LITELOK : Some early user-experiences with this bikelock
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Has anyone read about any thefts that it un/successfully prevented?
I just purchased a regular bicycle and am looking at lock options. I really like the idea of these locks, but they are so expensive that I'm on the fence about it because I would hate for my bike to stolen in broad daylight after coughing up $240 on locks...
I just purchased a regular bicycle and am looking at lock options. I really like the idea of these locks, but they are so expensive that I'm on the fence about it because I would hate for my bike to stolen in broad daylight after coughing up $240 on locks...
Over50
Well-Known Member
I received the same email late last week. But almost immediately after, the shipping notice. And today the lock arrived. Seems solid. I haven't had time to mess with it too much but intend to try to mount it on my regular bike later in the week. I'll give it a try this weekend when I'm out and about on the Spot.
Ann M.
Well-Known Member
@tenbee, if you're concerned about how long it may take to get the Litelok have you considered one of the super strong yet light Abus Bordo Granit locks? These use a superior quality of steel and have the advantage of being compact and very hard for a thief to cut; worth the approximately $100 investment. Don't wait a long time if you need to be locking your bike now. As a matter of fact, it won't hurt to have 2 good locks if you've got to park your ebike in a lot of big city places 
Over50
Well-Known Member
First chance I've had to get out in a few days (3 straight days of rain). This lock is overkill for my regular bike given I just go to local stores and the coffee shop. But I wanted to give it a try. It is too large to mount inside my frame unless I wanted to lose the water bottle mount and frame bag (which I don't). And the LiteLok recommended method doesn't work so well because my top tube is too short (or the lock is too long). So I fastened it with the two velcro straps they provide to my cargo rack. It is very secure with two straps but nevertheless I ordered some additional SoftRide straps on Amazon and I will add a third velcro. So I locked it up today at the grocery store and the coffee shop. LiteLok instructions say to put a drop of oil now and again in the key hole. Seems like a quality lock thus far. Still a bit stiff but certainly useable.
Thanks for the tip about the Abus lock and you're right that it's good to have two good primary locks, so maybe I will get one of those as the backup primary lock.@tenbee, if you're concerned about how long it may take to get the Litelok have you considered one of the super strong yet light Abus Bordo Granit locks? These use a superior quality of steel and have the advantage of being compact and very hard for a thief to cut; worth the approximately $100 investment. Don't wait a long time if you need to be locking your bike now. As a matter of fact, it won't hurt to have 2 good locks if you've got to park your ebike in a lot of big city places
View attachment 10661
I purchased a Kryptonite NY Fagettaboudit u-lock, which seems very secure for locking outside during the day. When I posted earlier I wanted to buy two Liteloks, but now I'm deciding between 1 Litelok or a TiGr mini as my secondary lock for my front wheel. Using a cable extension for my front wheel seems like a bad idea, so I've just been taking the wheel off lol. (I just got the bike this week, so I'm pretty attached to it at the moment.) Now that I think of it - if the u-lock is going to be my primary, then it doesn't really matter if I get the Litelok or the TiGr (besides weight). Maybe I'll take the $130 plunge and give it a shot.
Vincente
New Member
are there any links showing it going up against an angle grinder?When I purchased my Stromer e-bike some weeks ago; I also began looking for good bike-locks to secure my investment. I was looking for locks which had best compromize of security and user-friendly attributes, like low weight and ease of use.
I excluded "U"-locks; even though the security these provide are first rate. Reason being its lack of flexibility.
With the bike, I bought aTrelock FS 500 Toro. This together witih the ABUS Bordo Granit X plus 6500; I believe are among the very best bikelocks.
How ever, I by accident found information about a kickstarter project named "LITELOK".
The LITELOK were by the time I read about it, a reality & in production.
The LITELOK; is a bikelock which "on paper"; had qualities I was looking for:
Its low weight, made of flexible materials and have "Sold secure"-rating "Bicycle gold 2015".
Have a look at the manufacturers homepage: View attachment 7218 litelok.com
I liked what I read about it; and ordered a set of two locks;which shared same key. Reason for ordering two locks; was the possibility to secure the bike on two different places or join the two locks togehter; to get one lock with extra lenght.
