Some of the deterrents I have seen on parked bikes is to take your saddle or the front wheel with you. Strap our helmet through the wheel rim and the bike frame, I have a Loup of bungie cord on each end of the bike bars that slips over the break leavers to keep the wheels from rolling when I lean your bike against a wall or using a kickstand or clickstand. If you are touring, you have our tent footprint. I cover my bike with the tarp and secure the two ends with a small carabiner through the wheels front and back. Out of sight out of mind. Something I have never done, but I know some are doing is to Put a tracker under the saddle so you can track where the thief took your bike. A light weight cable lock combined with any of the forementioned will slow the thief down or move on to an easier grab. Take the chain off the front chain ring. Nothing will stop a professional thief, NOt even a heavy duity U lock. They have the tools and skills. Years ago riders with high end bikes used to put a crappy paint job on the bike and put decals for cheap kids bike on the bike frame. if you are in a group, run the cables though the bikes so each bike has multiple cables. Something I have thought about for years is a way to lock the cranks. Thief would still be able to carry the bike off but would not be able to peddle.
Absolutely should have a rear view mirror on your bike.I often wonder why no mirror on a bike but must have them on cars.Ridding in traffic they are a must have.
I sometimes ride with a small mirror that attaches to my glasses. I don't have mirrors on my bikes. The small mirror is effective and easy to change bike to bike, as it clips onto me, not the bike. Which mirror do you have installed on your bike?
I have hand painted both my town bike and my touring bike. I don't mean nice custom paint, I mean gnarly looking household paint and a 2 inch brush, this includes dabs on the wheels bars, racks, cranks, etc. My bikes looks like crap. A thief would have real problems selling them on, and so my hope is that they would steal every other bike on the street before bothering with mine. I also lock them. This might sound drastic, but bike theft is common, and although there are designated bike parking bays in the city, there are no bike racks that you can lock the bike to. If you do chain it to a tree or lamp post, city management may just remove it.
Excellent information. I am fortunate in that I only use my bike outside of the city and in "leisure" scenarios, so I can always keep an eye on it as it is nearly always underneath me!
It's also a good thing you're not based in Berkeley, CA: abc7news.com/east-bay-armed-robberies-bike-grizzly-peak-hills-police-investigate/10509055/. I hope we never experience anything like that in Canada.
I definitely agree with your first tip! I only leave my bike out of sight if it’s just for a few moments and even then I lock it up tight. Good video, good topic
Excellent video. I ride a Brompton so I fold it and take into the cafe. But during the pandemic a lot of cafes have refused to have it in side. Keep Safe!
Ah, Bromptons. They're not very popular in Toronto just yet, but I have seen more of them in the past year. It's interesting that folded Bromptons are not allowed in cafes (due to the pandemic). They're so small.
Some insurance companies offer a track & trace device. They use this to see where your bike is hidden and inform the police to get it back. From Iris Joschko, another yt-ber, I learned about the bike alarm from Fosman I believe. Also look if you see any cameras and park your bike in front of these. Photograph the bike, write down the frame number and put something on it to make it easier to recognise. A piece of yellow tape somewhere for example.
I've not heard of insurance companies offering a tracking device in Ontario, this would be excellent to have. Some people do have bike alarms and they are a deterrent. Parking where the cameras are - great point.
Good video...thanks. I follow most of the suggestions except: - I do leave my bike unattended on the street but locked/alarmed - I store it in my garage, but locked to a fixed object as if it was on the street I do: - Take care where I lock it - Use 2 locks - Have an audible motion sensor alarm - Have a rider on my homeowner's policy for replacement - The lock manufacturer "guarantees" bike replacement if the lock is broken and bike stolen (hope I never have to test this) - Have it registered with local police and 529 Some people have GPS gadgets on their bike to help in recovery Having done all this, it would not shock me if it was stolen one day.
Tell me more about the alarm. Which one do you use? Would you recommend it? Yes, I was hoping someone was going to comment on GPS trackers, maybe even the new Apple AirTags, I've seen chatter on TH-cam about people testing those as trackers on their bikes.
