Your questions about bike theft answered by a bike detective
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- I dropped a video a few months ago about a project in Vancouver that has reduced bicycle theft by 42% over the past few years, an amazing number considering bike theft is getting worse in many other cities. That video generated a lot of questions, so in this video, I'm posing the most commonly asked questions to one of the guys behind the Vancouver program, Rob Brunt, a former Vancouver police detective who now works with Project 529, and is probably the most knowledgeable (former) cop in North America about bike theft.
Here's the original video: • There's a proven way t...
Here's Project 529: project529.com/garage
0:00 Intro
1:17 Explaining Project 529 in 30 seconds
2:34 Why is this needed? Shouldn't people just do a better job locking their bikes?
3:16 Why can't police just treat bike theft more seriously?
4:00 Why do police sell recovered stolen bikes? Doesn't that disincentivize police from finding the rightful owner?
4:45 How bit of a problem is bike theft really?
6:33 With so much distrust of police these days, do police need to be part of this program?
7:56 What's the single most important part of this approach?
8:50 Why isn't my city already doing something like this?
9:49 My city already has a bike-theft database, but the problem persists. What's different about this?
10:51 Were you really the only cop in North America working full time on bike theft?
11:09 Bike advocates often see licensing as a way of regulating who can ride. How is this program different?
12:15 My country already has a national bike-theft database, but the problem presists. What's different here?
13:10 Can't bait bikes solve bike theft?
13:41 Can't GPS trackers prevent bike theft?
14:41 Why should bike shops help prevent bike theft when it just leads to more bike sales?
15:33 What are bike manufacturers doing about bike theft?
16:55 Why do you think rates of bike theft are lower in countries such as Japan?
17:19 Should the theft of e-bikes be treated differently?
18:08 I found my stolen bike on an online reseller and stole it back. Why didn't the police help me?
19:02 How do I avoid buying a stolen bike?
19:55 How do I get a program like this in my city?
20:28 Bonus question: Hey Tom, you talk about this program so much, are you getting paid to promote it?
#cycling #bike #bikecommute
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My granddaughter's bike was stolen in Evansville IN. I reported it right away. I found out through neighborhood gossip that the person who stole it was caught and the bike recovered. The police never contacted me and when I went to pick up the bike I was told I would have to pay storage fees more than the bike cost. They only had the bike less than a week! And they were going to put it in an auction. I can't help but think they had a racket. One of the officers called in my behalf and convinced them to release the bike -- I'm grateful for that but it's police procedures like that that discourage people. This incident was at least ten years ago. Hopefully things have changed.
100% a racquet, same even happens with weed so I can't imagine how often now that bikes easily cost 5-10k. I imagine in some instances cops would even steal them, especially in small towns
I doubt it. If there's a way for local municipalities to profit from their citizens, they'll take advantage of this most of the times.
Now wrap that tiny brain around the racket that is the state
My bike was just stolen a week ago. Not expensive, but it was my main mode of transport. But it had lots of hours in terms maintenance and lots of custom upgrades. That's what a lot of people don't get, a bike you ride almost daily is a very custom and personal thing. And keeping it in top shape all year round takes work, time and money. That's what pisses me off, it's not worth much to anyone but me....
Apply same logic to vehicles and it hurts even more in terms of $$$ 😭
My bike got stole this morning and it was expensive, personalized and it sucks
@@matt-fn9gr how did it happen where did you leave it
@@KevAlberta it was in the secured garage in the condo building I live in, it was also locked.
@@matt-fn9gr damn sorry mate that’s a bummer. The only place I leave my bikes is in my house or in the secured bike locker at my work. It’s completely out of site. So unless someone manages to break in the door of the bike locker for whatever reason, they’re gonna have a field day with about 45-60 bikes to choose from
Edit: I also don’t own a lock, but I’m thinking of getting one for this very reason
I'm retired US Air Force and have lived my last 35 years in Tokyo, Japan. When you purchase a bicycle here in Japan the bicycle shop you purchase the bicycle from registers your bicycle in the police registry. Bike thefts here in Japan are relatively low and most are from individuals wanting to get from point A to B and then they abandon the bike. My daughters bicycle was stolen from a shopping mall and the police recovered the bicycle and were able to track it back and return it to me, for a $25 fee. Police continuously do random checks to ensure bicycles are registered.
Do you have to pay an annual fee like with cars in the states?
@@keit273 No annual fee but their is a registration fee of approximately $6.
When I was in Japan and China, people don't even lock their bikes. That's a well functioning society. In NYC, your bike is gone if you step away for more than 15 minutes.
@@b.chuchlucious5471 lead poisoning.
@@b.chuchlucious5471 no, please tell
My bike got stolen in broad daylight at a busy shopping mall entry.
I reported it stolen to mall security, they had the thief on camera, they said I couldn’t see the cam footage in case I knew the thief and went to assault them, I was told to report the theft to the police so they could come and see the footage, I made a report to the police, the ‘case’ got bumped around between different police who were never at the station when I happened to ring I was ringing almost every day for a week, finally after 7 exactly 7 days they said an officer went down to the mall to view the footage but mall security had wiped the recording because they only hold footage for 7 days so the case was closed. The police knew the exact amount of time camera footage was held for and waited just long enough to be too long!.
All round scam, police pretending to give a damn while knowing they just have to wait 7 days until there’s no evidence so they can close the case.
No wonder the thieves steal so many bikes knowing the cops don’t care, while cops take tax money for doing as little as possible, it’s almost like they need each other to stay in a job.
More lasting than the bike being stolen was how little the police cared about a crime that was clearly on camera and deliberately avoided doing anything about it, same attitude towards me as the thief
Typical of the police, bike theft is a super low priority, well below hate crime and thought crime.
Police here in Germany doesn't give a f about bike theft or car drivers parking on bike lanes. Policemen are car drivers. I've never seen a policeman riding a bike.
@@chrisko6439 There is a cyclist police division in my city and people laugh at them and call it a waste of taxes. Impossible to please people.
I've had several bikes stolen over the years. I've only gotten one back, because the thief brought it to the local bike shop to lower the seatpost. The bike shop knew it was mine and held on to it until I came in. I was very grateful and lucky. Thank you.
To lower the seatpost!? Please tell me it has a weird, unusual design
@@armadillito Bike thieves don't tend to have much going for them in the grey matter department. Doesn't take much brain to put an angle grinder against a u lock for 5 minutes.
Takes even less brains to fuck with something a potentially violent stranger relies on to survive.
@@armadillito I assume it was stuck (seized, frozen), it really needs tools, time and experience to undo it.
Imma guess that they brought it in because the seat post's screw was given a metal bearing stuck to the socket?
