The Anti-Theft Bike

The police force in Toronto have been pressured into developing new ways of protecting bicycles. For a city that is trying to become more environmentally they were doing little to keep bike theft at a minimum. By ignoring the bike thefts, commuters who are trying to be more environmentally conscience felt like they were being punished for trying to be 'green.'

Toronto police have set up a high-tech unit that sells GPS trackers to be placed in an obscure place on the bike. When the bike are reported stolen, police simply track the bike to the culprit. This has become a new deterrent for thievery. The tracker costs over $1,000 but what makes the program great is that thief's will not be able to know which bikes are traceable. Taking a bike will be like playing the lottery, you never know which one is a winner.

I need to mention that I studied in Europe for two years, and for that time I was glued to my bike. I would have been at a loss without it. Friends of mine had their bike taken all the time because they failed to follow some simple rules.

Don't be scared to get a good bike, just make it 'look' terrible.
Spray-paint the bike or scuff up the finish by using a wire brush.
Replace the quick release things with bolts.
Never use the U locks that use a circle key. You can easily open them with a pen.

You may not what to destroy your brand-new bike, but think of it this way. Would you rather have a ugly bike or a stolen bike?

Thanks EcoGeek

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[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

Jennifer said:

Well, I thought this was going to be Hip Hop but no... just talk about the environment! Even better. So, I love this lottery bike deal. I wish we had that everywhere; I've had bikes stolen and it sucks. I think to make bikes a better alternative they need to teach respect in drivers ed. I used to bike everywhere and I WAS NOT some obnoxious biker either -- I followed road rules but drivers seem like they're still out to KILL you. Which sadly, is sort of a deterrent to me.

Cool post... now to find that hip hop blog.

Posted at 08:59 PM, on September 18 2007

The Anti-Theft Bike

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