BIKE PROPERLY LOCK BY CITYCOURIER ))
THIS CAMPAIGN IS AGAINST BIKE THIEVES ! STRONGLY SUPPORTED BY CITYCOURIER.IE - CORK BICYCLE COURIERS
Monday, 4 June 2012
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
mission
I created this site to help people keep their bike
safe and if you lost your bike already I hope you can find good advice here to
get it back!
Especially in smaller cities like Cork
(Ireland
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Bike thief tells how to stop your cycle from being stolen
From http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/sep/13/bike-thief-stolen-tips
Omar Aziz was hooked on crack for 13 years and stole bikes to feed his habit. He explains how to protect your bike from thieves
Use two different locks on the front and back
wheels of your bike, so that thieves have to carry more than one tool to break
them. Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex Features
Omar Aziz started stealing bikes when he was 17 and carried on
until he finally weaned himself off crack cocaine at the age of 29. Now he
wants to make amends. He is volunteering in his local area and he agreed to
advise Guardian readers how not to get their bikes stolen.
Aziz stole a lot of bikes to feed his habit: "When I sell one thing I go and buy my drugs, smoke it, when it finishes, I have to go and get more. I nick another bike," he said.
The easiest pickings were bikes secured with cheap locks. "Some people think they don't have enough money and they buy thin locks, and I used to go and just push the bike and pull it and the lock will break."
Today Aziz locks his own bike up with two thick chains, through both wheels and the frame. Thieves can get through thick chains with the right equipment but it takes a lot of time and heavy cutting equipment. But even that didn't always deter him. On at least one occasion, having eyed-up a bike, Aziz first stole tools before going back for the bike.
CCTV it seems, is also no deterrent. "Even if there is cameras they don't care. For me the best place is to leave your bike is a place where there are people around."
But even the busiest streets empty out eventually, so if Aziz really wanted a particular bike he would damage a tyre so the owner would leave it in the rack for longer. "Someone, if they find their tyre punctured they should take their bike with them, right at that minute because someone has done it on purpose to come and take it after."
Owners of bikes costing more than a few hundred quid should always take them indoors. Whenever Aziz's crack dealer got wind of an expensive bike locked up in the area he would send Aziz out to fetch it. Thieves also watch where expensive bike are regularly parked. For anyone with outdoor parking, he recommends riding a cheaper bike.
Aziz himself also chose to steal the more expensive bikes just to ride them as far as the sale point, regardless of the fact that he was rarely paid more than £20-30 for any bike he stole – the price of a few rocks of crack cocaine. "I used to steal the £800 bike when I need the rock and sell it for £20 pounds. Sometimes I was very desperate."
"I take them to pubs, coffee shops, kebab shops. People buy them and know that I'm a crack head and they say he's a crack head, give him a tenner, give him 20 and they sell it."
In London, Aziz found stolen bikes were particularly easy to sell. "There is a really slight chance of you getting caught when you are nicking bikes. You just crack it, get on it, gone. When they nick bikes they paint them ... you don't even know it's your bike. [In London] no one is going to know, they are not going to stop you...You can steal from north London and go to west London and you're alright."
Aziz says he feels bad about the things he did while he was an addict. "I know its bad, you know. That's why I'm doing voluntary work to give something back. I feel bad you know. I didn't do it just to keep it for myself. I done it to feed my habit."
Two weeks ago Aziz had his own bike stolen while he was buying cigarettes from his local shop. He started to call the police but gave up when his credit ran out and decided to catch the thief himself instead. "I left it outside the shop for 10 seconds just to buy cigarettes. I come back out and my bike is gone."
"I felt very very very very angry when my bike got stolen. If I'd caught the man who stole it that minute. I don't know what I could have done, honestly. But I caught him a week later and he said to me he bought it for £2.50. But then I said what goes around comes around."
It took Aziz just days to find his stolen bike. "For me its been stressful. Honestly. He was on crack. I could see it in his face that he was in a bad way and I felt sorry. I thought what am I going to do to him. But people can't help it. They see your bike and ... you give them any chance and they will take it. It's not safe, it's not safe at all. Everywhere you go lock your bike."
• Omar Aziz is not the ex-bike thief's real name and he was not paid for speaking to the Guardian
Aziz stole a lot of bikes to feed his habit: "When I sell one thing I go and buy my drugs, smoke it, when it finishes, I have to go and get more. I nick another bike," he said.
