Think like a bike thief.
That’s what J Allard wants Vancouver cyclists to do when locking their bikes.
His request comes as he embarks on a data collection survey to show how many cyclists improperly lock their bikes and, subsequently, create easy targets for thieves in a city that sees more than 2,000 bikes per year reported stolen.
“The cycling community is just making it too easy and there’s no great direction being given or good data to work from in the bike shops or for the lock manufacturers,” said Allard, a Portland resident who was in Vancouver last week to announce his bike registry company, Project 529, is working with the Vancouver Police Department to register bikes.
While the registry gives a cyclist a better chance of recovering a bike because of the serial numbers, photos and other identifiable markers logged in the system, Allard believes too many people don’t know how to properly lock a bike.
To capture the data, Allard is looking for 25 volunteers to record 100 bikes each that are left alone — locked or unlocked — at various spots around the city. The goal is to use the data to educate cyclists, bike store operators and bike lock manufacturers on how to keep bikes out of the hands of thieves. He also plans to share the data with the City of Vancouver and the VPD to identify areas that lack bike racks.
“There is no baseline data out there — there’s nothing,” he said, noting there is conflicting information on how best to lock a bike or what type of lock is most effective against theft. “If we can better improve education, then we can better defend ourselves and make it tougher for thieves.”
Allard said he’s already randomly recorded examples of 180 Vancouver bikes parked around the city. Some were properly locked, others weren’t. He cited one case where he spotted an expensive bike outside a bar secured with a cheap chain lock to a sign post on a sidewalk.
He said he purposely “monkeyed with it” for a few minutes before the owner came out of the bar and asked him what he was doing. Allard explained himself and noted he could have used a pair of $15 bolt cutters to steal a $4,000 bike.
“He said he had eyes on it all the time,” Allard said. “I asked him how long he thought it would take me to get through this chain. And he said, ‘I know, I know, I know.’”
Allard’s plan to document how Vancouver cyclists rate when it comes to locking their bikes follows a survey he led in Portland in which volunteers spent two months recording 2,500 bikes parked in that city’s metro area.
That survey found more than 15 per cent of bikes were easy targets, including 36 that had no locks. One was tied up with rope, others were locked to a structure by only a quick-release seat post.
Although about 78 per cent were secured with U-locks — which Allard believes are much better than cable locks because they can’t be easily snipped with bolt cutters — 60 per cent of the U-locked bikes were only secured to the frame, or the wheel, not both.
About 20 per cent of bikes were left with helmets and 14 per cent were left with removable accessories such as lights. About 17 per cent either had their brand name painted over or were covered in stickers in an attempt to deter a thief from stealing a bike that wouldn’t be easy to sell on Craiglslist or eBay.
In Allard’s four days in Vancouver, he said he noticed similarities between how cyclists in Vancouver and Portland lock — or don’t lock— their bikes, but observed more cyclists locking their bikes to structures other than bike racks.
“A much higher percentage of bikes are parked to sign posts and parking meters and railings,” he said of his visit to Gastown and the downtown core. “Parking meters are defeatable. I won’t say how but they’re defeatable.”
To volunteer to participate in the survey in Vancouver, contact [email protected]. Meanwhile, the HUB cycling coalition and the VPD both have videos on their websites with tips on how to properly lock a bike.
[email protected]
@Howellings