Project 529 saved my bike from a life of crime. I had my road bike stolen out of my apartment building. It was inside the office behind three doors. The thief broke through all the doors and made off with my Bike. I was devastated. I thought my pride and joy was lost forever. About a month later I got a call from VPD letting me know that they had recovered my bike from a street criminal. He was using it as his own and was caught committing another crime. Because I had registered my bike with 529 the VPD were able to find me and I have my bike back. I consider it a miracle! My hat is off to the VDP! REGISTER YOUR BIKE!!!
Wow! Good to know this story had a happy ending. How could a thief get behind three doors? How would he know there would be a bike there?
@@alexseguin5245 Good question? It almost had to be someone this guy knew. because there is no way anyone could have known there was a bicycle behind those 3 doors.
@@alexseguin5245 The kind of stuff some of these thieves go through is absolutely baffling. My sister had her 1500$ish bike stolen off of the balcony of her Condo building. She lives 5 floors up. Somebody climbed up the side of the building (or descended down it from above), grabbed the bike, and then proceeded to get back down the building (or up) with the stolen bike.
@thefabulouskitten7204 possible but not plausable
Registered my bike with 529 back in 2008-stolen in 2010 & recovered a few days later
from where are you?
@@kcmarquez5549 North Florida
When I was 15 years old my Hutch BMX bicycle that I shoveled snow and delivered newspapers for 2 years to purchase was stolen by my friend's neighbor and recovered almost immediately by the police. The police refused to give me my bicycle back and I never rode BMX again. I was heartbroken but some cops kid got the most classic BMX bike of all time.
That sucks. I feel for you.
That's horrible ! In what country do you live ?
@@wanneske1969 USA
Your parents should have stepped in and gotten your bike back. They should have gone to the media, you'd gotten your bike or a new bike from a sympathetic viewer.
@@rhondamcknight2596 Hutch bicycles didn't have serial numbers and I didn't purchase the bicycle license so that was a recipe to get your bike taken back then.
I saw Garage 529 being promoted in my city of Montreal at the "Salon du Vélo". City has adopted it recently and the police was talking about it at that event. Glad that this is spreading all throughout Canada!
That's so cool! I just checked, and Garage 529 has a "Français Canadien" language option. It'd be cool if they could get it to default to French on the homescreen for people with IP address in Quebec, though.
Also, if you're buying a used bike always get a name or a picture of their license as well as a receipt. If they get spooked and pull out then the bike is likely hot. Also do your online sales and purchases in front of a police station
That guy is so enthusiastic and talks sense. We need someone like him in the UK.
One thing for people, DONT LOSE HOPE!! I had my bike stolen, I filed a police report and gave them all the bikes info and serial number. a few months later a friend told me they saw my bike in a shop, I called the police to tell them and they came and took possesion of the bike. the serial numbers had been ground down, but the forensics at the police were able to read the serial number with fancy inks and lighting. since I had my report filed, I got my bike back!!! it took over 6 months, but i did get it back!
Where do you live? In NYC, I couldn’t get a cop to retrieve a bike. NYPD gets $11 billion per year but they can’t stop bike theft. Absurd.
@@frankfurter7260 Democrat controlled city, enjoy your individual freedoms in Euphoria, New York.
@@paraglidingnut26 lmao same could be said about the Republican ran city of Fresno. It's a bipartisan issue. It all depends on the priorities of local police and the system they implement to prevent certain crimes. UC Irvine for example has a bike registry. Besides, Car thefts will always take more priority if the city is more focused on automotive infrastructure. Did you even watch the video? 😅😅
My wife and I had both our mountain bikes stolen from our underground parking of our high-rise condo in Calgary years ago now. At the time, I went on a mission to get them back. I started by hitting the pavement. Every. Single. Day. Every cop I saw got a flyer. I had security camera pictures of the thieves leaving the building and I talked to dozens of street folks trying to identify them. A week or so after the theft the thief posted my bike online. We did some Google searches and found plenty of old ads for bikes, motorcycles, parts, tools and such from the same guy. Dummy was stupid enough to take pictures in front of his house and although the house numbers weren't visible, there were identifying characteristics. We knew it was NE Calgary based on some of his postings and choice of meetup locations. No word of a lie, I was able to track down the house on the VERY FIRST DAY I tried. I took pictures of the house that day with a telephoto lens. All windows covered with foil or cardboard, security cameras at every door. I surveilled the house a couple of times. People coming and going in the back alley constantly, Pretty suspicious. Got tired of waiting for the cops to make a move so we posed at buyers and set up a meet in downtown Calgary. An hour before the meet I called the police one last time and told them what we had planned to do. Fifteen minutes before the meet, I got a call from an undercover team, they were taking over the exchange. Thirty minutes later I had one bike back. Not good enough. I wanted my wife's too. You could see my wife's bike in the background in the one picture the thief posted online. I knew this guy had her bike too so I met with a member of the undercover team and presented all my evidence. They wanted to pursue but for whatever reason couldn't or wouldn't. Eventually and reluctantly, I gave up. About three years later I read about a police bust in NE Calgary where they recovered thousands of dollars in tools, bikes, etc. It was our guy. Anyhow, my wife's bike was never recovered but at least the cops got the jerk and hopefully returned some things to their rightful owners. Cheers!
This made me look up bike registration in Denver and it involves filing a police report (even though it’s not about a crime… yet) including all information about yourself like race, address, etc
Yeah. Hard no.
@@Amanda-C. well, they're going to need to have SOME information to be able to identify you so you can get your bike back. no different than a car in that regard. dumb that it requires a police report. Here in Ames it's operated via the University, but they still have: My name, my email, and my phone number so I can be contacted, my address which would match if I showed ID, and the frame number on my bike. Without that it's no different from the 5-6 other Schwinn AL-Comps I've seen around town (sans for the electric conversion).
They're not going to be able to match a bike without that info, which sadly meant that even if the cops HAD found the bike I had previously, they wouldn't have known who it belonged to. Of couse, as the Schwinn's electric now, there are other options, both for tracking and deterrance. But most folks don't know how to set that sort of thing up.
@@DFX2KX I wonder how Vancouver is running this with only an e-mail then
@@TenOfZero1 probably via Email metadata, which has most of that info for most people. That, or it's likely not *as* secure as it probably should be. My rommate could steal and sell my bike because she knows my email, for instance. Since I have to flash my ID, though, that avenue of theft doesn't exist.
@Donald Rivers for race enter one of the following: road, mountain bike, track, cyclo-cross or BMX
I'm a Canadian living & working in the US and I had my bike stolen in Seattle. The good news was the Seattle PD recommended Project529 because I had never heard of it before. I also want to make the point that dealers should be "in the loop" recommending new owners register their bike, and any bike that comes in for service should be checked against the Database.
No sign of my bike even though we saw the thief break into my car on the security cam, but more eyes on the problem must help recovery efforts.
