Unfortunately, bicycles are very easy to steal because they make the perfect getaway vehicle. Understanding the most common types of theft can help you protect your bike and lock it with confidence.
Type of Theft and What You Can Do
Residential garages
Where thieves can take their time sawing through locks
Store your most valued bicycle inside your home, not your garage. If you must store your bike in a garage, use a high-quality U-lock or motorcycle lock and lock your bike to something. In commercial garages, park within sight of an attendant.
A cable lock is not enough!
Cable locks are just too easy to cut
Always lock your frame with a high quality U-lock or a heavy NYC Chain and secure your wheels. Get rid of any U-lock with a round barrel key. These locks can be broken into easily by an experienced thief.
Make sure to fill up as much space inside the "U" as possible with poles, posts, and your frame and wheel. Leaving empty space gives room for a thief to pry open your lock.
Improperly locked bicycle
Find an appropriate fixed object to lock your bike to.
Don't lock your bike to a pole or post that is loose in the ground. Theives may have loosened it themselves.
And don't just lock the wheel!
Theft of bike parts
Such as lights, wheels, seats, seat posts
Remove lights and speedometers when parking your bike. Replace quick-releases with other types of skewers.
Protect your bike by registering it.
While registering your bike won't keep it from being stolen, it greatly aids in its return to you if it is recovered by the police. The police will not give you back your bike unless they have proof that it belongs to you. In addition, it helps the police identify and locate the proper owner. Options include the National Bike Registry and the Stolen Bicycle Registry.
Self-register your bike.
Record your bike's serial number and other descriptive info and store in a safe place. Use our freezer registration form to record the serial number and description of your bicycle. Then store the form in a safe and memorable place (such as in a zip lock bag in your freezer.)
What to do if your bike has been stolen.
Report it to the police. Call 415/553-0123, then request a printed version of the report at 415/553-1289. Provide simple descriptive information and your serial number. The San Francisco Police Department is linked to the national database of stolen property, so you can call the SFPD at any time to ask if a bike with your serial number has been returned anywhere in the U.S. You can also file a theft report online here:
Post the theft as STOLEN: on craigslist. Sometimes cyclists are happily reunited with their bicycles by other craigslist viewers who have seen (or even accidently bought) the bicycle online or on the street. You can also monitor EBAY, and post the bike missing to online email lists within the bike community. It always helps to have other eyes out searching!
Stolen bikes have also been recovered at Bay Area flea markets and the notorious San Francisco Civic Center Plaza.
