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Beating London Traffic on Two Wheels: London Locks
» WHEN MOST LOCKSMITHS THINK vans, Lloyd Morgan thinks bikes! In the gridlocked streets of London, the founder of London Locks has built a locksmith business that runs almost entirely on electric cargo bikes and scooters, using canal towpaths, cycle routes and park cut-throughs to avoid the traffic. For Lloyd, two wheels aren’ t just greener; it’ s about survival, competitiveness, and simply the easiest way to get around London.
From Diesel Engines to Pedal Power
I got into locksmithing back in 2003 after my dad passed away. I used some inheritance money to do a two-week locksmith course with what was then the British Locksmith Association in Tilbury, Essex. I wanted to find a trade with a low barrier to entry where I could work for myself and build something long-term.
Like most locksmiths, I started with a van. I ran vans for about ten years, then moved over to motorbikes because London traffic was getting worse and worse. About five years ago, everything changed again.
Tower Hamlets Council offered businesses a grant of £ 2,000 towards an e-cargo bike if we took an ICE vehicle off the road. So, I traded in my big BMW motorbike and swapped it for pedal power! That decision completely transformed how we operate.
Today, London Locks has two Dutch electric cargo bikes along with one electric scooter and one remaining ICE scooter. 75 % of the business is now electric, and we don’ t run any vans at all. As far as I know, we’ re the only cycling locksmith company in the UK.
Faster Than Traffic
People always ask whether you can realistically run a locksmith business from a bike. The answer is absolutely yes, in London, bikes beat every other form of transport.
We can use canal networks, parks, cycle routes and shortcuts that vans simply can’ t access. While other locksmiths are sitting in traffic or hunting for parking spaces, we’ re already on-site and getting the job done.
There’ s no congestion charge, no ULEZ, no parking tickets and no delays caused by road closures. Sometimes I can park almost on the traffic warden’ s toes and there’ s nothing they can do about it.
Commercial customers love it as well. A lot of office buildings allow us to bring the bikes inside, which makes life much easier when carrying equipment into Central London properties.
The public response has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers genuinely like the environmental side of it, but more importantly they love how quickly we arrive. That speed has become one of our biggest USPs.
Prepared Before We Arrive A lot of locksmiths would probably worry about storage capacity on a bike, but, in reality, I can carry far more than people imagine. The key is preparation. We ask customers to send photos of keys, locks or doors before we attend. That means we already know what we’ re walking into and can prepare for every eventuality before leaving the shop.
Instead of carrying random stock around all day, we only take what’ s needed for the specific jobs booked in. Because our Bow Road shop is fully stocked, we can tailor every load-out properly.
The bikes themselves are surprisingly capable. Each battery gives around 25 miles of range and we all carry spare batteries with us. My longest day in the saddle was about 53 miles travelling across London to open five Ultion cylinders.
Of course, things don’ t always go perfectly. I’ ve had batteries run flat mid-job before and needed someone to bring replacements out to me. I sometimes carry a charger now just in case. Most of the longer-distance journeys tend to be commercial work.
Building a Team Around the Concept
What makes the system work is having the right people around you. Bradley Smith has been a locksmith for 20 years and has worked with us for the last five. Mark Winrow has been with me for 15 years, and Ashley Cope joined as an apprentice five years ago. Everyone has embraced the bike concept from day one.
6
MAY 2026
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