WHS' commentary on stuff on the internet

New section, commentary and challenges

May 2018: As I've done most of what I wanted to do and nothing new that's very different (and possibly better) has appeared in years in saddles, mini pumps and lighting, I will do something else, I'm working on projects not at all related to bicycles, but for here I have some ideas for fun: Challenge manufacturers of bicycles/bicycle products. After watching a bunch of videos on youtube, I thought it would be interesting to do some commentary on stuff that I see on youtube or elsewhere, and I will issue challenges to manufacturers.

Aug. 2018: I've finished with this, Moeve are not serious, Litelok are scammers and as to the rest, people it seems just want to be fooled and want to have their time wasted with inane videos on youtube. So I quit...

Commentary and challenges

2018-8-24: People are so uncritical, have a look at this one: What's the best bag for commuting by bike? Saddle bag vs. panniers vs. backpack by youtube channel GCN. What they did is no science! First of all without any measurements I knew the order of which is fastest, simply from the fact of shape and placement (separate or in the slipstream of your body), secondly science is not measurements, science is analysis! This means that results at 40 km/h are complete BS because just about nobody commutes at 40 km/h. The remark in the video, on "when do you ride 40 km/h?", that it depends on traffic, is complete and utter BS! It's rare for anyone to ride that fast on non-perfect terrain, for a long duration. Sometimes it happens with a big tailwind. In any case, when there is not a big tailwind, such speeds are not reached by commuters. I never had any cyclist overtake me with such speed unless it was a guy on a time trial bike... What matters is, what is the effect on lower speed, and what then is the average speed of low speed and high speed sections? And when you know that, then you see how little difference it will make. For a fast cyclist getting an average of 30km/h on a 20 km ride with near perfect roads and just brief sections where you need to watch out/lower your speed, then the difference between a road bike and touring bike with fenders, panniers etc. is about 2.5 minutes (see my test described elsewhere where I rode a road bike of about 9-10 kg vs a 18kg touring bike with 37mm tyres, speeds 37.0 km/h vs. 34.0 km/h. On that test ride there are a few sections through villages where going faster than 30km/h is dangerous, but it was mostly on quite good fast roads). Going through more slow sections will lower the speed and lower the effect of high speed sections... When you know that, you have done science! And only then can you decide whether the hassle of a backpack or bag behind you is worth it compared to the much more versatile panniers. The sycophantic remarks with that video are just pathetic!

2018-7-15: Here is an example, with a German video on the Tex-lock of people pretending to know something and knowing nothing. Of course this happens everywhere, the so-called bullshit artists, who know nothing yet pretend to know everything. Look at the responses to my suggestion of using a tungsten-carbide saw blade to cut through the Tex-lock. I realised that this guy's comments were off, he displayed no understanding of the subject despite claiming to have 30 years' of experience in metal working. That means very little of course, it is no substitute for actually using your brain! And you see this in his stupid comments. It's in German, so put it through translation if you are interested. I will summarise it here and tell what you can learn and how to respond: First, I was way too friendly, I should have said directly that his comment about using a bolt cropper (which he consistently mis-spells so he's likely not German or has a very poor education, and he certainly doesn't learn from reading other people's comments that his spelling is off!), is irrelevant. I wonder how long it will hold up to such a saw blade, he says you can't saw through hardened steel. Yes, you bloody well can, even with standard saw blades, but then you might need a few saw blades. I sawed though a Axa frame lock with standard Puk-blades for example. It took a few blades and a enormous amount of time... He then says it's not hardened, try it with a file. I say the lock was hardened, and that a file is too much hardened, it's pointless to make locks from such steel and with such hardening applied (the specific alloy will determine hardness, but also the hardening treatment with heat), as that makes it too brittle. A file will not bend, it will break. And thus locks are not make that way, they are liable to breaking by levers, or from smashing with hammers. So I wrote that the fact that I need to tell him about hardness and that this hardness of a file is not suitable for a lock, clearly shows that he doesn't know anything and he is wasting all our time and I will waste not more time on him (and in case you are wondering, this posting here is not wasting time on him, but I use this as an example of research that I'm doing on anti-social and psychopathic behaviour). This idiot then says that I'm a know-it-all, which is what in his experience people are who say they won't respond further. Of course he acts as a know-it-better all the time! So, OK, final response from me, not for him but for readers there, was to say that he is a complete idiot, and that this reversing of accusation, as the one being the know-it-all who in fact knows nothing, is HE, is anti-social behaviour in action, typical for psychopaths. Note that the clinical term for a psychopath is: a person with an anti social personality disorder. You see this behaviour with normal people, but then they are almost always lowly-educated people, or with psychopaths of any education.