The easiest pickings were bikes secured with cheap locks. "Some people think they don't have enough money and they buy thin locks, and I used to go and just push the bike and pull it and the lock will break."
Today Aziz locks his own bike up with two thick chains, through both wheels and the frame. Thieves can get through thick chains with the right equipment but it takes a lot of time and heavy cutting equipment. But even that didn't always deter him. On at least one occasion, having eyed-up a bike, Aziz first stole tools before going back for the bike.
CCTV it seems, is also no deterrent. "Even if there is cameras they don't care. For me the best place is to leave your bike is a place where there are people around."
But even the busiest streets empty out eventually, so if Aziz really wanted a particular bike he would damage a tyre so the owner would leave it in the rack for longer. "Someone, if they find their tyre punctured they should take their bike with them, right at that minute because someone has done it on purpose to come and take it after."
Owners of bikes costing more than a few hundred quid should always take them indoors. Whenever Aziz's crack dealer got wind of an expensive bike locked up in the area he would send Aziz out to fetch it. Thieves also watch where expensive bike are regularly parked. For anyone with outdoor parking, he recommends riding a cheaper bike.
Aziz himself also chose to steal the more expensive bikes just to ride them as far as the sale point, regardless of the fact that he was rarely paid more than £20-30 for any bike he stole – the price of a few rocks of crack cocaine. "I used to steal the £800 bike when I need the rock and sell it for £20 pounds. Sometimes I was very desperate."
"I take them to pubs, coffee shops, kebab shops. People buy them and know that I'm a crack head and they say he's a crack head, give him a tenner, give him 20 and they sell it."
In London, Aziz found stolen bikes were particularly easy to sell. "There is a really slight chance of you getting caught when you are nicking bikes. You just crack it, get on it, gone. When they nick bikes they paint them ... you don't even know it's your bike. [In London] no one is going to know, they are not going to stop you...You can steal from north London and go to west London and you're alright."
Aziz says he feels bad about the things he did while he was an addict. "I know its bad, you know. That's why I'm doing voluntary work to give something back. I feel bad you know. I didn't do it just to keep it for myself. I done it to feed my habit."
Two weeks ago Aziz had his own bike stolen while he was buying cigarettes from his local shop. He started to call the police but gave up when his credit ran out and decided to catch the thief himself instead. "I left it outside the shop for 10 seconds just to buy cigarettes. I come back out and my bike is gone."
"I felt very very very very angry when my bike got stolen. If I'd caught the man who stole it that minute. I don't know what I could have done, honestly. But I caught him a week later and he said to me he bought it for £2.50. But then I said what goes around comes around."
It took Aziz just days to find his stolen bike. "For me its been stressful. Honestly. He was on crack. I could see it in his face that he was in a bad way and I felt sorry. I thought what am I going to do to him. But people can't help it. They see your bike and ... you give them any chance and they will take it. It's not safe, it's not safe at all. Everywhere you go lock your bike."
• Omar Aziz is not the ex-bike thief's real name and he was not paid for speaking to the Guardian
Bait bikes: the way to beat theft gangs or entrapment?
From http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/jun/30/police-thefts-bait-bikes?intcmp=239
Why thieves might start
thinking twice when they see a poorly locked bike on a quiet street
Sign put up by the Metropolitan Police's Safer
Neighbourhoods Team warning thieves that decoy bikes are in use. Photograph:
Frederika Whitehead/guardian.co.uk
If you're a cyclist then you'll surely agree: bike theft is a
scourge, and any method the police use to combat it is to be welcomed.
Any method? There is a technique shown to dramatically reduce cycle theft levels, and yet it remains hugely controversial – bait bikes.
This tactic, also known as decoy or tracker bikes, sees police leaving badly locked, or even unlocked, bicycles in vulnerable locations. They are fitted with hidden GPS devices, letting officers trace them to the thieves, or better still to a lock-up or warehouse used by gangs to store lots of stolen bikes.
Police forces around the country are to deploy bait bikes after a series of successful pilot schemes throughout 2008 and 2009, with London's mayor, Boris Johnson, also approving the tactic for the capital earlier this month.
The pilot schemes seemed to show bait bikes are a significant deterrent. Bikes thefts dropped by 45% at Cambridge rail station when British Transport Police tested the method. Even in the UK's bike theft capital, London, rates dropped by around a third in one local trial.
