LITELOK X1 Saves Cannondale Road Bike in South London #16

We were recently contacted by Tom, a news editor for the Evening Standard who lives and works in London about an attempted theft on his bike. The theft attempt took place while Tom's bike was locked up to a bike rack at Tooting Broadway station while he was at work on 6th December 2023. 

This is Tom's story: "My Cannondale bike was locked up on a bike rack outside Tooting Broadway station, where I catch the Tube for work. It had been locked up there for much of the day. I was walking over to where I had locked it when I saw a fellow cyclist and another man nearby, they asked if it was mine and I said yes and they told me they had just witnessed someone trying to steal it with an angle grinder."

"The lock was still warm and there was a smell of burnt metal, so I must have just missed them. Thankfully they had failed having got roughly halfway through the lock."

Tom did not have any other security devices on his bike, so LITELOK X1 saved his bike singlehandedly. Whilst the thieves did make some progress in cutting through his lock, it actually gets more difficult to cut an X1 the further you get through it and it is important to remember that even if the thieves managed to cut through one side of the lock, its anti-rotation feature means that they would also need to make a second cut before they could remove it.

finish work to find someone has tried - and failed - to get through my @Litelok that was parked up outside Tooting Broadway station… lock still warm so it must have been a recent job (but I’m probably now going to have to get a replacement lock…) pic.twitter.com/vKbORzzSWE

— Tom Davidson (@TomDavidson09) December 6, 2023

Tom has faced yet another unfortunate experience of the would be bike thieves attempting to steal his bike in the exact location as last time. He shared his experience on social media on the 2nd of April, 2024. 

"Obviously a hot spot for thieves, won’t be leaving it there again. Third time might be unlucky. The thieves gave up a lot quicker this time, the damage is largely superficial"

"Another attempted bike theft thwarted by @litelokuk" 

If you own a high value bike or e-bike, or rely on your bike for transport, make sure it's protected with an armoured lock like LITELOK X1 or LITELOK X3. If you have experienced an attempted theft and your LITELOK has saved your bike, please let us know by e-mailing us on marketing@litelok.com.