How To NOT Get Your Bike Stolen! And What To Do If It Is

This video features sponsorship from The Insurance Emporium. If you want to learn more about The Insurance Emporium, visit their website:

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No one wants to have their bike stolen. A great lock is a brilliant way to deter thieves, and in this video, we show you how to lock your bike securely and safely – while also rounding up some of the best locks available.

If your bike is stolen, we also explain the best practice for reporting the theft.

Subscribe to the channel, where we have a massive bike locks test coming soon!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:22 Bikes Are Easy To Steal
01:09 How To Lock Your Bike
02:21 What To Do If Your Bike Is Stolen
03:49 Do You Have Insurance?
04:40 Which Locks To Buy
06:56 Security Tech & Prevention

Bike Lock Mega Test | 29 Bike Locks Tested To Destruction
→ https://youtu.be/BxIbAFnmsIQ

Bike Locks Buyer’s Guide
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having your bike stolen is soul destroying it’s happened to me once and I never want to experience that pain again now thankfully locking your bike as securely and safely as possible will help keep thieves at Bay it’s also a vital step but first I’m going to steal my own bike it’s terrifyingly easy unless you follow our top tips this is a busy City Center location just outside of the office and well there is my bike it’s all locked up I have to say I feel a genuine sense of wrongdoing which reminds me sort of being at school and being told off but here we go I just want to show you how easy your bike is to steal if you don’t lock it up properly anyway enough talking let’s do this all right ready done the scary thing is that I cut that with basic cable Cutters you might have a set like this in your toolbox at home I think we need to rethink this bike locking process so if you don’t want that happening to you then here are some measures that we can take to deter a thief the obvious one is getting a much better lock I’ll get to a few locks that we recommend in a minute but first here’s a simple guide to locking your bike correctly if you can and this might seem obvious well choose a location that’s within eyesight of where you’ll be this isn’t always possible I know but it is a great step when you can always lock your bike to a solid and ow immovable object which is meant for bike locking purposes your bike can be removed by a land or building owner if locked to private property lock your bike through the frame as a minimum my preference is the frame and the rear wheel as this is pretty easy to do on a range of bikes better still use a second lock to get the frame and the wheel locked together it’s relatively easy for a thief to undo the wheel and make off of it and before you walk away from your bike do remember to remove any easily nickal accessories that could be computer light or bike pump sometimes however a thief will be determined so if your bike is stolen then here is what to do the first thing to do is to report the theft to the police you can do this online I’ll leave a link in the description or you can call 101 now this is specific to where we are in the UK but this information relevant to where you live should be available online alternatively you can head into a local police station should that be more convenient if your bike was stolen from a railway station you need to contact the British transport police again the number is 101 if you’re watching from outside the UK check your government website for the correct steps to take take next it is a good idea to report the bike as stolen on bike register which is recognized as the national cycle databased and is used by all the UK police forces this might just make it easier for members of the public or the police to quickly prove a bike is in the wrong hands if it’s spotted for sale online if your bike is insured then you need to contact the insurance company before you go to contact them make sure you have the crime reference number from the police insurance policy number and proof of purchase to hand with this in place you can also alert local community groups and bike shops doing so might help it to get spotted should it pop up for sale online I mentioned contacting your insurer bike insurance comes mainly from two sources the first is specific bike insurance from the likes of today’s sponsor the insurance Emporium if you haven’t taken out bike Insurance then you should go check if your bike is covered under any other insurance policies that you might have home insurance policies for example can sometimes cover the theft of your bike whether or not you choose to ensure your bike is up to you the cost of a replacement being covered would maybe go a little way to easing your stolen bike heartache but it is worth noting that most insurers will only pay out if you followed a set of conditions relating to how and where the bike was locked like the insurance Emporium your insurer should have a document outlining the conditions which you have to meet it’ll probably be very specific it might not be the most riveting read but if you do take out bike Insurance give it a careful read and make sure you comply with the terms the question of which lock to BU is a tough one to unpick it’s actually a question that will be answering in another huge lock testing video so make sure you’re subscribed to the channel so that you don’t miss it but a safe bet is to look for something with a good sold secure rating the rating system runs from Diamond at the top these locks offer the toughest protection then gold silver bronze at the bottom different insurers will have different rules the insurance Emporium requires you to use a gold standard locks for bikes valued at £251 and over if you step up to Diamond rated locks they’ll give you 5% off your premium anyway I’ve got some great examples and I’ll start with most affordable the ONG guard atika cable lock cost £40 making it a relatively affordable addition to your bike now these style locks are super popular because they’re lightweight flexible and easy to throw around a seat post when not in use but you’re getting lowlevel security so a lock like this should only be used for a short period of time on a bike that is going to be within your site but don’t use it to leave your bike when it’s out from sight in an area where there’s a chance of it getting stolen another Super popular style of lock is a folding design now we found this foldy lock compact from CT loock to be ideal if you want a versatile option for quick trips to the shops it folds down really small can be mounted on your bike securely making the process of locking your bike just a little bit faster the gold level of Soul secure ratings is where many good quality locks reside so I wanted to give you two good options there are folding options like the Abus Granite delocks like the Kryptonite New York and ch locks like the HD from Oxford now all of these have their individual strong points but the key takeaway is that there are loads of options with something to suit your needs finally you could go for the highest Soul secure rating of diamond here you get locks like the light lock X1 which we’ve tested to destruction it really impressed us scoring a perfect five stars if you want to know why I’ll leave a link to that review in the description Beyond Hardware there are a couple of online SA measures that we recommend that you take to minimize the risk of having your bike stolen firstly check your privacy settings on apps such as straa Kut or ride with GPS it is possible to hide the start and finish of your ride or make rides visible to people you trust this will keep the location of where you keep your bikes hidden along similar lines take care if selling your bike on social media in some cases criminals can find enough information through open sources to locate where your bikes are left unattended consider photographing your bikes somewhere unrecognizable and meeting a potential buyer in a safe neutral place no matter how securely you lock up your bikes it can never be totally immune from the most determined Thief but by following the suggested locking process and investing in a high quality lock you can make your bike as difficult as possible to steal I really hope that your bike is never stolen but if it is then at least you now have the knowledge of what to do and if all of this talk of locks has got you Keen for a bit of bike commuting why not check out this video where we put an ebike head-to-head with a regular bike as ever remember to like this video If you enjoyed it and subscribe to the channel we’ll see you next time