One of the biggest deterrents to riding more frequently in Philadelphia is the fear of your bike getting stolen. And it's a legitimate concern. There were 274 bicycle thefts reported to the Philadelphia Police Dept in July, but who knows how many go unreported. Unfortunately for bike owners, a thief with enough time and the right tools can break any lock.
Locking your bike incorrectly can
lead to it becoming a skeleton.
But the longer a thief will have to work, the less likely your bike will be stolen. Locking your bike well is important for making it harder to actually steal, but furthermore making your bike look like a difficult job can help deter thieves from even trying-- especially when there's a lot of foot traffic, and easier targets, nearby.
Ultimately there's no perfect method, but following some of these tips will help keep your bike safe, discourage thieves, and hopefully make you feel safer about leaving your bike locked while you bike around the city.
Use the right locks!
- U Locks: Some U locks are stronger than others; make sure you buy a strong steel-alloy lock. If the manufacturer offers a warranty or insurance, register the lock and write down the lock's serial number and where you bought it. For added protection, get one or more U lock cuffs, which help prevent thieves from using a lever to pry the lock open. Avoid locks that have circular/tubular keys (If you don't know why not circular keys, learn about the Bic Pen's lock-picking ability from this article)
- Cables and chains: The thicker, the better. Cables and chain links should be at least 3/8 of an inch thick, or about the thickness of your pinky finger. Some cables are actually harder to cut than chains, because they don't snap and thieves can't pry them open.
- With both cables and U-locks, do not buy a larger lock than you really need. Thieves will utilize the extra space between your lock and your bike to their advantage. A tight fitting lock will make it even more difficult for thieves to get their tools into position and to attempt a break.
~Use a flat key U-Lock to secure the frame and rear wheel to a
rack or other fixed object (see below for more on where to park). Then use a cable lock or cable loop (alternatively known as a leash) to secure the front wheel to the frame, lock, and/or rack. Two different types of locks require different tools to defeat and therefore make it a smaller target. Your bike will look like more of a hassle to steal, helping to deter potential thieves. This is called cross-locking.
~Alternatively, take your front wheel off and lock it to the frame and back wheel with a U-lock.
~The SF Bicycle Coalition shows how multiple U-locks can be used in combination to securely lock your bike. The combinations are endless!
Placing your lock: use proper technique when parking and locking!
~What to lock to: Lock your bike to a fixed, immovable object. Be careful not to lock to items that can be easily cut, broken or removed like a chain link fence or the non-supporting bars of scaffolding. When locking to a sign pole, check whether you can pull it out of the ground and how easily a thief could remove the sign and slide your bike over the top. With parking meters, make sure you are using a U-lock that cannot be lifted over the top.
~Don't lock you bike to itself. A thief will just carry the whole bike away!
~Lock the whole bike!: Make sure your frame and both your wheels are locked to a fixed object. Never lock your wheels without locking the frame, because thieves can remove your wheel and steal the rest of the bike.
~Placing the lock: Thieves may break a lock by putting it against a wall or sidewalk and smashing it with a hammer. If you use a padlock, try to put it where its not close to the ground or against a wall or another solid surface. Additionally, leave little or no slack in your cable or chain. and when using a U lock leave little or no space in the lock's middle to prevent prying. The tighter the lock up, the harder it will be for a thief to insert a pry bar and pry open your lock. Position your U-lock with the keyway facing down towards the ground, which will make it harder for the thief to access your lock. But don't lock your U-lock too close to the ground- locks on the ground are more easily leveraged for attack.
Where to park
~Lock in a well-lit area with a lot of foot traffic and where your bicycle can be seen easily. Put your bike where you can get to it fast. Thieves like to steal bikes whose owners are far away.
~Lock in a location where there are other bikes. The chances are pretty good that there will be a bike with less security, or no security, right near yours. Thieves will go for the easiest target every time.
~Avoid patterns: A thief may notice a pattern and target your bike if you lock in the same location all the time. Mix up the locations a little bit, especially if you are a commuter.
~Always lock your bike, especially at home. More bikes are stolen from home than from any other location. Lock up even if your bike is in your garage, apartment building hallway, or college residence hall. If you have a sense of security and become a little lax, that's when a thief will take advantage.
~Don't lock to a tree! Trees are our friends, and regular locking to a tree can hurt and eventually kill it. Plus, locking to trees is a complaint many people make about bicyclists which is easily-correctable.