My experiences from about a week of use are all good. The lock may be locked without a key inserted; which is positive. The flex in the cord makes it easier to use when locking the bike to a object. Using two locks attached to eachother; makes it really convinient;locking to a bigger object; like a small tree, etc. Because of the tention in the cord; some force must be used to pushe the two ends in level;when opening or locking it. But I did not really see this as a problem.
As the bike is a expensive one; and practically brand new; I am kind of "nevrotic" in avoiding scraches on the bike. The surface of the two ends of the lock;has a rubber-lair. The surface of the lock it self; is kind of "soft"& "scratch"-resistant. So as long as am careful when using the lock; i feel relaxed about the "scratch"-issue.
There are included two straps for each lock; to attach the lock to the bike during transport. I do not want to use these on my bike; and dont find this solution optimal. So far; I have transported the locks in a backpack, or on short trips to the store; used it as a "neckless" ;-). I think Iwill find a carrier-mounted case of some sort; which also may contain a lock or two.
I feel very positive about this bikelock; as you might have understood. So want to be very straight on this:I have absolutely no commercial interests in this lock, other than thinking it is a good product !
I just pray that I will avoid having a "reality-qualitycheck" in form of a theft. But the certification by "Sold secure" is supposed to be creditable. So I have choosed to override my sceptics to other than the conventional "U"-locks and the slightly less impractical foldling locks.
I will follow up this thread by posting any new positive or negative experiences I might have in time to come.
Taipan
Member
That Litelok demo video is really fun to watch :-DDD
More seriously, what they show is totally disconnected from the real Motus Operandi of a decent bike thief today.
Ok, maybe not the bolt-cutter part - and for cheap Walmart cable locks only- but the saw, the torch and the grinder ?
Come on, as if ....
I witnessed a gang of serious bike thiefs operate for days and never did they use the tools in that video, apart from that bolt-cutter on cheap victims for a quick buck by newbie members (5 sec, bye bye, rinse & repeat).
A smart thief looking for your whole bike -or some valuable components requiring a bit of handy work- will start by immobilizing your bike by stealing one of the wheels (assuming your bike is locked outside on a fixed pole with a U-Lock) so you go home without it. Then he'll be back during night-time with a car-jack to blow apart the U-Lock or do his dirty work with Allen keys & co.
To prevent that:
- Get rid of those Quick Release bolts on your wheels, thieves love you so much for that. It's not like your swapping wheels every second day anyway. Or at least place some steel hose clamps around them so it takes more than 10 sec to take the wheel off (bonus point for IGH with coaster brake, if you ever had to change a tire you'll know the pain).
- Always lock your wheels -front and rear- to your frame, then lock your frame to a truly fixed pole or so with a U-Lock too tight to let a car-jack fit in.
- Lock your saddle to your frame too. A neat trick is to use an actual bike chain wrapped into a tube section.
No bike is impossible to steal just like no door lock is impossible to break in with unlimited time and no disturbance.
Your goal is to make it too much of a pain/risky for the thief so he moves on to the next bike.
I didn't come up with those tips myself, I learned most from the videos of Hal Ruzal a bike mechanic in NYC.
Google for "Hal Ruzal grades your bike locking" and enjoy ;-)
More seriously, what they show is totally disconnected from the real Motus Operandi of a decent bike thief today.
Ok, maybe not the bolt-cutter part - and for cheap Walmart cable locks only- but the saw, the torch and the grinder ?
Come on, as if ....
I witnessed a gang of serious bike thiefs operate for days and never did they use the tools in that video, apart from that bolt-cutter on cheap victims for a quick buck by newbie members (5 sec, bye bye, rinse & repeat).
A smart thief looking for your whole bike -or some valuable components requiring a bit of handy work- will start by immobilizing your bike by stealing one of the wheels (assuming your bike is locked outside on a fixed pole with a U-Lock) so you go home without it. Then he'll be back during night-time with a car-jack to blow apart the U-Lock or do his dirty work with Allen keys & co.
To prevent that:
- Get rid of those Quick Release bolts on your wheels, thieves love you so much for that. It's not like your swapping wheels every second day anyway. Or at least place some steel hose clamps around them so it takes more than 10 sec to take the wheel off (bonus point for IGH with coaster brake, if you ever had to change a tire you'll know the pain).
- Always lock your wheels -front and rear- to your frame, then lock your frame to a truly fixed pole or so with a U-Lock too tight to let a car-jack fit in.
