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 Scott Larson on September 2, 2011 at 4:00pm

Also, can I ask a big favor?

I'm not going to be here this weekend, but I am still searching for that brown Kona Jake. Can one or two of you go to the 4200 S Ashland swap-o-rama on Sunday and look for it?

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on September 2, 2011 at 4:37pm

You should join the Group Chainlink Bike Theft Task Force: http://www.thechainlink.org/group/chainlinkbikethefttaskforce

Scott Larson said:

Also, who on here is the owner/admin of the CSBR?

I think you/we should print business cards and distribute to local bike shops to hand to people when they buy a bike that prompt the following:

Save your receipt and write down the serial number.

Register your bike on http://bikeregistry.com.

If your bike is stolen, post immediately with as many details as possible about the bike on http://chicago.stolenbike.org/

Do something to your bike to make it unique - scratch your name/initials somewhere, drill a hole or make a divot somewhere non-structural, etc.

Put your name/phone number/email address on a card in the seat tube and down tube and handlebars, etc.

Check the Swap-O-Rama.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 2, 2011 at 4:56pm

Hi Scott,

Limited time to respond right now, but Kevin C and myself do most of the administering.

We put in a lot of time just communicating with victims about their listings, giving advice, etc. and are kind of maxed out in terms of further effort. These are good ideas-- it's just going to need to be a broader effort to get them implemented. I did print stickers for bike racks a while back but could not really find much interest in helping distribute them.

What we've found is that chasing after bike thieves is exciting to people, but ultimately not hugely of impact to the big picture; advocacy such as you allude to would be a better use of time and energy in making an overall difference, but the actual footwork to carry it out is about as motivating to most as a trip to the dentist.

The only point I might take exception to is "check Swap O Rama."

I do have a .pdf prepared that I send to victims if I think their bike is likely to turn up at Swap O Rama, but I've learned to be very careful about sending people there, as the vast majority of the time the trip is fruitless and I've had to deal with some very emotional and unhappy people who've wasted their time;

also, I worry that calling too much attention to the place is also going to attract people looking for "deals" and potentially help the thieving slime more than the occasional successful victim might hurt them.

Scott Larson said:

Also, who on here is the owner/admin of the CSBR?

I think you/we should print business cards and distribute to local bike shops to hand to people when they buy a bike that prompt the following:

Save your receipt and write down the serial number.

Register your bike on http://bikeregistry.com.

If your bike is stolen, post immediately with as many details as possible about the bike on http://chicago.stolenbike.org/

Do something to your bike to make it unique - scratch your name/initials somewhere, drill a hole or make a divot somewhere non-structural, etc.

Put your name/phone number/email address on a card in the seat tube and down tube and handlebars, etc.

Check the Swap-O-Rama.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on September 2, 2011 at 5:44pm

*Additional suggestions:

Lock your bike properly every time you're away from it, even if only for a few minutes. Don't assume an unlocked bike in a garage, bike room or back porch is safe. Don't consider a cable as being of any use at all, except perhaps to hold down your seat, rack and helmet from easy theft. Use independent ratings like England's Sold Secure Gold rating when choosing a lock (other reportedly reliable ratings are Stichting ART in the Netherlands, SSF in Sweden, and VDS in Germany.--oddly, the USA does not have a national ratings system for bike locks). Two good U-Locks or a U-Lock plus a strong chain lock at a minimum. Make sure your U-Lock is not the older type with a round key that can be opened with a ballpoint pen; it should have a flat key. Lock the rear wheel and frame to a good SOLID metal structure (a bike rack or parking meter or other post that can't be easily removed, cut, lifted over, etc.) with the first lock, the front wheel, frame and metal structure with the second. Use locking skewers for even more wheel protection. Take quick release lights or other gear with you.

Take photos--several, both of the bike in its entirety plus unique details, stickers, etc.--BEFORE it gets stolen and be able to get to them to post quickly in an emergency.

Did I miss anything for a "best practices" statement?

Scott Larson said:

Save your receipt and write down the serial number.

Register your bike on http://bikeregistry.com.

If your bike is stolen, post immediately with as many details as possible about the bike on http://chicago.stolenbike.org/

Do something to your bike to make it unique - scratch your name/initials somewhere, drill a hole or make a divot somewhere non-structural, etc.

Put your name/phone number/email address on a card in the seat tube and down tube and handlebars, etc.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

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Permalink Reply by Biggie on September 5, 2011 at 8:34am

Hey Scott-

I went to the Swap-O-Rama on Sunday for a few hours.

Walked the entire grounds.

Did not see the brown Kona Jake anywhere.

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Permalink Reply by Vilda on September 5, 2011 at 3:11pm

I enjoy the idea of bike shops handing out anything since ultimately they benefit from bikes being stolen. And even if bike shops did hand out something the idiot that is buying the bike isn't gonna listen. So much has to go right just for proper communication.

and for the person that said you/we should print and distribute. you are empowered to dispense information on your own. Cost in money and time is always a factor and i know i got tired of sacrificing my time and money when the people that actually lost the bike had their head up their ass. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Michelle S on September 5, 2011 at 5:29pm

My neighbor's bike was stolen last week. I wish I had known he was only using a cable lock. I'm doing my part to spread the word about the registry and have posted about lessons I've learned from reading the CSBR on my blog,....

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on September 5, 2011 at 6:03pm

Michelle, nice blog! I posted over there, but I'm cross-posting here:

Here are some UTube videos that I've found instructive:

From a British police department:
http://youtu.be/r6xnkEkP2WY

Hal Ruzal, a New York bike mechanic has a very useful series critiqueing bike locking around New York--there's three episodes plus at least one more he did in England. Just google "Hal Ruzal". Here's the first in the NYC series:
http://youtu.be/aTA3JsZWiec

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Permalink Reply by Scott Larson on September 5, 2011 at 6:26pm

Thanks for checking!

I appreciate it immensely.

Biggie said:

Hey Scott-

I went to the Swap-O-Rama on Sunday for a few hours.

Walked the entire grounds.

Did not see the brown Kona Jake anywhere.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on September 5, 2011 at 6:41pm

Thanks, Thunder. I saw your comment and I get what you're saying about the back wheel and the seat being unsecured, but this is a Preventing Theft 101 class, and you're teaching the AP version. ;) Baby steps.

Thunder Snow said:

Michelle, nice blog! I posted over there, but I'm cross-posting here:

Here are some UTube videos that I've found instructive:

From a British police department:
http://youtu.be/r6xnkEkP2WY

Hal Ruzal, a New York bike mechanic has a very useful series critiqueing bike locking around New York--there's three episodes plus at least one more he did in England. Just google "Hal Ruzal". Here's the first in the NYC series:
http://youtu.be/aTA3JsZWiec