If you want to have a laugh, have a look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBYeC_sbBR8

If you are wondering, what can you learn from this? Well, in 1 or 2 responses you see someone's personality. Someone saying he has 30 years experience, so pushing his 'authority' already suggests a know-it-better who doesn't know anything, as that is typical behaviour of such people. I knew this guy didn't understand what relevance in a discussion means, which results in stupid and off-topic suggestions, such as after saying that a bicycle lock isn't hardened (which it is), to suggest sawing through a file. Why would I? That's not relevant. Then to save face he agrees files will break but doesn't understand that this means such hardness that file has, is not suitable for a lock, and then he writes, also to save face (to show that he 'knows his stuff'), that there are 100s of types of steel, with which he fails completely, as that is also an indication of a bullshitter as there are far more types of steel, in fact the number is almost unlimited. Just vary what other metals you mix in. His 1st reply was off-topic and thus already a bullshit response, his 2nd reply was just showing stupidity, and really the only thing to do is just to quit, but, then you should tell such a person that he knows nothing! And on how to deal with such people in future: Note that giving 2nd chances is almost always pointless in life, the way someone is, is almost certainly how he behaves his entire life. Very few people change even over a life time... Don't waste your time on them (once you recognised that person as being a bullshitter or a psychopath, i.e. all people who cannot reason and who are unreasonable), unless you are studying them (as e.g. I did with a woman from Nigeria in Zaporizhya (Ukraine).

And if you are now wondering what the facts of tests with bicycle locks can tell you about which is safest, and how long it takes to saw through one, have a look at the image with results, that was posted by bikeradar along with their test Tested - £11,000 of Bike Locks Destroyed (which was quite flawed regarding the Litelok! See my comment with the video there), see that image here: https://imgur.com/Hlbrlov. It shows how quickly you can saw through many locks with a Tungsten-carbide saw blade, about 50s for a Hiplock gold, up to 258s for the Kryptonite New York M18 U-lock. The safest locks are clearly U-locks...

2018-7-5: I will add a link later and my comment about a video of Lockpickinglawyer, of a video melting a lock with high current. This is just inane, not interesting, not fun, similarly stupid to all the videos of the Mythbusters in later years, blowing things up all the time. It is not interesting because you know what will happen (and in case of the mythbusters, with explosions you don't know exactly what will happen, but what exactly will happen is irrelevant which also makes the 'results' not interesting). Also not interesting is destroying an aluminium lock with gallium. It's all known so it's regurgitating. What could have been interesting is to see whether it would be possible to make a portable device to produce the high current required for long enough, to melt the shackle part of a lock. Perhaps with a car battery, does that have enough energy? And can it be done transforming the voltage down such that the leads/connectors on the battery itself don't melt? I could calculate, but it doesn't matter. The point is that this an example of what would be something different, new, unexpected and so a video would be worth it, if it works, as a new way to open a lock (which doesn't make as much noise as a grinder). Just putting a high current through steel is not interesting, it is simply the same as welding.

2018-7-5: Blik op de Weg OFFICIAL - Fragment Wielrenner slaat op dak cameraauto, This shows that a unmarked police car overtakes a road cyclist, making him slam on the brakes or making him need to evade their car as they need to brake because of oncoming traffic. These idiots should have anticipated and not gone into a gap that was at most 30 m and that would get ca. 5 m smaller each second (speed difference between regular cyclists and road cyclist). It's disgraceful how the police man then gets out and wants to blame the road cyclist. What you then see is typical of NL, and worse than anything I've seen in youtube videos in English, antisocial people with extremely poor command of the Dutch language, spouting their nonsense about this road cyclist doing something wrong banging on the roof of that car. No, that was absolutely justified, seeing that they are policemen who are always on the road, I would have I put in a complaint about their dangerous behaviour, and even worse that they are blaming it on the cyclist. Comment in Dutch is this:

Helemaal eens met Gerard van Reekum (edit: en 'Ikreisrond'). De meeste reacties hier over hoe de wielrenner wat fout doet, zijn van aso'tjes met sub MAVO/VMBO niveau. Dit soort gedrag kom ik als gewone fietser (maar wel even snel fietsend als wielrenners), continu tegen. Even inhalen, en dan moet ik kort erna remmen want ze moeten wachten voor tegenliggers of ze moeten naar links/rechts want ze merken dan op dat ze vlak bij hun bestemming zijn! Anticiperen, nee, dat kunnen ze allemaal niet. Die politieman reed in een standaard auto, dus geen sirene die liet zien dat er wat speciaals aan de hand is. Dan met 75km/h (waar je 60 mag) voorbij aan de wielrenner, die ca. 5m/s sneller dan gewone fietsers fietst, en dan moet die 'politie' wagen vanwege de tegenligger remmen, wat hij als hij zou anticiperen al had kunnen zien, waardoor de wielrenner of hard op de rem moet, of moet uitwijken. Als je frame voor frame spoelt en wat rekent met frames etc. en de afstanden op de video, zie je dat de afstand tussen fietsers en wielrenner ca. 28m was, en de inhaalmanoeuvre ca.70 frames kostte waarbij de auto (of beter camerabeeld) tot ca. 4m van het achterwiel van de fietsers kwam (te berekenen met de gemiddelde lengte van zulke strepen), in die tijd fietsten de fietsers ca. 4m/s * 70/25 m, zo kom je tot 28 m. 28 m - 70/25 * 5m/s (zoveel sneller gaat een wielrenner i.h.a. dan een gewone fietser, 30-33 km/h vgl. met 15-18 km/h) = 14m, 4 m afstand tot de fietsers, 10 m over, lengte van auto eraf, die zat dus al na die 70f (2,8s) vlak achter die auto (ca. 6-7m, een seconde later zit hij op hun bumper). Die politiemensen moeten zich schamen, ze hadden die klap op hun dak verdiend. Als ik die wielrenner was had ik een klacht ingediend over gevaarlijk gedrag van die politiemensen. Vooral omdat zo'n figuur heel veel beroepsmatig op de weg zit. Het gezeur van aso'tjes hier is te vergelijken met automobilisten die zeuren over het gedrag van vrachtwagenchauffeurs en busschauffeurs, die echter veel en veel beter rijden dan de gemiddelde amateur bestuurder in een personenwagen. Zie bv. bij verkeerslichten, bijna alle automobilisten gaan pas wat doen een seconde of 2-3 nadat de auto ervoor is weggereden. Busschauffeurs rijden bijna direct erna weg.

I'm not interested in following bicycle racing. Time trials perhaps, as a measure of how fast people can ride, but racing with group tactics (esp. with drafting), no. Good thing too as it meant I never wasted time watching that psychopath Lance Armstrong (I instantly disliked him the first time I saw him), and Froome, he is likely an a-hole too, as he said recently, according to news site NOS in response to a question on the 1st day of rest on the giro, whether he still used salbutamol : "That's nobody's business, those are my medical data". No Dick, you've been using an asthma medicine with a high dosage, and you've been found to be over the limit and you are getting money from cycling by advertisers and because people are interested in watching, so you have an obligation to disclose those things. But of course Mr. Head comes with such a douchebag reply. Thanks for that, we all know what you are like now. I read some comments that this stuff gives people with asthma the chance to compete. Aha, those people didn't have asthma before, so what they actually did is to make themselves ill with training that goes over the limit for their body. You might as well allow steroids as "some people get injuries more easily than others and need it to recover", or something similarly nonsensical.

NOS article in Dutch here: https://nos.nl/tour/artikel/2239476-froome-mag-meedoen-aan-tour-na-vrijspraak-in-salbutamol-zaak.html

2018-6-24: Tested - £11,000 of Bike Locks Destroyed (bikeradar), I wrote the following comment there:

Contrary to LockPickingLawyer I am not stunned that the Abus lock pickers couldn't pick many locks. Most companies make products that have clear (to me) defects that make me think "Don't these people use their own products?". If they really employed critical and competent people then there would not be so many issues with lots of products, and I mean this generally, for all companies, and it's not just about bicycling. Most companies are only interested in making a better selling products than that of their competitors, they are not interested in making an as good a product as they can make, and they don't like criticism. Whereas praise tells you nothing, criticism tells you how to improve your product... The uncritical nature of this review and thus in Abus' reviewing method shows itself clearly in the analysis of Litelok, which is recommended and yet, can be destroyed very quickly with a tyre iron or crowbar as you can see in the 2 videos from security cameras: "Litelok theft in 17 seconds!" on youtube (title is inaccurate, it only took the thief 13s). That the Litelok has a fairly good tensile strength is of not much interest, because it consists of threads, and this can be used in a leverage attack by rotating. This is how I think it works: A crowbar goes with the curved section around the threads right next to the lock part, then rotating the crowbar the most tension goes to the outward threads... This means they get pulled out a few at a time at the outermost part, from the lock part. This would explain why it is so easy to break that lock, and as that video shows, a determined thief knew how to do it immediately though he likely saw this lock for the very first time... Also it shows the flaw in Abus' and your test, as there is no entry for 'Torsion' in the table, whereas this is obviously also a torsion test to break the lock! I would suggest to hire some bike thieves, or people who are imaginative, to try breaking methods that might not be obvious.

2018-6-24: My Bike Tour Across Romania, Serbia and Bosnia: I wrote the following comment there:

I don't see the point of this video. You don't tell or show much of anything about the countries, i.e. of what you found interesting, liked disliked, what the people are like and how they differ from other countries, what nature is like in various places, style of buildings, assortment of products in supermarkets, what local food is like, etc. Also I miss any kind of information about experiences with component wear that you will encounter on long trips. Chains don't last long, esp. in mountains, so how often do you change? What sort of components can you buy in the local bike shops in these countries? How many bike shops are there? Etc. I'm just not interested in seeing video of bicycle riding just to see bicycle riding. It is a means to experience something more, and of that I see/hear almost nothing.

2018-6-9: I sent this complaint to youtube:

Abuse of your rules: Litelock has made unavailable to the UK, videos that show it can be broken in 17 seconds (such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he5EsREkZe4), which are obviosuly not defamation. Their own videos attacking their lock that they replied to me in email as a defence that it can't be broken as in the video are complete and utter bullshit by totally inept people. It is absolutely disgraceful that this company abuses the complaint system and dares call those 17s videos defamation. I am not involved with anyone, but I am outraged at them attempting to prevent information being spread while giving inane excuses as to why they believe in their lock and that "their strongest man can't break it" who attacks the lock in such a stupid way, it is nothing more than advertising. And if you remove a video for defamation, why not Litelok's videos for being complete BS and containing almost exclusively fake comments? See more on this topic here: https://swhs.home.xs4all.nl/fiets/commentaar/index_en.html

2018-6-9: All throughout Lezyne's video on their bicycle bells they play loud music so you can't properly hear what they sound like. What complete fooking idiots!

2018-6-9: No further response from Litelok, I was thus not too harsh, they are abusing the possibilities to call that 17 second video 'defamation' which it isn't (Note that it actually only took 13s to break the lock in that video!). Also what I don't like is that almost all comments with their videos are fake, so I can't take them seriously. My theory: the bike thief in the video is a burglar, he had a crow bar in his back pack (so at most 50 cm long), and by using the end with the hook, around the flat wires, then rotating the crow bar, the strands get snapped not all at the same time, but one by one, beginning at the edge, as the rotation means more pulling at the outside than the middle. This means not much force is needed, just as shown in that video. If there is enough interest I could test this theory, but you know what to do then: support my site...

2018-6-9: No response from Moeve to my email from 2018-6-3, I guess they don't believe enough in their product. Fine, then I'm not interested any more.

2018-6-3: Coincidentally they responded on a video where I commented (with my challenge), that I should write them by email. I was already planning that of course. Anyway, email sent on 2018-6-3)

2018-6-3: I've heard nothing from Moeve. I will send a direct email...

2018-6-1: Litelok replied but their response was not good enough. I mentioned that a lever-attack is likely possibly with a crowbar and that the videos as mentioned in their reply, which of course I had seen before, is by some inept guy. Technique and using the right tools is far more important than brute strength, i.e. the right method (and right tool) gives a higher force from someone less strong. Perhaps I'm too strict, perhaps they really believe that there is something wrong with the video (but that would mean fake, or a defective lock, the latter they can ascertain by acquiring that broken lock from the guy whose bike was stolen), but their counter video was really not good enough. Don't they realise that?

2018-6-1: Of course Litelok didn't approve my comment with the litelok test video, so today I sent them this email:

L.S.