Even though I own several expensive bikes worth thousands of dollars, I do not like the idea of mandatory bike registration with the police. They don’t need to know what I own. I can’t imagine how awful it would be to be regularly pulled over by the cops to check if my bike is stolen! Fuck that. Don’t need to be randomly questioned by cops. Don’t need a nanny, I’m an adult
I live in Philly and a friend of mine had his bike stole. He contacted the police and they told him that it is not worth their time to look for it. That is why I usually don't usually ride in the city or if I do I don't stop anywhere.
yeah, same thing happened to me.
Leave that shit hole while you have a chance, place is 3rd world as f.
I got robbed in Indianapolis while selling an item on Facebook. I got the name and picture and even the address of the person but the police said it is not worth their time.
I've had four bikes stolen, all of them were registered, and none were recovered. One of them was locked to a tree in the front yard of the police station. I still register my bikes, but even though we live within range of hundreds of businesses I could ride to, I don't because less than 5% of them have any form of bike parking. It takes the enthusiasm out of riding when you know that losing your bike is a high risk, and you will likely never see it again.
How crappy are your bikes?
I think that every bussiness should be incentivised to have safe bike-parking with security and cameras. Somehow we have invented wardrobes in theaters but fail to realise that sometimes we might just go to some places with bikes.
@@HondoTrailside Most likely decent one , no one want to steal cheap old bike, there is around 20 or more cheap unlock bike in my apartment car park , no one bother to steal it.
@@HondoTrailside I wish they were, lol. Although the first one was only a Sears 10 speed, the others were a Fuji Sagres, a touring bike, and a hand built custom bike for marathons. My current main bike is an e-bike with dual Tesla batteries, and if there's no place safe to lock it, I take the car.
I picked up an ebike in April 2020 just as the pandemic halted everything. I was unable to register my bike with local authorities as many staff had been seconded to other roles. I was told that all bike registrations were on hold until further notice. Luckily, I stumbled upon 529 Garage and registered with them and I feel confident with this added layer of security.
registering your bike does nothing to stop it getting stolen.
@@anthonyhitchings1051 It does if registration comes with a strong visual deterrent to theft--the 529 badge signals this to would be thieves.
Two of my registered bikes are stolen, one about two years ago, the other a few months ago. I'll probably never see them again
@@anthonyhitchings1051 A wise person with the correct words.
You must have signs in your yard saying, "NO SQUIRRELS ALLOWED!" Government loyalty is not a good thing to endure.
Really interesting to learn more about this! Can't wait until an app like this becomes common in most Canadian cities.
Urban Avengers assemble! When are we going to get a crossover?
Time to move to Euphoria, British Columbia where everything in my life will be known to my government. Only then will I be safe in life.
@@paraglidingnut26 go outside holy shit
It is hard to buy the lack of resources argument. A lot of bikes cost more than a lot of used cars, yet my impression is that police help track down stolen cars all the time. Why would the police have the resources to track down an old $2000 stolen car but not a $5000 stolen bike?
And bike value is only climbing since many people are buying expensive ebike or converting a nice bike. Even a normal bike with custom parts can add massive value too. People look at bikes as kids toys tho except for the person who put time and money into the bike.
And if you look at it cumulatively, the total value of stolen bikes in a year has got to be astronomical in some cities.
@@Shifter_Cycling yeah because as we see they don't care to do anything and it gets under reported like he said in the video so the real numbers are unknown and if there's no consequences of course people are going to do it and destroy so many peoples world I know my bike is becoming irreplaceable quick since I have been working on it.
What makes you think police are doing anything about stolen cars?
because you can't hide a stolen car in your closet? and perhaps because stolen cars are used to further greater offences?
Thanks to you and Rob for the interview and more information about the program.
As a community, we need to help each other more in so many ways. Do good and good will come back to you!
My first mtb was stolen before I even had the chance to ride it once! It was locked to a bike rack, in a cage (which you need a fob to enter) in the basement of my building. It took me 3 years and a lot of convincing from my girlfriend for me to buy another one (she even paid for half of it!). I am in a different apartment now and I have a better lock, but I'm still looking for more ways to have peace of mind.
Today I told a colleague this story and he said that he gave his old bike to his brother who kept it in the basement of the apartment... it was also stolen. My girlfriend also has had a bike stolen.
..not to mention all the stories I've heard about motorcycles being stolen.
Time for thieves to start paying with a hand.
Yeah, fuck this shit. I'm tired of it and I don't even live in a big city. If no one else will take care of it, handle it yourself.
@@1966johnnywayne Agreed, and I've always said this should be the punishment of those found undoubtedly guilty. Pain and crippling is the only way these worthless pieces of trash will get the message.
Excellent, thanks Tom. It's the same in almost every country. Cycling to work requires proper, secure parking/storage for the bike while you're working. You may need a shower wherever you work too. Cycling is more than a painted line on a road. Thanks again for highlighting this
Then i first time came to work on Bike, many persons were interested, including our boss, asked a lot of details. I often say "after Bike trip I feel myself fresh all Day. Time economy x2 and health as bonus".
Great video! I'm in NJ in the states and all our bikes are 529 registered. It was really nice to learn more about it.
I would like a bike but bike theft in Los Angeles is nuts. I see bike parts/frames stacked in homeless encampment and police ignore it.
Don't knock the LA homeless camps, that's where I get my meth.
My bike was stolen from my backyard a few years ago and admittedly I haven’t bought a new one.
It’s really annoying seeing a homeless guy camped out surrounded by 30 bicycles here in this city and the authorities don’t do anything. I mean really…hmmm, where did the guy get so many bicycles?
yeah it pisses me off when I see a street hoodlum on a bike with a FOX36 premium fork, even if the rest of the bike is de-badged.
Classic site in Eugene Oregon I remember was seeing a homeless guy biking while holding another bike
Completely agree! See that all the time in my city too.
Obviously he's investing in transportation of a greener future.
True story. My collegue got his bike stolen so he set up an alert on Kijiji. His bike showed up for sale. He texted and got an appointed with seller. He filmed the whole transaction. In the end he told the seller-thief that this was his stolen bike and he had everything on video. The guy handed back the bike. My colleague then asked for the thiefs leather jacket as a penalty. He complied. My colleague is also a big guy.
Inb4 an even bigger guy finds your colleague and asks for his stolen leather jacket back.
@@unsafevelocities5687 a not so big guy named chuck norris shows up and wants his leatherback?
It's refreshing to see a cop that actually cares.
Cops are a subset of society. All of us are represented by the cops. Believe it or not. I’m not a cop btw.
Apparently, you skipped over the part of the video where city municipalities sell your stolen bikes for city projects.
@@paraglidingnut26 Apparently, you skipped over the part of the video where city municipalities trash the bikes instead. When I was a kid, we used to go to the police auction to pick out our "new" bikes.
I meet these policemen as often I meet Santa.