The argument in favour was summed up by Jenny Jones, one of two Greens in the London Assembly:
There are two main deterrents to cycling: road safety and theft. Gangs of young kids often steal the bikes and pass them on to criminals who store them in lock ups and garages before selling them. The advantage of using bait bikes is that it enables you to track the stolen bike back to the organised gang lock up, rather than just arresting the young bike thieves... You've got to get the gangs. You've got to find out where they keep the bikes.
The contrasting view can be summed up in one word: entrapment. Critics argue that particularly when bait bikes are left unlocked they are an open incentive to commit crime, most notably to drug addicts or the young and impulsive.
A drugs treatment adviser to the Home Office, speaking anonymously, described it as "lazy policing", adding:
There is so much else they can do to prevent bike theft that doesn't involve leaving temptation in the way of drug addicts that we have spent months helping to get clean.
Linda Oliver, from Bristol's early intervention service, which helps local young people, said:
In many countries, this practice would be classified as entrapment and would be illegal, the courts would view this as luring people into crime.
Other can fall foul of bait bikes. One Cambridge University student recounted leaving a local nightclub after a few drinks and thinking it would be a good idea to "borrow" an unlocked cycle he spotted nearby. Even though police let him off with a warning, he was perturbed by the tactic:
I think that this is a honeypot trap of the most wasteful kind, and should not be a method of catching the gangs of bike thieves that doubtless exist - it's striking at the bottom rung of the ladder, and this always proves ineffective.
Would you be happy to see bait bikes used in your neighbourhood?
Any method? There is a technique shown to dramatically reduce cycle theft levels, and yet it remains hugely controversial – bait bikes.
This tactic, also known as decoy or tracker bikes, sees police leaving badly locked, or even unlocked, bicycles in vulnerable locations. They are fitted with hidden GPS devices, letting officers trace them to the thieves, or better still to a lock-up or warehouse used by gangs to store lots of stolen bikes.
Police forces around the country are to deploy bait bikes after a series of successful pilot schemes throughout 2008 and 2009, with London's mayor, Boris Johnson, also approving the tactic for the capital earlier this month.
The pilot schemes seemed to show bait bikes are a significant deterrent. Bikes thefts dropped by 45% at Cambridge rail station when British Transport Police tested the method. Even in the UK's bike theft capital, London, rates dropped by around a third in one local trial.
The argument in favour was summed up by Jenny Jones, one of two Greens in the London Assembly:
There are two main deterrents to cycling: road safety and theft. Gangs of young kids often steal the bikes and pass them on to criminals who store them in lock ups and garages before selling them. The advantage of using bait bikes is that it enables you to track the stolen bike back to the organised gang lock up, rather than just arresting the young bike thieves... You've got to get the gangs. You've got to find out where they keep the bikes.
The contrasting view can be summed up in one word: entrapment. Critics argue that particularly when bait bikes are left unlocked they are an open incentive to commit crime, most notably to drug addicts or the young and impulsive.
A drugs treatment adviser to the Home Office, speaking anonymously, described it as "lazy policing", adding:
There is so much else they can do to prevent bike theft that doesn't involve leaving temptation in the way of drug addicts that we have spent months helping to get clean.
Linda Oliver, from Bristol's early intervention service, which helps local young people, said:
In many countries, this practice would be classified as entrapment and would be illegal, the courts would view this as luring people into crime.
Other can fall foul of bait bikes. One Cambridge University student recounted leaving a local nightclub after a few drinks and thinking it would be a good idea to "borrow" an unlocked cycle he spotted nearby. Even though police let him off with a warning, he was perturbed by the tactic:
I think that this is a honeypot trap of the most wasteful kind, and should not be a method of catching the gangs of bike thieves that doubtless exist - it's striking at the bottom rung of the ladder, and this always proves ineffective.
Would you be happy to see bait bikes used in your neighbourhood?
Saturday, 25 February 2012
SAFETY INFORMATION
PARKING & LOCKING BASICS
The first rule: Always lock it. Never, leave your bike unlocked--even if you're leaving it for only half a minute. A thief can grab your bike in seconds. Some parking basics:
Security: Lock your bike to something that's permanent and not easy for a thief to take. Lock to a bicycle rack, a metal fence post, or a large tree. Don't lock to another bike, a door handle, or small tree. And if you keep your bike in a garage, basement, or on a porch, lock it!
Visibility: Park in open areas where many people pass by and your bicycle can be seen easily. Thieves usually don't like an audience.
Keep It Close By: Put your bike where you can get to it fast. Thieves like to steal bikes whose owners are far away.