I posted a comment with your video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH1dCtyMW6w
---
"After 2 minutes of half-assed sawing he got halfway through, and then he stops? WTF for? Did he think 'No, that's too easy, I need to spend more time because I want to give the owner a fighting chance to get me arrested by the police!' ? I challenge you to send me one and see if I can break it in 13 seconds as in the 2 videos where it was broken with a crowbar or similar."
---

However, it's still not there, so let's get serious:

1. you don't approve comments that you don't like, and in fact it's worse, from a cursory check on several of your videos, almost all the comments there are fake (yes, I am sure of that), and you only 'allow comments' to get rid of commentary that you don't allow comments... Very uncool.

2. I tried a VPN and you indeed blocked the 17 second litelok theft video from playing in the UK. If you really were sure, you would have let someone real test it out to destruction, not the incompetents in your videos. And also not that stooge thebestbikelock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKdQt5ZiDYU&t=126s

who is just incompetent too. And surprisingly, or actually not surprising at all, I see comments with other locks on the site of that guy but no comments enabled with the 'review' of the litelok.

It is not just uncool, it is criminal to restrict access to information that is likely real. If you believe the video is 'defamation' then you should provide proper evidence, and you have not done that.

As I said before in my comment: I challenge you to send me one to try and break in the way it was broken in 13 seconds (it was not actualy 17 but 13 seconds).

And of course I could likely go through your lock with a hacksaw in 1 minute...

So I'm sure you will not take me up on this, but if you are, contrary to all the signs, serious, you know what to do.

Wouter Scholten
--
Gambiet: bicycle component analysis:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~swhs/fiets/tests/index_en.html

2018-6-1 (just now mentioning it here, though I commented there a month or so ago already): Birmingham Driver hits cyclist because rear light is too bright GV53PBO A lot of stupid comments that he motorist can't be blinded. Sure he can buddies, that's the whole point of why point sources of light ('distribution' by lens is almost not an improvement) are bad. And looking up that taillamp, surprise surprise, its light is 'distributed' by a stupid lens. I can't take that crap seriously. If there is no redistributing optic, then a taillamp is by definition bad, and at up to 800 lm, insanely blinding at night and can even be blinding during the day.

2018-5-29: CANYON AEROAD: Mont Ventoux - The whole story Not notable for anything but the comments about the rainbow jersey. Oh, this whining is just inane but there are a few good/funny comments such as "He obviously just wore it for visibility when it gets dark. Or to be allowed into a gay bar along the way..." and "I wear a rainbow jersey and a peanut bmx helmet when i'm training on my road bike, just to trigger other cyclists. It's great fun seeing the looks". The latter reminded me of long ago, early to mid 1990s not sure exactly, a comic picture in the magazine "Bicycling", with a picture of a cyclist with bicycle with panniers and he said (from memory): "There's nothing in them but styrofoam packing peanuts. Drives the racers crazy on the climbs" :-)

2018-5-28: Bike blogger: Rambling while riding, can be interesting, or relaxing :) I like this video riding outside St.Louis. Looks pretty nice there despite the dangers that are mentioned in the comments. Not sure what is going on in the USA, but it seems mostly related to the freely available guns... Anyway, continuing, I watched this video where he mentioned "there goes a cyclist" and I was thinking, "he could perhaps catch him" (which I'm sure all fast cyclists have), then he said in the video, which almost looked like a response to my thought: "No, I'm not going to try to catch him" :).

2018-5-28: Some random commentary after watching various videos:
1. I never clean my chain, used to do it long ago, but it was when I used chains/cassettes/chainrings so long that I had to replace all 3 in one go. That's not economical, esp. chainrings are expensive. Cassettes are usually a bit more expensive than chains. Since getting a chain checker years ago, I use chains up to .75% stretch or 1% stretch and replace the cassette then once per 2-3 chains. Chains (7-9 speed) only last ca. 2000km with me, so what's the point of cleaning? I occasionally apply some biodegrabeable oil to prevent squeaking, but I'm not worried about rust (which is obviously not an issue in durability, as I go through 3 chains per year) and also not about any power loss from not cleaning or dry running as that's basically a non-issue. I read a comment with a video that some pro teams use chains for 1000km, then replace the cassette after 2 years. For me using a 9 speed system, that's not economical. 4000 km means 2 chains + 1 cassette in the worst case, so €13 (KMC X9.73 or similar SRAM PC971, the cheapest Connex is slightly more expensive, you can get more expensive 9 speed chains but I don't see the point, they don't last anyway) x2 + €18 (HG 400, 11-32) = €44,-, and when using chains for just 1000 km it would mean 4 x €13 = €52,-
2. Roads look to be pretty poor in the USA, as indeed in many other countries. In NL roads are from what I read, and what I've seen in reality and on youtube confirms it, the best anywhere. Except in cities where they purposely fook up the roads with speedbumps! You need a full suspension mountainbike to comfortably ride in e.g. Alphen a.d. Rijn...