I gotta say as well, accelerometer based alarms that allow you to "lock" your bike such that if it gets moved, it will set an alarm off are a GREAT combo with a cheap lock.
It makes it much harder to get away with it, and gives a lot of food for thought for a thief as to whether they will get away with it, be able to resell it, or whether it's equipped with other measures (GPS trackers, registered in places like 529, etc). They're very very cheap but quite effective, especially if hidden in a bag so it's not obvious to the thief to cut them off ahead of time before they're set off.
Thanks for the video! I'm registering tonight - I really appreciate you showing us this tool!
Those alarms work pretty good, I installed one internally inside my scooter hooked up into the main battery, so when locked it disables the scooter as well. I use handcuff locks that are cuffed to the stem. Along with folding the scooter to be small to kinda of hide it from passerbys and yet be close to them.
I registered the scooter on Bike Index and Stickered it as well. Along with a Tile hidden inside it as well.
Every thief assumes that he will 'get away with it' or they would not do it. Crim 101. If people rationally did a cost benefit analysis, there would be almost no crime.
Great interview! Really interesting to hear the other side of this, especially when all you read online is people complaining about how ineffective police are at recovering bikes. I imagine the truth falls somewhere between both sides, but I do feel better now about having my bike registered on 529. Even if it does get stolen and I never get it back, at least I know that if it is recovered I'll get it back.
One of the things I like about this program is that it eventually helps prevent theft. That way, no police need to be involved at all.
@@Shifter_Cycling The dream!
Agreed. It's basically the best, current bike alternative to VINs; maybe, one day, we'll have "BINs".
not necessarily. many bikes with 529 stickers end up at auction. the sticker is even visible on the online photo.
@@carlosgaspar8447 exactly in Victoria/Saanich (right by vacncouver) we have tons using this 529 program, but since the police here don’t seem to do anything about bike theft it doesnt seem to be helping at all. My bike was stolen, and the police officer directly said the police had basically 0% chance of recovering. Bike theft here is a complete joke. Basically if you have a nice bike, you can go for ride, but you can’t ever leave the bike anywhere to run in a store. It will be gone.
All that said, 529 is better then nothing, but without the police caring about bike theft then the thieves have free reign.
Great interview! Great system. My wife and I parked and lockedourbikes in downtown Oshawa ontario in front of the library and beside city hall. High visibility and foot traffic. Security guard met us outside the door ofthe library (should have been ourfirst clue). Security cameras onthe building. Ticks all the boxes right? NOT! Van and an angle grinder on the rack was cleaned when we came out. Reportedto librarian "Oh, that happens all the time!" was the response. We asked why no warning signs...shrug was the answer. Same from police. My wife was so disheartened she said she wasn't going to ride again because she finally had a bike that worked for her after many years of searching, samefor the saddle which finally fit her. If we had the project 529, we could have checked out theft in the area. Oh, and then we found out from security that those cameras, in spite of rampant bike theft, aren't pointed to include thebike racks! Thousands of dollars gone for drug addiction! Pathetic! We need to have cities and police taking this seriously. A great activist thing would be to take your bike in stores with you and when challenged by store owners ask where the SECUREbike parking isor demand $2,000 deposit for relinquishing the bike!
Even in my small micropolitan (20K people) city has issues with bike theft. My roommate nearly had his bike lock cut apart but the would-be robber failed. I recently had a back tire stolen on a crappy, rusting bike. Not much to do other than report it to police. Good to see there is an effort being made to recover and return stolen bikes! I'll sign up for 529 too.
outstanding interview, its great to see a someone behind this great program
Incredible video. I’m really inspired by this retired police officer and his honest approach to bike theft. Thank you!
I love that this is a good program! Vancouver is always much more advanced in many ways, areas, than lots of other states. I wish there was a system like this in Miami Fl
We could mirror your system! ❤❤
Great video Tom, very informative. Cheers from Seattle.
The cop is going to say they are doing all they can, but seriously? They don't do anything but make a report when your house gets broken into. Their job is to make rich people feel safe. That has nothing to do with bikes.
How about at high theft locations they install bike racks that have built-in locks and CCTV’s?
So the bike rack has a super-heavy-duty built in lock. You register and can get access. You swipe or do whatever and then you get a combination for the lock and can lock up your bike.
This is a great informative video. I will look into what options I have in registering my bike. Really like how your content is filmed around Canada. I only use a bike for recreation. I got tired having to carry so much stuff to lock up my bike. I use 2 U locks. Each for frame & the 2 tires. I use a security cable with a key lock or combination lock on it that I use to wrap it through the bike seat and around tire & finally through the U lock. I do this because it would take longer & more effort to steal it in a busy public space. Once, a bike beside mine was stolen.
This summer will be a big spike in bike theft. Vancouver is actively removing parking meters, the safest places to lock bikes, but they have no idea. Parking meters had the cities money in them so they are cemented in while street signs and bike racks are bolted to the ground, easy to remove. Also parking meters are close to stores, had people checking on them to add money or empty the money or to give parking tickets so your bike has eyes on it from time to time.
Quick use case. You want a coffee in Chinatown. Old way, lock your bike to the parking meter in front, you could even leave bags on it because you can watch it the whole time you're inside. New way. The closest bike rack is at the cross-fit gym a half block away and is probably full, there is a bike rack down by the dollar store so you could lock up there but then you are buying your coffee a block away on the other side of Main Street. Usually the bike won't get stolen and you just loose any bags, lights, the seat, sometimes a wheel, whatever isn't locked down.
Safe and plentiful bike racks are a must
I see other people leave their panniers on the bike while it is locked up and I couldn't imagine doing that. Anything that isn't locked down or secured/fastened could be stolen.
hah, I missed seeing the end of your post (it was hidden behind a "read more") and see I repeated the same thing you said.
@@zalafinari Oh man ever had that sinking feeling in your gut when you are in a store walking around and you realize your bag is still on the bike. That's the worst. :D
@@fallenshallrise The panic that sets in is real.
6:15 so glad he mentioned and understand a this. I don't think most people realize this.
One case in point I remember is, 2 guys actually planted an ebike to see if someone would steal it. They used a very good lock. At first, a couple people attempted to steal it but were way underprepared. It didn't take long before the dude with a grinder showed up and got the bike. The 2 guys had planted a GPS tracker and immediately started tracking the bike. They notified the local police, but they weren't interested in finding bicycles. The 2 guys in the meantime had caught up with the guy, but were afraid to approach him expecting to get their asses handed to them. So, they flagged a passing cop car down and explained everything.
Now, get this, the cops said they would try and help, but only if the 2 guys didn't press charges. How about that shit for you? The cops actually caught up with the guy and recovered the bike and brought it back to the 2 guys. It would seem that cops aren't willing to waste their time filling out all of the paperwork necessary to charge thieves, knowing that they will be out and on their way home without so much as a hand slapping. That is the major issue here. The laws aren't there for bike theft. The United States Government needs to up the ante on prosecuting bike thieves and making the punishments not worth the crime.
