How to mark or ID your bike?
You walk out of a building and head to the bike rack. Not seeing your bike, you feel more disoriented than alarmed. Where DID I park it? You start wandering towards your other usual lockup spots…
At about the same time, a nearby patrolling police officer spots a kid riding a bike that seems inappropriate for him. It’s too big. It’s an expensive road bike.
The officer stops the youth and asks where he got the bike.
From a friend.
Looking all over the bike, the officer sees no identifying marks except the serial number. She radios that number to the police station, which finds no report or record for it.
The officer knows perfectly well that the bike is stolen. She lets the kid go free, and never sees him again.
OK, I’m not the world’s best fiction writer. But this story hardly can be considered fiction. Scenes like this happen daily.
Step Two
People living in the USA can register bikes with the National Bike Registry.
Step Three
Using an etching tool or permanent marker, write identifying information (e.g. your driver's license number, name, and phone number) on each of your bikes. A good place is next to the serial number or some other place where police will probably look. The officer in my story above could have made good use of this information.
Step Four
Suppose a thief grinds away the serial number and anything you wrote onto your bike. Imagine you later spot the bike at a pawnshop, police auction, on the street, etc. How can you prove that the bike is yours? I can think of a few ways : Keep photographs of the bike. Save your manuals and other papers for the bike or any accessories on it. Place identifying information in a hidden part of the bike. For example, you could pull the cap/grip off the end of your handlebar, and slip a business card inside the tube of the handlebar. In addition to etching/marking your bike, I guess you could write that same identifying information using an invisible marker. I'm referring to any marker with ink that can only be seen when lit by a special light. You will need to buy that light so that you'll be ready to show the writing to the police.
Step Five
It also helps if you report the theft to police as soon as you discover that the bike is missing.
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