@@WheelsonaBike Had my bike stolen from my porch in January, lucky enough to find/buy a new one before they all disappeared. I've since armed it with a motion alarm hidden under my rear basket/rack... I recommend it overall, but don't feel it's practical to engage it with standard street/bike parking - if someone else locks their bike to the same ring/post as mine, and they knock my bike twice, my alarm would go off, which is basically as loud and annoying as a car alarm. However, I certainly engage it when I need to park in a less-busy area, and it gives me comfort knowing I can keep it on my porch during the day / before I bring it into my home at night, which I now do religiously. www.amazon.ca/Fosmon-Waterproof-Vibration-Triggered-Motorcycle/dp/B07PQ92SHC/ I'm also hoping my wife gets me a Samsung GPS tracker, which I would hide in my seat or handlebar post. Thanks for the video!!
4 Seat theft; use an old piece of chain encased inside plastice tubing from the hardware store or auto parts store and loop it permanently through the bike frame rear triangle and the seat rails. A good deterrent.
Hi Agnieszka over there, I’ve been watching your videos and just want to express my appreciation - they are simple, I guess you could say pretty much down to earth, which is likeable in a world where hands and cameras are shaking as if they needed a toilet soon. But that’s not the case with your views, calmly straight forward on small and tiny things as well as bigger issues. I imagine it’s just those things that matter in the long run, especially for as bicycle riders. Keep on what you’re doing so good as we are many watching (over you) now and then and don’t forget to take good care of all your nice Canadian trails. Best wishes, Kent Bostrom (Europe)
I believe in a city like Toronto there are thieves with vans dedicated to stealing bikes. The bikes are then sold on. If a bike rack is not fixed in a secure way thieves will steal the whole rack and bikes attached to it. Any bike lock can be cut with a grinder or bolt cutters. Thieves mostly go to places where there are lots of racks like a university grounds. I have high quality locks for my bike but I never use them because I never leave the bike unattended.Thanks for the interesting video.
Yes, in addition to the occasional petty thefts, there are theft rings in the city. We've had theft in my "secure" condo as well. They drive in, take out all the bikes and off they go.
Ok. This turned out to be a long one. I hope you won't mind Agnieszka? This is why I would be hopeless on twitter!!! 😭 Bike theft is a plague everywhere in the world apart from I believe Japan and Korea and possibly China (?) but I'm not sure. Living in a rural area, my nearest town has an urban population of just 5,000 so I just use one U Lock there. Going to larger towns or cities I always take two heavy U Locks and use two cable Locks as well. Although I have been thinking about getting a heavy chain lock instead of one of the cables. Basically a substantial proportion of the weight of my pretty basic bike will be locks because I want it to still be there when I come back hours later. It's not a good way to promote, encourage or to enjoy using a bicycle as an everyday part of life, is it? Most bike thieves aren't drug addicts or homeless as some people like to generalise. Of course some are and they're often the stupid one's that keep getting caught and adding to that stereotype. A lot of the bikes are stolen by people who do this for a living or a part of. They have a well proven system. Resale or scrap metal usually. For resale, your bike can be very quickly for sale again on online small ads. Sometimes quite locally but more often in the next city, state, country, whatever. So, Agnieszka's bike gets stolen and next week Pauline somewhere else see's a small ad for a very nice second hand touring bike at a pretty good price. She buys it and of course, because it's such a nice bike she spends about 150 bucks on several new locks because this new bike is to replace her last one that was also stolen a few weeks ago. Another reason why she bought second hand this time instead of new. Oh how the infernal wheel turns. And so it goes on. It's a constant escalation of buying better locks and paranoia. And nothing is going to change UNLESS we all change the system and the culture. I don't mean greater security or GPS tracking although individually that won't do any harm. Apart from scrap metal and just vandals and general scumbags and gurriers opportunistically stealing bikes, yours, mine or anyone else's bikes are stolen for the "Pauline's" of the world to buy. They are not criminals but they do facilitate the never ending and escalating cycle of thefts. If there wasn't a market for the sale of stolen second hand bikes then there wouldn't be 60-80% of current bike thefts. My solution.......? Every bike sold everywhere in Europe, North America, in fact ideally everywhere in the world needs to have a unique ID or serial number engraved onto a prominent part of the frame. NOT a manufacturer's ID or model number!! And also ideally a readable chip inside the frame programmed with the same number. The purchaser of this new bike if over 16 or 18 gets their name and details registered online on a national site for each country. Let's say this costs €£$10 but I'd let beaurocracy sort that out. The cost of the ID engraving and the readable chip will be included in the price of the new bike at the point of sale. It will be illegal for a retailer to sell a new bike without it's engraved ID, chip and online registration. If under say 16, then it's registered in the parents/purchaser's name. From now on, whenever that bike is sold OR permanently given to someone else to be used, the online register is updated with the new owners details for the nominal fee or possibly even free. So far, this is the "speak softly" part. And here's where the "big stick" comes in.... This HAS to be mandatory. It's not like an obviously visibly displayed registration plate on a car or any other motorised vehicle. It's much more discrete but still obvious to be seen if looked for. If ANYONE buys a stolen bike, they will have no excuse not to know about this new system and it will be an immediate say, €500 (?) fine for the buyer and confiscation of the bike. If someone is in possession of a bicycle with either or both the engraved ID or internal chip removed, that will be an immediate €500 fine PER BIKE plus any additional possible criminal charges. ALL new bikes from a certain date will be mandatorily registered both physically by engraving and with a matching readable chip inside the frame AND online at the same time. Anyone with an existing bike could also possibly be allowed to bring it to a registered bike shop to also have it engraved, chipped and registered. But I could also see possible legal issues with proof of ownership over bikes that weren't bought and registered brand new. That would be something for the legal eagles to sort out. Nobody buying or in possession of a bike that was stolen can claim innocence because all they have to do before buying any second hand bike is to go online and put in the engraved registration/ID number on the bike. If it was stolen the police would immediately flag it on the registration site as being stolen. Only police OR registered dealers can have access to alter details otherwise it will be abused or manipulated by third parties. And again, if anyone is found in possession of a stolen bike OR a bike with the registration/ID/chip removed that is an automatic fine and hopefully criminal prosecution. Anyone can check the ID on any bike on the registration site BUT it will not show any personal details about the person registered. All it will show to a member of the public is whether or not that bike is flagged as stolen. Any changes to the ownership has to be done by a registered dealer. Ideally only the police can flag it as stolen. I think this is necessary to stop members of the public from abusing the system for malicious or criminal reasons. And this CAN NOT just be a local city/state initiative. It has to be at a minimum national and ideally international. For example this or something similar would be ideal for a European wide initiative. Of course any fines or penalties have to be decided upon by individual national (or state) legislatures. Thinking about my bike being stolen kinda puts me in a less than sympathetic "hanging judge" frame of mind. I am only one of hundreds of millions of bicycle owners all over the world who are helplessly frustrated every day by the very real and present fear of locking your bike up and having it stolen before you return. This is my first real thoughts on a viable solution to this scourge that I have put to words apart from commenting about locks as I did at the beginning. I will look forward to any thoughts, suggestions and constructive criticisms of any faults or failings in my ideas from anyone who reads this. And I'm probably not the only one to come up with a similar idea but I actually haven't read one like this yet. And nothing like this will happen anywhere without years of organised campaigning and lobbying by cyclists everywhere. I think it's time I actually joined a representative organisation.... And press submit........