WHAT LOCKING HARDWARE SHOULD YOU USE?
U Locks: Some U locks are stronger than others; make sure you buy a strong steel alloy lock. If the manufacturer offers a warranty or insurance, register the lock and write down the lock's serial number and when you bought it. One drawback to U locks: you can't lock up to thick objects such as street lights; so for these, carry a thick cable.
Padlocks & Chains: Look for anti-theft security chains, the thicker, the better. Chain links and lock clasps should be at least 3/8 of an inch thick. Look for locks and chains that are case-hardened -a process that makes them harder to cut.
Cables: Some cables are actually harder to cut than chains, because they don't snap and thieves can't pry them open. Use a cable at least 3/8 of an inch thick with a lock as thick, or thicker.
Ugly Bikes: In busy commercial areas, where thieves have lots of bikes to choose from, your bike is less likely to be stolen if it looks old or just ugly.
HOW TO LOCK UP
A thief with enough time and the right tools can break any lock. But you can discourage many thieves if you follow these tips about locking your bike:
Lock the Whole Bike: You should put your chain, cable, or U locks through your frame and both wheels--taking the front wheel off if you have a quick-release hub. Never lock through your wheel without locking the frame, because thieves can remove your wheel and steal the rest of the bike.
Cross Locking: A good way to foil thieves is to use more than one kind of lock. For example, put a U lock through your frame and rear tire, and put a cable or chain through your frame and front tire.
Placing the Lock: Thieves may break a lock by putting it against a wall or sidewalk and smashing it with a hammer. If you use a padlock, try to put it where it's not close to the ground or against a wall or another solid surface-leaving little or no slack in your cable or chain. When using a U lock, leave little or no space in the lock's middle to prevent prying.
Removable Items: When you leave your bike, remove any parts you can't lock and a thief could steal easily: a quick-release seat, horn, bike bag, pump, cycle computer, or lights. If removing quick-release parts is a hassle, replace them with permanent ones.
WHERE TO PARK
Bike Racks: Look for thick, immovable bicycle racks installed in the city and outside of many buildings. Special note: there have been cases where a rack has been unbolted from the sidewalk, or the bolts have been loosened enough so the rack is easily pulled out and the locked bike removed. It may not be obvious at first, so please be aware.
Sign Poles: Sign poles aren't the best places to lock your bike. Before locking to a pole, check whether you can pull it out of the ground. Also check how easily a thief could remove the sign and slide your bike over the top of the pole.
Indoors: A good way to avoid theft--park your bike indoors. Some stores and buildings allow bikes inside, if only for a short time. When parking indoors, lock your bike securely.
HOW TO PREVENT YOUR BIKE FROM BEING STOLEN
What's the first thing to do when you get a new bike?
Write down the serial number and keep the number in a safe place. Look for the serial number stamped on your bike's head tube, seat post tube, under the crank, or on the frame's rear wheel mount.
Register your bike on www.bikeregister.ie
Identifying Marks: You can discourage thieves by engraving your name or driver's license number in an obvious place on your bike frame. Or put a card with your name and phone number inside the handlebar tube - so if you find your stolen bike at an auction, junk shop, or flea market, you can prove it's yours.
Take a clear colour photo of your bike and make a written record of its description, including any unique features.
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR BIKE IS STOLEN
If Your Bike Is Stolen: First, find your bike's serial number if you have it. Then go to your local Garda and tell them where your bike was stolen. Give them a details and photo of your bike. Try to get a report number that you can use for an insurance claim. Also find out how Garda will contact you if they find your bike.
Looking for Your Bike: Sometimes you can find your bicycle at places like auctions, or resale shops that might deal in stolen merchandise. But if you find your stolen bike among other property that someone's selling, remember that they won't just give it to you; you must prove it's yours. Keep your serial number or use identifying marks as described above.
Call your local Garda to learn whether they auction off recovered, unclaimed property.
Next, you should conduct your own search for the bike. Look on online sites, such as donedeal.ie, buyandsell.ie, gumtree.ie and eBay.ie. Be aware that thieves will sometimes steal a bike in one city and advertise it for sale in another city. Some thieves will attempt to evade detection by the owner by providing a vague description of the bike in the ad.
Bring a photo of the bike and make the rounds of the second-hand stores in your area. If a thief tries to sell your stolen bike to them, the may recognize the bike. If they have already bought the bike, the documentation you have filed, along with the stolen bike report, will be proof that the bike is yours, and you will be entitled to recover the bike. Despite what anyone may tell you, you are not required to pay a second hand shop for return of your stolen bike.
