eBike Robberies and security Problems

[StmbtDave]

I’ve often thought that for those mid-drive bikes, a nice feature would be to somehow lock the crank when the motor is off. Those bikes with hub drives could be designed to lock the wheel when the motor is off. It would necessitate using a key or fob to turn the bike on/off. Not being able to pedal or roll a bike would add one more level of deterrent.

 

[edgargc99]

I think there is at least a partial technological solution to the theft problem.

The critical observation is that most e-bikers, most of the time, don't carry the charger with them. And an e-bike you can't recharge isn't worth very much. If you had a process where you had to pair the batteries with the charger at a bike shop there would be an opportunity to identify stolen e-bikes and return them to their rightful owner. The process (roughly) would be:

1. Someone buys an e-bike. As part of assembly at the shop the serial numbers of their battery are registered and the battery is paired with their charger.
2. Some time later (at least it is hopefully some time later) their e-bike is stolen.
3. They report the e-bike stolen and the serial number of the stolen battery is recorded.
4. The person who stole the bike, or more likely the person who purchased it, realizes they need to buy a new charger for the bike.
5. So they go to a bike shop. The bike shop will gladly sell them a charger but they need the serial number of the battery to pair the new charger with the battery.
6. The bike shop checks the serial number, probably against a database of stolen e-bikes online. If a match comes back they can work with the police to reunite the bike with its rightful owner.

This approach generalizes without too much trouble to people who have multiple batteries and multiple chargers. You might need to use a different approach for rental e-bikes. One other variation might be to allow a certain number of charges on an unpaired charger before the battery is bricked and must be taken to a bike shop.

My guess is that, at scale, the hardware costs to implement this would be under $50 per battery and charger. That seems like a lot but a lot of people are dropping $150 or more on bike locks that can be destroyed by an angle grinder in minutes, so it doesn't seem like that bad a deal to me.

Please also keep in mind that I am speaking as someone who very rarely actually locks up their bike. Mostly I use a keyed cable tie to block the rear wheel and leave it at that.

That sounds really interesting. I thought about something similar. Attaching micro tags to and the very beginning of the value chain to each part of the bike so the entire bike is connected. So if the microcontroller the bike has or an app doesn't detect all the component it can't be turned on, or it created an alarm or something similar. That was a really nice idea!

 

[edgargc99]

I do worry about ebike theft, esp when we travel with them. We use 2 locks and always try to lock them to a fixed object but finding such a fixed object (bike rack, park bench, etc) is difficult in most cities. Getting communities behind this would help.

The bikes themselves need to be more secure. For example my Specialized Vado has no way to disable the motor drive, other than taking out the battery. It has a fairly sophisticated display controller that is fixed to the bike. Make this removable and the bike won't be powered. In addition, there is a well featured app that interfaces with the bike. What isn't there a user option to require an app login to power the motor? Some manufacturer thought on this would help.

Stolen bikes are hard to trace since they tend to be unregistered, at least here in the states. Programs like the 529 Garage, https://project529.com/garage/, help address this by offering a service to register and describe unique features (color, accessories, etc) for your bike. This database is accessible to law enforcement. I can only hope they bother to check it for recovered bikes.

I've been looking for different forums and solution like this one. There are several webs that create somehow a community that allows you to find your bike faster, is that what you meant about getting communities behind?

 

[edgargc99]

Do you really think just locking the motor/battery would be a solution? I mean I've read several articles where the frame-battery-motor were at the rack. But, wheels, the seat and also some the brake system were stolen.

Thank you again for all the comment! All of them were really interesting!

 

[Handlebars]

First and easiest step is to make the display removable.

 

[QAJAQR]

For many of us, the list of features & specs is the most useful part of any review (including EBR reviews). Would the customer desire for security devices be more evident to manufacturers/dealers if SECURITY was a component in these lists in the same way that GRIPS and SADDLE are.? Removable display, cafe lock, and any of the other ideas mentioned here could stand in sharp contrast to the more usual "none".

