Easy solutions on how to keep your bike from getting stolen, Building Design Tips, Online Advice
Keep Your Bike From Getting Stolen
29 May 2021
It can be really painful when your bike gets stolen, whether it’s expensive or not. It is essential to keep it safe from bike thieves. Unfortunately, whether you lock it to a rack outdoors, in a secure lockup, or your garage, there are no completely theft-proof options for keeping your bike safe from thieving hands.
Whether you ride your bike to work every day or just hit your open roads on weekends, there are a few tips to keep in mind that you can take to make sure your bike is always right where you left it and to make your bike more effort than it’s worth to the would-be thief.
Keep a file on your bike.
Note down every unique feature about your bike that includes receipts, serial numbers, and photos. Also, register your bike in a nationwide database and invest in a GPS tracking device so it can be quickly recovered and returned to you if it’s ever stolen. Your bike’s serial number can be found stamped underneath your bottom bracket.
Lock your bike in a secure location
Take a moment to evaluate your surroundings. This could be just the deterrent needed to keep a bike thief away. Your bike locked up in a secure lockup will be much safer than one left in a dark alley, simply by the location. Choose a well-lit area, look for CCTV and make sure it covers where your bike is locked up. Aim for a spot in front of a coffee shop or restaurant filled with customers sitting behind windows looking out onto the street or commercial racks for bikes. Most bike thieves prefer to operate when the sun goes down, and no one is around to watch. Whenever possible, bring your bike indoors at night. If you’re not satisfied with leaving your pride and joy out on the street locked up in the open, speak with local businesses and try to strike a deal. With a polite request, your local bike shop, garage, or cafe might be more than happy to let you pop your bike in their storage room out back in return for a bit of cash.
Lock up your bike well
When a bike is poorly locked, it disappears quickly. Making your bike thief-proof requires you to invest time and money in purchasing good locks. Be wary of cable locks, which are easily chopped with wire cutters. They might be enough to deter passing theft and opportunists, but they are ineffective against seasoned thieves. Don’t forget to lock your wheels and your saddle. This will serve as a deterrent that adds more time and effort to possible theft of your bike. Lock up your bikes even inside your garage, and be sure they are locked to some fixed point like a pipe or rafter. You can also use aftermarket skewers that require a special wrench to remove. Be patient enough to know you locked your bike correctly.
Change your bike route often.
Try not to leave your bike in the same place every day. Jam-packed racks provide good cover for thieves. Become a regular at a local business and ask the workers there to keep a casual eye on your bike whenever it’s locked out front. Position the bike on the sidewalk side of signposts with the wheels parallel to the gutter. Check if the signpost is well secured. Don’t lock up in the same place all the time. Change locations to prevent bike thieves from catching on to your routine. Mix it up and change its position so that it doesn’t stand out to anyone over time. If your bike doesn’t catch the eye of a thief, they will probably be less inclined to pinch it. The easiest way to do that is to remove all lights, computers, cameras, and anything else quickly taken.
Get your bike insured
Some household policies include bike insurance. Now we’re not saying that simply because you have insurance, your bike can not be stolen, far from it, but you won’t be left high and dry when you find out your bike has been stolen. Once you have insurance, make sure you write down lots of details about your bike and record the frame number. Take a photo of how it is typically locked up in your shed or garage. Also, keep the receipt for the purchase of your bike or new parts safe.
It feels like a gut punch when you come out of the book store or coffee shop and find out that your bike has been stolen. These few tips are needed to make bike thieves believe your bike isn’t worth the risk regardless of how expensive it is, e.g., the kind of locks you use, how you lock it, where you pack it at a secure location and how often you park at a particular location.
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