Bicycles are an excellent investment for almost anyone as they allow you to get out and enjoy the open road. Some people like to use their bikes as their primary form of transport while others prefer to have a car but ride their bike for exercise or on a day out. Either way, investing in a bike is not cheap, and you’ll want to make sure that you are keeping it safe so that it lasts for a long time.
Unfortunately, bike thieves exist and will cut locks to steal a bike or the tires. Below, we thought we would offer some tips to help you keep your new bicycle protected from thieves. Read on to hear our tips and tricks.
Invest In A Sturdy Lock
First things first, you need to invest in a sturdy lock if you are going to be leaving your bike outside at all. If you don’t lock it up, anyone could come along and cycle away with it. Just like you would lock the doors on your car and take the keys with you, you should have a lock that you can rely on for your bike.
Try to avoid cable locks as these can be easily cut by a thief who was prepared. There are tons of great retailers that offer bike locks that are easy to carry and will keep your bike safe.
Always Lock The Entire Bike
Additionally, when it comes to locking up the bicycle, you need to make sure that you are locking the right parts of the bike. Many just lock the bike’s frame and then come back to find that their wheels have been removed. In the same way, if you just lock the wheels, you could find that the frame is removed.
So, try to lock down the bike as much as possible to prevent this from happening. This should help you to protect your bicycle for longer.
Get Some Insurance
Have you ever thought about investing in insurance for your bike? If you aren’t sure how to insure a bicycle, you will be glad to know that some great companies put cyclists first. While an insurance policy won’t stop your bike from being stolen in the first place, it can cover you if this were to happen. So, you’ll usually get some compensation that will help you to buy a new bike in the future.
Look into how to insure a bicycle online, and you’ll thank yourself in the long run.
Bring It Indoors
Do you need to keep your bike outdoors when you go to your office or when you come home at night? If you can bring your bike into your home, you should try to do this every time. The longer you leave it to sit outside, the more tempting it can be for thieves. Additionally, they will have more time to source the tools that they need to break off the lock and cycle away with your investment.
It isn’t always possible to bring it indoors, but even a stairwell or a garage is better than nothing.
Invest In a GPS Tracker
Did you know that you can get GPS trackers for your bike? This is a great way to always know where it is, and you can check out the location on your mobile phone or smart device. A GPS tracker isn’t going to come cheap, but if you value your bicycle and you want to make sure that you can locate it should it get stolen, this kind of solution can come in handy.
If you want to go down the technology route, you can also look into alarms that will set off if someone tries to steal your bike!
Keep It Covered
The final tip that we have for you is to make sure that you are keeping your bike covered. Sure, it can be obvious when a large piece of material covers a bike, but the more it is on show, the more tempting it can be for thieves. If you typically drive around with your bike on top of the car on a rack, it can be obvious for any thieves around you. However, if you have a good cover, you can draw less attention to yourself as you drive or stop at a store.
If you are a cyclist and you want to make sure that your bike is kept safe at all times, you should put some of these tips and tricks into practice. Hopefully, you’ll protect your bike from thieves and enjoy cycling on the open road for many years to come!