The fear of your bike getting stolen is a constant when you live in a big city, Rotterdam is no exception. It can happen anywhere, outside your apartment, in the center or at the metro station. To avoid the great inconvenience and, let’s face it, burning disappointment when that happens, EM dug through the immensity of the World Wide Web to find five tips that will help your bike being a little bit safer.
1. If you can, park your bike inside
An ex crack addict and bikes thief shared a few tips with The Guardian to prevent your bike from getting stolen. One of these is to park your bike inside when possible, especially if the bike is an expensive one. If you do not have a bike shed or have no space to park your bike inside, then the only way to prevent theft is: buy a cheaper bike, according to the former crack addict.
2. Make it ugly
A creative solution is to make your bike look ugly. As the website WeLoveCycling.com suggests making your bicycle as unpleasant looking as possible helps repelling thieves. There a few ways to do this: using duct tape is one these, you can also use spray paint or even cocoa powder to give the bike that unattractive rusty look.
3. Use technology
An effective way to always know where your bike is, is to use Trackr, as suggested by Techiefans.com. Technically, this tip does not help you preventing the theft, but in the unfortunate case the previous two tips didn’t work, this third one should help you locate your bike once it gets stolen. Trackr is a small devise which can be discretely attached to your bike, through a smart phone app you will be able to activate the tracker and eventually locate it when in need.
4. Old but gold
Locking your bike with a thick metal chain is an old school, yet still very effective trick to secure your bike. Another tip which was shared by the former bikes thief is to lock your bike with two thick chain locks. The locking technique also plays its part, it is important to lock the bike through both the wheels and the frame.
5. A flat tire is a red flag
The same source further shared that whenever your bike suddenly has a flat tire when parked outside, you should be extra careful. If you notice a flat tire when you unlock your bike in the morning that might mean a bike thief has set his or her eyes on your bike. The trick is used by thieves to ensure that the owner will leave the bike locked in that spot, in this way the thief has more time to steal the bike.
