Top 5 tips to protect your bike from theft

EDMONTON – Thieves are targeting high-end bikes around the city, prompting Edmonton police to issue a warning along with tips on how to keep your bike from being stolen.

“It can only take a matter of seconds for a seasoned thief to steal a bike,” said Cst. Terence Mak of the Edmonton Police Service.

“Unfortunately, many fail to protect their asset with a quality lock and/or proper storage and consequently become easy targets for thieves.”

WATCH: Edmonton police release surveillance video showing how quickly one bike was stolen in southwest Edmonton. 

Here are the top ways cyclists are being encouraged to take in order to protect their bikes:

1. Purchase a quality lock.

“For the cost of a solid U-shaped lock, cyclists can lower the odds of losing their expensive asset to an opportunistic criminal,” said Cst. Mak.

“Spending that extra cost for a decent bike lock and good quality lock it really would prevent thieves from stealing your asset, especially when they’re very expensive bicycles that we see on a day to day basis.”

2. Learn the best way to lock your bike.

Kendt Fredborg of United Cycle shows the proper way to secure your bike in the raw video below:

3. Lock it up — no matter where it’s parked. 

“A lot of the reports we also see are from garage break-and-enters where they don’t secure the bikes. So they break into the bike…or the garage and that’s where they steal the bike,” said Cst. Mak.

4. Make sure your bike is insured.

“Quite a bit of them are insured up to $500. If you have an expensive bike, make that phone call,” suggested Kendt Fredborg of United Cycle.

Certain locks also carry insurance that would reimburse you up to a certain amount if your bike gets stolen.

5. Record the bike’s serial number upon purchase.

Police say this is a proactive step that could help them reunite an owner with their bike if it is located.

In 2013, 800 bikes were stolen in Edmonton, with most of the thefts happening in the southwest area and downtown. So far this year, 162 thefts have been reported.

For more tips from police, see below: