How (Not) to Get Your Bike Stolen PART 1

unfortunately no security plan is foolproof there are a lot of things you can do to reduce the likelihood of someone stealing your bike but the reality is at the end of the day if somebody is determined to take your stuff they're probably going to get it given the right tools and enough time even the toughest locks can be defeated enough time apparently turns out to be about eighteen and a half seconds but locks aren't everything there's still a lot you can do to keep your bike safe the first of which is any time you ride your bike somewhere when you go inside take it with you at home or at work always see if you can bring your bike in with you even if you have to store it in a communal space like a bike room or a shared basement you'll still want to lock it up but that's still better than leaving it outside whatever you do never leave your bike outside overnight the second thing is always lock your bike you may only be ducking into that shop for a second but that's all the time it takes to steal an unlocked bike if nothing else at least lock it to itself so someone can't write off on it but even this is pretty risky thirdly use a good lock this is not a good luck neither is this nor is this in our office we use these locks for door stops no seriously this you lock style is a good lock so is this heavy-duty bike specific chain lock the fourth thing to consider is what you're going to lock your bike up to there are two types of things to lock your bike up to things that are okay and things that are not okay let's review bike rack this is an easy one it's okay what about this tree that's not okay old school parking meter that's okay in fact that's the only reason it's still here so go nuts this CTA handrail no not okay in fact most CTA property is not okay to lock to and they can cut your lie like this bus stop pole this is not okay your bikes in a way of people getting on and off the bus find someplace else to lock up like pretty much any other sign pole which is okay however always make sure you're not locking to a sucker pole a sucker pole is where an enterprising bike thief has removed the bolt securing the pole to the base but left the pole for you to lock up to like a sucker sucker poles are not okay always check to make sure that some kind of shim has been hammered into the space between the pole and the base so that it's wedged tight and can't be pulled out the city does a pretty good job about getting most of the pole shim but nobody's perfect don't worry Chicago we got your back this time now what about the railing around this streetscaping this is actually okay privately-owned fences or property on the other hand nope not okay and the property owner is within their rights to cut your lock and lastly what about this bike share station no not okay and finally the last thing to consider is your bike locking technique this only locking around the wheel is not okay someone will steal the rest of your bike always get the lock around at least one of the main tubes of the bike but even this is not perfect because someone can steal your wheels thanks someone won't steal your wheels think again always try to get the lock around a main tube of the bike and at least one wheel but even this isn't perfect as the other wheel is still vulnerable this is especially true if it's got a quick release lever on it in the city and elsewhere it's only a matter of time until an unlocked wheel with the quick-release lever is stolen it's just too easy to remove from the bike it's better to lock both wheels up either by using a second view lock or by adding a cable to the mix goodbye clucking technique is basically about trying to make your bike just more trouble to steal than all the bikes around it it's sort of like if you and a friend are hiking in the woods and run into a bear you don't have to be able to outrun the bear you just have to be able to outrun your friend and that's really all there is to it if you follow these guidelines you'll probably avoid having your bike stolen or worse wind up having a picture of your bike walking fail posted to the internet like these poor rubes if you like this video please be sure to subscribe to our Channel where we're always posting more tips and tricks and please like active trans on Facebook and follow us on Twitter or become a member at our website to support better biking walking and transit in the Chicagoland region

Channel: The Active Transportation Alliance

Views: 5,044,720

Rating: 4.6683397 out of 5

Keywords: Theft, bike theft, bicycle, bike lock, Chicago bicycle, Active Transportation Alliance, Active Trans, Stolen bike, bike thief, The Active Transportaion Aliance, bike locking

Id: 0Wg23WTfz0M

Length: 5min 1sec (301 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 07 2014