It's the crackheads mainly that do the stealing to get their "fix".
Let's get Proactive ! Love your work Tom
The bottom line is bikes are just too easy to steal, even a heavy e bike is 100 lbs, any adult can throw that into a van and be gone. 18v angle grinders exist and can cut almost any bike lock in under 90 seconds. Anything can be stolen but bikes are particularly easy to both steal and then conceal once stolen. If you steal a car you better have a garage to hide it in, you can throw a bike in your living room.
Plus it's so easy to part out bikes and no amount of registration or even tracking devices will do anything.
Here's a link to the original video that details this program: ruclips.net/video/48V9Xtpgq9I/видео.html. What do you think? Can a program like this work in your city?
Unfortunately no.... Because my city council, my police, refuse to adopt 529.
Wish there were more secure bike parkades with security cameras in more locations, not just at SkyTrain stations
Totally agree. If I am going to spend 2 or 3 hours in a shopping centre I want my bike securely parked. Why don't the shopping centres have these secure bike cages?
Yes, I need a video of the perps when I get robbed and beaten to death, then my family can show this video at my funeral.
@@amandajane8227 because the shopping centers would have to maintain them. Get a beater bike for shopping.
Practical, informative logical, progressive and equitable, excellent common-sense reasoning.
I have a nice ebike - I won't use it now that I am retired because of very high theft risk here in Oakland CA. I did use it for 2 years before I retired, because my employer had a bike "cage" for secure storage (and I still used two U-locks on it). The homeless have "carte blanche" to steal anything that they like.
How about some of the trail in Oakland hills or Berkeley hills Moraga Lafayette Joaquin miller park trail map ? Possibly a senior bike club ?
If you're riding in the city and plan on leaving your bike unattended for even a minute, use a chain lock lock NOT a cable lock. I live in the city and i can tell you that new and shiny bikes get everyone ones attention. It's also a good idea to just buy a cheap beater bike and get it tuned for your everyday use. Save your nice bike for weekend rides.
I had my shitbox bike stolen once. Luckily I found it still on my apartment's property. Guess the crackhead or whoever grabbed it realized the tires were flat and gave up.
That's what I do, but it sucks that you cannot use a nice bike for your daily rides/commute. I've never locked up most of my bikes, because I never leave them outside. Never.
Thanks for this follow-up video. Greatly appreciated 👍
Cykle-on 🚲🤞
Sorry, at 4:16 it needs to be acknowledged that police departments do a LOUSY job of notifying the public about bicycles they have recovered. Lived in my town for more than half a century and have yet to see a single photo of a bike sitting in storage, asking whose it is. Have I had bikes stolen? Yes, three times, all of them registered. Were any recovered? Dunno. Returned to me? Not even close!
You don't see photos of bikes sitting in storage because that would simply encourage unscrupulous people to claim property that isn't theirs. "Excuse me, Sir. Did you drop this hundred dollar bill?"
The idea is to go to the police with a description of your stolen property and hope that they have a match.
@@1966johnnywayne Not really, The police could simply ask for some kind of proof of ownership, such as a receipt for purchase or custom upgrades, a photo of you and the bike, serial numbers etc.
Sure its not foolproof, but with all the available social media its not much of a drain on resources to publish photos of bikes recovered.
I haven't seen the video yet but want to comment that I own two Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit locks and use one of those as well as a braided cable through both wheels to secure my bike. I'm always amazed at the flimsy locks I see used on expensive ebikes, worth much more than any bikes I own.
"if that's your only means of transportation, that bike's worth $300 to you which could be $10,000 in your mind"
This is exactly why I have an expensive lock and always ensure I lock up in well lit, highly trafficked areas when possible. I need my transportation.
It’s hard for some people to get over the idea that a lock may cost more than your bike. But sometimes that’s a requirement.
Had my bike stolen a couple of weeks ago. Ugh. It hurts.
In the Netherlands, the postal code and house number are engraved and then a yellow band around it. E-bikes often have a ship in the frame. and every frame has a unique frame nr
"Ship in the frame" Is this like a ship in a bottle? 😂
@@recumbentrocks2929 I guess he means "chip", prolly and RFID chip.
@@BillOweninOttawa Will the RFID work through the steel frame?)
@@sshko101 RFID on metal tags (ROM); you can get optomised ROM's specifically designed to work with steel and actually work better with steel than any other material.
@@petesmitt I was thinking more on a inconspicuous tag inside a frame. After some internet search I figured that they look quite neat to be outside on a bike frame. On the other hand their main feature is to combat reflected EM waves from the metal, frame will most like shield the signal completely if you put it inside. If only they were designed to use the whole metal object they are attached to as an antenna, but I think that it would have required some strong amplification for the tag circuitry with maybe some external energy source which will ruin the whole idea of RFIDs.
I remember one time me and my brother have bought a shirt in a clothing store and a storekeeper forgot to put off some hidden RFID tag in a front pocket. We only realized that in the next few stores which was annoying. We didn't notice it while leaving the store simply because the bag with a shirt was between two of us and our bodies were enough to shield the RFID signal from the frame on entrance. While we were taking it off in the original store I have joked that we aren't wet bandits, we arent sticky bandits either - we are metal bandits...
Terrific video. This is a long long overdue issue. One of the reasons I didn't buy a $7-8,000 eMTB was theft (as well as reliability). So I could ride it...but I could never park it anywhere and go inside.... So I bought a Tesla instead & I'm still riding my 35 year old MTB. One of my top destinations was the Los Angeles Public Library downtown - the bike rake was hidden behind the shrubbery, prefect for thieves.
The 9 to 5 program sounds great. I've worked in community safety, issues like bicycle security and safety can be impacted in very positive ways with small amounts of effort.
So the major bicycle companies haven't coordinated an ID (VIN) system? How clueless is that?
I never heard of anything like this in the UK. I do remember about 25 years ago we had a promotion where the owner could get their post code engraved in the bottom bracket for free, I guess the idea was so that recovered bikes could be returned easily. Now, if you have a valuable bike the best you can do is to try and park or store it where the thieves cannot get to it or where you have it in sight (if you stop for refreshments or to pop into a shop)
The UK scheme is called "BikeRegister", it's woefully underutilised and nobody has heard of it. Apparently, every UK police force uses it though.
These days there's BikeRegister, they spray your bike with an invisible serial number/barcode/qr code thing that shows up under UV. The problem with really expensive bikes (I'm talking £7,000 plus carbon fibre bikes) is that they will get stripped down and sole for parts. Half the time they won't even sell the frame as it's too easily traced so they just cut the bike in half with [almost any type of saw|garden loppers|tin snips|[...]] leaving a few flakes of carbon fibre sawdust and your untouched expensive padlock!
