We've reviewed some
great bikes over the years, with some of them being pretty pricey
such as this one. So if you are forking out for an expensive bike
you'll want to invest in a sturdy and secure lock to keep it safe
when you dismount and park it up. Conventional chain locks can be
heavy, while D-locks are somewhat impractical. That is why we were
keen to test the innovative new Litelok.
Litelok is a
British-designed flexible and strong strap-like lock for your
bicycle. The flexible structure is coated in a mesh-like plastic
(which comes in three colours) and it features a very simple click-in
locking mechanism. To unlock it you use a key, and each lock comes
with three provided.
As you can see, the
Litelok is a very conspicuous and chunky thing, especially in the
bright green colour which is what we were sent to try. It is
belt-like in construction (although you'd need a pretty narrow waist
to use it as such), while the lock section is coated in rubber.
Despite it being larger in appearance, the Litelok weighs only 1.1kg,
which is much less than the traditional D-locks we've been using
previously.
The key here is flexibility. Because it can bend and twist, it is far easier to lock your bike up to a greater number of things, and in a far more secure way. Whereas the D-locks tend only to be able to lock in you bike's frame, with Litelok we were able to bend it around a wheel as well, and also through the supports of the seat – something important if you have a bike with quick release parts.
Litelok say it takes
about five minutes to cut through one of these things, and we can
kind of see why. It feels exceptionally strong, and although it is
flexible it feels far more rigid than those bendy cable locks. We've
zero experience with trying to steal bikes (you'll be happy to hear)
but it just feels a lot more secure than anything we've ever used in
the past. Also, two Liteloks can be joined together to create an even
bigger lock, so you could even secure it to thick trees and awkward
railings.
Each Litlok comes with two Velcro straps to help tie it to the frame of your bike while riding. One slight downside we did encounter is that it doesn't wrap up tightly to make itself smaller, meaning we were stuck with this luminous green hoop strapped to the bike. It can attached pulled out flat to lessen the sight of the big hoop, but it is one thing to consider. Still, it's a small price to pay for that level of security.
What isn't a small
price to pay is the price itself. One Litelok will currently set you
back £85, and there is no denying that's a lot. However, relative to
the cost of replacing your stolen expensive bike, that might not be
much; so if you have a pricey vehicle, a pricey lock is probably the
order of the day.
So a pretty remarkable thing that might solve a lot of your bike locking problems each day. Yes, it's expensive, and yes it is a very apparent thing to attach to your bike, but this thing gave us greater peace of mind in locking up a bike than we've ever experienced, so it's worth it for that alone.
£85 (or £160 for a
twin pack)