 

[harryS]

You get targeted where you park. They come back with a truck and lift it.

How about this one, edgar. Daytime and a popular spot in Chicago. Stole the cook's ebike.

Caught on camera: Thief lifts parking sign to steal high-end bike

A thief stole a high-end bicycle by lifting a parking sign it was attached to out of the ground. Surveillance cameras outside a restaurant in Chicago's West Loop recorded the whole thing.

abc7chicago.com

 

[edgargc99]

You get targeted where you park. They come back with a truck and lift it.

How about this one, edgar. Daytime and a popular spot in Chicago. Stole the cook's ebike.

Caught on camera: Thief lifts parking sign to steal high-end bike

A thief stole a high-end bicycle by lifting a parking sign it was attached to out of the ground. Surveillance cameras outside a restaurant in Chicago's West Loop recorded the whole thing.

abc7chicago.com

Wow, that's what I was talking about. You can have all the locking systems you want but, you can't do s*it about that kind of things. That's what I thought about GPS or something similar to the car industry where cars are marked and registered and have regulated bodies to prevent these things. It doesn't even have to be a GPS, just some micro tags included in your bike (by the manufacturer), so the authorities can easily check if that bike is stolen(not only with the frame but with all the important and expensive parts).

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Never knew anyone that had an eBike stolen, so I would guess that any increase in thefts is a direct result of increased eBike sales and ownership. In general, eBike owners are much more careful about where they park their bikes and how they're secured. Statistics are interesting. I worked many years in statistical research. It was deadly boring, even though our clients were extremely interesting. It's almost too easy to put together statistics to "prove" almost anything.

Years ago, when the speed limit was lowered from 70 MPH to 55 MPH on US interstate highways, multiple studies showed that when states did that, auto fatalities increased. In states that enacted mandatory motorcycle helmets, motorcycle fatalities increased. Why did that happen? I have my suspicions, but they're not important, they stats are what they are.

"the jail is full of drug dealers assault perps & dwi". This is true, and all the while the big time crooks in Washington get away w/ murder. Like Bob Dylan said, steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king.

A few phycology papers suggest that wearing helmets increases risk taking and therefore may reduce safety, they have very little real world studies backing up their theories. However in the real world all evidence points to helmet wearing reducing death and serious injury by around 60%. This has been proven in many jurisdictions. Emergency room doctors call unhelmeted riders organ donors.

 

[Nova Haibike]

You get targeted where you park. They come back with a truck and lift it.

How about this one, edgar. Daytime and a popular spot in Chicago. Stole the cook's ebike.

Caught on camera: Thief lifts parking sign to steal high-end bike

A thief stole a high-end bicycle by lifting a parking sign it was attached to out of the ground. Surveillance cameras outside a restaurant in Chicago's West Loop recorded the whole thing.

abc7chicago.com

Unfortunately the guy didn't check the pole before locking it up. It is a known tactic that thieves use; loosening the pole/sign beforehand so they can lift it out and steal the bike.

 

[legsofbeer]

a project to understand eBike current security problems(cities, towns, etc). I'd love to hear about your experiences and thoughts about it and if you've ever had any problem with parking your bike and how did you solve it.

The rule in sketchy parking situations is to use two locks: a u-lock and a chain lock. Thieves carry tools to break one, or the other, but usually not both. I have twice come on people evaluating my bike for theft at two different supermarket bike racks (I'll spare you the details). Had a good abus chain on it both times, but now I also use a u-lock. Carrying around the u-lock is a pain in the ass, but I do it for supermarket trips.

Strongarm robbery may start happening, where they take the bike and the keys. But...I wish locking ebike batteries had an ON mode that does not permit recharging.

 

[sc00ter]

I wear one of those mace sprayers on my wrist, like joggers. Have yet to have to use it. Another thing for strongarm, have the bike fobbed so its cuts the motor after a safe distance. I tried to pedal my ebike without a motor but I didn't get very far.

