Top tips to prevent bicycle theft

Each summer, the number of cyclists on the roads reaches a peak as bikes that spend the rest of the year languishing in sheds get dusted off and most bikes are bought new and used for the first time. Unfortunately, it all makes for rich pickings for cycle thieves.

Bike thieves are, for the most part, specialists; they target particular cycle racks at particular times and if steal from your shed or the side return of your house, they will overlook other valuable items in favour of a bike. From a thief’s perspective, it’s pretty much the perfect crime; most bicycles are easy to steal, difficult to trace and a breeze to sell on.
Having a bicycle stolen is at best an inconvenience, but it’s also demoralising and if the bike is not covered by insurance, at worst it can mean that victims of theft give up on cycling for good.

Having spoken to the police, cycle insurance providers, bike registry specialist and having been victims of bike theft ourselves, we put together our list of tips to stay ahead of the criminal.

• Thieves would far sooner take a bike with flimsy security than tackle a gold standard lock. Invest as much as you can afford in your lock and learn to use it properly  – insurers specify that it needs to secure the bike frame for good reason. Don’t worry too much about getting the lock around the wheels or other bike parts as a good insurance policy will cover them against theft whether they are locked or not.
• Make some noise. Bike thieves might have the equipment to cut through padlocks and silently remove shed door hinges, but they are unlikely to expect to encounter an alarm. One of the most simple and cost effective ways of scaring away bike thieves is to fit a shop bell to the inside of your shed or on the back of the door that leads to your side return if that’s where you store your bike. Alternatively, and for a more high-tech approach, a battery-powered motion sensor alarm can be situated to cover the front door, back door, garage, shed or outbuildings and costs from less than £5 on eBay.

• See the light. Motion activated security lights are cheap and easy to install and thieves don’t like them at all.

The latest weapon in the war against bike thieves is the SpyBike GPS tracker – a device the size of a tube of Smarties that fits inside a bicycle’s steering column and can track its whereabouts anywhere in the world.

The £83 £117 SpyBike allows a cyclist to track the location of their bicycle anywhere in the world should it be stolen. The SpyLamp nestles beneath an innocuous-looking headset cap beneath which hides GPS technology, the workings from a pay-as-you-go mobile phone and a motion sensor to allow the bicycle owner to track the whereabouts of their bike via a website using Google Maps.

Once armed, any movement of the bicycle will prompt the tracker to send a text to its owner and begin to send details of its location, which can be tracked online.

Car tracker systems that emit a VHF signal, which can be picked up by receivers fitted to police cars have been available for years. The technology is proven, but expensive; the cost of buying the unit and having it installed can run to hundreds of pounds and there is also a subscription to pay.

The Spybike is cheaper to buy and costs pennies to run. Using a typical pay-as-you-go SIM card, each position upload costs approximately GBP 0.0006p.

Cycle insurance from the ETA includes new-for-old, cover for accidental damage, £5m third party insurance, personal accident cover and if you breakdown, we will even come out and recover you and your bike.