I want to go biking in cities, but from what I’ve read most police departments simply do not give a fuck about stolen bikes. How do I make sure my bike doesn’t get stolen?
This is the correct and only answer. If it’s good enough for the LPL it’s good enough for me.
Well as a lot of people have mentioned some good bike locks are a must have preferably ones with a tamper alarm on them, and I’d also recommend like some others have:
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Lock your bike (if possible) in an area that is covered by a cctv camera(s) and lights.
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If available I’d recommend signing up to a bike database that is used by authorities, doing this you’ll get a number or barcode on your bike which will correspond to the bike on their data base, and may act as a deterrent.
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As others have mentioned if it’s an electronic bike, take out the battery.
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never leave it outside overnight, if not possible to park indoors try investing in a decent cover for your bike.
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another good thing is to add a hidden tracker in the unfortunate event that it does get stolen, you’ll be able to track it.
Lastly making your bike look boring and old is another really good tactic which will make thieves go for the more fancy looking one instead.
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Well, then you’re pretty much out of luck because if someone wants to steal your bike, they will, even if it means coming with a rotary saw. And yes, it does happen, depening on the value of the bike.
My tip coming from a big city with a shitton of bikes: just get a cheap second hand bike that no one will bother with stealing. If you use it for your commute, then it’s good enough.
If we’re talking about an expensive sports bike, then don’t leave it unattended.
This makes the most sense
I use a hardened steel chain and a hardened steel lock, and I thread the chain through the frame and the front tire. That’s enough to defeat bolt cutters (and my lock has notches on it to prove it), though I’m not sure how it would do against an angle grinder. Though if they have an angle grinder, they might just go through whatever it’s locked to instead of the chain/lock itself. There’s only so much you can do against a very determined thief.
Ive been switching to foldable bikes. When I worked in a office, they fit nearly next to my desk.
You can’t prevent bike theft - you can only discourage it.
- Use multiple locks. Chains are harder to cut than U-locks. Stay away from cable/combination locks.
- If the lock is a pain to carry around it’s also a pain to break.
- If possible, place the lock so that it’s in awkward position to cut.
- Have a bike that’s difficult to sell. Either a cheap and crappy one or make it unique looking.
- Park it in public and leave it next to a bike that’s easier to steal.
- Remove the battery if it’s an ebike.
In short: Make it more difficult and time consuming to take than the bike next to it.
2 points:
Use multiple lock types to increase the required angles of attack.
Keep the locks up off the ground so thieves can’t use the ground for leverage with bolt cutters.
Make sure to loop a lock through the frame and both wheels. I use an ABUS frame lock on my rear wheel (never has to be removed) and a kryptonite chain lock for the front wheels and frame.
If you want to get really secure, replace fasteners with tamper resistant versions.
Nothing is ever theft proof, but there’s lots of ways to make your bike very theft resistant.
These are all great suggestions.
OP, You’ll want a heavy-duty D-lock from a company like Abus or Kryptonite, and always loop the lock around the frame of the bike and loop it through a secured bike rack. A bike rack that can be picked up and dragged off is not secure. A bike rack with loose bolts holding it in place is not secure.
A frame lock that goes through the back wheel is also a great option, and the Abus ones (and others i believe) have an option on the frame lock to attach their own brand of bike chain as well. This is the lockup method i use on my $5k bike for any stops under 20 minutes.
For anything longer, i also use a d-lock around my frame and hooked to the bike rack, as well as cable locks around my front and rear wheels. I also have security hex/allen bolts securing my seat and seatpost suspension. People walk by, see 4+ locks on my bike, and never bother it.
Never use a cable lock to secure anything you’re not comfortable having stolen. Also bike insurance is a thing and can be really affordable. Finally, there’s an app called 529 Garage that allows you to register your bike into their database to help with recovery in case it gets stolen. Some cities also offer registering your bike with the city to aid in theft recovery. I did it in my city, but honestly i have no idea if law enforcement even checks the city database for recovery.
I’ve been cycling all over the place since I was a kid and I’ve never had a bike stolen. Either I’ve got lucky or my approach is a good one!
The standard advice in the UK is to have two locks, at least one of which should be a good D-lock. Two locks are twice as good as one, because breaking two locks takes twice as long as breaking one, and thieves generally want to be able to steal bikes very quickly.
By a ‘good lock’, I mean in short, an expensive and usually very heavy lock. I have a couple of D-locks for taking out with me and a couple of very heavy chain locks that I keep for locking my bike up at home. I only take the chain locks out if I’m unsure about where to lock my bike, because they’re so heavy as to be barely worth the hassle!
Ideally, a lock should be secured around a frame and a wheel, and then to an immoveable object. So, extending that idea slightly, the ideal place to secure two locks is one around each wheel and the frame. I personally find that this is often difficult to achieve in real life. But, again, that’s where having two locks comes in: a bike that’s secured to a bikerack with one lock and has the rear wheel imobilised with another lock is difficult to steal.
Regardless of lock type and placement, the best places to secure a bike are those that either have their own security or have lots of foot traffic. Thieves are less likely to operate where there are lots of potential witnesses.
Good luck! Bike theft is sadly common but it shouldn’t put you off cycling if you’re going to be smart about security, which it sounds like you are.
This is the lock I use on my e-bike, and it’s even recommended by LockPickingLawyer. Hasn’t been stolen yet.
Damn. For $200, I’d hope it’d protect the bike.
Cheaper than buying a new bike, though!
Am I blind or does the site say that lock is actually $3,000?
The $3,000 is a protection plan, kind of like insurance. So if you use that lock and your bike is stolen, they’ll give you up to $3,000 to replace it. I don’t see a price listed for the lock itself.
It’s worth it if your bike is made of 24k gold.
Nope I can only see $3000 as well.
Check out the Lockpicking Lawyer on YouTube. See what kind of lock he does not condemn.
Remove a wheel, seat and/or handlebars when you lock up. A lot, and I mean a lot, of bikes are stolen out of convenience, and not having a wheel means that someone can’t easily ride it away.
This won’t deter a motivated Igor Kenk-style thief that steals tens of bikes a day, but it’ll make you less of an opportunity to casual addicts looking to for a ride for the night or something they can flip for cash or drugs.
its sorta like the same mindset of driving manual. it wont deter everyone away, but it filters out some of the potential people who can steal it (those who dont know how to drive manual)
Use the technique
As someone that biked in Chicago for over a decade… You make your bike harder to steal than other bikes. Very few bike thefts are targeted; they’re largely opportunistic. If it’s a targeted theft, they’re going to get your bike.
Start by getting a good lock. If you’re riding a bike around that’s more than about $1500, spring for the Kryptonite New York series of locks. I’d say get a chain and a very small shackle, because that gives you the most places to lock your bike. When you lock up, remove your front wheel, and run the chain through your rear wheel and both the rear and front triangle, and through your front wheel. Make sure that what you’re locking to is sturdy, and difficult to move or cut quickly; city bike racks (the steel ones that are set into the concrete) are pretty good. For buildings that have exterior gas and water pipes, those are pretty great too. Take your seat and seat post with you. Get the tiniest, most uncomfortable-looking clipless pedals you can (Crank Bros. Eggbeaters are a good start, I had Speedplay Frogs before they were discontinued), and wear cycling shoes everywhere; as dumb as it sounds, a bike that someone can’t easily ride off on is less likely to get ripped off.
Don’t leave your bike locked up outside overnight. Don’t leave your bike in a garage, in a fenced-in back yard, or on a back porch. Set up a place inside your house to store your bike (yes, this means that you need a large shower mat to catch the melting snow in the winter). If you commute to work, see if they have a place inside where you can keep your bike during your shirt.
Declare your bike on your homeowners’ or renters’ insurance, and make sure that you specify replacement value, and exact duplicates rather than equivalents.
Yes, Kryptonite locks can be picked. The people that can consistently pick the new ones quickly are very unlikely to be ripping off bikes.
It’s not fool-proof, but I commuted to and from school in the loop, and to and from work in Skokie, and had a grand total of zero thefts across two high-end Cannondales, one mid-level Fuji, and a Specialized StumpJumper Pro in the years that I lived in Chicago.
Use the Sheldon Brown lock strategy. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html
On top of the various lock suggestions, I added something on my ebike I quite like.
”Hidden” beneath my water bottle holder is a casing for an Apple AirTag. No one is likely to notice it because it’s mounted with the water bottle holder. It doesn’t blend perfectly, but enough to not be noticed unless you’re looking for it. The security screws that are used to mount it require a somewhat uncommon head (not that people don’t have them, just not a normal part of a bike kit), so it’s not easily removed.
So if the bike is stolen, I can hopefully find it again.
This coupled with an alarm lock that attaches to the brake rotor and a standard combination cable lock has served me well so far. Though this spring I might add a folding lock just in case. If I’m spending as much as I did on a bike I shouldn’t cheap out on protecting it.
