About Bike Security

Thousands of bikes are stollen locally each year.  This include economy bikes, expensive bikes and everything in between.  

Why Do People Steal Bikes

• Understanding why people steal bikes will help you protect yours

• Joyride

  • A person may just need a ride from one point to another or just want to go on a joyride

  • Your unlocked bike may be too hard to pass up

  • In many places, this is the most common type of theft and bikes are generally abandoned and recovered

  • Just about any type of lock will drastically reduce the chance your bike will ride off om a one trip ride

  • It is also important to record your serial number and take a picture of your bike beforehand and report your bike if it is stollen

• Quick Buck Resale of Bike

  • Bikes are stollen and sold for a quick dollar, often $100 or less

  • Economy bikes are stollen more often then high end bikes

    • High end bikes are more likely to be adequately locked up

    • High end bikes may be too risky to sell

  • Thieves often carry smaller bolt cutters

  • Thieves have been seen in Seattle walking around with long handled bolt cutters

  • Uglifying a bike may not be effective since thieves are looking for a quick buck and can always black spray paint your bike

• Professional Resale of Bike

  • Bike thieves that take orders and look for bikes to resale

  • They look for certain types of bikes and bikes that will resale well

  • Better looking bikes are targeted

    • These thieves can easily distinguish high end bikes from less desirable bikes to steal

  • Bolt cutters are often used - in broad daylight, which easily disable cables, economy chains and economy U-Locks

  • A Gold Rated U-Lock will prevent many of these types of thefts

  • If a bike is left on a vehicle, it needs a solid chain to secure it

    • Understand that thieves in vehicles may have heavy duty bolt cutters or angle grinders with them

    • They will pull up next to your car, cut the chain or cable and throw the bike in their truck

  • If you have a really expensive bike, thieves may case your bike and come back with bigger tools or even power tools

  • Making your bike look repulsive may be the best protection against this type of theft

  • Nice bikes need to be locked up indoors - parking garages don't cut it

• Resale of Parts

  • There is a huge market for used bike components

  • A bike is selected for components and taken whole or in parts

  • If you use a solid lock on your frame and rear wheel, the thief may take an unsecured wheel or just remove parts off the bike

  • If you just lock up the front wheel, the thief can remove the wheel from your bike and carry all but the front wheel away

  • Your bike parts are at much greater risk if left out at night

Locks Do NOT Make your Bike Theftproof

• ALL Locks can be disabled

  • There are plenty of YouTube videos that show you how easy it is to disable a lock

    • This is a great educational tool to show you the limits of each lock

    • It is also an educational video on how to disable locks which thieves have access to

• Some locks can be disabled in seconds with easily concealable tool

  • Tin snips will easily cut through Zip Style locks

  • Quality bolt cutters will cut through most cables, security bands, most chains and low end U-Locks

    • youtube rphMwxTr54 

  • Portable angle grinders will cut through just about anything

    • youtube wdbaGTYIKvg 

    • This obviously makes a lot of noise and attracts a lot of attention

    • Keep in mind that the thief is also armed with a very dangerous tool and may not want to be bothered

    • High end U-Locks designed for E-Bikes and motorcycles will take several minutes to disable with a grinder

      • youtube GMg6zVdYI0g 

      • It is unlikely that someone will go to the effort to do this, unless you have a very expensive bike that left outside overnight

• A skilled lockpick can disable a lock in less than a minute

  • Lockpicking is an unusual skill among thieves, but the tools are easy to obtain and skills are easy enough to develop 

  • This looks conspicuous and is generally not a concern if you have eyes on your bike

    • This becomes more of a concern if your bike if left out overnight or in a secluded alley

Goal of a Lock

• The realistic goal of a lock is to Deter Theft

  • • Stop quick grab and escapes

      • Most would be thieves are not walking around with special tools

    • Slow a theft = Deterrence

      • Depending on the lock and tools a thief has, this can delay a thief anywhere from 2 seconds to several minutes

      • A lower security lock may be all you need for quick stops when you are nearby

        • We recommend Gold Rated or higher security whenever locking up your bike

      • A high security lock is needed if you are leaving your bike out overnight in an urban area

        • Gold Rated security can be disabled in seconds with an angle grinder

• Read what a real life bike thief looks for: road.cc

Use a Lock Correctly

• Even a great lock won't work right if used incorrectly

• Select a good lock

  • Anything other than a U-Lock is easily defeated

  • Other locks may be acceptable for short stops in busy areas, but won't survive the night if a theif wants your bike

• Secure the most valuable part of bike first

  • Ideally Frame and Rear Wheel

• Secure lock to immovable object

  • Select solid objects that can't be broken with brute force

• Lock the other wheel

  • Run a cable through the other wheel and back to the lock

  • If the front wheel is removable, remove it and run your lock through the both tires and the frame

• Avoid locking it this way:

  • If you run your lock just through the front wheel, the wheel can be removed from the bike and a thief can easily replace a front wheel

  • Do NOT lock your bike just under the handlebars as an Allen wrench can be used to remove the handlebars

• When possible, make lock awkward to get to

  • Secure lock as close to bottom of bike as possible

  • If using a combo lock, face combo down

    • This won't slow someone who knows how to rapid crack a combo lock

  • Make thief get in uncomfortable and conspicuous position to get to lock

• Avoid high risk areas

  • Secure a bike indoors if possible 

    • If you secure it in a shed, it needs to be locked to something that too much trouble to mess with 

    • Thieves commonly break into sheds looking for items to sell

  • Avoid leaving your bike out overnight

    • City streets and dorms are NOT safe at night

    • Your yard may also be frequented by thieves - it's much more common than you may think

  • Keep an eye on your bike if possible 

    • If stopping at a restaurant, lock it up within eyeshot

Avoid Advertising You Have a Nice Bike

• Professional bike thieves look for higher end bikes to turn a quick profit

  • You don't need a high end bike for our Scouting Adventures, so not having one decreased the chance your bike will become a target

  • Riding a nice bike to school, work or regular hangout advertises you have nice bike and where to find it in the future

• Many riders post pictures of their bike as well as geo locations of where they ride and even where they live

  • It doesn't take much for a thief to find you, determine your daily and weekly patterns and take your bike and other belonging

  • If using Strava or other apps, set up your privacy to anonymize your location

• Uglification

  • Advanced Technique - Not for the Faint of Heart

  • Ask your parents before doing this!

  • One of our Adult Leaders spray painted his really nice bike so it looked really ugly

    • It survived college in Seattle without being touched and for years was locked up with a broken lock that didn't even lock

    • Note that times have changed, so using a real lock recommend in the modern world

  • Many missionaries will uglify their bikes

    • They have SO MANY bike theft stories

    • Many add black tape and spray paint to bike to deter theft

  • It's not just about making the bike ugly, it's about making repulsive

    • Flat black spray paint and a milk crate basket is ugly

      • This deters professional thieves, but not so much thieves looking for a quick buck or a joyride

    • Rust used to be repulsive

      • Rust has become a new style trend and there are how to videos on how to give your steel bike a rusty look

    • Neon stripes on your tires and frame and a couple of stickers repulsive 

      • Resale value just tanked and thieves may not want to be seen on your nasty bike

      • The big question is if you will still want to ride this bike

  • Wrinkled duct tape and paint is another way to ruin a bike

  • This technique works even better if you do it to a cheap bike