Cycling can be a fun and healthy way to get around, as well as an easy sport to get involved in. However, having your bicycle stolen could put the brakes on your two-wheeled adventures. The Crime Survey for England and Wales recorded 290,000 bike thefts in 2017. At The Insurance Emporium, we want to help you avoid becoming part of these statistics. That’s why we’ve put together ten top tips to help you keep your bike from getting stolen.
1. Lock it
When you’re out and about on your bike, be sure to lock it up securely whenever you’re going to be away from it. Even if you’re just popping into a shop for a couple of minutes, that could be all it takes for a thief to get hold of your cycle and ride off into the distance!
2. Get good quality locks
It’s worth using good quality locks that will be challenging to cut through on your cycle. Sold Secure ratings are a good guide for checking how secure a bike lock is. A chain and a D-lock might be useful because thieves don’t tend to carry tools to break off both types at once. Good quality locks might feel like a big expense but they can be cheaper than a new bike!
3. Secure it properly when outside
Be sure to lock your bike’s wheels and frame to a cycle rack or another immoveable object – one that can’t be easily cut through and that your bike can’t be lifted over. Locking up both wheels and the frame will stop thieves from taking any of these parts. It’s also worth detaching quick release items, such as the seat and lights, and taking them away with you.
4. Don’t park in the same place every day
If you regularly use your bike to commute on and you must store it out in the open then try to avoid leaving it in the same place every day. Thieves might notice it after a while and, if they know where to find it, your bike could be at risk of being stolen to order.
5. Make it visible in public
When locking your bike up in public, leave it in a well-lit area where there are a lot of passers-by and perhaps even some security cameras looking over it. If thieves feel like they are likely to get caught when trying to nick your bike then they’ll be more likely to stay away.
6. Hide it away at home
When you’re at home, keep your bicycle out of view as much as possible. Even if you usually store your bicycle in a particularly secure part of your property, leaving it somewhere where everyone can see it for a while could let thieves know that it’s kept on the premises. This might tempt them to try to break in to get it.
7. Store it securely indoors
Keep your bike stored in a locked shed or garage. If this building is locked with a five-lever mortice deadlock or a five-lever padlock then this will make it difficult to break into. To make it even more secure, consider locking it to an immoveable object within. If possible, it might even be better to store your bike inside your house.
8. Set privacy perimeters on Strava
If you love recording your rides and chasing new personal bests on Strava then be careful that it doesn’t give away where your bike is. The app can allow you to set a privacy perimeter around your work and home so that thieves will have a harder time working out where your bike is stored each day. Certainly something worth considering!
9. Mark it
Getting a security mark on your bike will make it easier for police to return it to you if it is stolen and they recover it. What’s more, if the security mark is visible or you attach a tamper-proof sticker warning that the bike has been marked, then this could help to deter thieves from taking it in the first place.
10. Register it
It’s worth registering your bike with schemes like Immobilise just in case, in spite of all the above advice, your bike still gets stolen. When police recover stolen bikes, they use these sites to link them too their rightful owners. Therefore, you’ll have more chance of getting out on two wheels again!
Hopefully, these steps will help to keep your bicycle from being stolen. Yet, sometimes you could still be unlucky, which is where cycle insurance might come in handy. Please note that many insurers have different security requirements. You can read ours here.
At The Insurance Emporium, our flexible bicycle insurance policies include cover for Theft, Accidental Loss Or Damage. New policy holders could also get up to 25% discount, including 15% Introductory Discount* and 5% Security Discount^. If you’re for ‘wheel’ about getting bike insurance, stop by The Insurance Emporium today!
*15% Introductory Discount is only available for the first year of new policies.
^Up to 5% discount if all your bikes have approved identification systems. Restricted to DataTag and the National Cycle Database and must be validated/registered with the relevant supplier.
This blog is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Sold Secure, Strava or Immobilise.
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