ebike theft and precautionary measures

[Tabs]

All great input, very grateful, when I return to the UK I will be looking to rent property in either Durham County or Cumbria, I'll be looking at towns in those regions that have bike friendly supermarkets and coffee shops.

Using a DLock and Chain Lock at all times secured where possible to an immovable object won't make theft impossible but should deter the opportunist thief into looking for easier targets.

I also suspect, mountain bikes, road bikes and hybrids will be easier to sell than a step through pashley…

Thought you were moving to Scotland (Ayrshire)?

 

[Andy88]

Thought you were moving to Scotland (Ayrshire)?

I was initially however because of limited rental opportunities within my budget in Ayr, decided to do a short term 1 month stay in the Durham area and use as a base while I explore Cumbria, Durham and Ayreshire. Will review final resting place after evaluation.

 

[Tabs]

I was initially however because of limited rental opportunities within my budget in Ayr, decided to do a short term 1 month stay in the Durham area and use as a base while I explore Cumbria, Durham and Ayreshire. Will review final resting place after evaluation.

Thought that there would be plenty of places in Ayrshire to suit you however good luck with the move and your search for an ebike, cheers

 

[Andy88]

Not knowing the area and poor response from agents is the reason for change of strategy.

The main issue is as I land in the uk im homeless, to do hotels at £50 a night till I find a place could work out expensive.

I haven't ruled out Scotland I will travel there once I have my feet on the ground in the uk. The place in Durham is through a mate so I've got somewhere to bed down while I search for a bike and a home.

 

[Croxden]

Will review final resting place after evaluation.

Being a bit gloomy aren't you?

 

[Andy88]

Being a bit gloomy aren't you?

Ha, Ha, first thing that came to my head, I meant final place I decide to settle.

To be honest its a bit of a nightmare, no family or friends back in the UK been in Asia 27 years…

But looking forward to getting back and having access to products and services.

This is my current house…

 

[Kinninvie]

All great input, very grateful, when I return to the UK I will be looking to rent property in either Durham County or Cumbria, I'll be looking at towns in those regions that have bike friendly supermarkets and coffee shops.

Using a DLock and Chain Lock at all times secured where possible to an immovable object won't make theft impossible but should deter the opportunist thief into looking for easier targets.

I also suspect, mountain bikes, road bikes and hybrids will be easier to sell than a step through pashley…

I live in Teesdale in County Durham and although its one of the safest places in the Uk I very rarely leave my bike out of my sight and if I do its always locked to a lampost with 2 seperate cable locks and I also have a movement alarm fitted .
My local pub has a secure bike rack and its right outside a picture window so in view all the time.
At home the bikes are locked in a secure garage with cable locks ,security lights outside and cctv.
If all else fails there are 2 sheepdogs living next to the garage door!
We also have police vehicles parked outside almost every day as my neighbour runs the local farmwatch scheme.

 

[Andy88]

Ill be doing the same

 

[flik9999]

Cant you take the battery with you and lock it up so that to get your bike they have to cut through the frame.


Also are they likely to steel your bike if it looks like a peice of crap. Paint it rust coloured and no-one will touch it. You would have to disguise the fact its an e bike not some rusty old mountain bike though.

 

[cyclebuddy]

Cant you take the battery with you and lock it up so that to get your bike they have to cut through the frame.

My weird mind just came up with a perfect solution...

Your e-bike battery probably contains 40 or 50 separate 18650 cells, right?

Imagine you simply wired these end to end in a flexible/protective tube, so you have a battery pack resembling something like a long string of sausages/chipolatas. Obviously, there’d need to be some wiring running along the inside of this flexible/protective skin to “group” the cells properly too. With me so far?

In use to power the bike, you coil up this battery chain in a spring fashion (granted, it would need some imaginative mounting bracket), and it would provide the normal battery power for the bike.

And when you park your bike, you simply uncoil this battery string and use it to tie your bike like a chain to the nearest lamp-post. Both ends “connect” end-to-end using a small, pocket sized, lightweight locking “connecting box” with an alarm inside. It doesn’t need great strength to withstand forcing... it’s the continuity of the battery circuit that prevents the alarm sounding. This “connector” could use a numbered touchpad passcode, or a phone app to arm/lock (it’s powered by the battery, remember).

Here’s the brilliance...

Any movement/tampering/connector fiddling or if the battery string (continuity) is broken, a watch-sized reserve cell in the connecting bracket sounds the alarm (as car alarms also work). An alert could also be sent to your phone. Breaking/damaging the battery string also means that the battery isn’t going to then power the bike to aid the thief’s escape either! To be honest, for as long as the battery string isn’t physically broken, you could use this much power to electrify the frame... and simply spark/fry the git alive... much like a Taser.

On the other hand, if the battery string is forcibly cut, the thieving git gets INSTANTLY flamed by cutting into a lithium cell/the wiring thereby also shorting the circuit. Instant revenge! And, incidentally, continuity would also break, sounding the alarm... and attracting the attention of passers-by who could watch the thieving git getting flamed. Of course, it’s likely that by time the flames go out and an ambulance is called, your bikes’ paintwork might be a bit singed.

BUT you don’t need to carry either the weight of a normal/decent lock on your bike to your destination, NOR do you need to carry the weight of your battery with you when you leave it!

Well, I thought it was good. Maybe I’m just too angry about thieves generally.

 

[Kinninvie]

This might be a bit extreme but it works!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1797688320443136

 

[cyclebuddy]

It's all bike theft that's rampant, not just e-bikes. It's because bikes are about the only high-value, unregistered, virtually untraceable things we leave out on the streets

All this talk of rampant bike theft has encouraged me to add my newer e-bike to the immobilise national property register so at least if it does get stolen and later found, the Police know who it belongs to.

The immobilise site suggests that after laptops/tablets, phones, jewellery & cash, a bike is the next most common item to be stolen. They say:

"Bicycles
In the UK a bicycle is stolen approximately every minute of the day, perhaps worsened due to the increasing popularity of expensive models, which in turn can be sold far too easily via online auctions. Invest in a quality D-Lock and be sure to register your bicycles frame number along with any pictures you have on Immobilise. We also recommend Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging which can prove your ownership even if the frame number has been removed by the thief."

Seeing as registration is free, it's worth doing just in case. https://www.immobilise.com/

 

[Andy88]

Absolutely, it makes owning a decent bike worrying.

 

[Andy88]

Need one of these...

 

[Croxden]

I'd like a Roy Rogers/Trigger type of recovery. Just whistle and it rears up, turns and comes back to you.

Much more fun, in my head anyway.