Stolen Bike Registry - do this when your bike gets stolen
"With all the stolen bike posts lately (and no one thinking "I wonder if there's something under Useful Links for this."), I think it's well past time to make a sticky about the Stolen Bike Registry"
- Tank-Ridin' Ryan
Well said Ryan.
http://chicago.stolenbike.org/
Done and done.
And sticky too.
Cheers - Lee Diamond
Views: 10407
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kevin C on -
+1
Learn how to lock your bike: http://www.chicagobikes.org/public/theftprevention.php
Register your bike: http://chicago.stolenbike.org/
Report Bike Thefts: http://chicago.stolenbike.org/
I can also I can help to pay for the stickers as well as with distributing them.
Duppie said:Great idea. Here are some thoughts:
I volunteered last year for Active Trans to sticker bike racks with the Crash Help stickers. It took a lot longer than you would think. You may want to contact Jason Jenkins @ Active Trans to see if he has any info about how they organized it. Distribution area, how many volunteers, how many racks per volunteer, distributing stickers, etc.
I am not too experienced in sticker manufacturing, but I would guess fewer colors means a cheaper sticker price?
Keep the amount of info low on the sticker. People need to be able to read that in one second. Something like this:
STOLENBIKE.ORG- Learn how to lock your bike
- Register your bike
- Report bike thefts
(Just an example. I understand this would mean adding some links on how-to-properly lock your bike on chicago.stolenbike.org )
I can help to pay for the stickers as well as with distributing them
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Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on -
+1
Kevin C said:+1
Learn how to lock your bike: http://www.chicagobikes.org/public/theftprevention.php
Register your bike: http://chicago.stolenbike.org/
Report Bike Thefts: http://chicago.stolenbike.org/
I can also I can help to pay for the stickers as well as with distributing them.
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Permalink Reply by Duppie 13.5185km on -
What I was thinking that along the top of banner of stolenbike.org it says "File a Report - Register your bike - How to Lock your Bike", each hyper-linked their respective page. The sticker then just needs one address: stolenbike.org
Ideally you could match the wording on the sticker with the wording on the banner of stolenbike.org
But I don't want to be presumptious about what can and cannot be done.
Kevin C said:+1
Learn how to lock your bike: http://www.chicagobikes.org/public/theftprevention.php
Register your bike: http://chicago.stolenbike.org/
Report Bike Thefts: http://chicago.stolenbike.org/
I can also I can help to pay for the stickers as well as with distributing them.
Duppie said:Great idea. Here are some thoughts:
I volunteered last year for Active Trans to sticker bike racks with the Crash Help stickers. It took a lot longer than you would think. You may want to contact Jason Jenkins @ Active Trans to see if he has any info about how they organized it. Distribution area, how many volunteers, how many racks per volunteer, distributing stickers, etc.
I am not too experienced in sticker manufacturing, but I would guess fewer colors means a cheaper sticker price?
Keep the amount of info low on the sticker. People need to be able to read that in one second. Something like this:
STOLENBIKE.ORG- Learn how to lock your bike
- Register your bike
- Report bike thefts
(Just an example. I understand this would mean adding some links on how-to-properly lock your bike on chicago.stolenbike.org )
I can help to pay for the stickers as well as with distributing them
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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on -
I'd leave off chicago. -- I think the average person would say "I can remember stolenbike.org" but would not even try to remember a URL with a subdomain.
If we can keep it to 2-color and keep it simple the price stays doable-- once you start adding graphics and colors the price of stickers increases astronomically.
Ideally you'd want to stick with 4.25" X 1.5" so they fit nicely on city bike racks. Will want to keep the message very simple at that size, and remember that small text will no longer be readable once a sticker has been scratched by someone's U-lock or handlebars.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on -
Howard, do you have any estimates of what the price for stickers is from past sticker printing experience?
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Permalink Reply by Comrade Cycles on -
Sorry to get off the sticker topic, but I just wanted to remind everyone of the importance of posting to this site if you're bike is stolen. Today we recovered and returned a second stolen bike in the two months we've been open. Today's had been gone for two years. That's a lotta 2's. Sorry. Anyhow, neither would have been possible without being able to track them through the registry. Not all bikes get recovered, but you have a much higher chance if you give people on the lookout a way to ID it.
Also, and I can't stess it enough, record you serial numbers.
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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on
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Ah, another piece of the puzzle. The victim's wife sent an e-mail earlier wanting to make a donation without much other info besides the 2-year figure. Awaiting further details. We generally wouldn't name a bike shop that assisted in a recovery unless they specifically requested to be named.
Thanks for your role in that one, CC!
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Permalink Reply by Comrade Cycles on
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Glad to be a part of returning a bike to it's owner. However, it wouldn't be possible without the resource you and others help maintain. Thanks to everyone working on the stolen bike registry!
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