Take your bike into shops if you can, don't let anyone tell you it has to stay outside!
If my bike was stolen I wouldn’t want it back personally. Or I’d want it back to then sell it or give it away. It would be tarnished and feel dirty. So for me registration is of no real benefit. The only thing that matters are secure, indoor bike parking, and secondarily insurance so I could replace it. And obviously a fairer society where there is no incentive for bike theft in the first place. It’s good that this exists as well, but it can’t be the main focus.
Last summer, Montreal Police adopted Garage 529. They also also created a web version in french. It’ll be interesting to see the impact on bike theft in the city. I sold two of my bikes to people who had theirs stolen. It’s suspected that stolen bikes end up in shipping containers and sent to Africa just like cars. Montreal has a major port and an active organized crime network. There are pictures of Montreal Bixi bike share bikes in Africa.
Exactly, "stolen bikes end up in shipping containers and sent to Africa", french police told me this when i reported the theft of my MTB.
I work at a PARK. A NATIONAL park. And I bike commute to work frequently. I constantly get harassed by high-level management for fiding my own secure places to park my bike. I've tried my office, handrails, storage areas inside our building, etc. None of them have been considered acceptable. I wrote up a 14 page proposal to have bike racks installed near the visitor center to improve visitor access and bikeability in the park. I was told it isn't a priority.
A book called "Secrets of a Super Thief" is about burglary but is directly transferable to bikes. At any bike rack, my bike looks like a quality expensive bike. I use Abus's best bicycle lock and have disfigured my bike with automobile reflective tape which is ~21 years old. My Abus U-shape lock has a square shackle and was rated at 15/10 for difficulty. No one in my area uses such a lock most use cheap chain locks. Also, removing the reflective tape could ruin the finish. ABUS Bike Lock 540 Granit X-Plus U-Lock, Black / Gray, 11179 $124.00
Here in SF its nuts. I never leave my bike locked up outside. You see entire bike chop shops in multiple spots in the city. No one does anything.
Cops can call bike manufacturer with serial number. Serial number can then be tracked to bike shop. Bike shop can then identify owner, assuming first owner of bike.
As for the fix, I think the answer as always lies with the Dutch, with their huge, centrally located safe bike parking facilities (next to train stations for bonus points, of course). There must be hundreds if not thousands of people employed as security guards in Vancouver sized cities. If only one of them was assigned to such a high security facility, it could provide truly safe parking for thousands of cyclists. If only a fraction of those cyclist would otherwise have chosen to drive cars, the investment could make sense even from the elimination of the negative externalities associated with those vehicle miles otherwise driven alone. Add to that all the positive effects of less cars in favor of more bike use such as increased mental and physical health, better urban life for everyone outside of cars, children's freedom of movement, local business profitability, rain water retention through freed up space for trees and greenery, less noise pollution, better air quality, and more. Electric cars are of course just as bad in these regards, with the simple exception of noise at very low speeds.
The Dutch people don't steal bikes on average.
@@Mantis858585 Amsterdam Police and the Cyclists' Union estimate that each year between 50.000 and 80.000 bikes are stolen in Amsterdam. It is better than it was but still a problem.
@@andyleighton3616 I'm curious if bike theft and immigration numbers correlate?
@@Mantis858585 I don't know exact numbers but I think that they must correlate (which does not equate to causality). It is not just immigrants who cause the problem, the problem lies in two things: people who feel like they can't grow in social hierarchy and who feel like their position in a society isn't just - tend to "restore that justice" by themselves (mostly in illegal manner); and second - If they belong to a social group who tolerate certain crime, regardless of their own morality, they will have a higher tendency towards such crimes. So in order ro solve your problem the government should do two things: only let in migrants who are willing and give promise to integrate into society and make excessive programs on integration of those migrants into society. But it's not just migrants, all sorts of different groups of people tend to segregate themselves into some clusters with diverging social norms and moral codes if you will.
@@sshko101 I say don't let in any migrants. Why are European countries forced to be multicultural? I had a hard time finding English culture in London but don't have these issues in Japan, Brazil, Israel, etc. The Dutch have a unique culture that I fear my children will never experience because of this immigration.... :(
My bike got stolen too, in broad daylight, from a busy street. It was locked with a cheap lock, by the looks of it the thief simply cut it with a bolt cutter. I called the police about it, but when i told them that it was an old bike worth about €150 they almost laughed at me, saying that something like that is not worth investigating. Too bad, i loved that bike, i basically grew up with it, took care of it, carried my kids on it. Anyway, i bought a replacement: a rusty, squeky 40 year old bike for €20. I lock it with a steel chain and a Spongebob combination lock that i found in my garage. But i only lock it because some drunk might take it when he´s too lazy to walk to the nearest bus stop. It´s been serving me wonderfully these past months.
A good friend of mine had her bike stolen recently from her buildings bike room.
Get this - they have video of the guy in the parking garage entering the bike room, his key fob ID accessing the bike room (apparently he lives in the building), video of him walking out with her bike to his vehicle in the parking garage, loading her bike into his vehicle and driving his vehicle out of the building with an ID of the license plate number. This the building told her they couldn't release the video to her for obvious privacy reasons but would release it to the police. You'd think this would be the easiest case to solve ever wouldn't you? So she files a police report and the gist of her report and giving the police this information and the contact at her building to obtain the video/information? They tell her to file an insurance claim and have a good day. Once again the criminal gets a free $1200.- bike and an honest person gets shafted.
I don't understand why people don't simply bring their bike into their apartment unit.
@@1966johnnywayne Probably room reason ... ( mine at end of my bed and my room smell rubber ! )
@@1966johnnywayne That is exactly what I told her. She didn't want the bike cluttering up her place and thought since her building costs above average to buy into and is fully video'd she wouldn't have to worry about someone living there stealing it, right? RIGHT???
Forgot to mention, it was locked to the rack in the bike room. Thief even took the lock with them so there were no lock remains to see where it was broken/cut.
@@runningawayvagabond5876 We live in a time when thieves are victims, and until we as a society are prepared to take the hand of a thief it is only going to get worse.
$1200 thats why. $150 the story will be difference
This is incredible - more of this!!!!!
I used to lock my bike at General Hospital in Vancouver (mentioned as a hotspot by the officer) every day and then go to the gym. Sometimes I wouldn't even come back to get the bike until late at night. I never had a problem once. I figured my lock would be too much work to break through.
What kind of lock did you rock?
Still not stolen?
After my moderately expensive gravel bike was stolen during the COVID lockdown, I had to scrounge for a bike to replace it with a commuter bike purchased online (only available option due to the shortage then). Registered it to Garage 529 on advice of local police and got a heavy duty ABUS U-lock (overkill for the cheap bike, but continue). I plan to buy a new gravel bike in 2023 and then donate the commuter to a local charity, keep the lock for the next. I can't say if Garage 529 has been a factor to thwart theft in the past 18 months, but if is was stolen & recovered, there would be some chance, and it also qualified my bike to be covered by my retnter insurance policy, something others should research if they have a policy.