Thank you for this comment. I'm going to pin it so others can see it and contribute their thoughts on this. I laughed when you introduced it as a potential "Twitter fail." You make A LOT of good points and I wonder if you've seen Tom's (Shifter YT Channel) video on this topic. He goes into a lot more depth and you may find some parallels between what you propose and what he's found based on research. Here's the video link: th-cam.com/video/48V9Xtpgq9I/w-d-xo.html. What you propose is technically possible, but it would require a lot of collaboration between manufacturers and nation or world-wide players, including law enforcement. I'd like to see a system similar to what you propose even available in Canada, forget Canada, at a provincial level - Ontario. Some cities do a better job at tracking and enforcement, but others just "turn a blind eye" as it were - there are other more important issues the police need to take care of. Bikes are not only NOT recognized as a viable form of transport in Toronto/Ontario/Canada, but in terms of a high value possessions, they rank pretty low on the spectrum. Having this process start at the manufacturing level, and have it be compulsory, would certainly start the ball rolling.
@@WheelsonaBike Thanks for pinning my thoughts. First some additional thoughts and to pick some holes in my own ideas... There is very little reason for manufacturers to have ANY involvement at all other than to perhaps accommodate a universal entry point to implant a chip "IF" that additional option were agreed upon by the regulatory authorities. Their support overall to lobby for an initiative like this would be far more valuable. Otherwise the retailer would just drill a little hole to drop it in presale and seal it. I only added the idea of a readable chip on the spur of the moment as I was writing. It wouldn't be absolutely essential BUT it would add a double layer of security and verification. Chips are cheap and durable and if manufactured for the purpose in hundreds of thousands or millions would be dirt cheap and easily read by a reader. There could be objections from someone who just bought a €10,000+ carbon frame bike to having a hole drilled in the frame to implant the chip which would then be sealed, but once it's mandatory, my unsympathetic advice would be to just suck it up. It's for the common good. (The more I say it out loud now though, the more I think the "chip" aspect would be the thing that would make unenthusiastic regulators and fickle bike owners balk and dismiss the entire idea as being too "difficult"?) The ID/Registration would NOT be engraved on a little plate or anything else that could be removed or added to the bike. It's to be physically engraved at the point of purchase on the same spot on all frames and impossible to be altered without being obvious. It's a permanent non removable part of the bike for ever. If it ruins a nice manufacturers decal that's in that spot too then though *+&?#¡ as far as I'm concerned. It would of course require the involvement of registered bicycle retailers. And of course, the police. But for all concerned, I can't see any downside. And there will be the creation of a registration site with limited access by the public to protect privacy of registered bike owners. I actually had seen Tom's video back when it came out. In the city in question (Vancouver?) the voluntary registration of bikes appears to have reduced bike theft substantially. But nowhere else was interested. But I believe a MANDATORY registration including engraving of an ID on the frame that everyone can check instantly on their phone to check if the bike is stolen or not improves upon this system dramatically and would have been much more effective. And the registered owners privacy would always be protected. Individual local city's, councils, states or whatever doing their own individual initiatives to combat bike theft is commendable. At least they are trying. But as soon as the bike is removed from that area, the benefits are lost. It needs to be national and international. I am going to polish up my somewhat stream of consciousness ramblings and put this idea out there more. I have no involvement in social media other than making the odd comments on TH-cam and a few other places but I am going to reach out on this. I'm sure many others have already had the same or very similar idea and I want to know why something hasn't been done already or what went wrong? Although if implemented, something like this would definitely hit bike lock sales worldwide. That's certainly one vested lobby who would be less than enthusiastic about such an initiative! 😭 A million people as individuals can be easily ignored. A million people as a united movement can accomplish much more and influence national and international policy. 🙏
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Some of the deterrents I have seen on parked bikes is to take your saddle or the front wheel with you. Strap our helmet through the wheel rim and the bike frame, I have a Loup of bungie cord on each end of the bike bars that slips over the break leavers to keep the wheels from rolling when I lean your bike against a wall or using a kickstand or clickstand. If you are touring, you have our tent footprint. I cover my bike with the tarp and secure the two ends with a small carabiner through the wheels front and back. Out of sight out of mind. Something I have never done, but I know some are doing is to Put a tracker under the saddle so you can track where the thief took your bike. A light weight cable lock combined with any of the forementioned will slow the thief down or move on to an easier grab. Take the chain off the front chain ring. Nothing will stop a professional thief, NOt even a heavy duity U lock. They have the tools and skills. Years ago riders with high end bikes used to put a crappy paint job on the bike and put decals for cheap kids bike on the bike frame. if you are in a group, run the cables though the bikes so each bike has multiple cables. Something I have thought about for years is a way to lock the cranks. Thief would still be able to carry the bike off but would not be able to peddle.
