BRANDS
The Litelok X1 comes with a reflective strip to see in the dark and a Twist & Go mount, and an anti-twist locking mechanism (which means it would require two cuts from a grinder to remove) all in a super-tough construction that aims to hold off an angle grinder long enough to deter thieves, for £149.99 retail. Litelok X1 is available now online and from selected
retailers, but Litelok will also soon be releasing the X3, an even tougher model that offers 15 times more angle grinder resistance than other rival locks, weighing 2.1kg and with an Abloy (almost) pick-proof cylinder. Many pre-existing locks can be cut within 20 seconds using an angle grinder, as I saw first hand at the Litelok X product launch held at Mud Dock cafe and cycleworks in Bristol last year. The X meanwhile takes minutes to break through, even for a single cut, and no one at the Litelok product launch was actually able to break through the lock. With angle grinders now available for under £50 at a range of supermarkets and DIY shops, anti-angle grinder locks will become an essential product in the bicycle lock market.
The future Like the rest of the bike trade, Litelok has had to navigate a global pandemic and the uncertainty caused by Brexit, followed very swiftly by war in Europe and the energy and cost-of-living crisis that has followed. This has made trading difficult for many businesses, but particularly ones that manufacture in the UK. Barron said: “Making things ourselves there’s obviously a limit to what we can do. I think there’s a general feeling
that the industry has dropped a bit, that the Covid bounce has dropped back again. We know that thefts are going the other way, they’ve gone back up, and there are more bikes in circulation, so there’s probably even more need for us now than there was a couple of years ago.” Litelok’s main channels of sales are direct to consumers and through Amazon, but Barron is passionate about cycle retail and said he is also keen to work with retailers and help support them. He said: “I think shops are struggling more. We’re selling much more direct. We have to, to make a profit. We need to be as direct to the consumer as possible. We sell direct and through Amazon, that is our primary channel, and we have some retailers. But we can’t afford to go through the big distributors that some of the other brands can. Those things restrain what you can do, but they’re also great because you can control a little bit more your relationship with the customers. We’ve got a customer service team that is constantly talking to customers about the product to find out what they think of them, any problems they have, and that will feed back into our product team.” Barron added: “This business hasn’t been around in a
recession, so we don’t know exactly what the lock market is going to do. But the passion of why I started the business is still there, and the harder people’s lives are the more we might be able to help them look after their stuff.” For anyone wanting to learn more about Litelok directly
from the brand, contact brand and product lead Phil Dowling via
Phil.Dowling@
litelok.com. ●
Litelok was founded with a mission of creating lightweight, easily transportable locks
www.bikebiz.com
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