 

[FlatSix911]

I wear one of those mace sprayers on my wrist, like joggers. Have yet to have to use it.
Another thing for strongarm, have the bike fobbed so its cuts the motor after a safe distance. I tried to pedal my ebike without a motor but I didn't get very far.

Interesting... can you tell us more about the bike fob?

 

[sc00ter]

The fob would be a great feature on a ebike, something I would be interested in as well. I know a few people who have fobbed their motor scooters, so if they leave it running with the key in it while delivering- and someone hops on, it will cut off once it leaves the fobs range. Problem is if the thief is trying to start the scooter after leaving the range and the owner is running back up it will start again once in range. These are delivery riders in D.C. area. They are crude fobs but seem to work well enough. Never asked if any of them ever got strongarmed while on their scooters. Most of them carry mace, stun-guns and even modded cattle prods! I have a modded cattle prod made from parts of a broken defibrillator. Have both short and long ends for it. Thing is NASTY!

 

[Sierratim]

I've been looking for different forums and solution like this one. There are several webs that create somehow a community that allows you to find your bike faster, is that what you meant about getting communities behind?

No, I was thinking more about communities investing in bike racks. Our small rural town likes to think of it self as a cycling destination but up until last year it had only one wooden bike rack that was in disrepair and hidden out of sight. Cycling advocates donated several steel racks to the City that have since been installed in front of businesses and in a downtown car parking space that is now dedicated to bike parking. Very nice, but rare in most towns.

 

[indianajo]

No, I was thinking more about communities investing in bike racks. Our small rural town likes to think of it self as a cycling destination but up until last year it had only one wooden bike rack that was in disrepair and hidden out of sight. Cycling advocates donated several steel racks to the City that have since been installed in front of businesses and in a downtown car parking space that is now dedicated to bike parking. Very nice, but rare in most towns.

Yeah, the steel bike racks here are for locking up the front wheel, not the bike frame. Useless. Spindly little vertical bars that would cut in 30 seconds with a hacksaw. I don't expect any respect from the city. They last year repurposed the bike lane paid for with federal money in 1988 to another driving lane for cars. I donated $100 to a council man campaign asking that the mandatory right turn lanes that covered the bike lane be repainted for bikes go straight. Instead, they painted 2 more mandatory right turn lanes between home & the megacenter.

 

[Explorer-1]

I just bought the Boomerang V2 tracker. Saw Court's review of the old model, and decided to get the current one even though it was quite pricey i ended up buying 2 with a discount coupon they sent me so they were under $70 each, but you do have to pay a monthly cellular fee for tracking. Still i think it is worth it even though i have some of the best locks and rarely need to leave my bike unattended, but i never know when i will need to. I may only activate 1 as i'm not sure i want to pay the monthly fee for both right away.

 

[BillH]

I just bought the Boomerang V2 tracker. Saw Court's review of the old model, and decided to get the current one even though it was quite pricey i ended up buying 2 with a discount coupon they sent me so they were under $70 each, but you do have to pay a monthly cellular fee for tracking. Still i think it is worth it even though i have some of the best locks and rarely need to leave my bike unattended, but i never know when i will need to. I may only activate 1 as i'm not sure i want to pay the monthly fee for both right away.

I bought one back first week December 2019.........still waiting.

 

[jaizon]

Years ago, when the speed limit was lowered from 70 MPH to 55 MPH on US interstate highways, multiple studies showed that when states did that, auto fatalities increased. In states that enacted mandatory motorcycle helmets, motorcycle fatalities increased. Why did that happen? I have my suspicions, but they're not important, they stats are what they are.

Can you cite a study that said this? Otherwise I'll take it as internet waffle. Thanks.

 

[indianajo]

Can you cite a study that said this? Otherwise I'll take it as internet waffle. Thanks.

Bored people fell asleep, ran into bridge abutments & the only tree for 30 miles at a full 58 mph.