Coincidentally, I just had my e-bike stolen from my garage around 3AM in the wee hours after Family Day. What’s really dumb is it could have been avoided: the thief was randomly checking car doors, and found ours unlocked (mistakenly). When they searched the glove box they found our clicker, and opened the garage. After forty minutes, they made off with my (relatively) new e-bike. Even though I’ve owned it for over a year I’ve only ever ridden it once or twice. I hadn’t even had a moment to take a photo, record the serial number, and register it with Project 529 Garage (conversely, when I bought my first e-bike in 2021 I immediately registered that one!) Thanks for all you do when we do what we’re supposed to. This has been an expensive lesson.
Thanks for the info. I have an Apple tag hidden on my bike, plus 2 disk brake alarms, plus one kryptonite $200 ulock with a chain and another kryptonite ulock that’s about $150.
I bought one of the hand-brake grip locks, but unfortunately my grips are flared and this lock is only good for straight grips.
My friend bought a disk brake alarm that has a tracker in it, plus it’s remote-controlled.
People can check out the Lockpicking Lawyer to see which locks are best or worst.
Hi Greg - A shield is a tamper resistant decal with a unique ID that goes on the bike as both an indicator that the bike is registered, and an extra piece of identification for the bike. The ID is a 7-character code, similar to a license plate which is much easier to look up than a bike's serial number.
Like many others, I had my last bike stolen right out of my garage when I was moving into my current home. It happened in the span of less than one minute, and I didn't know to lock down the garage door since I was used to apartment/condo living. My 3 bikes are now secured with two cable locks daisy-chained together. While those can be cut, it will still make it more difficult for a thief to have time to grab them like they did last time. I also keep the deadbolt on my garage door always locked down unless I am physically present. I met the alleged thief (my neighbor's son) a few months later when I was in my garage and had the door remote in my hand. I opened the door and we were face to face, he mumbled his way through some kind of excuse why he was on my property and I gave him the 1,000 yard stare and said nothing for what was probably less than a minute. The moment seemed to slow down time for both of us. I then clicked the remote and closed the door. I've never seen that guy around since then!
Coincidentally, I just had my e-bike stolen from my garage around 3AM in the wee hours after Family Day. What’s really dumb is it could have been avoided: the thief was randomly checking car doors, and found ours unlocked (mistakenly). When they searched the glove box they found our clicker, and opened the garage. After forty minutes, they made off with my (relatively) new e-bike. Even though I’ve owned it for over a year I’ve only ever ridden it once or twice. I hadn’t even had a moment to take a photo, record the serial number, and register it with Project 529 Garage (conversely, when I bought my first e-bike in 2021 I immediately registered that one!) Thanks for all you do when we do what we’re supposed to. This has been an expensive lesson.
Thanks for the info. I have an Apple tag hidden on my bike, plus 2 disk brake alarms, plus one kryptonite $200 ulock with a chain and another kryptonite ulock that’s about $150.
I bought one of the hand-brake grip locks, but unfortunately my grips are flared and this lock is only good for straight grips.
My friend bought a disk brake alarm that has a tracker in it, plus it’s remote-controlled.
People can check out the Lockpicking Lawyer to see which locks are best or worst.
My $200 lock is what he has himself.
Why does 529 Garage not have a place to put the Bikebac tracker information for each bike I have registered?
Hi Jeff - Thanks for the question. This is something we are looking at adding in a future update.
What exactly is “the shield”?
Hi Greg - A shield is a tamper resistant decal with a unique ID that goes on the bike as both an indicator that the bike is registered, and an extra piece of identification for the bike. The ID is a 7-character code, similar to a license plate which is much easier to look up than a bike's serial number.
Like many others, I had my last bike stolen right out of my garage when I was moving into my current home. It happened in the span of less than one minute, and I didn't know to lock down the garage door since I was used to apartment/condo living. My 3 bikes are now secured with two cable locks daisy-chained together. While those can be cut, it will still make it more difficult for a thief to have time to grab them like they did last time. I also keep the deadbolt on my garage door always locked down unless I am physically present. I met the alleged thief (my neighbor's son) a few months later when I was in my garage and had the door remote in my hand. I opened the door and we were face to face, he mumbled his way through some kind of excuse why he was on my property and I gave him the 1,000 yard stare and said nothing for what was probably less than a minute. The moment seemed to slow down time for both of us. I then clicked the remote and closed the door. I've never seen that guy around since then!
Very good article and reminder that I have two new touring bikes to register!
Great stuff here. So many simple tips of which I’ve been conscious for years…and frequently ignore. Thanks for posting this reminder.