Absolutely should have a rear view mirror on your bike.I often wonder why no mirror on a bike but must have them on cars.Ridding in traffic they are a must have.
I sometimes ride with a small mirror that attaches to my glasses. I don't have mirrors on my bikes. The small mirror is effective and easy to change bike to bike, as it clips onto me, not the bike. Which mirror do you have installed on your bike?
Good point. I have on my helmet and one on the end of each handle bar.
I never ever ride my bike without a mirror.
I have hand painted both my town bike and my touring bike. I don't mean nice custom paint, I mean gnarly looking household paint and a 2 inch brush, this includes dabs on the wheels bars, racks, cranks, etc.
My bikes looks like crap. A thief would have real problems selling them on, and so my hope is that they would steal every other bike on the street before bothering with mine. I also lock them. This might sound drastic, but bike theft is common, and although there are designated bike parking bays in the city, there are no bike racks that you can lock the bike to. If you do chain it to a tree or lamp post, city management may just remove it.
That is a great, unique idea! You made your bike one of a kind and that in itself is a deterrent. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent information. I am fortunate in that I only use my bike outside of the city and in "leisure" scenarios, so I can always keep an eye on it as it is nearly always underneath me!
It's also a good thing you're not based in Berkeley, CA: abc7news.com/east-bay-armed-robberies-bike-grizzly-peak-hills-police-investigate/10509055/. I hope we never experience anything like that in Canada.
I definitely agree with your first tip! I only leave my bike out of sight if it’s just for a few moments and even then I lock it up tight. Good video, good topic
I have a gravel bike that never gets locked up. When I bought it the sales person laughed when I asked about locks.
Excellent video. I ride a Brompton so I fold it and take into the cafe. But during the pandemic a lot of cafes have refused to have it in side. Keep Safe!
Ah, Bromptons. They're not very popular in Toronto just yet, but I have seen more of them in the past year. It's interesting that folded Bromptons are not allowed in cafes (due to the pandemic). They're so small.
@@WheelsonaBike They like us to wrap them up in plastic!! I just give up with some of the cafes!! Stay Safe!! Love from England!!
And do they provide the plastic? Or are you meant to carry the plastic with you?
Some insurance companies offer a track & trace device. They use this to see where your bike is hidden and inform the police to get it back. From Iris Joschko, another yt-ber, I learned about the bike alarm from Fosman I believe. Also look if you see any cameras and park your bike in front of these. Photograph the bike, write down the frame number and put something on it to make it easier to recognise. A piece of yellow tape somewhere for example.
I've not heard of insurance companies offering a tracking device in Ontario, this would be excellent to have. Some people do have bike alarms and they are a deterrent. Parking where the cameras are - great point.
Nice info. Seen many bikes with one cable lock around the frame. Only to see the bike again minus wheels. Frame still locked, but no wheels. 👍😕🙂
Yes! I've seen this around the city as well.
Good video...thanks. I follow most of the suggestions except:
- I do leave my bike unattended on the street but locked/alarmed
- I store it in my garage, but locked to a fixed object as if it was on the street
I do:
- Take care where I lock it
- Use 2 locks
- Have an audible motion sensor alarm
- Have a rider on my homeowner's policy for replacement
- The lock manufacturer "guarantees" bike replacement if the lock is broken and bike stolen (hope I never have to test this)
- Have it registered with local police and 529
Some people have GPS gadgets on their bike to help in recovery
Having done all this, it would not shock me if it was stolen one day.
Tell me more about the alarm. Which one do you use? Would you recommend it?
Yes, I was hoping someone was going to comment on GPS trackers, maybe even the new Apple AirTags, I've seen chatter on TH-cam about people testing those as trackers on their bikes.