Removable Items: Quick-releases work for thieves too!
~When you lock your bike somewhere, remove any parts you can't lock and a thief could steal easily: a quick-release seat, horn, bike bag, pump, cycle computer, or lights. If removing quick-release parts is a hassle, replace them with permanent ones.
Watch out for each other!
~If you see someone cutting, bending, or otherwise messing with a lock or bike, don't assume it's the owner of the bike. Confronting the potential thief could be dangerous and we do not advise anything that would put you in danger, so look for and notify a local authority, or find someone more imposing and ask them to gently ask the potential thief what they are doing. If it's in front of a store, quickly find the store's security guard- the bike's owner might be inside, and it's generally bad for business if your store gets a reputation for having bikes stolen.
Make your bike ugly!
~In busy commercial areas, where thieves have lots of bikes to choose from, your bike can be less likely to be stolen if it looks old or just ugly. The Missing Link Pedal Co-op has a whole section on how to make your bike look dirty and disgusting, but in a way that can easily be cleaned.
Identifying Marks and Serial Numbers
~The first thing you do when you get a new bike: Copy down the Serial Codes! Write down your serial number and register your bike with the local police. Find your serial number stamped under the head tube, seat post tube, under the crank, or on the frame's read wheel mount (see right, and above link). Keep a copy of your serial number in a safe place.
~Police recover a number of bikes each year, but can't return most because they're not registered. If the Police recover your bike, you need to be able to prove its yours. Another clear way to do this: Drop a card with your name, phone number, and serial number (and maybe a short message) somewhere inside your frame tubing.
~Knowing your serial number, identifying marks (particularly components and special features of the metal, since the paint color is likely to change and serial numbers can be scratched away), or that there's a note in your handlebar tube are extremely important so you can prove that the bike is yours if you find it at an auction, junk shop, flea market, or it's located by the police
If your bike is stolen:
~First, find the bike's serial number, which you wrote down. Then call the local police and tell them where your bike was stolen. Try to get a police report number that you can use for an insurance claim. Also, find out how the police will contact you if they find your bike.
~There are a number of stolen bike registries where you can register your bike, and then search for serial numbers, models, etc if it gets stolen. See below for links to some of those.
~Looking for your bike: Sometimes you can find your bicycle at places like pawn shops, auctions, or resale shops that might deal in stolen merchandise. But if you find your stolen bike among other property that someone's selling, remember that they won't just give it to you- you'll have to prove that it's yours. Your serial number can be easily scratched out or ground off, so make sure in addition to your serial number you know your identifying marks and where to find them, and/or the details of the note in the handlebar.
For a good tutorial: Check out how to lock, and not lock, in this entertaining video by the experts: Hal Grades Your Bike Locking
These tips will be helpful, but unfortunately there's no guarantee. As one locking advice article puts it, "Good luck may be as valuable as the best locks".
To learn more check out some of the resources listed below. Do you have any additional tips or suggestions? Post them below or email them to me at max@bicyclecoalition.org.
This article was compiled from the great resources below. Check them out for more info
- The Bicycle Ambassadors' Safe Bicycling in Philadelphia Booklet (which can be downloaded free from our website).
- Kryptonite's list of How to Secure Your Stuff- This is a really thorough list of advice for locking.
- BikeRegistry.com- BikeRegistry offers an easy way to store all the important information regarding your bike (including photo). If lost or stolen, these registries can help your bike have an increased probability for recovery if registered with Bike Registry.
- StolenBikeRegistry.com- A free resource to register and track stolen bicycles, run by "tech-savvy people who love their bikes and hate the people who steal them".
- Stolen Bike Registry Blog- Lots of good news and info on bike theft. Really interesting news stories on bike thieves being caught, like this one about using DNA evidence left on a coffee cup by the thief to find and arrest him.
- National Bike Registry's Locking Your Bike- With the National Bike Registry you can register your bike for a small fee in a database that can be accessed nationally by Police and officials.
- San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Proper Locking Techniques- Including a great animated video of how to lock your bike.
- Missing Link Pedal Co-op's Bike Locking Guide- Contains cute photos of smiling parking meters with properly locked bikes locked to them!
- Transportation Alternatives article on locking your bike in NYC.
- Top 10 Cities for Bicycle Theft in 2007, according to Kryptonite: After leading the list for almost a decade, New York City lost the number #1 spot to our own Philadelphia. Chicago, NYC, and San Francisco follow behind.
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