HOW TO KEEP YOUR EBIKE SAFE FROM THEFT.
This might sound obvious, but never leave your ebike in a dark secluded space when possible. Always secure your ebike in a decent well lit public area while using a high quality chain or lock. Or even better, bring your bike inside with you if possible.
When arriving at the end of your commute, the next most important deciding factor is where to lock your bike. Always ask yourself these questions, how public is the area that I will be leaving my bike in? Does the area seem decent or is questionable? Will it be well lit after sunset? Asking these questions will help find a suitable area for locking your ebike when taking care of those quick stops.
Most public buildings or areas will have designated bike parking. We recommend using them while asking all the same questions as stated above. Some major cities have even added bike lockers for even more security.
In most cases, you will end up locking your ebike outdoors. If this is the case, Try to find a sturdy mounting pole or bike rack. Be diligent and always make sure that the rack you are mounting on has not been tampered with in any way, check for sturdiness, loose bolts, cut or broken welds. Usually a thief who preys on bikes will obscurely cut a bike rack, making it easier to slide the bike loose with the lock attached and make away with your bike.
Please for the love of the ebike gods, stay away from those cheap cable locks you can find just about anywhere in stores. Any person with a large bolt cutter and the strength of a seven year old can easily cut through these inferior cable locks. Your ebike is an investment, and your investment deserves the best quality lock possible.
We recommend heavy duty bike chains or U-locks. Both come with pros and cons.
Pros and Cons of a bike chain Pros and Cons of U-locks
| PROS | CONS | PROS | CONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy duty Bolt cutter resistant Can be mounted around larger objects | Heavy Difficult to transport | Heavy duty Lighter than chains Easy to carry and transport | Smaller reach to what you will be mounting to |
When choosing U-locks or Chains, we recommend going with anything from 15mm in thickness or higher. Remember, we want to do anything in our power to slow down a thief’s progress when attempting to cut through a lock or chain. The thicker it is, the more material they have to cut through and the longer it takes.
Remember, the idea is to always make it difficult for a would-be thief to perform their illegal acts. It would be one brazing move for any determined thief to bring out a portable angle grinder and cut a lock or chain in front of the public. Always use common sense and ultimately you will lessen the chance of bike theft.