@@WheelsonaBike Had my bike stolen from my porch in January, lucky enough to find/buy a new one before they all disappeared. I've since armed it with a motion alarm hidden under my rear basket/rack... I recommend it overall, but don't feel it's practical to engage it with standard street/bike parking - if someone else locks their bike to the same ring/post as mine, and they knock my bike twice, my alarm would go off, which is basically as loud and annoying as a car alarm. However, I certainly engage it when I need to park in a less-busy area, and it gives me comfort knowing I can keep it on my porch during the day / before I bring it into my home at night, which I now do religiously. www.amazon.ca/Fosmon-Waterproof-Vibration-Triggered-Motorcycle/dp/B07PQ92SHC/ I'm also hoping my wife gets me a Samsung GPS tracker, which I would hide in my seat or handlebar post. Thanks for the video!!
Right, OK. Not ideal in crowded parking spots as it may set off the alarm. Thanks for sharing the alarm you have. I'll look into it
4 Seat theft; use an old piece of chain encased inside plastice tubing from the hardware store or auto parts store and loop it permanently through the bike frame rear triangle and the seat rails. A good deterrent.
Great info, I have multiple bike locks, insurance, and a motion alarm and gps as well as registry on the bike recovery sites. so far so good.
Thanks for watching and I'm glad you found a solution/s to secure your bike! Which motion alarm do you have and would you recommend it?
Hi Agnieszka over there,
I’ve been watching your videos and just want to express my appreciation - they are simple, I guess you could say pretty much down to earth, which is likeable in a world where hands and cameras are shaking as if they needed a toilet soon. But that’s not the case with your views, calmly straight forward on small and tiny things as well as bigger issues. I imagine it’s just those things that matter in the long run, especially for as bicycle riders. Keep on what you’re doing so good as we are many watching (over you) now and then and don’t forget to take good care of all your nice Canadian trails.
Best wishes,
Kent Bostrom (Europe)
Thank you for this thoughtful message, Kent. I appreciate it. I'm glad you find the videos of value.
I believe in a city like Toronto there are thieves with vans dedicated to stealing bikes. The bikes are then sold on. If a bike rack is not fixed in a secure way thieves will steal the whole rack and bikes attached to it. Any bike lock can be cut with a grinder or bolt cutters. Thieves mostly go to places where there are lots of racks like a university grounds. I have high quality locks for my bike but I never use them because I never leave the bike unattended.Thanks for the interesting video.
Yes, in addition to the occasional petty thefts, there are theft rings in the city. We've had theft in my "secure" condo as well. They drive in, take out all the bikes and off they go.
Ok. This turned out to be a long one. I hope you won't mind Agnieszka? This is why I would be hopeless on twitter!!! 😭
Bike theft is a plague everywhere in the world apart from I believe Japan and Korea and possibly China (?) but I'm not sure.
Living in a rural area, my nearest town has an urban population of just 5,000 so I just use one U Lock there.
Going to larger towns or cities I always take two heavy U Locks and use two cable Locks as well.
Although I have been thinking about getting a heavy chain lock instead of one of the cables.
Basically a substantial proportion of the weight of my pretty basic bike will be locks because I want it to still be there when I come back hours later.
It's not a good way to promote, encourage or to enjoy using a bicycle as an everyday part of life, is it?
Most bike thieves aren't drug addicts or homeless as some people like to generalise. Of course some are and they're often the stupid one's that keep getting caught and adding to that stereotype.
A lot of the bikes are stolen by people who do this for a living or a part of.
They have a well proven system. Resale or scrap metal usually.
For resale, your bike can be very quickly for sale again on online small ads. Sometimes quite locally but more often in the next city, state, country, whatever.
So, Agnieszka's bike gets stolen and next week Pauline somewhere else see's a small ad for a very nice second hand touring bike at a pretty good price.
She buys it and of course, because it's such a nice bike she spends about 150 bucks on several new locks because this new bike is to replace her last one that was also stolen a few weeks ago.
