5 Habits for Preventing Someone from Stealing Your Bike

5 Habits for Preventing Someone from Stealing Your BikeIt can take having your bike stolen to personally learn the importance of locking it properly each time you leave it. Sometimes, locking it isn’t enough, on its own. If you’re reading this, hopefully you haven’t experienced the misfortune of a stolen bicycle. Regardless, these tips will minimize the likelihood of someone stealing your bike in the future.

How to Prevent Someone from Stealing Your Bike

  • Use a U-lock – Cable locks might allow you to lock your bike to a wider array of objects. However, they are also much easier to cut through than U-locks are. It’s best to secure the U-lock to a wheel that doesn’t detach rather than the top tube, as experienced thieves could use your bike’s frame to pry it loose.
  • Ensure what you lock to is secure – That signpost is easier to lift a bike over than you think. That’s especially true if you locked up using a long cable lock. Likewise, locking your bike up to a friend’s may prevent a thief from riding away on it. But both of your rides are still vulnerable to anyone will a hatchback or truck.
  • Mark your bike – The more trouble you give a thief, the more likely they will be to move on. By writing your initials with sharpie on several locations on your bike, you make it that much harder to make a quick profit off stealing it.
  • Choose location with care – Certain parts of a neighborhood will be more prone to bike thievery than others. All it takes is talking to a local bike shop owner to find the best places to lock up.
  • Retrieve your bike with haste – No matter how many precautions you take, if you leave your bike in the wrong neighborhood long enough, someone will steal it.

Bicycles are stolen to the degree that stealing and selling them is profitable to a thief. The harder you make it to unchain and sell your bike, the less likely a thief is to think that doing so it worth his time and effort. Maintaining the above habits when locking up your bike will make thieves think just that.

Joshua Bonnici is a cycling enthusiast and a San Diego personal injury attorney dedicated to bicycle safety and helping the victims of bicycle accidents.



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