• Basta Click Booster
• £26.99
• www.basta.dk
• 01584 841051

Ah, bike locks. Not the sexiest of products, but definitely worth having. There are several different categories of lock, with an inverse relationship between portability and security. The most secure locks are big and heavy, best suited to keeping your bike safe in the garage or somewhere else where you can leave the lock behind. Then there’s the good old shackle or D-lock, fairly portable (if still a bit weighty) and usually very secure. Then there are all those locks that are intended to deter the opportunist thief, ones to pop on your bike when you’re just nipping into a shop or leaving it somewhere that’s actually fairly safe. Usually they’re some sort of cable lock, easily portable and quick to use.

Danish manufacturer Basta, however, have gone for a novel approach. Over on the Continent where utility cycling is somewhat more commonplace than over here, locks that fit permanently on to your bike and lock with a rod going through the wheel are a popular fitment. It stops people riding off on the bike, and when there’s several dozen identical bikes parked up that’s often good enough. The Click Booster is a variant on that theme, being integrated into a brake booster.

You may not have come across brake boosters before. They were a briefly popular MTB accessory a few years back. The idea is to improve braking by preventing the ends of the brake bosses flexing apart. The downside being more metal, fiddly brake adjustment and reduced mud clearance.

So the Click Booster takes a brake booster and grafts a lock on to it. One side has a pivoting, spring-loaded arm that points straight down when not in use. The other side has the lock mechanism. To lock the bike, you swing the arm up between the spokes and push it into the lock (there’s a little plunger you have to press to allow it to swing).

The good thing about this lock is that you can’t forget it. It’s part of the bike. And it’s very quick to use, probably why police forces use them on their bikes. However, it’s clearly not a total security solution. It’ll stop someone hopping on to the bike and riding it away but not picking it up and putting it in a van. There’s an optional cable (included in the price if you buy from Wiggle) to secure the bike to a suitable bit of street furniture, although that’s an extra bit for you to forget…

And that’s the drawback. On its own it doesn’t seem quite adequate. Take the cable along and the lock’s unique benefits are somewhat diluted. It’s a neat and convenient fitment for your popping-down-the-shops bike, though.

Verdict: It works, and if it fits your needs then great. We prefer a decent cable lock with a frame bracket, though.