Another reason why she bought second hand this time instead of new.
Oh how the infernal wheel turns.
And so it goes on.
It's a constant escalation of buying better locks and paranoia.
And nothing is going to change UNLESS we all change the system and the culture.
I don't mean greater security or GPS tracking although individually that won't do any harm.
Apart from scrap metal and just vandals and general scumbags and gurriers opportunistically stealing bikes, yours, mine or anyone else's bikes are stolen for the "Pauline's" of the world to buy. They are not criminals but they do facilitate the never ending and escalating cycle of thefts.
If there wasn't a market for the sale of stolen second hand bikes then there wouldn't be 60-80% of current bike thefts.
My solution.......?
Every bike sold everywhere in Europe, North America, in fact ideally everywhere in the world needs to have a unique ID or serial number engraved onto a prominent part of the frame.
NOT a manufacturer's ID or model number!!
And also ideally a readable chip inside the frame programmed with the same number.
The purchaser of this new bike if over 16 or 18 gets their name and details registered online on a national site for each country. Let's say this costs €£$10 but I'd let beaurocracy sort that out.
The cost of the ID engraving and the readable chip will be included in the price of the new bike at the point of sale.
It will be illegal for a retailer to sell a new bike without it's engraved ID, chip and online registration.
If under say 16, then it's registered in the parents/purchaser's name.
From now on, whenever that bike is sold OR permanently given to someone else to be used, the online register is updated with the new owners details for the nominal fee or possibly even free.
So far, this is the "speak softly" part.
And here's where the "big stick" comes in....
This HAS to be mandatory.
It's not like an obviously visibly displayed registration plate on a car or any other motorised vehicle.
It's much more discrete but still obvious to be seen if looked for.
If ANYONE buys a stolen bike, they will have no excuse not to know about this new system and it will be an immediate say, €500 (?) fine for the buyer and confiscation of the bike. If someone is in possession of a bicycle with either or both the engraved ID or internal chip removed, that will be an immediate €500 fine PER BIKE plus any additional possible criminal charges.
ALL new bikes from a certain date will be mandatorily registered both physically by engraving and with a matching readable chip inside the frame AND online at the same time.
Anyone with an existing bike could also possibly be allowed to bring it to a registered bike shop to also have it engraved, chipped and registered. But I could also see possible legal issues with proof of ownership over bikes that weren't bought and registered brand new.
That would be something for the legal eagles to sort out.
Nobody buying or in possession of a bike that was stolen can claim innocence because all they have to do before buying any second hand bike is to go online and put in the engraved registration/ID number on the bike. If it was stolen the police would immediately flag it on the registration site as being stolen.
Only police OR registered dealers can have access to alter details otherwise it will be abused or manipulated by third parties.
And again, if anyone is found in possession of a stolen bike OR a bike with the registration/ID/chip removed that is an automatic fine and hopefully criminal prosecution.
Anyone can check the ID on any bike on the registration site BUT it will not show any personal details about the person registered.
All it will show to a member of the public is whether or not that bike is flagged as stolen.
Any changes to the ownership has to be done by a registered dealer.
Ideally only the police can flag it as stolen.
I think this is necessary to stop members of the public from abusing the system for malicious or criminal reasons.
And this CAN NOT just be a local city/state initiative.
It has to be at a minimum national and ideally international.
For example this or something similar would be ideal for a European wide initiative.
Of course any fines or penalties have to be decided upon by individual national (or state) legislatures. Thinking about my bike being stolen kinda puts me in a less than sympathetic "hanging judge" frame of mind.
I am only one of hundreds of millions of bicycle owners all over the world who are helplessly frustrated every day by the very real and present fear of locking your bike up and having it stolen before you return.
This is my first real thoughts on a viable solution to this scourge that I have put to words apart from commenting about locks as I did at the beginning.
I will look forward to any thoughts, suggestions and constructive criticisms of any faults or failings in my ideas from anyone who reads this.
