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How To Stop Your Bike Being Stolen

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How To Stop Your Bike Being Stolen

Keep your bicycle safe with this handy guide, prepared with the help of London Fields Cycles. Helpful advice on the most effective way to lock your bike will ensure you never have your bicycle stolen again! Keep your bicycle safe with this handy guide, prepared with the help of London Fields Cycles. Helpful advice on the most effective way to lock your bike will ensure you never have your bicycle stolen again!

Step 1: GET GOOD LOCKS

Spend money on good locks. No lock is totally thief proof - but the more you spend, the better the lock will be. As a rough-guideline, look to spend 20% of the value of your bike on locks. There are many different types. The more kinds you use, the harder the bike will be to steal. These are the most popular...

D or U locks are rigid steel locks that separate into two pieces.

Cable locks can been be looped around the bike. Go for a thick one with interwoven threads - which will take a thief longer to cut through. They're ideal for securing the wheels as well as the frame.

If you have quick release mechanisms on your seat or wheels, you can also buy locking nuts and bolts. These can be undone with a uniquely shaped key - so passing thieves can't steal them.

Step 2: LOCK IT SOMEWHERE SENSIBLE

Always lock your bike - even if you are only leaving it for a minute.

Leave it in as public a place as possible. Ideally lock it where you can see it - or where lots of other people can. Never leave it in an isolated place.

Step 3: LOCK IT TO SOMETHING SOLID

Make sure it is secured to an immovable object like a cycle anchor or railings. Some things that look solid are not, so check. If you're locking it to a post, make sure the post is at least 4m high, so thieves can't lift it off the top.

Step 4: LOCK IT TIGHT

Whatever lock you use, make sure you lock the frame AND the wheels to something immovable.

Make sure your d-lock is tight, so the lock is not hanging loose and there's no space between the bike and the object it's locked to. This makes it difficult to lever the lock open. Make sure the key-hole is pointing down - so thieves can't fill it with a corrosive fluid, or with glue, which means you can't move it, but they can come back and steal it later

and when you leave it, remember to remove accessories like the lights - or the seat if you haven't fitted locking nuts

Step 5: REGISTER IT

If you are unlucky enough to have your bike stolen, this will help you get it back. In most countries, there are schemes run by the police or online with whom you can register the unique frame number of your bike.
The police also recommend that you take a photo of your bike and record its details, like the model and colour, as well as the frame number.

These steps will make it easier to trace and identify your bike if it's stolen or recovered.

Follow our tips and keep your bike safe!

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Tips & Comments
  1. Anonymous

    Great info thanks for that. Now im off to nick a decent padlock!!!

  2. Anonymous

    Video is okay but it omits to suggest locking bike with D-lock so that the locking mechanism is bicycle FRAME SIDE i.e. barrel end. This is more likely to deter potential thieves as they will need to lever against the bicycle frame rather than the cycle stand therefore damaging the frame and reducing resale value.

  3. Anonymous

    Great video - really interesting and informative, thanks. For commuting I have an old, uninteresting but fast and effective bike - one that hasn't been stolen!

  4. Anonymous

    best deterrent is to ride a s**tty bike

  5. Anonymous

    stupid video what i look like american no manches i do better than that

  6. Anonymous

    interesting

  7. dtmaddog

    How to keep your bicycle safe from thieves.

  8. anotherDaveB

    When buying your bicycle lock, you might want to ensure you buy a lock that has been awarded a 'sold secure' rating. http://www.soldsecure.com/Leisure.htm

  9. ruthus

    sensible advice! But it doesn't deal with theft of seatposts and other parts.

  10. Anonymous

    Hi. Good info. but two additions. I read the dutch police bike theft report. 01. they say it IS better to put it in an isolated place. Because thevies don't care if people are walking by. no one will ask them what they are doing. and then can always say it's their bike, and they've lost the key. So placing your bike in a "hidden" place, reduces the chances of theft, because there is less chance that a bike thief is going to see it. 02. Use two different types of locks. apparently thieves "specialise" in one or another. so no matter how good your lock is, it is breakable by a "specialist". but if you have two different types of locks, that require two different sets of tools and skills, you might have a chance to be discarted by the thief. good luck.