- Lock your saddle to your frame too. A neat trick is to use an actual bike chain wrapped into a tube section.
No bike is impossible to steal just like no door lock is impossible to break in with unlimited time and no disturbance.
Your goal is to make it too much of a pain/risky for the thief so he moves on to the next bike.
I didn't come up with those tips myself, I learned most from the videos of Hal Ruzal a bike mechanic in NYC.
Google for "Hal Ruzal grades your bike locking" and enjoy ;-)
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Just got my Litelok's today... took 3 weeks to get here but frigging built like a tank and unbelievable quality. Got two for each ebike (we have two) and we can configure them as one on each wheel, two together or all four together to capture both our bikes around a pole or bike lock station. We carry them in a small rack bag that has two fold down pannier bags which fit them perfectly. The ability to lock them together and w/o the key is very useful.
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Over50
Well-Known Member
I've also started carrying mine in my fold down pannier bag. If I don't carry my rack bag I velcro it to the side of the rack. My lock mechanism was pretty darn sticky but today I dropped a tiny drop of oil into the key hole and now its smooth as silk. So far I like the lock. I wonder how long the outer cover will last. I don't see any wear yet but seems like it might be susceptible to damage if scraped against rusty/sharp bike rack edges. I wish they had included some more of those velcro straps. I tried to buy some similar on Amazon but they all had the velcro on one side whereas the Litelok straps are on opposite sides. I'll probably have to make my own.
Cnugget
Active Member
Just an update on the Liteloks we have owned since September 2016... We have a pair for two bikes so two of the same keys for both locks. This option has been handy to make a larger lock or join two bikes together in lower risk areas. As of today one lock is not unlocking or... should I say, it will unlock but then you cannot remove the key without a lot of effort. The problem occurs when trying to then relock using the key to set the metal tabs into place. Maybe there is a spring out of alignment? The plastic section of one key broke off from the metal and came apart so now we are down to one key working with one lock until the other is re-glued or replaced. I am unsure if this is an ongoing issue with one of the two locks or if something else happened. I believe both keys will still work in the functioning lock but as it is in pieces it is hard to verify at the moment. The lock no longer working, has been used 3-4 x's per day over the last month with about 2 months of light use last year. It does seem that one of the two locks has always been more co-operative than the other. Perhaps it was partially defective or warped inside from the start? There are no signs of it being tampered with. Additionally, lubricating the lock to get things working did not appear to help. Will be reaching out to Litelok shortly.
On other notes: I found this review on Sweethome Article (the best bike lock) http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-bike-lock/
At the bottom of the article they mention that bolt cutters can defeat the lock quite easily at the keyed point, which is a bit disappointing, but it makes sense when you look at the metal locking tabs on the interior. I hope they find a way to make this more hardy in future versions...
I still like the lock and it does appear to the on-looker as sturdy but as to it's actually security, I am not certain... Bike locks in general seem to be a bit of a frustrating field of research when it comes to the net where someone somewhere will say so and so's lock is the worst and it's hard to verify whom to believe. In the end, if someone wants a bike with enough effort and time they can succeed. It's sad there are not better or more anti-theft or "get my bike back" options available.
I posted some pics of this lock with the Volt Mariner here on how we have been using them here:
https://electricbikereview.com/foru...happy-observations-as-they-happen.7239/page-7
Cheers
The plastic section of one key broke off from the metal and came apart so now we are down to one key working with one lock until the other is re-glued or replaced. I am unsure if this is an ongoing issue with one of the two locks or if something else happened. I believe both keys will still work in the functioning lock but as it is in pieces it is hard to verify at the moment. The lock no longer working, has been used 3-4 x's per day over the last month with about 2 months of light use last year. It does seem that one of the two locks has always been more co-operative than the other. Perhaps it was partially defective or warped inside from the start? There are no signs of it being tampered with. Additionally, lubricating the lock to get things working did not appear to help. Will be reaching out to Litelok shortly. On other notes: I found this review on Sweethome Article (the best bike lock) http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-bike-lock/
At the bottom of the article they mention that bolt cutters can defeat the lock quite easily at the keyed point, which is a bit disappointing, but it makes sense when you look at the metal locking tabs on the interior. I hope they find a way to make this more hardy in future versions...