And I'm probably not the only one to come up with a similar idea but I actually haven't read one like this yet.
And nothing like this will happen anywhere without years of organised campaigning and lobbying by cyclists everywhere.
I think it's time I actually joined a representative organisation....
And press submit........
Thank you for this comment. I'm going to pin it so others can see it and contribute their thoughts on this. I laughed when you introduced it as a potential "Twitter fail."
You make A LOT of good points and I wonder if you've seen Tom's (Shifter YT Channel) video on this topic. He goes into a lot more depth and you may find some parallels between what you propose and what he's found based on research. Here's the video link: th-cam.com/video/48V9Xtpgq9I/w-d-xo.html.
What you propose is technically possible, but it would require a lot of collaboration between manufacturers and nation or world-wide players, including law enforcement. I'd like to see a system similar to what you propose even available in Canada, forget Canada, at a provincial level - Ontario. Some cities do a better job at tracking and enforcement, but others just "turn a blind eye" as it were - there are other more important issues the police need to take care of. Bikes are not only NOT recognized as a viable form of transport in Toronto/Ontario/Canada, but in terms of a high value possessions, they rank pretty low on the spectrum. Having this process start at the manufacturing level, and have it be compulsory, would certainly start the ball rolling.
@@WheelsonaBike Thanks for pinning my thoughts.
First some additional thoughts and to pick some holes in my own ideas...
There is very little reason for manufacturers to have ANY involvement at all other than to perhaps accommodate a universal entry point to implant a chip "IF" that additional option were agreed upon by the regulatory authorities.
Their support overall to lobby for an initiative like this would be far more valuable.
Otherwise the retailer would just drill a little hole to drop it in presale and seal it.
I only added the idea of a readable chip on the spur of the moment as I was writing.
It wouldn't be absolutely essential BUT it would add a double layer of security and verification.
Chips are cheap and durable and if manufactured for the purpose in hundreds of thousands or millions would be dirt cheap and easily read by a reader.
There could be objections from someone who just bought a €10,000+ carbon frame bike to having a hole drilled in the frame to implant the chip which would then be sealed, but once it's mandatory, my unsympathetic advice would be to just suck it up. It's for the common good.
(The more I say it out loud now though, the more I think the "chip" aspect would be the thing that would make unenthusiastic regulators and fickle bike owners balk and dismiss the entire idea as being too "difficult"?)
The ID/Registration would NOT be engraved on a little plate or anything else that could be removed or added to the bike.
It's to be physically engraved at the point of purchase on the same spot on all frames and impossible to be altered without being obvious. It's a permanent non removable part of the bike for ever.
If it ruins a nice manufacturers decal that's in that spot too then though *+&?#¡ as far as I'm concerned.
It would of course require the involvement of registered bicycle retailers.
And of course, the police.
But for all concerned, I can't see any downside.
And there will be the creation of a registration site with limited access by the public to protect privacy of registered bike owners.
I actually had seen Tom's video back when it came out.
In the city in question (Vancouver?) the voluntary registration of bikes appears to have reduced bike theft substantially. But nowhere else was interested.
But I believe a MANDATORY registration including engraving of an ID on the frame that everyone can check instantly on their phone to check if the bike is stolen or not improves upon this system dramatically and would have been much more effective.
And the registered owners privacy would always be protected.
Individual local city's, councils, states or whatever doing their own individual initiatives to combat bike theft is commendable. At least they are trying.
But as soon as the bike is removed from that area, the benefits are lost.
It needs to be national and international.
I am going to polish up my somewhat stream of consciousness ramblings and put this idea out there more.
I have no involvement in social media other than making the odd comments on TH-cam and a few other places but I am going to reach out on this.
I'm sure many others have already had the same or very similar idea and I want to know why something hasn't been done already or what went wrong?
Although if implemented, something like this would definitely hit bike lock sales worldwide. That's certainly one vested lobby who would be less than enthusiastic about such an initiative! 😭
A million people as individuals can be easily ignored.
A million people as a united movement can accomplish much more and influence national and international policy.
🙏