2018-5-25: I challenge Moeve to let a real tester (i.e. I) try out their system... See here for more information.

2018-5-17: A good series on bicycle repair and upgrades is RJ The bike guy.

2018-5-14: Funny, cool: On youtube Dafnefixed has some very funny videos (such as Superman of cycling is back again, and a compilation Short film of 2 years DAFNEFIXED - the best of ALL VIDEO). I also like the fixed gear hill descent compilation. It's amusing to see many people complain how dangerous it is when in fact it is no more so than what just about any motorist does. The real danger is to themselves, as with any high speed descent. Oh, yes, and then there are people mentioning helmets. Don't these people know that bicycle helmets only protect up to ca. 15 km/h? This means at just about any riding speed if you hit your head on something hard that you can't glide along (i.e. not the road nor curb as you can glide along those so the impact will be falling-speed only, though the forward speed does not of course completely separate already from the fact that a slide of the helmet will slow th ehead down!), you're toast. The real protection comes from your arms and body to slow you down and absorb hits, and in only in very rare occasions does a bicycle helmet have any use or effect. For children up to 12 I would think it's a good idea, above that it's basically pointless.

2018-5-14: Bad locks: The stupidity in youtube videos and bicycle products advertised there is nearly infinite. Titanium locks such as the Altor 560g, and the Tigr lock. Yes, titanium because it's so hard (not really), resistant to sawing (not really, far easier than steel), resistant to grinding (not really). Titanium is only difficult to work with in some cases, not so different from the problems with stainless steel which is very hard to machine compared to regular steel, though it's less strong than regular steel and more pliable, but that makes it hard to machine... Of course, in the stupidity there is also a lot of humour, even if unintentional. This video of some inept guy having a go at the Tigr lock, for example, one guy criticises another for not doing a lot of research before commenting, which is of course nonsensical, so he says: "+Christopher Dippner Okay. Tell me all of the facts, Dipshit, and then I will craft a fine comment for your approval.". Unintentionally funny for others! :) He could have made the comment even better by writing 'Dippshit' instead of Dipshit...
Then we have the Tex-lock Das Fahrradschloss aus Stoff - top oder flop? | Galileo | ProSieben and one of several videos where it's attacked with a hacksaw. I first watched that presentation video and it mentioned the all female team (who cares? But, it has a drawback, see further) and the idea of using fibers for a lock to make it less heavy. First thing I thought was "Hacksaw". A guy on that video made a comment about it too (Tom Fabert, 11 months ago: säge), and surprise surprise, or rather no surprise, someone has sawn it through in just 8 seconds. There is a small core of steel in there but with a good new blade in the hacksaw, that's not going to stop you. And in case you wonder, a (standard, not tungsten-carbide) hacksaw is useless against hardened steel locks of any real diameter, takes far too long. I tried it on an 1980s lock once, when we couldn't find the keys any more. It took ages and ages, or so it felt. Some guy mentioned with one of the videos where it was sawn through that this was a 'Frauenschloss' (women's lock) and this is a valid criticism. Women are not the same as men in abilities and interests, and as men tend to do a lot of building (such as models, RC or static) in their youth and DIY later, just about any man would think of making a lock hacksaw resistent and the fibers are not that good in this respect. The debacle gave rise to a lot of sarcastic comments and rightly so, as if you emphasize that it is a company run by women, and then create something that fails so stupidly in a manner that (likely) would never happen with men, it shows not understanding that picking the right person and taking in information from all sources is what matters, not that women run that company... Men do other stupid things, or they manipulate. I would think the titanium locks are either the result of complete stupidity or of manipulation, selling something worthless to people who think it's great because they only listen to the buzzwords (such as 'titanium').

2018-5-14: Fake reviews: Here is a site that supposedly reviews bicycle locks but doesn't review anything, it's just taken from Stiftung Warentest and then links to Amazon: https://fahrradschlosstest.eu/
We don't need this type of shit! Reminds me of linking sites several years ago, when searching on a search engine for e.g. a 2nd hand book, several linkfarms would come up, linking to Amazon and having no useful content whatsoever. I can just as well search myself there! I hope all that junk has been removed and that Amazon doesn't give any money to sales via such sites any more, but this type of site is only slighly less bad.

2018-5-13: I set a challenge: The Moeve bike with variable cranks: The explanation doesn't actually explain anything because mechanically it can only be less efficient, the real issue is, can there be a noticeable biomechanical efficiency improvement? I doubt it as I think it would need to be 20% to really notice it on longer rides (see my review and calculations of speed loss with the Nuvinci hub: I don't feel that a bike with Nuvinvi hub rides different to a bike with derailleur, though the hub loses about 10% power, this means at say 30 km/h a difference of 1 km/h which you will only notice if you measure your rides and take note of wind conditions on all rides. Same goes for a weak rider, who didn't feel it was heavy going, riding at low speeds within a city). I've explained the whole thing if you are interested in what it could and what it cannot do, that I will upload here: Moeve cranks analysed. Summary: I don't believe there can be a big change in biomechanical efficiency which means only 1 aspect remains: How it feels, on short rides. The longer crank while pushing, could help. My challenge: Send me a bike to test for at least 2 months, 1 month for me (strong cyclist), 1 month for a family member (weak cyclist) and I will see what I can feel on short distances and what I notice in average speed on longer distances. I do not expect anything from average speed, but in bicycling comfort and feel I suspect there could be a change and if people think it feels good, easy to pedal, then they will do more effort, more power in Watt, to go faster.

2018-5-13: I set a challenge! The Litelok lock: This youtube video shows it being ripped open using a crowbar and just twisting it in 13 seconds (start at 0:43 done at 0:56). A pathetic 'review' can be found there as well, by someone who was sent a lock by Litelok, and he did some half assed attempt to tear it apart, somewhat similar to how the thief in the video did it, but not quite. Then there is Litelok's own 'test', where you can see the 'thief' can actually saw through the lock quite quickly, but stops when he gets halfway! (After about 2 minutes of half-assed sawing instead of fast) WTF!! Of course, a thief will think "No, that's too easy, I need to spend more time because I want to give the owner a fighting chance to get me arrested by the police!" ;-). I would think there is 0% chance that Litelok will send me one to test, because they apparently complained to youtube and claim that first video is defamation, as someone from the UK writes with the video that he can't view it, so I think these people cannot stand any criticism and don't want someone like me to properly test this aspect of breaking the lock. So, alternatively, if someone in NL has one and no longer trusts it (an angle grinder goes through it in 14 seconds, as shown here, hacksaw will likely go through it within 60s or at most 2 minutes from what I saw in their own video), and is interested in seeing me properly crack it, send it to me and I will make a video on youtube, or if there are donations via paypal (add a comment), I will just buy one...

Note that the comments on their own videos are all fake, the style of comments and that they are all published on nearly the same dates exudes "FAKE COMMENT"... Let's see if I can add the following comment "After 2 minutes of half-assed sawing he got halfway through, and then he stops? WTF for? Did he think 'No, that's too easy, I need to spend more time because I want to give the owner a fighting chance to get me arrested by the police!' ? I challenge you to send me one and see if I can break it in 13 seconds as in the 2 videos where it was broken with a crowbar or similar." to Litelok's own 'test' to see if they allow or disallow the comment. Hmm done, seems to be there, now, so there is no need to wait for approved comments... I made a screenshot. We will see whether it gets removed...
Ah, now it's clear, the morons at Google have removed the status that a message needs to be approved (which several years ago was there!). So to me when logged in I see my message, when not logged in I don't see it. F-ing idiots at google. The people at Litelok thus do not approve my message, fine I will send them an email with my challenge and if they don't respond they will go into the douchebag hall of fame 2018. Youtube video to follow...
Update: I tried with a VPN in the UK, and indeed the 17 second theft video of Litelok is blocked because of 'laster' (=defamation in Dutch). What a load of BS!
And before that I watched some other locks that just make me scratch my head: Titanium locks! My God, which idiot thought that was a good idea? Titanium is quite easy to file and saw compared to steel. For some tools it's hard to deal with but that's same with stainless steel, though it's much softer than standard and esp. hardened steel...

Last modified: 2018-5-28