One of the biggest "arms races" in cycling doesn't involve technological innovations in the equipment Tour de France riders use.
Rather, it has to do with what transportation and recreational cyclists use to keep their bikes. Ever since Kryptonite and Citadel introduced U-locks (or, as some call them, D-locks) in the mid-1970s, nearly every bike security system is a variation on the design. The changes have mainly been in the locking mechanisms themselves, as thieves typically found ways to pick them.
Lock-makers found ways to stay one step ahead of the perps until another kind of technological development--in batteries--made power tools lighter and more portable. So, now a professional or habitual bike thief's weapon if choice is more likely to be an angle axle grinder, which he or she uses to erode the lock's shank.
In response, U- and D- lock makers beefed up them up, using harder steel and more of it. One unfortunate consequence, which you might be familiar with, is that such locks have become very heavy.
Knowing that, a British company has created a new line--the Litelok X series--of D locks (their terminology). They are fashioned from something called Baronium, a composite material that is fused to a hardened high-grain, high-tensile steel core. The makers of these locks claim that their products will resist grinders better than any others on the market at about half the weight of conventional D locks.
Litelok's makers say the locks are rattle-free, owing to the tight clearances of the shackle and the dual-locking design. Each come with the company's new Twist + Go mounting system, which they claim will fit any bike. The firm has also partnered with British bag maker Restrap to make a belt-fitting holster that will allow you to carry the Litelok on your person.
Two different models of the lock, the X-1 and the X-3, will be available. The X-3, the more expensive one, is slightly smaller and heavier, but has an Abloy Sentry lock--currently considered the "gold standard'--while the X-1 has an ART 4-accredited cylinder. Both items exceed the new Sold Standard bicycle lock ratings.
