St. Albert RCMP are warning the public to lock up their bikes after a rash of thefts in the city.
In May, the RCMP had reports of seven bikes going missing over the course of the month and most of the bicycles were left unlocked. Right now, the St. Albert RCMP do not know if any of the incidents are connected in any way.
Jordan Denesha, employee at Cranky’s Bike shop, said that around 10 to 20 per cent of the people who come into the shop have had a bike stolen from them at one point in their lives.
Multiple victims will come into the shop every week to report that their bikes have been stolen from around the community.
“Sometimes they just left it in their backyard and someone jumped the fence. Sometimes it has been on a bike rack or in the back of a truck and they park somewhere and they come back and the bike is gone,” Denesha said.
The best way to keep bikes safe is to lock them up, Denesha noted, and the bike expert recommends using a U-lock rather than a cable lock.
Cable locks, which are made from a metal cable and usually a rubber coating, are not as reliable as the bigger and thicker U-Lock.
“No matter what, a cable can be cut,” Denesha said.
U-locks, which are thick, U-shaped locks made from hardened steel, are much harder to for thieves to get through without specialized tools. The locks are made at different safety levels and as the bulkiness and weight go up, the bike expert noted, so does the security.
Another way to prevent thefts is to bring the bike inside whenever possible. Denesha and most of the staff at the bike shop keep their bikes indoors to keep them safe.
Although thieves in St. Albert mostly target the entire bike, Denesha added that sometimes tires can go missing when bikes are unattended. He recommends using a cable lock to secure the tires, and focusing on the rear tire first, as it is more expensive.
The bike expert said that for the most part, bikes of all price-points are targeted equally when it comes to theft, but he said road bikes may be stolen the least often.
“Its hard to sell them because road bikes are very specific. They are specific bikes and they have specific sizes. You have to resell it and in that case it puts you at risk of being found.”
More often mountain bikes and full suspension bikes will go missing.
The RCMP recommend that owners record the serial number, make and model of their bike to help track missing bikes. Neighbourhood Watch also has a free serial number registry available to residents at www.SerialNumberRegistry.ca.
MISSING BIKES IN MAY
May 5: An orange men's Marlin 6-Trek mountain bike was stolen from outside the Landmark Theatres between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
May 9: A kid's blue and red bike was stolen from the front entrance of Nevada Place.
May 14: A locked-up white, 21-speed hybrid Mountain Equipment Ghost bike was stolen from in front of Sport Chek around 8:40 p.m.
May 19: A black and orange 21-speed bike was stolen from inside a residential garage on Woodlands Close between 8:45 p.m. and 9 p.m.
May 19: At about 11 p.m., a gold GT BMX bike with brown tires was stolen from Lions Park. The bike had a red sticker on the frame.
May 21: A 27-speed, blue and white Trek men's mountain bike was stolen from the rear entrance of the Save-On Foods store on the north end of St. Albert Trail between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
May 21: An orange with white Forks Norco Mountain bike was stolen from in front of Walmart around 6 p.m.