A good locker and put an AirTag on it! Don't ever park/locker your bike in dangerous areas. Here in Dublin - Ireland bike theft is madness. E-bikes should have a feature that locks the bike wheel and pedals.
We have 529 in new zealand now, so I'm hoping it will help as I always worry my bike will go missing. Luck work gives us a lock up room for bikes to keep them safe as a lot of us bike each day.
Just downloaded 529 garage and added my bike. It is really detailed and asks for serial numbers, multiple pictures including you on your bike, and description of bike. I registered on bike index also. Hopefully I never need to test it!
The amount of hours our P.D. used to commit to bike theft was huge. As this guy mentioned we would store the recovered ones in a warehouse and auction them off once a year. Everyone of them, the serial numbers were checked for stolen, we had a system in place... a very good one. But people rarely registered the bikes. Until that happens not much will change. Sad to say.
Curious that he uses Bogotá as an example, because, as you said as the very end of the video, the program in Bogotá is just an online registry very lazily implemented.
To a lot (most?) of the public and therefore their governments, bicycles are toys - for children and exercise. They just are not taken seriously.
Those people don't represent us yet they will :(
Bicycling is a huge economic engine for cities
We'd be more likely to use our bikes if stores, restaurants etc have indoor monitored bike racks.
Need a program like this in Indiana thru out !!!!😍😍😍
I don't have a car, when I must ride in the city and lock up...I ride a $165 bike and have 2 locks valued at $50. My total loss would be $215. Today I rarely lock up and take my bike with me into the stores, I have a large basket on the back and just use my bike like a shopping cart. I have never been told to leave because I had a bike with me. I think the perfect answer is an improved folding bike that can fold into a shopping cart, and is small and light with 20 inch wheels and extremely well engineered safe folding strength points that cannot fail because of triple locking mechanisms and re-enforced over-engineered welding/braising points.
Both my trikes are registered with Project 529. I got my tags through the RCMP in Vernon BC.
Naw... If the government got involved with bike registration, they would inevitably tack on licensing and insurance, which would negate the incentive FOR buying a bike over a motorcycle or car in the first place. Ironically, the lack of government regulation (or, simplicity of ownership) is a large part of the appeal of having a bike.
My relatively small city has had a bike registry since before my time, for some decades now. Funny enough, I just looked it up and now their partnered with this 529 organization, I'm surprised more places haven't done that.
This part about serial numbers made me confused a bit. Every time you buy a bike in a store there is this magic moment when they write in your serial number into your waranty papers. I also remember one of our bike-bloggers entering into EU from Ukraine with mountain bikes, and local customs were checking serial numbers on their bikes on every border (or maybe it was only in some EU countries, but I remember it that way). At the same time recently I've bought a new bike for my mom and I didn't get the regular waranty paper with written in serial number. It just happened so that the factory was recently taken down by missile strike (rusisians seem to be using some really old maps or they just target factories indiscriminately) and after few calls I quickly realised that there are no bikes of that model that I chose left in stock in official dealers and there will be no new bikes soon. After some time I've found that bike in a store in a city which is right on a battlefront)) After some hesitation I called them and they were happy to send that bicycle across the country. On one hand the bike is amazing, but what bothered me was lack of this official paper with serial number. Not sure whether if it was stores fault in forgetting to put the papers into the box (they probably were in a hurry while relocating their warehouse to a safer place) or if this bike is too cheap to bother (around 200$). On the other hand there will be no waranty provided by the manufacturer if their factory have turned into ashes and if this number on a frame is only for manufacturer I probably should not bother either. Since I always was overly paranoidal about my own bikes being stolen I never even attempted to leave them anywhere without anyone to look for them. I am not aware on how many bikes were recovered by the police in my area but from what I know is that the way you file a theft complain to the police usually includes that bike serial number.
My employer hates it, but I take my bike into the office and prop it at my desk. It’s ridiculous that an unattended locked up bike is considered public property in today’s culture. I guess we will all own nothing and be happy.
That is EXACXTLY what the WEF is boasting - own nothing and be happy.
Tell your employer to provide safe storage for your bike like they do for all the cagers.
That's it buddy the WEF just invented theft
Way to connect the dots
Take off the tinfoil and use your brain for once
Owning nothing and be happy will never happen. It's human nature. People have different needs and preferences, and those will be priced differently, always. IMHO we cannot cover all levels of preferences with a few standard options, but we can try.
Its not public property, its drug dealer currency. Steal a bike and its worth 2,4,6 hits.
I remember one time I worked ona park crew for the city here in Salem Oregon...and they had a warehouse full of bikes....Prolly like 100s or more of bikes they found throughout the city...
It is because the police don’t take is seriously, in NYC. My bike theft prevention program is that I never leave the bike by itself. Ever. I treat it like a newborn. What we need is mandatory 10 year prison sentence. Treat it like it’s1845 and you stole my horse. 10 years mandatory. I’m dead serious. No outs for age.
If there's no consequences they don't care to stop but the moment they get caught and actually face a punishment their tune changes this kinder gentler thing has coddled criminals enough
that's more time than you would get for aggravated assault with a weapon. Someone needs to re analyze their priorities. There is more important problems to deal with in that city than bike theft haha give me a break 1845 what a clown.
@@jonnie2bad, presumably you’re a bike thief. I should add that people should be allowed to defend against bike theft with deadly force. That will get people like you to think twice before stealing a bike.
This is best comment agree 100 percent and u should be able to defend with deadly force
@@jonnie2bad your part of the problem then coddle thieves and violence if you want but some of us are not going to keep going on it. Time they pay for their mistakes rather than get off scott free
6:10 My bike was free to me, cost social services about £300. The thing is worth as much as my left kidney to me. The freedom it has afforded me to choose where to be and when without worrying about stuff like fuel, and to do so completely without input from others has really helped me with coming out of my shell.
When I got my bike I was scared to even leave the house for fear of being judged but now I kinda feel like I can outpace the judging, if that makes sense. I'm not good at walking - my ankles fall apart within about 15 mins of walking and my knees can't even make it that long - but I've cycled about 200 miles this week and it's only Thursday.
There is no such thing as a practical and effective bike lock, unless the “effect” you want it to achieve is slightly delaying or potentially deterring thieves.
Property theft and robberies have gotten markedly worse just in the last couple of years. Not only have police been hamstrung in most cities, but DA’s are refusing to prosecute tons of theft and robbery cases. That combined with so-called “bail reform”, which is just no cash bail, is exactly why thefts have become more and more brazen.
