The Chainlink

Stolen Bike Registry - do this when your bike gets stolen

"With all the stolen bike posts lately (and no one thinking "I wonder if there's something under Useful Links for this."), I think it's well past time to make a sticky about the Stolen Bike Registry"

 - Tank-Ridin' Ryan

 

Well said Ryan.

 

 

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/

 

Done and done.

 

And sticky too.

 

 

Cheers - Lee Diamond

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Liz on April 24, 2012 at 3:25pm

Here's my 2nd attempt

Permalink Reply by Liz on April 24, 2012 at 3:51pm

another more bumper sticker ratio try.  

Permalink Reply by Duppie on April 24, 2012 at 4:02pm

What I was thinking that along the top of banner of stolenbike.org it says "File a Report - Register your bike - How to Lock your Bike", each hyper-linked their respective page. The sticker then just needs one address: stolenbike.org

Ideally you could match the wording on the sticker with the wording on the banner of stolenbike.org

But I don't want to be presumptious about what can and cannot be done.

Kevin C said:

+1

Learn how to lock your bike: http://www.chicagobikes.org/public/theftprevention.php

Register your bike: http://chicago.stolenbike.org/

Report Bike Thefts: http://chicago.stolenbike.org/

I can also I can help to pay for the stickers as well as with distributing them.


Duppie said:

Great idea. Here are some thoughts:

I volunteered last year for Active Trans to sticker bike racks with the Crash Help stickers. It took a lot longer than you would think. You may want to contact Jason Jenkins @ Active Trans to see if he has any info about how they organized it. Distribution area, how many volunteers, how many racks per volunteer, distributing stickers, etc.

I am not too experienced in sticker manufacturing, but I would guess fewer colors means a cheaper sticker price?

Keep the amount of info low on the sticker. People need to be able to read that in one second. Something like this:


STOLENBIKE.ORG

  • Learn how to lock your bike
  • Register your bike
  • Report bike thefts

 

(Just an example. I understand this would mean adding some links on how-to-properly lock your bike on chicago.stolenbike.org )

I can help to pay for the stickers as well as with distributing them

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on April 24, 2012 at 4:42pm

I'd leave off chicago. -- I think the average person would say "I can remember stolenbike.org" but would not even try to remember a URL with a subdomain.

If we can keep it to 2-color and keep it simple the price stays doable-- once you start adding graphics and colors the price of stickers increases astronomically.

Ideally you'd want to stick with 4.25" X 1.5" so they fit nicely on city bike racks. Will want to keep the message very simple at that size, and remember that small text will no longer be readable once a sticker has been scratched by someone's U-lock or handlebars.

Permalink Reply by Liz on April 24, 2012 at 5:02pm

Permalink Reply by Liz on April 24, 2012 at 5:05pm

Howard, do you have any estimates of what the price for stickers is from past sticker printing experience?

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on April 24, 2012 at 8:40pm

The above sticker would probably run something like $350 for 2000. 

Permalink Reply by Comrade Cycles on April 24, 2012 at 10:04pm

Sorry to get off the sticker topic, but I just wanted to remind everyone of the importance of posting to this site if you're bike is stolen. Today we recovered and returned a second stolen bike in the two months we've been open. Today's had been gone for two years. That's a lotta 2's. Sorry. Anyhow, neither would have been possible without being able to track them through the registry. Not all bikes get recovered, but you have a much higher chance if you give people on the lookout a way to ID it.

Also, and I can't stess it enough, record you serial numbers.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on April 24, 2012 at 11:10pm

Ah, another piece of the puzzle. The victim's wife sent an e-mail earlier wanting to make a donation without much other info besides the 2-year figure. Awaiting further details. We generally wouldn't name a bike shop that assisted in a recovery unless they specifically requested to be named.

Thanks for your role in that one, CC!

Permalink Reply by Comrade Cycles on April 25, 2012 at 12:15am

Glad to be a part of returning a bike to it's owner. However, it wouldn't be possible without the resource you and others help maintain. Thanks to everyone working on the stolen bike registry!

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on April 25, 2012 at 9:50am

I'm going to second this. 

I see bikes often that are very likely stolen but I have no way to prove it and the bike goes back out the door.

Comrade Cycles said:

Sorry to get off the sticker topic, but I just wanted to remind everyone of the importance of posting to this site if you're bike is stolen. Today we recovered and returned a second stolen bike in the two months we've been open. Today's had been gone for two years. That's a lotta 2's. Sorry. Anyhow, neither would have been possible without being able to track them through the registry. Not all bikes get recovered, but you have a much higher chance if you give people on the lookout a way to ID it.

Also, and I can't stess it enough, record you serial numbers.

Permalink Reply by Tim S on April 25, 2012 at 10:00am

So Comrade and nDUG,

What does the customer that brought you the hot merchandise say when you inform them that you found out that the bike they brought to you was stolen? I imagine most purchased in good faith through CL or S-o-R (a hotbed for so much illegal) and may take issue with "their" bike being withheld. Absolutely not suggesting you stop for I would be forever grateful if you were to recover a ride of mine, just curious...

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