TIPS TO PREVENT YOUR BIKE FROM BEING STOLEN FT. THE TILE APP

One of the biggest hindrances in people picking up bicycling as a regular habit/hobby isn't the dangers of sharing the roads with vehicles or the worries that their out of shape bodies won't be able to stand up to the rigors of pedaling… it's the fact that people think the $500+ spent on a bike is a waste because it's going to get stolen anyway. Luckily and hopefully, new measures that are being put in force will make bike thieves as obsolete as cattle wranglers.

First Line of Defense
The best way to ensure your bicycle is not stolen is to use a good lock. A good lock can’t completely prevent theft, however they make it a lot harder for a thief to steal your bike. A traditional cable lock only requires a several second snip with cutters for a thief to get away with your new wheels. A hardened U-lock means that they need to bring significant tools with them, and often create significant noise when stealing your bike. We recommend a high security, New York U-lock to help. Remember though, just because you used a good U-lock it doesn’t always prevent theft.

U-lock Positioning
If you break down your bike in terms of what’s most expensive, you quickly find that your frame is your most expensive part, followed by your rear wheel. Therefore, if you can find a way to lock up both your frame and rear wheel at the same time, you’ll be locking the two parts the thief really wants easy access to. Further, locking up your frame and rear wheel together with a non-moving object can be a tight fit. The struggle that you make to get it all to fit is a good one, leaving the their with little space to work inside the U-lock shackle means they have little space to insert their tools and break your lock.

Tracking Devices
Recently my bike was stolen, yes using a good U-lock. However, the thief didn’t know that I had secretly hidden a Tile inside the bike. What’s a Tile? It’s a small device that pairs with your phone to help you find lost goods. It shows you where your good (or bike) was last seen and when. If your bike suddenly becomes missing, you can mark your Tile as lost and suddenly Tile users everywhere are now looking for your lost bike via the app on their phone. If one of them becomes within Bluetooth range of your stolen bike you get a message with its location. Thanks to the innovative folks at Tile this recently helped me recover a stolen bike. Now all of my bikes have secret hidden Tiles. Where do I hide them? If you’re a customer email us and we’ll tell you!