A Land Where a Cable Lock Suffices—For Now

In the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík, cyclists—of which there are many—do tend to lock their bikes, just not with anything terribly imposing. 

Take the white single-speed below. Assuming it belongs to whoever filled the adjacent windowsill with bicycle-related knickknacks, this bike is, if not treasured, at least appreciated. And yet...it is "secured" by a small-gauge cable lock looped around the rear wheel and through some wires snaking out of the building. 

Bike owners sometimes affix their rides to slightly sturdier installations, but still usually with just a cable lock:

Reykjavik bike shop Markið does sell U-locks, but appears to stock cables in much greater numbers:

And bike theft is not unheard of even in low-crime Iceland. Around 700 or 800 bikes are reported stolen in Reykjavík (population ~120,000) per year, and reports from the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police cite bike theft as the exception to a reduction in crime generally.

Which begs the question: How long before Icelanders, too, must resort to increasingly stiffer measures to prevent the theft of their two-wheeled transportation?

Prevent the Ride-Away

The folks behind LINKA, the "world's first auto-unlocking smart bike lock," think a would-be thief is much less likely to make off with your bike if it's (1) unrideable because of an immobilized front wheel and (2) screeching as loudly as a jackhammer or power lawnmower. Seems like a reasonably safe bet.

If you've got a bike and a smart phone and are inclined to use the latter to help safeguard the former, check out LINKA's Kickstarter campaign. It runs through June 13 (but has already far surpassed its fundraising goal).
 

   

(Hooray for LINKA's use of Bike Index's database! Theft prevention efforts are better operating in concert.)

Not a One-Man Job

From KGW Portland, the story of a cyclist who has taken it upon himself to scope out and photograph possibly stolen bikes—and try to return them to their owners:

Mapped

Last week Bike Index founder Seth Herr announced that the registry's bike theft data is now available in map form. 

Visit map.bikewise.org and zoom in on a location of interest. The map will display the 100 most recent thefts in the area you're viewing, color-coded according to how long ago the theft occurred. Click on a color in the legend to filter by time period.

Here's D.C.:

In his announcement about the map, Herr touted it as "more than a pretty picture." In addition to its support of search and browsing through time, map.bikewise.org links back to the Bike Index reports about the thefts mapped.  

Look familiar??

It's easy to use and interesting from a data visualization standpoint, but, however well-executed and information-rich, a map of bike thefts still saddens me.

"YouR Bike wAs STOLEN BUT WE Caught the guy"

I so wish I knew more about the story behind this photo. 

Here's as much as I can piece together: Someone left his or her bike locked to or propped against a white birch (I think...) on or near the campus of Trinity College Dublin. Someone other than the owner made off with the bike, but didn't get very far: Trinity College security guards accosted the would-be thief, took the bike for safekeeping, and left a note apprising the bike's owner of what had gone down and how to collect the thankfully-not-stolen property.

I hereby second the sentiment expressed in The Daily Edge: "We salute you Trinity security guards, and commend your legible handwriting and careful use of thumb tacks." 

(And credit to Janet Newenham for taking and distributing the photo.)

Won't Rattle as You Ride

As noted back in October 2013, my TiGr® lock is a real conversation starter. Motorists and fellow cyclists alike often ask me what it is, whether I like it, how much it cost. (Answers: a titanium bike lock, yes, $200)

Well, now the folks behind the elegant bike security often velcroed around my top tube have turned to Kickstarter to raise the funds necessary to launch a new product, the TiGr mini. They're calling it "the U-lock re-imagined." Here's the pitch:

Pledge by May 31 to get in on the ground floor.

Tackle Him!

Maybe you've come across the video while killing time online. A man in a pink shirt tears out of a house and tackles a guy on a bike. Both hit the pavement.

Here, courtesy of KEYE TV, is the story behind the viral vid:

The bike recovery's worth the "road rash," I'd say...

How NOT to Buy a Stolen Bike

What I tried to do in "Don't Supply the Demand: Vet Your Seller" back in December 2013, the folks at Bike Index (i.e. they of the serial number search widget at right) have now done more thoroughly, simply, and systematically.

Bike Index's Bryan Hance unveiled a "field guide" on Monday: How Not To Buy a Stolen Bike in Four Easy Steps. The guide presents in one aesthetically pleasing place the advice Bike Index regularly offers those looking to buy a used bike without receiving stolen property.

Check it out and pass it on. (What appears below is just the (hyperlinked) header.)

EndBikeTheft.org

That bike theft task force Portland almost launched back in February but then didn't for nebulous reasons? Well, now it's official. The City of Roses has declared its commitment to reducing bicycle thefts by 50% in five years.

The announcement of the initiative even included a demonstration of proper locking technique performed on the steps of City Hall...

Check out EndBikeTheft.org for more information.

Fortified's Got Your Back

Fortified Bicycle hasn't debuted the promised anti-theft bike yet, but, in a Kickstarter campaign launched yesterday, the Boston-based company announced its latest product: Payback. It's a "bike seat security system with a Lifetime Anti-Theft Guarantee." Yours for $25: