LITELOK X3 Saves £7k Cargo Bike in London #103

At LITELOK, we design locks to protect real people, real bikes, and real livelihoods. Every now and then, a story comes in that reminds us exactly why we do what we do.

This is one of those stories.

Recently, Robert reached out to share his experience after an attempted theft which happened round the back of Tate Modern Art gallery in London. His trusty Tern GSD S00 is valued at approximately £7k.

“It happened at about 7pm round the back of Tate Modern in London on the 7th of November. The bike is a Tern GSD S00, with the accessories on it, it cost me about 7k. There was a chain attached to the wheel lock, but this is more decorative than anything else.”

Despite the location and foot traffic, thieves attempted to break the LITELOK X3 by attacking the keyway. When Robert returned, he made a worrying discovery:

“When I returned to get my bike that evening I found the the keyway damaged and stuck so the key would not turn anymore. Worried about the bike being picked for parts overnight I called a locksmith to cut the lock off.”

This is the moment where most bike owners’ hearts sink. A damaged lock often means the thief was close, or at least determined. But this is where the X3’s resistance truly shone.

The locksmith arrived expecting a routine job. What followed was anything but:

“That took just shy of an hour of work going through about 7 disks and 3 batteries on the grinder. This was the first time that locksmith had worked with this kind of lock, and he informed me that he would never be charging the standard flat rate for cutting if he saw this lock again.”

Nearly an hour of continuous grinding, multiple discs, and multiple batteries—just to remove the lock. This is exactly what the X3 is engineered to do: buy time, exhaust tools, and deter both thieves and cutting attempts.

Finally, after the ordeal, Robert was able to recover his bike:

“I'm very glad I got to keep my bike with only some cosmetic damage and in need of a good clean from all the dust.”

For us, these stories are more than success, they are proof that high-security engineering has real-world impact. A determined thief, a grinder attack, a valuable cargo bike in a vulnerable spot, and the X3 held on long enough to ensure Robert’s bike stayed his.

We’re incredibly grateful to Robert for sharing his experience. And we’re proud that LITELOK X3 did exactly what it’s built to do: protect what matters.