Strategies to reduce insecurity vis-à-vis bike theft
The fear of theft is one of the barriers to adopting the bicycle as mode of transportation. It is a frequent question from potential cargo bike buyers. Once ignored, cargo bikes have unfortunately become the target of thieves.
You ask us a lot of questions about anti-theft products and protection against this scourge.
Here are solutions we propose and strategies to adopt.
The first anti-theft strategy to think about is a lock – reassuring for you and a first line of defence against thieves.
You have to think about protecting your bike as you travel around town, but also at home. Too often, we get the stories about bike thefts that begin with “it was in the shed” or “I locked it in the basement of my apartment building“.
Here’s what we propose.
It seems trivial and overtly commercial – we understand – however, our #1 piece of advice is to invest as much as you can in an appropriate lock. Investing 10% of the total cost of your bike in its safeguard is not unreasonable.
Accordingly, let us talk about the Hiplok D1000. Yes, this is a very expensive lock, but it is the best option we have ever put our hands on.
The idea, with the Hiplok, is as follows: offer a combinaison of materials that are extremely difficult to cut, be it by hand or, obviously, with a grinder.
The Kryptonite New York, New York «Fahgettaboudit»,
or the Granit XPlus series by Abus also offer precious seconds to dissuade thieves.
Chains are also good options, much liked by cargo bike user. They are usually easy to carry and their weight is not a problem. Chains are an excellent choice for running errands around town.
Kryptonite chains are our favourites. Hiplok also manufactures practical chains that work with a U-lock.
Start with the idea that it is always better to lock your bicycle. But then, as you go about your day, some situations are riskier than others.
Tying your bike to a well-placed post, in front of your favourite bookshop, shopping a few minutes during the day on a very busy street – these are obviously safer situations.
For these occasions, we prefer something fast and flexible. On aime alors particulièrement la rapidité d’action et la flexibilité. Frame or wheel locks offer this.
Remember that you have to devote a minimum of time against thieves. It can be a drag to take a minute of your time to secure your bicycle, but it is a necessary evil. Just leaving your bike unlocked is a serious mistake and is easily preventable, notably, with a wheel lock.
When you leave your bike outside for an extended period (more than 5 minutes), a combination of several locks is an excellent strategy. A U-lock, a chain, and a frame lock are three particularly cumbersome barriers.
Cargo bike wheels are not all equal in terms of theft risks. An Urban Arrow’s rear wheel is rather complicated to remove. The weight of the bicycle doesn’t help either. However, the front wheels on a Yuba Kombi or a Bullitt are easy targets.
So don’t forget to think about anti-theft solutions for your wheels and for the seat post. If you are the only user of the bike, Pinhead seat post and wheel locks are appropriate.
Seat posts are a headache: a good number of cargo bikes are shared between parents, which makes them a difficult component to secure. Yet, they are expensive to replace, making them a thorn in the side of cargo bike owners.
We don’t have a perfect solution, but a saddle cable will help against theft.
You cannot overlook the safety of your cargo or electric bike at home. According to our clients, more often than not, it is at home that these kinds of bikes get stolen.
It is seriously recommended that you lock your bicycle even inside a garage or a shed.
This is why we offer wall and ground anchors.
We offer Kryptonite and Hiplok anchors. The Hiplok AX1000 arm is particularly interesting. Made from the same materials used in D1000 series locks, it is extremely resistant. It accommodates a big chain or a U-lock.
These anchors can be secured to the ground, to concrete or to walls. They come with the appropriate hardware, but you must pay attention to the material on which you want to install them.
Again, an anchor such as the AX1000 may seem like overkill. With a D1000 lock, it’s a 1000$ expense.peut paraitre une folie. However, these two solutions amount to about 10% of the value of a cargo bike and, more importantly, they are probably the most secure combination that exists, which is a pretty good argument for the safeguard of your investment and, especially, peace of mind and safety. Do what needs to be done and increase your chances to the max for an almost risk-free enjoyment of your cycling life.
If you have the space, there are other solutions like bike racks and bike shelters. For example, we can order racks from Vélo Rack and are talking with a new company that is developing bike shelters.
The dream… a shelter that can be shared between two families, for example, installed in the back lane… What an idea!
Maybe you’re expecting us to discuss more technological gadgets, like GPS trackers and alarms… No, this section is devoted to “low tech” solutions.
First, alternate parking spots. Ideally, don’t lock your bicycle always in the same spot. It might seem stupid, but it makes it more difficult to spot.
A tarp can also help. Not only will it protect your bike against bad weather, which is nice in terms of component durability, for instance, but it will make its content “invisible”. This is based on empirical observation. It reduces vandalism and, by extension, theft.
Using a tarp may be off-putting – unrolling and folding such a thing, on top of having to lock your bike… it makes a lot of stuff to do and think about.
However, the results talk: from occasional vandalism to zero problems. No saddle or crankset theft… and peace of mind!
In coming years, insurance should be easier to add to a bicycle protection strategy. We hope so, even though we don’t want insurance companies to require that bicycles be “connected”. This was a problem faced by Locomotion who had to install GPS trackers on their bikes in order to obtain insurance.
We aren’t against these measures, but for the time being, it is moderately effective. It seems like this is the first thing thieves learn how to avoid/deactivate!
Vous pouvez par exemple installer des puces «air tag» et les serrer dans une boite spécialement faite pour cela. Cependant, ces petites puces ne sont pas faites pour pister des biens ou des personnes (heureusement dans un certain sens). Ça ne peut pas être quelque chose de particulièrement recommandé, mais plus un moyen de se rassurer. Ce qui est honorable aussi !
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One thing we, hear at Dumoulin, are fundamentally opposed to: alarm locks or alarms… NO!
NO to more sound pollution. Aren’t we already irritated enough by SUV alarms and horns that indicate that “my door is locked”, four-wheel scooter toots and scooter beeps? Let’s not add any more. Don’t you agree?
More than ever, police departments across the province are using Garage 529 to locate bicycle owners.
We strongly recommend you register your bicycles on the free platform – it might help!
To learn more, read our blog post on Garage 529.
The lock business will continue to grow. You need to protect your cargo bike. Our mission consists in accompanying you and continuing to monitor the evolution of the market. There are simple and efficient solutions. We wish to make your life easier: we will never propose that you use 5 locks to protect your bicycle. Efficiency and ease of use will always be our priority for daily cyclists.
It is high time that political authorities deal with the scourge of bike theft and, especially, help cyclists. A relatively simple solution would be to make safe bike shelters mandatory for new constructions, like it is in several European countries. A legal obligation to offer cyclists (which are also tax paying citizens) a portion of reserved automobile parking spaces along our streets.
We are always available to propose the ideal lock or discuss anti-theft solutions in line with your needs and daily reality.