I still like the lock and it does appear to the on-looker as sturdy but as to it's actually security, I am not certain... Bike locks in general seem to be a bit of a frustrating field of research when it comes to the net where someone somewhere will say so and so's lock is the worst and it's hard to verify whom to believe. In the end, if someone wants a bike with enough effort and time they can succeed. It's sad there are not better or more anti-theft or "get my bike back" options available.
I posted some pics of this lock with the Volt Mariner here on how we have been using them here:
https://electricbikereview.com/foru...happy-observations-as-they-happen.7239/page-7
Cheers
Over50
Well-Known Member
Ugh. Now you've gone and ruined my day. According to the article you linked, all of my expensive locks are crap. I have 3 Abus locks (Bordo, Granite Extreme... and Mini) and it sounds like they are easily defeated. And furthermore, as you point out, the Litelok is easily defeated. And in addition my Boomerang GPS Tracker failed. I've been locking my ebike in a busy downtown area with 2 of the Abus locks. Now come to find out a novice bike thief could probably defeat them? Argggh.
I haven't used my Litelok much and I was thinking of posting it here for sale. Now the value is probably nil thanks to this news.
The Litelok's mechanism was really sticky for me when I first received it but a small drop of oil solved that. Sounds like that solution didn't work for you.
Cnugget
Active Member
Just as an update. Likelok was emailed and they responded in less than 24 hours. They have shipped us a pair of 2 new locks in the mail already today! We are to send the old ones back because they want to see where the issue came from. Props to response time and help! Unsure if we will be on the hook for import fees or mailing of our locks return to them (CAN to UK). Sounds like they will be covering the return if the locks are defective. Great customer service so far...
We are to send the old ones back because they want to see where the issue came from. Props to response time and help! Unsure if we will be on the hook for import fees or mailing of our locks return to them (CAN to UK). Sounds like they will be covering the return if the locks are defective. Great customer service so far...
J.R.
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
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- Piedmont Highlands
Any lock can be defeated with the right tools. I try to lockup in the best place. For me it's a couple of municipal buildings in town that have security cameras recording, and are monitored by the sheriffs department. The cameras are very visible and pointed directly at the bike rack. The recording could be useful making an insurance claim or possibly catching the thief. Even with security the sheriffs told me bikes still occasionally get stolen. They say "cheap Wal-Mart locks" are the reason. I've used an Abus Bordo Granite X-Plus 6500 with an accessory cable since 2014, fingers crossed. I try to make my bike the toughest in the rack to steal, it's already the most expensive bike in the rack, so it's worth it.
I've seen so many lock test videos and have yet to see the 6500 defeated. I know it can be defeated, I own tools that can cut it with enough time. Even the article noted above states the 6500 can be drilled and cut, but shows the 6000, which is much smaller. I would like to see a good torture test of the 6500, maybe someone here knows of one I missed.
I've seen so many lock test videos and have yet to see the 6500 defeated. I know it can be defeated, I own tools that can cut it with enough time. Even the article noted above states the 6500 can be drilled and cut, but shows the 6000, which is much smaller. I would like to see a good torture test of the 6500, maybe someone here knows of one I missed.
Hi, I found this site as I was googling Litelok to see how to buy it in the U.S.
I was really happy to read your early use experience, but then further down in google search results I saw this video:
https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/5f8s47/litelok_bike_theft_in_just_17_seconds/
That video seems to be almost a year old... so I am wondering if they've made any improvements since then, or if any owners here have any experience with it being tampered with yet, and wether it survived (or kept the bike from getting stolen)?
Thank you. I also read in the replies an Abus Bordo Granite lock seems to be a good choice, so I will look into that too. I'm trying to avoid U-locks.
I was really happy to read your early use experience, but then further down in google search results I saw this video:
https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/5f8s47/litelok_bike_theft_in_just_17_seconds/
That video seems to be almost a year old... so I am wondering if they've made any improvements since then, or if any owners here have any experience with it being tampered with yet, and wether it survived (or kept the bike from getting stolen)?
Thank you. I also read in the replies an Abus Bordo Granite lock seems to be a good choice, so I will look into that too. I'm trying to avoid U-locks.
J.R.
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Piedmont Highlands
Wow, the 2 videos Josh Weinstein posted on YouTube are disturbing. Not too many comments, but the few put perspective on the incident. Thanks.
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