How to Keep Your Bicycle Safe

Over 2 million bikes are stolen each year in North America on average. Bike thefts occur every day in a wide range of locations, a large majority of which take place at home when a bike is stolen from something like a shed or garage.

While at times it may be difficult to catch the culprit and retrieve your stolen item after the fact, reviewing some storage and bike theft prevention tips to keep your bike safe and out of harm's way is never a bad idea. 

Air Tags 

As of late, Apple has released a small new location tracking accessory called the Airtag. While most customers slip one on their keychains or in their backpack, slapping one on your bike so that it appears on your Find My app is never a bad idea. Starting at $29, the Airtag accessory sends out a secure Bluetooth signal that can be detected by nearby devices in the Find My network. These devices send the location of your AirTag to iCloud — then you can go to the Find My app and see it on a map. The whole process is anonymous and encrypted to protect your privacy. 

We took it a step further by adding a secure casing bolted underneath the water bottle cage to the frame with the Airtag enclosed, giving you the peace of mind and ability to track your bikes 24 hours a day. With a battery that lasts more than a year, an Apple Airtag might be worth the investment. To easily mount this accessory to your bicycle we recommend using an Air-Tag bottle mount. We purchased ours off of Etsy, but there are plenty of after-market accessories online.

For installation tips - check out Instagram Post! 

Lock Recommendations - Street Locks, Quick Locks, Bike Racks, and Storage

It’s never a bad idea to lock your bike up wherever it’s stored. Whether running errands out on the town or sitting at home, having your bike securely locked is essential.

For an easily packable lock that you can quickly access, we recommend using a Hiplok Z-Lok.These are roughly the size of a zip tie which makes them extremely easy to fit in your bag or pocket for a quick coffee stop. A more secure option would be to use a chain or steel braided cable lock with a strong KryptoLok to keep everything extra secure. I personally use this at home when away from bikes and take it with me on any road trips. These two options are very different but offer unique solutions depending on your situation. If your bike is in-sight and you're stopping for less than 10 minutes, I use the Z-Lock quite often. Any other situation or if down-town I always use my KryptoLok because it has never failed me and is extra secure.

When bikepacking, I always carry a couple of Z-Loks with me. If I end up leaving my bike for an undisclosed amount of time i'll try and lock my bike to tree if i'm going for a scenic walk or if stopping at gas station for a quick refuel. If i'm out camping or i've parked my car and won't be able to see my bikes, I'll normally lock my bike to my rack and for good measure, I add one of my Kryptonite locks and lock my bikes directly to a mount in my tailgate. 

At home, we recommend using the strongest lock that you have available at all times. No matter where you store your bikes, always keep them locked. Lock the bike directly to a wall mount, or to a heavy immovable object. Be sure to register all of your bikes with your local police station and manufacturer of the bicycle. This can come in handy if bikes ever do go missing. Stay in-touch with your community bicycle forums as well, as they can act as great private detectives if needed.

Strava Privacy Zones

Strava is one of the countless apps and digital accessories on the market that help you document and safely track your riding activity. A security feature of the app called “Privacy Zone” ensures that while your riding activity is tracked, your address or the starting location on the map is randomized and that the area is hidden around the address you entered.

To create a privacy zone simply: 

1. On the web, go to your Settings page by hovering over your profile picture in the top right and selecting ‘Settings.’
1. Click on the Privacy tab on the left side of the page.
2. Enter an address or GPS coordinate in the text field provided under ‘Hide your house/office on your activity maps,’ select the size of the privacy radius, and click ‘Create Privacy Zone.’
2. On the mobile app, open your settings from the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of the Home, Groups, or You tab. Select 'Privacy Controls' > ‘Privacy Zones’ option.
1. Select the ‘Add’ button in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Enter an address, select the size of the privacy radius and hit ‘Save.’

How it Works: 

The portion of your activity that starts or stops within your Privacy Zone will be hidden from other Strava athletes who view your activity. You will be able to see this portion of your activity, but other athletes will not.

• If you stop within or pass through a privacy zone during the middle of an activity, this portion will not be hidden.
• Your new or refreshed Privacy Zone will be automatically applied to all past and future activities.
• Lat/long coordinates can be used in place of a street address for cases where there is no street address.
• Only one Privacy Zone can be applied to the start or endpoint for each activity. So if you have multiple, overlapping Privacy Zones, only one will be applied to each start or endpoint.
• If another athlete, including your followers, starts their activity from within your Privacy Zone, the portion that began in your zone will not be hidden from their activity.
• You will not appear on any segment leaderboard that starts/stops within your Privacy Zone and you cannot hold or earn any KOMs/QOMs/CRs/Local Legends on those segments. Removing a Privacy Zone will reinstate your segment matches and any associatedKOMs/QOMs/CRs/Local Legends.
• Your Privacy Zone will be respected when you share on other networks, such as Facebook.

You're always better off not publicly advertising your address and the fleet of bikes you have in storage. 

We hope you learned something from these few tips we have gathered from over the years, be sure to follow our Instagram @threadandspoke for more tips in the future. Keep your bikes safe!   

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