For those with an adventurous spirit, Quad Lock will help you explore like never before. Founded in 2012 Quad Lock founders Chris and Rob created Quad Lock out of the desire to be able to explore the world by bike, taking their phones safely along for the ride.
Our phones, after all are advanced pieces of kit – able not only to keep us in touch with loved ones, but also access a plethora of information at the touch of a button. Including maps!
Mounting your phone using a Quad Lock case and mount eliminates the need for a separate GPS unit, and all Quad Lock products are designed to be highly durable. All Quad Lock products can withstand extreme weather, falls and other impacts.
A Quad Lock set up can be used for all sorts of cycling activities, but if you’re commuting in the city we’d go as far as saying it’s essential! Our Marketing Manager, Queenie – shared her thoughts on navigating London by bike using the Quad Lock system.
So I’m not ashamed to admit that more often than not I walk or catch the tube when in London – usually I’m fully laden with camera gear and the idea of also having to store and look after a bike is fairly off-putting when you’re already carrying 10kg+ of equipment.
I live in a rural area, without a bus stop nearby and a substantial distance from our Gatwick office, so commuting by bike has unfortunately never been on my agenda.
However, I felt like I should understand what a lot of our customers go through on a daily basis – so I caught the train from Gatwick up to London one sunny Wednesday to find out what cycle commuting is all about.
I was kindly lent a Brompton P-Line in the stunning Flame Lacquer colourway for my journey along with an i-phone compatible Quad Lock case and Brompton specific mount so I wouldn’t have to stop at every corner to work out where I was going.
The mount was extremely easy to install and fit perfectly on the Brompton’s Mid handlebars. The Quad Lock phone case then clips in on top, and can be released by pushing the side lever down and twisting back in the direction it was mounted.
Once the mount was installed (and I reminded myself how to fold/unfold a Brompton) I pedalled over to the station via the cycle path that runs from close by to the Gatwick shop and takes you right up to the airport/train station.
I jumped off the train at London Bridge and made my way over to our Waterloo Store to pop in and say hello to the team. Being able to use Apple Maps on my phone (a system I am very familiar with) meant I could clip my phone onto the mount and be on my way with minimal faff.
What struck me straight away was how free I felt – I’m so used to being cramped into a tube or plodding slowly across the city but being able to ride from the station to Waterloo in a matter of minutes was a world apart from navigating the stuffy tube network.
Once I had caught up with the Waterloo team, I grabbed my bag and prepared to head back out on the road. I needed to gather some London focused content, so where better to head than one of the World’s most iconic landmarks – Big Ben.
On this particular day it happened to be the State Opening of Parliament after our new government was selected. So I headed out fairly tentatively and expecting some chaos, but by the time I made it to Westminster Bridge most of the crowd had dispersed and I was left navigating the usual tourist crowds.
Continuing onwards, the easiest route to take for the purpose of my visit was the C3 Cycleway. From here I could ride from Westminster all the way to Tower Bridge exclusively segregated from other road traffic. Being able to ride separately from other vehicles is an absolute delight and allows you to take in the city in a whole new way. This doesn’t mean you don’t need to have your wits about you of course – the sheer volume of pedestrians (both local and tourist) means it’s quite common to come across people either crossing or just point-blank standing in the cycle lane. However, if you keep a level of focus/awareness along your journey you’ll still be able to have an enjoyable and safe ride.
I rode along to the Tower of London, and then decided that instead of looping around I would head back the way I came and view the route from the opposite direction. This gave me great views of The Shard, the South Bank and of course the world-famous London Eye.
Heading back across the Westminster Bridge from the other direction was a chaotic experience – it seemed there was no concept of cycle lanes for the majority of pedestrians here and it made me appreciate the fact that there was a bell on my Brompton!
Once I was clear of the bridge I needed to input a new location into my Apple Maps and here was where I experienced the only small issue with this system. My phone, although it said it had signal, decided that it didn’t want to load any maps while I was in the busy tourist zone by Westminster Bridge. This is obviously no fault of Quad Lock – their set up had been absolutely instrumental to me getting around the city. But it did mean that I had to ride off in a rough direction of where I wanted to go to find some proper signal and let the map load.
Once the map had loaded, with my content capture mission complete I cruised back over to London Bridge station and made my way back to HQ. Exiting Gatwick station and not having to wait for a bus or walk the 15-20 minute journey back when already tired and keen to get home was the icing on the cake.
Travelling around London by bike was approximately 1.5million times more enjoyable than walking or using the tube, but having some sort of maps available to you is essential. Will I take a Brompton with me every time I go to London? No, because it’s not always practical for me to do so. Will I be taking Quad Lock with me every time I do? You bet.
