Bike thieving is a major problem throughout America with an estimated 800,000 to 2 million bikes going missing each year . That ’s a toll of virtually $ 50 million — and that ’s just the small minority of thefts that are really reported . And with ever increase numbers racket of urban commuter forgoing car for bikes , this silent epidemic only stands to get worse .
Generally , when you come out and you find nothing but a busted lock chamber where your wheel was supposed to be , the prospect of being reunify with it are slim . across the country , less than half of stolen bike are recovered by police force and barely 5 percentage are reunited with their owners . Here ’s what to do to improve your luck .
Don’t Get It Stolen in the First Place
It ’s a crazy thought , not couch your wheel in a position to be lease , but surprisingly effective . It ’s called the “ shut up your bike like you require it to be there when you get back ” technique .
A vast majority of bike thefts occur because the owner leave his or her drive neglected and unlocked , or at least fastened to an insufficiently unassailable object . It ’s substantive that you get into the use of lock your bike every time it ’s out of arm ’s reach . Every . Single . Time . Locking your cycle might take an extra minute or two out of your commute but it surely beats consume to walk the return tripper .
Do n’t skimp on your lock purchase and ensure that your lock issue forth from a reputable companionship . Only use a clayey - duty atomic number 92 - lock like theOnGuard Bulldogor theKryptonite Kryptolockor an insulated range of mountains lock like theNew York Fahgettaboudit range . substantially yet , use both — shut up your frame securely against an object using the concatenation , then lock your front wheel with a U - lock , and coil an insulated cable around the rear wheel hub and frame .
Where you put away your cycle is just as of import as how you interlock it . Avoid tree and other soft objects that can easy be hacksawed through . alloy objects either too heavy to move or that have been bolt into the cementum are ideal . If you ’re using a dealings pole , make trusted its too tall to easy climb as stealer have been sleep with to hoist bikes light over stop signs to get them off a perch .
Prepare for the Worst
Now , sometimes , even the best laid lock job will go south and some scuzzy criminal character will successfully make off with your drive . Before this happens — preferably before you leave the bicycle store after its purchase — take a picture of your raw cycle , it ’s serial number , and the sales receipt and upload them to a cloud storage locker like DropBox .
Next go onto every local , state , and home stolen bicycle registries you may find and contribute your selective information to their database . These registries store the owner ’s contact selective information and details about the bicycle so that law can render the bike if recuperate . Here are a few of the tumid databases :
The National Bike Registry
Stolen Bicycle Registry
The International Bike Registry
My Stolen Bike
And , while you ’re at it , make certain that you add your new ride to your homeowner ’s or renter ’s policy insurance policy as well .
Release the Hounds
Ok , so , as soon as you ’re done bedamn the heavens for this barbarity against your peddled dimension , get on the trump and file a police written report . You need to get the wheels of justice turning as soon as potential because , typically , those wheel turn incredibly easy .
perchance you ’ll get favorable and the cops will have picked up the perp before he ’s had a time to undress it , there ’s no guaranty your bike will be found at all . So do n’t bank on just the police , bug out searching the most common spot to chance fenced intersection .
score up every instrument workshop and bike workshop in town , get a impression of your bike and a written matter of the serial number . Scheol , make flyers and pass them out to each one you gossip — it ca n’t hurt . Also , some unscrupulous cat’s-paw shops will attempt to gyp you out of a “ retrieval fee ” or standardised such scam for the return of your bike if they take place to have it . This is illegal everywhere in the US so if a instrument workshop seek to draw this tinker’s damn with you , call the cops .
Online , setup notification on eBay and Craigslist for any motorcycle with descriptions that match yours . For Craigslist :
Run a search for your bike ’s description . verify you includes beleaguer city as well .
On the results page , scroll to the very bottom of the varlet and select the RSS icon .
This will generate an RSS feed that you’re able to punch into Feedly or alike RSS livery scheme and get real sentence updates whenever your bike surface .
For eBay , you could either set up the store’smobile appand have IM alert return to your earphone . Asthe eBay website excuse :
set up the eBay app , and then go to preferences .
Select the notice you want to receive or sour off : Outbid , Watched item end , or Best Offer . ( The Best Offer warning signal is useable only on iPhone and Windows Phone . )
In your phone place setting , receive the telling option , and plow it on to receive alert for the eBay app , or you could sprain it off if you no longer require to receive alerts . ( For details on how to set the apprisal options on your phone , read the substance abuser guide for your machine . )
you’re able to also render poking around police force and bus impound lots . While they ’ll usually advise you if your bike turn up ( thanks to that police report you already file ) , sometimes things fall through the cracks so it ’s a good melodic theme to cover all of your basis .
Round Up a Posse
Your efforts alone , unfortunately , are n’t likely to be enough . If you want your wheel back , like now , you ’re buy the farm to need the biggest mike you could bump to get the Scripture out : Social Media .
Raise a stink . A giant stink . Hit up every cycle crew , messenger service , rec group , and alley cat race police squad you could regain in your townsfolk on FB and give them a picture of your motorcycle with an impassioned supplication for their help in pass over it down . Do the same on Twitter , Google+ , etc and roar , you ’ve suddenly breed the number of eyeballs reckon for your steal gearing by an order of order of magnitude .
And for Twitter specifically , follow the chirrup account of your local constabulary bike recover squad — in San Francisco , for example , that ’s @SFPDBikeTheft — and strike them up with an RT plea . From here on out , it ’s a waiting biz .
Steal It Back
Woohoo ! Your trawl come up with a winner and that son of a bitch who ripped off your ride was stupid enough to put it on Craigslist . Now , while the urge to call up up that subhuman and give them a piece of your mind is substantial , do n’t do it . The marketer will gladly throw your cycle off a bridge or sell it for scrap if there ’s even a hint of a con game .
Plus , whilethat one Redditordid successfully steal her bike back from the stealer , remember that went down in Canada . You will get your vigilante screw shot you try out to pull something like that in Oakland , so exit the police force body of work to the law . Once you find your bike being advertize , call up the precinct that you filed your report with and mouth to whoever is in explosive charge of the case ( or at least the desk police sergeant ) , and give them the info . You might be postulate to take part in the recovery effort , you might not . Either agency , you ’ll hopefully have your ride back soon . [ SFGate – Bike Shepherd – Bicycle Law ]
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