You should also make the rounds of the bike shops in your area. Thieves will sometimes attempt to sell stolen bikes to bike shops, especially if the shop sells used bikes. If you notify the shops, and can provide a photo, the shops may notify law enforcement if they see a bike matching your stolen bike.
Finally, check the garda impound yard from time to time—your bike will end up there if it is recovered. Law enforcement should notify you, but just in case they’re not as diligent as you, it won’t hurt to look.
If you do find your bike, notify law enforcement for assistance in recovering your bike. If law enforcement recovers your bike, they should notify you, based upon the stolen bike report you filed. You will need your stolen bike report and proof that the bike belongs to you before law enforcement will release it to you—thus, the importance of documenting your ownership of the bike and keeping it in a file.
The first rule: Always lock it. Never, leave your bike unlocked--even if you're leaving it for only half a minute. A thief can grab your bike in seconds. Some parking basics:
Security: Lock your bike to something that's permanent and not easy for a thief to take. Lock to a bicycle rack, a metal fence post, or a large tree. Don't lock to another bike, a door handle, or small tree. And if you keep your bike in a garage, basement, or on a porch, lock it!
Visibility: Park in open areas where many people pass by and your bicycle can be seen easily. Thieves usually don't like an audience.
Keep It Close By: Put your bike where you can get to it fast. Thieves like to steal bikes whose owners are far away.
WHAT LOCKING HARDWARE SHOULD YOU USE?
U Locks: Some U locks are stronger than others; make sure you buy a strong steel alloy lock. If the manufacturer offers a warranty or insurance, register the lock and write down the lock's serial number and when you bought it. One drawback to U locks: you can't lock up to thick objects such as street lights; so for these, carry a thick cable.
Padlocks & Chains: Look for anti-theft security chains, the thicker, the better. Chain links and lock clasps should be at least 3/8 of an inch thick. Look for locks and chains that are case-hardened -a process that makes them harder to cut.
Cables: Some cables are actually harder to cut than chains, because they don't snap and thieves can't pry them open. Use a cable at least 3/8 of an inch thick with a lock as thick, or thicker.
Ugly Bikes: In busy commercial areas, where thieves have lots of bikes to choose from, your bike is less likely to be stolen if it looks old or just ugly.
HOW TO LOCK UP
A thief with enough time and the right tools can break any lock. But you can discourage many thieves if you follow these tips about locking your bike:
Lock the Whole Bike: You should put your chain, cable, or U locks through your frame and both wheels--taking the front wheel off if you have a quick-release hub. Never lock through your wheel without locking the frame, because thieves can remove your wheel and steal the rest of the bike.
Cross Locking: A good way to foil thieves is to use more than one kind of lock. For example, put a U lock through your frame and rear tire, and put a cable or chain through your frame and front tire.
Placing the Lock: Thieves may break a lock by putting it against a wall or sidewalk and smashing it with a hammer. If you use a padlock, try to put it where it's not close to the ground or against a wall or another solid surface-leaving little or no slack in your cable or chain. When using a U lock, leave little or no space in the lock's middle to prevent prying.
Removable Items: When you leave your bike, remove any parts you can't lock and a thief could steal easily: a quick-release seat, horn, bike bag, pump, cycle computer, or lights. If removing quick-release parts is a hassle, replace them with permanent ones.
WHERE TO PARK
Bike Racks: Look for thick, immovable bicycle racks installed in the city and outside of many buildings. Special note: there have been cases where a rack has been unbolted from the sidewalk, or the bolts have been loosened enough so the rack is easily pulled out and the locked bike removed. It may not be obvious at first, so please be aware.
Sign Poles: Sign poles aren't the best places to lock your bike. Before locking to a pole, check whether you can pull it out of the ground. Also check how easily a thief could remove the sign and slide your bike over the top of the pole.
Indoors: A good way to avoid theft--park your bike indoors. Some stores and buildings allow bikes inside, if only for a short time. When parking indoors, lock your bike securely.
HOW TO PREVENT YOUR BIKE FROM BEING STOLEN
What's the first thing to do when you get a new bike?
Write down the serial number and keep the number in a safe place. Look for the serial number stamped on your bike's head tube, seat post tube, under the crank, or on the frame's rear wheel mount.
