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Cycling has it’s challenges but I would say one of the worst experiences I ever had was having my bike stolen. There is no worse feeling than going to find your bike to commute to work and then realize that your bike is nowhere in sight. I think what frustrated me the most was knowing that if I would have taken a few extra minutes to make sure my bike was completely secure, I could have avoided the whole situation.
As a commuter relying on your bicycle to get around, you are more than likely going to have some sort of experience with having your bike, a tire, a seat or some part of your bike stolen. I’ve had all of those stolen and know how frustrating it can be. According to the National Bike Registry, about half of active city cyclists have their bikes stolen. Totally disheartening.
Bicycles are continuously growing as one of the most popular forms of transportation. They provide more accessibility than driving, are affordable, and allow for faster commutes. While there are many positive outcomes that come from more people riding bikes, unfortunately, there also comes a lack of knowledge that bike theft is indeed a real struggle. Sadly, many people have to go through the experience of having their bike stolen before they realize that bike theft can indeed happen to them. I speak from experience.
Here’s a list of seven things you could do to avoid having your bike stolen.
Register Your Bike
Without a doubt, you should register your bike. If your work’s transportation department offers some sort of registration service, take advantage of it. Registration gives your bike an identity. It’s a way for your job to keep a record of your bike, and if ever in the unfortunate event your bike is stolen, the likelihood of it being found will be much greater. It also provides proof that your bike actually belongs to you.
How To Park/Store Your Bike
Making sure your bike is locked up correctly is the best way to guarantee your bike will be in the same place once you return. You can buy the best lock in the world, but it will not do anything if you are not locking your bike up the right way. It seems easy, but I, like many have completely failed at locking my bike and it’s parts and had to pay the price for it.
When you lock your bike, you want to make sure that all of the elements are protected. This includes your frame and both tires. Many cyclists agree that it is always best to make sure you lock both your frame and tire to the bike rack. Locking only your frame, or tire leaves your bike vulnerable, allowing a thief to take the piece that isn’t locked.
To protect both tires, it’s also good practice to make sure that both of them are locked up. If this means investing in a second lock for just the back tire, running a cable or chain through the back tire and connecting it to your lock, or taking off your front tire so you can lock it to the frame and the other tire, I say do it.
Use Better Locks
While there is no lock on the market that is guaranteed to prevent bike theft, there are some that make stealing a bike much more difficult. The type of bike lock you use may be one of the most important measures you take in preventing bike theft. My recommendation, invest in a D-lock, wheel bolts, and Ottolock. Combined in different ways, you can better secure your bike.
If you need to do quick errands or are on a long road ride, the Ottolock is your best choice as it is light and dependable to storing your bike for a while.
If you are at school or work, a D-lock combined with wheel bolts are the best in the market.
When investing in good bike locks, initially, it may seem expensive, but spending those few extra dollars can be well worth avoiding the need to replace your bike. Cable locks really just won’t cut it. They provide very minimal protection and are quite easy for thieves to cut with just a hand tool. Some people use a chain and other forms of thicker cable locks, but I personally think a U-lock, wheel bolts, and Ottolock are the way to go.
Where To Park
Location is also a major factor to consider when protecting your bike. What you do not want to do is lock your bike in an area where a bike thief is likely to strike. A dark alley behind a lecture hall, or parked up against a tree are two examples of locations that to bike thieves, scream “take me!”
What you should do is park your bike in a “bike heavy” location. Locking your bicycle in an area where there are a lot of other parked bikes can help it to blend in, and avoid standing out to thieves. You also want to make sure that you park it in a location where there are a lot of people around. A thief is less likely to show up with a bunch of tools to cut through locks and take apart bikes when there are a lot of eyes watching.
Store Inside At Night
Avoid leaving bikes parked out overnight. Bikes left outside overnight are usually the most vulnerable. In the evening, there are not as many people around, locations can be dark and dimly lit, and thieves are more likely to strike.
The best thing you can do to avoid having your bike stolen at night is to bring it inside. While it may seem like a hassle, if you can, bring it into your home. Many train stations, schools, and jobs are also working to combat bike theft by creating more indoor storage locations and bike rooms. These locations are often locked, secured, and only accessible by users, making them the ideal place for overnight and longterm bike storage.
GPS Bike Tracker
Bicycle theft tracking devices usually have a GPS chip built-in, and can be hidden into your bike handlebars. This is the perfect solution after a bike theft because as long as the thief doesn’t know how to disable it. The police will be able to track your bike in real time and arrest the person who stole it – recovering your bike in the process.
You may want to install a GPS tracking system on your bike, especially if you got an expensive bike that is easily targeted by bike thieves. Popular GPS bike trackers, such as Sherlock, and Spybike, can be easily accessed on Amazon or any other online store.
Move It Often
Another great security precaution is to move your bike regularly. The reason for this is simple: if a potential thief sees your bike in the same place every day, especially during certain hours, then he or she will have a much better idea when they might be able to get away with stealing your bike. If you always lock it up somewhere different, then it is unlikely someone will know that it will be unattended for several hours.
After years of locking my bike in my apartment building bike storage room, someone knew my habits and that night I knew I could’ve done more to protect it, like additionally locking the back wheel and frame to a post. After trying to get my bike back by reporting theft and posting flyers and a fee for return, I knew that it was going to be hard to get it back.
One of the biggest problems of stopping bike theft is, local authorities and governments overlook it, not realizing how bad the situation is. If the government puts as much effort in bike theft prevention as it puts in prevention of car theft, things will get much better. Hopefully, more and more bike theft prevention programs and infrastructure will be launched in cities. So my last advice about protecting your bicycle from thieves is, take it seriously, and always staying prepared.