Finding out that your favourite bike has been stolen when you step out from the café, shop, or bar is gut-wrenching and an awful feeling. Things get inconsolable when you see the broken lock lying on the floor, which obviously wasn’t doing its job.
Bike theft is a major problem around the world as hundreds of thousands of bikes go missing or untraceable every year. Nobody wants to fall victim of bike theft.
Here’s what you can do for bike security and never be a victim of bike theft once and for all:
Bike Security On The Street
Use high-quality locks
Buy locks with gold or silver Sold Secure rating. Locks with these ratings indicate that these locks can’t be easily broken or tempered. However, premium-quality locks are expensive, but it is worth the investment for bike security. But, you still can get Sold Secure rating bike locks from as low as $30.
Park your bike in a secure place
If possible, use secure parking facilities like the one at Asia Square. By parking in these designated parking spots, your bike will be better protected from theft than if you parked it on the road or the street, even if you’ve locked it nice and secure.
There’s also Singapore’s first automated underground bicycle parking system at Admiralty. There are plans for it to roll out islandwide.
If you can’t locate any secure parking, lock your bike in a public place if possible. Bike thieves are more likely to get discouraged to steal bikes in public or crowded places than in a secluded location.
Cyclists can look forward to a range of parking facilities at new developments such as Funan Mall and Paya Lebar Quarter. These could include bicycle parking, showers, lockers and even bicycle shops! What?!
Fasten your bike to a solid, immovable object.
Lock your bike into something that can’t be moved or is difficult to move or to cut. Look for railings or sturdy street signs to lock up your bike.
Protect the locking mechanism
Even a good U-lock can be broken. The locks locking mechanism itself is the weakest and the most vulnerable part of the lock.
So, it is essential that you position it in a way that makes it inaccessible to thieves as much as possible. For instance, if you lock up your bike to a railing, turn the locking mechanism on the other side where it can’t be broken.
Use two locks
Use one lock around a wheel and the wheel and the locking point. Now use another lock on the other wheel and the frame. For even better protection, but the second lock around the solid object. Another proven option to prevent the wheels from being stolen is by using locking skewers.
Being a cynic can be helpful
Consider locking your bike close to bikes that aren’t securely locked and look more expensive and attractive than yours. It’s more likely than the bike thief will try to invest his precious time and effort in stealing bikes that are more expensive.
Bike Security At Home
Lock the bike securely at home
It’s important you secure your bike at home. When you’re done riding, bring it indoors. If your bike’s worth thousands, it’s pretty common sense not to leave it outside your flat or in the driveway.
Get a free bicycle security label
Head down to your nearest Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) to collect a label for your bicycle.
The label comes with a unique serial number that helps you and the Police to identify your stolen bicycle. There is no limit to the number of bicycles you can bring to the NPC for labelling.
Report to police if your bike gets stolen
Police are now taking bike theft more seriously than ever before. So, if your bike gets stolen report it to the police immediately.
Optional: Make your bike ‘undesirable’ 😉
If you commute with your bike daily and don’t really care how it looks, paint it all over with cheap spray paint. And by ‘paint it all over’ — we mean painting the whole bike including its wheels, tires, gears, frame, etc. We suggest the colour pink. Ugh!
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