Register your bike on www.bikeregister.ie
Identifying Marks: You can discourage thieves by engraving your name or driver's license number in an obvious place on your bike frame. Or put a card with your name and phone number inside the handlebar tube - so if you find your stolen bike at an auction, junk shop, or flea market, you can prove it's yours.
Take a clear colour photo of your bike and make a written record of its description, including any unique features.
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR BIKE IS STOLEN
If Your Bike Is Stolen: First, find your bike's serial number if you have it. Then go to your local Garda and tell them where your bike was stolen. Give them a details and photo of your bike. Try to get a report number that you can use for an insurance claim. Also find out how Garda will contact you if they find your bike.
Looking for Your Bike: Sometimes you can find your bicycle at places like auctions, or resale shops that might deal in stolen merchandise. But if you find your stolen bike among other property that someone's selling, remember that they won't just give it to you; you must prove it's yours. Keep your serial number or use identifying marks as described above.
Call your local Garda to learn whether they auction off recovered, unclaimed property.
Next, you should conduct your own search for the bike. Look on online sites, such as donedeal.ie, buyandsell.ie, gumtree.ie and eBay.ie. Be aware that thieves will sometimes steal a bike in one city and advertise it for sale in another city. Some thieves will attempt to evade detection by the owner by providing a vague description of the bike in the ad.
Bring a photo of the bike and make the rounds of the second-hand stores in your area. If a thief tries to sell your stolen bike to them, the may recognize the bike. If they have already bought the bike, the documentation you have filed, along with the stolen bike report, will be proof that the bike is yours, and you will be entitled to recover the bike. Despite what anyone may tell you, you are not required to pay a second hand shop for return of your stolen bike.
You should also make the rounds of the bike shops in your area. Thieves will sometimes attempt to sell stolen bikes to bike shops, especially if the shop sells used bikes. If you notify the shops, and can provide a photo, the shops may notify law enforcement if they see a bike matching your stolen bike.
Finally, check the garda impound yard from time to time—your bike will end up there if it is recovered. Law enforcement should notify you, but just in case they’re not as diligent as you, it won’t hurt to look.
If you do find your bike, notify law enforcement for assistance in recovering your bike. If law enforcement recovers your bike, they should notify you, based upon the stolen bike report you filed. You will need your stolen bike report and proof that the bike belongs to you before law enforcement will release it to you—thus, the importance of documenting your ownership of the bike and keeping it in a file.
PROTECT YOUR BIKE
Bicycles can be some of the easiest vehicles for thieves and vandals to target. You can protect yourself from becoming a victim by following some simple steps.
· Save your receipt
· Record your serial number
· Have your bike's frame security-marked or engraved
· Register your bike – www.bikeregister.ie
· Take a clear colour photo of your bike and make a written record of its description, including any unique features
· Get a good bike lock (D locks or combination locks are best, or ask for a recommendation at a bike shop)
· Lock your bike to something secure, e.g. a bike rack or a lamppost. Always lock your bicycle, even if you are only leaving it for a couple of minutes
· Make the lock and bike difficult to manoeuvre when parked – keep the lock away from the ground and keep the gap between the bike and lock small
· Lock up removable parts (e.g. wheels) and take light fittings with you
· Optionally Take out insurance, either by extending your home contents insurance or through a separate policy http://www.cyclesure.ie or www.onedirect.ie
· Take a clear colour photo of your bike and make a written record of its description, including any unique features
· Keep your bike in a secure garage or shed and keep bike and door locked
· Keep it out of public view
· Avoid isolated places – leave your bike where a potential thief can be seen
· Save your receipt
· Record your serial number
· Have your bike's frame security-marked or engraved
· Register your bike – www.bikeregister.ie
· Take a clear colour photo of your bike and make a written record of its description, including any unique features
· Get a good bike lock (D locks or combination locks are best, or ask for a recommendation at a bike shop)
· Lock your bike to something secure, e.g. a bike rack or a lamppost. Always lock your bicycle, even if you are only leaving it for a couple of minutes
· Make the lock and bike difficult to manoeuvre when parked – keep the lock away from the ground and keep the gap between the bike and lock small
· Lock up removable parts (e.g. wheels) and take light fittings with you
· Optionally Take out insurance, either by extending your home contents insurance or through a separate policy http://www.cyclesure.ie or www.onedirect.ie
· Take a clear colour photo of your bike and make a written record of its description, including any unique features
· Keep your bike in a secure garage or shed and keep bike and door locked
· Keep it out of public view
· Avoid isolated places – leave your bike where a potential thief can be seen
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