeaSucker rack — The Mustang that started it

One post changed the plan

I shared the prototype. People told me to keep going.

I posted a video of the homemade prototype online, expecting a few comments. Instead, it took off: almost 800 upvotes, more than 100 comments, and a lot of people who recognized the same feeling and encouraged me to protect the idea and make it real.

Read the original post

A collage of enthusiastic comments left on the original post about the prototype

The first homemade Kraken prototype wired to a SeaSucker rack

SeaSucker Talon rack with a bike mounted on the car roof

Ford Mustang Bullitt on a forest road with a bike on the SeaSucker rack

The first taped-together prototypeAlmost 800 upvotes · 100+ comments

What happened next

From prototype to first batch

01
Filed Patent Application
Protected the idea before turning it into a public product.
02
Redesigned For Production
Rebuilt the prototype into a refined, more reliable first version.
03
Published The App
Finished and released the companion app for iPhone, iPad, and Android.
04
Built The First Batch
Hand-built the first 20 units in Sweden to keep risk low and support early customers closely.

The Founder

I'm Timothy, the person behind Kraken

I'm Timothy Engqvist Johansson, a builder, coder, and entrepreneur from Lund, Sweden.

I started programming when I was 14 and got my first software engineering job at 18. Since then, I've worked as a software engineer for startups and larger companies, including Apple, but I've always been most excited about building products of my own.

Kraken Rack Monitor brings together a lot of the things I care about: software, hardware, cars, bikes, and solving a real problem I had myself.

When I'm not working on Kraken, I'm usually spending time with my wife and son, mountain biking, going to the gym, or driving my 2020 Mustang Bullitt. That car is exactly why I wanted a removable bike rack setup in the first place.

Timothy wearing a Pine cap, holding a Kraken Rack Monitor shipping box next to the car — Timothy — Founder

Built with care

Small batch, Made in Sweden

Kraken Rack Monitor is currently made in a small first batch. Each unit is assembled, packed, and checked with the kind of attention you only get when the person who designed the product is also the person shipping it.

Built to be reliable
Designed and tested for harsh weather and road vibration.
Made in Sweden
Designed, built, and shipped from Sweden.
Built for real use
Created because vacuum racks are useful, but driving with extra visibility feels better.
Founder support
Questions and feedback go directly to the person who built it.