My eBike was stolen - What can you do to protect your investment?

[bob armani]

I WAS one of those guys. O

Was my first build. Took me all of Friday to Sunday to just put it together. Couldn't wait to play with it. I blame the gallon of milk, yep THAT'S what made me do it. ;-)

Yes the gallon of milk is the culprit! Ebikes get us so excited, we lose sight of what we are doing. We sometimes need to take a chill pill to offset the overwhelming response to these awesome machines. This is such a great Form to share the excitement!! LOL

 

[Dwight]

Hello Dwight-So you carry the hand-held locator with you in your backpack when you ride?? Looks like you would need an additional shaker alarm or smart phone alert to notify you (if someone is tampering with your bike when left unattended, correct)?

You are correct, no alarms or alerts, I didn’t say it was the best but I do have the equipment and yes you would have to carry the handheld locator in your backpack.

 

[Barry S]

Bike thieves are right there with child molesters in my book. Just bought a Juiced CCS. I plan to get some heavy gauge chain &
a couple top of the line padlocks. Of course the batpac & charger will never be left on the bike. It'll take king kong with the 'jaws
of life' to get my bike. I may even booby trap it with poison darts

After many hours of research online and watching YT videos of folks trying to cut various bike locks, cables and chains, the Pewag 3/8" Square Security Chain was the clear winner. Not sure you'll want to haul it around in a backpack at 1.65# per foot, but if you've got to secure your ebike outside this is one. Straight from my Amazon Wish List is the ABUS 14KS 6' Square Chain matched with the ABUS 37RK/80 KD Granit Extreme Padlock.

Like @jazz said, the best defense is to never let it out of your sight. I'm still shopping for my ebike, but even with my Trek FX commuter it goes straight from the utility room of my house to my cubicle at work. I would love to live in a country where I could actually bike to the store to pick up a few things and not worry about whether or not my bike would still be in the bike rack when I came out.

 

[BlondAngel]

@PCDoctorUSA From the pictures, I don't see how the Granit Extreme Padlock can accommodate two loops of the chain. You know for sure this would work?

 

[mrgold35]

Depending on the last loop size of the chain you have, you will have to use either method of securing the lock and chain. Then you have to make sure your chain isn't sub-standard and they just cut that.

 

[Barry S]

@PCDoctorUSA From the pictures, I don't see how the Granit Extreme Padlock can accommodate two loops of the chain. You know for sure this would work?

Sorry about that, the ABUS chain will work with the lock since the end link is larger to allow the opposite end link to pass through enough so you only secure one link with the padlock. That's probably not the case the Pewag chain.

 

[BlondAngel]

mrgold's picture (timestamped Wednesday 9:50pm) answered my question very well. PCDoctor's answer worked too.

 

[BVC]

I have insurance. I just lock it up with a box chain lock and go on my way.

If it's stole - eh. File a police report, pay your $200 fee and buy a new bike.

 

[bob armani]

I have insurance. I just lock it up with a box chain lock and go on my way.

If it's stole - eh. File a police report, pay your $200 fee and buy a new bike.

Hello BVC-
You mentioned 'Pay the 200 dollar fee'? Is that the deductible on your insurance policy? If so, is it insured through your homeowners policy? I have not considered getting insurance. Not a bad idea. Thanks!

 

[BVC]

Hey!

Yes it's through my insurance policy. Renters insurance to be exact. I pay $11/month for renters insurance up to $35k in valuable coverage. Typo - my deductible is only $100. I switched it up once I moved.

Home owners insurance of course can vary. Typically with renters insurance your stuff is covered anywhere in the world. I had my insurance company look into e-bikes & drones and they cover ANYTHING I own, regardless of where it's at in the world. I can be traveling and it'll cover it.

As long as I have my phone I can call an uber to take me home. While it sucks to have a bike stolen.. my insurance plan is $100 deductible (could be lower or higher whatever you choose) with no depreciation hit. Bike can be 5 years old and they'll cut me a check for the full amount I paid. Pretty neat!

 

[Barry S]

Hey!

Yes it's through my insurance policy. Renters insurance to be exact. I pay $11/month for renters insurance up to $35k in valuable coverage. Typo - my deductible is only $100. I switched it up once I moved.

Home owners insurance of course can vary. Typically with renters insurance your stuff is covered anywhere in the world. I had my insurance company look into e-bikes & drones and they cover ANYTHING I own, regardless of where it's at in the world. I can be traveling and it'll cover it.

As long as I have my phone I can call an uber to take me home. While it sucks to have a bike stolen.. my insurance plan is $100 deductible (could be lower or higher whatever you choose) with no depreciation hit. Bike can be 5 years old and they'll cut me a check for the full amount I paid. Pretty neat!

May I ask who your carrier is? I may need to look into that.

 

[BVC]

Farmers

 

[Barry S]

Farmers

Thanks. I'll check them out.

 

[RobMatthies Vancouver]

Unfortunately, two days ago, my 2017 Rad Rover eBike was stolen while parked and locked at my local public library. The cable lock I used was no match for the cutters that were used to remove the lock and as witnesses reported, it did take long for the thief to free my RadRover and ride off in plain sight of others...

This incident got me thinking of ways to protect my next bike. Other than a stronger lock and paying attention to where you leave your bike, I'm thinking that incorporating a hidden GPS tracking device into the bike would provide an additional level of security and might provide owners and law enforcement a way to locate and recover the bike. I don't think it would be too expensive to add the hardware and would be a desirable feature.

It could be powered from the bike's battery pack, or have its own battery and be integrated into the controller or display unit. An alternative to a built-in tracker might be an add-on accessory which could be installed somewhere inconspicuous. I don't know if such an accessory is currently available?
What are others doing to prevent the theft of their ebikes which are very attractive to thieves ?

Sincerely,

Marc

I once had 4 ebikes/escooters stolen in one night from an apartment gated garage area. They got stolen only because I got tired of changing/charging batteries every day, on the 7 electric rides I had at that time, spread out in 3 locations.

Prior to that, I no e-cycle had been stolen, since ~1998, roughly some 10 years of successful e-bike ownership.

Here's what works, and you'll find these highly unusual:

- U-locks that sent a signal to a receiver at the house.
- Human-sensing "doorknob" alarms
- Motion-sensing bike alarm adjacent to a vox-activated GMRS walkie-talkie inside one of the saddlebags. The receiver GMRS was in the house.
- Built-in motion-sensing alarm on the China-made electric scooters


What didn't work:
- The Kryptonite New York chain.
- Regular U-locks, even the pricey stainless-steel one


Interesting:
- The thieves left a home-made bump key in one of the scooters that had a motion sensing alarm.