I’ve seen several videos of thieves stealing expensive bikes in broad daylight, in heavily trafficked areas and guess what everyone around them is doing. Either ignoring them completely, standing and watching disapprovingly or recording video for tiktok. The same goes for these scumbags who waltz into a local drug store or boutique store with a big contractor bag, load up on hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and simply walk out. It’s because many cities have simply stopped enforcing the law. The criminals clearly know this and they are exploiting it every day.
You wanna know what will put a major dent in bike theft? Mandatory 5-10 year prison sentences. If we don’t get serious about law enforcement, people will continue to openly and shamelessly break the law.
Whenever you think about locking your bike up somewhere in the city, think of all the videos of people smashing the windows of Gucci stores, Target, CVS, etc and remember that virtually none of these people ever see any substantial consequences for these crimes, if any at all. I don’t leave my bike out of sight for a moment. The best bike lock on the planet can do nothing but delay the inevitable and I’m not interested in walking out of a gym or grocery store to find my $200 bike lock in pieces on the ground and no trace of my $3k bike. A determined thief will ALWAYS find a way to destroy whatever bike lock you use. Until we start seeing harsh sentences imposed on all thieves, leaving your bike unattended is just not wise.
have you look at Japan bicycle registration system ?( bohantoryoukusha if I spell it correctly) each time you buy a bike either new or used, LBS give mandatory registration and optional for insurance. they recgistered ur id and bike SN to the police dept and gave you a registration paper and sticking some hard sticker to your bike with numbers and some kanji on it. police sometimes stop you to check wheter it is your bike or not on the street
I never bike for transportation except the bank machine and I bring my bike in the place when they are closed. I would never leave my bike outside even if locked, it comes in my apartment. If I want to take my bike to visit a friend, the bike comes in or I don't bring it. I don't do errands with a bike. I ride to be on it at all times to not get it stolen and then back in the apartment. We have Bixi bikes in Montreal...probably for that reason - those are locked at specific stations since they are the city bikes.
My DIY eBike is equipped with a GPS tracker, a U-lock, a full-time motion alarm and pepper spray (for a potential bike-jacking). I've had too many bikes stolen to skimp, especially on an eBike that is worth more than some used cars.
I miss Vancouver so much. In France where I have lived for 3o years, they instituted bike registration for all new bikes sold. IF the registration is left on the bikes, they can be returned.
commuting about town on designated bike lanes and paths is excellent and feels much safer than sharing the road with motor vehicles. I would like to see a bit of that infrastructure spending set aside to construct bike storage lock-up type compounds within the cities, key-pad or app entry, video monitored. A place where many bikes can be locked securely in one location, I'm sure this can be done if we collectively think about how to make this type of lockup secure and no easy target for bike thieves. Some of my local suburban and central city bike shops will allow bikes to be left on their premises, not all bike shops have the room available for storage but those that do are often ok with that, just ask and be sure to repay the kindness with your support of their business.
The most recent Garage529 Alert that I received here in London, Ont. was 3 days old. Most alerts that I receive are at least a day old...not very useful for keeping an eye out for stolen bikes.
Posted it on the last video but the "UK system" is BikeRegister. What it lacks is the universal recognition that 529 has. I'd trust most police forces to recognise it but you'd be lucky to find a pawn shop or bike shop that would know to look. Still register my bikes all the same, better than nothing...
Any registry is better than nothing, but you’re right that the community approach is what makes 529 really succeed. Hopefully the idea will spread
From personal experience, the police in London did recognise BikeRegister as being proof that I owned my bike. I also had photos of me with my bike that showed custom additions to the bike.
It was stolen and I found it on Gumtree along with five other bikes the same guy was selling. The police went around and conducted a sting and returned my bike. They also managed to return one other that was also registered with BikeRegister, meaning they must have proactively looked up every serial number in the database and contacted the owners.
Definitely still some room for improvement though. There's a competing database called Bike Shepherd and as you say, not enough people use the databases.
On the flip side, I've recently seen a post on a local subreddit where the owner managed to recover his bike because the shop knew to look. It's not all bad, and I'm confident it'll only improve as more people become aware. For now, reg, lock, insure is the way to go.
Holy cow, 20% of bike shop sales are lost to the black market? That's a pretty big number. The people I talk to, I hear it over and over again: they under-invest in a bike because they anticipate it getting stolen, they underinvest on a lock so it ends up getting stolen, and the whole time they're riding it, it's a terrible bike for them and it's never in good shape because they won't take it for maintenance. So the whole experience sucks because they're assuming it's going to be stolen. And then here I am having ridden like five bikes in a row into the ground now with none of them getting stolen because my bike theft problems evaporated as soon as I switched to good U-locks for my $300 - $500 bicycles. But those are bikes that I've built myself at Bike Pirates, so they're uniquely good for how cheap they are, or cheap for how good they are, and they're also unique in terms of the parts and stuff so they're less resellable, and this is a setup that most people are not gonna be able to have. For most people, a decent bike starts at like $700, a lot of them are $1000+ even for just a commuter bike.
I've never had a bike stolen.....because aside from high school, I've never had it locked up anywhere. No chance for anyone to take it. But now, I'm looking to buy my first ride since the 90's and potentially investing $1200 or more. I DO want to take this places and explore downtown, and even if I spend another 300 in locks and security, there's still no guarantee. So it makes me wonder if I'm better off NOT having one.
Dutch people usually have at least two bicycles, an old one for everyday use in the city and s nice one for touring in the weekend. The everyday one is not very attractive to steal, and when it is stolen it is not a big deal.
I know someone who is honest and he told me he found a bike in the river. He drug it out and put a saddle on it and cleaned it up. I told him it might be a stolen bike and if you get caught with it you are probably going to be suspicious of stealing even if you claim you found it.
I always told my kids at the playground that the toys left by someone are not your's and you can not claim them. It is taking something that does not belong to you.
If it's not your property don't take it. That applies to finding an abandoned bike. You do not know the history of it. Leave it alone and move on.
The city clean up crew will take care of it, report it to the police, and just move on and let it go.
Some people really like free shit and you can't just grab stuff. There are enough thieves who steal stuff from your bike basket mounted on the back rack. Mount the basket on the front so you can see your stuff.
Common sense goes a long way and pay attention.
If a city is sketchy and always uncertain, take public transportation and walk to the movie theater or restaurant and use the bike on tours and picnics. I always lock my bike, too, even though my work place is safe you never know who is walking by.
The Canadian police have lost a tremendous amount of respect.
This is absolutely true. And I’m not advocating for police, but programs like this that focus on prevention and community involvement seem like exactly the kind of policing that can help rebuild trust.
The POLICE work for the rich and those in power. That's the full list.
@RushiesBoots Police exists to protect the rich from us. And we pay for it, while the rich are avoiding taxes.
8:00 The second best thing about being a software developer is when you have an issue and you can just sit down and write an app that fixes it. The absolute best is when your app also helps other people with the same issue. It's why FOSS exists.