Whoever you are, and whatever you ride, the moment you realise your bicycle has been stolen is a gut-wrenching experience. The rise of social media means it is an experience that can now be shared with the world.
Only this week, a tweet, and accompanying Instagram, from Victoria Beckham announced her bicycle had been pinched from a pavement in New York, but the short message posed more questions than it answered. Why had she used such a sturdy lock to secure only the back wheel? Did she have cycle insurance? Had she really forgone a fashionable single-speed in favour of a mountain bike?
All we can know for certain is that the sight of a lonely mountain bike rear wheel, lying on the ground and still attached to a lamp post by a sturdy chain and padlock, greeted the designer as she was about to return home after preparing for New York Fashion Week.
Whether or not you have cycle insurance, it pays to lock your bike properly.
DO: Lock your bike, through the frame, to an immovable object
DON’T: ‘Lock’ your bike in a way that makes it easy to steal
DON’T: Lock your bicycle through the front wheel
DO: Use a secondary security cable in addition to your primary bike lock
Some locks come with a secondary security cable which can be used to secure extra accessories, or a wheel as above. It should only be used in conjunction with a primary lock, as above.
Chris Beazer
I wouldn’t give the last picture 2 ticks as the rear wheel isn’t secured.
Mark
The advice here is flawed. Both ‘correct’ images only show the frame being locked with the main lock. What’s the point in locking the front wheel, when the more expensive back wheel is unlocked, and has quick release as well?
A bike should always be locked through the frame and rear wheel, and as you say a secondary cable to the front wheel is a good idea too.
Andy
The U lock could have been better placed taking in the back wheel lower part of the frame and possibly even a crank. Using teh lock as illustrated above makes it vulnerable to jacking.
ps it is an improvement on what Posh did!
Tim Hagyard
There are things cyclists can do as individuals but surely bike manufactures need to be addressing bike theft in the way car manufacturers have done. Car theft is almost .
How about a simple key that locks or disables a bike ?…or a microchip insert that can be activated to trace a stolen bike ? or a serial number for all new bikes that allows it to be traced back to its original owner ? Bike locks that are integrated into the bike frame ?
At present too much theft takes place as there is such little prospect of the offender being caught it seems to me. I am sure all parties manufacturers, government, local authorities, police, etc need to prioritise this area if we are going to get more people cycling.
Tomthumb
The reason I got my cycle insurance from ETA is they don’t insist on wheels being secured but still cover them against theft