Bike theft is a fact of life, and not just in the city. Bike thieves are sneaky and creative: bicycles disappear from the front of businesses, porches, garages, college campuses-any time of day or night. For the most part, the bikes that are stolen are the ones that are left unlocked. Even inside your apartment building or on the balcony, you bike isn’t totally safe. Some bike locks are insufficient at preventing theft, too. The fate of stolen bikes is hard to pin down exactly. Even top of the line bikes don’t usually have a high resale value. Most stolen bikes are resold on the street, although sometimes they show up at pawn shops or on sites like Craigslist. Finding a stolen bike at a bike shop is rarer, but it happens from time to time. One thing that is pretty uniform across cases of bike theft is that bikes are seldom recovered. Bigger cities tend to have a higher occurrence of bike thefts, and bike thieves are more determined and more resourceful. Wherever you live, follow these tips to help prevent bike theft.

1. Lock your bike wherever you park it, even if you are only going inside for a minute.

2. Don’t leave your bike anywhere but home for extended periods of time.

3. Pay attention to where you lock your bike. Visibility and security are both considerations: the are should be well-lit and in the open, and whatever you lock to should be sturdy and fixed to the ground. Make sure your bike can’t simply be lifted over the structure either.

4. Register your bike with your local police station and display the security label on the body of your bike. The label will have a serial number that will help identify your bike if it is stolen.

5. You might also consider distinguishing your bike so it is individual. Stickers and engraving make the bike hard to disguise with a simple coat of paint.

6. Locking your bike in a location where there are lots of bikes is a good plan. Not only will there likely be more human traffic, but a higher density of bicycles will make yours less of a target, especially if you have a good, strong lock.

7. Use a U-Lock, rather than a cable lock for the frame, and if you have quick-release wheels, either remove the wheels or lock them to the frame. This will make your bike inconvenient to take away.

8. The keyhole should be facing downward, but don’t put the lock too close to the ground.

9. Try not to lock your bike in the same spot day after day, that way, no one can single out your ride as an easy target.

10. Make sure you’re not locking to anything illegally or your bike might be taken by the police or the property manager.

11. Don’t lock in the same location all the time. A thief may notice the pattern and target your bike.

Lawrence Reaves writes about custom labels and property identification labels for MaverickLabel.com

Lawrence Reaves writes about custom labels and property identification labels for http://www.idmystuff.net.

Author Bio: Lawrence Reaves writes about custom labels and property identification labels for MaverickLabel.com

Category: Advice
Keywords: bike theft, property id tags, property id labels