Whether it’s your pride, or just a cheap commuter to get you to and from work, the worst news is that your electric bike is always seen as an inviting target by opportunistic thieves. At the same time, what we have to know is ebike locking techniques are tremendously developing on the market to guard your ebike these years. However, almost 100 thefts happened each day on average in the United States as reported. Learning how to properly lock ebike is the basic defense against bike thieves.
So, here're some principles to lock your electric bicycle that you should keep in mind first.
Choose a Busy Area Covered by CCTV.
Once you decide to place your electric bicycle somewhere, you should remember an old adage that danger is everywhere around you. That means you cannot 100% secure your ebike but you can lower down the rate and make thieves really confused.
High traffic areas like the uptown in NYC are full of walking people, vehicles, and delicate stores. To protect them, CCTV is required, under which your ebike would also be spied on every second and in every corner. Even if it gets stolen, it's more possible to find it back.
On the other hand, your ebike here will never be an obvious target comparing to countless people, cars, and other ebikes. The thief would be the most shining star if he ever tried to behave suspiciously.
Lock Your Ebike to Immovable Object.
If you were a potential thief, how would you choose your next among bicycles, ebikes, cars, and trucks? You certainly would choose the easiest one. Most bicycles and ebikes are light and not equipped with anti-theft gears and GPS. So they can just carry it away without efforts on breaking the lock. It happens more often than you thought.
Locking your ebike to an immovable object is the way to go, such as a tree, a hydrant or a railing in the public. Nothing is a certain security, but the more you get the thief in trouble, the less you'll lose.
Buy a Good Quality Ebike Lock.
Although no locks can ensure your bike remains where you left it, it's still necessary to cost thieves' time to crack the lock. Usually, there are D lock and U lock used on regular bicycles and ebikes. However, as previously stated, more techniques are inserted into the lock industry, more defensive locks designed for expensive electric bikes show up.
Based on the experience, U locks, chain locks, link locks and folding locks are recommended. Currently, Himiway is selling chain locks in the online store, you could purchase one for your family as a gift. If you want to move further, the rating for the reliability of electric bike locks could definitely be your reference.
It was classified as the following.
- Diamond rated locks：provide the highest level of security ... aimed at very high value bicycles and e-bikes.
- Gold rated locks：offer the next highest level of security, aimed at mid-to-high value bicycles.
- Silver rated locks ：offer a compromise between security and cost.
- Bronze rated locks：typically offer defense against the opportunist thief.
Lock the Back Wheel and Frame.
While locking up, remember the triangle rule, please. Make sure your lock actually goes through your frame’s triangle rather than the seat post, where it can be conveniently slipped off. You may laugh, but it happens.
You should also consider other parts of the bike which haven't been secured by your lock. For those ebikes with hub motor, the rear wheel is the key to run the bike. If your wheels is not hard to remove, try running your lock through the back wheel as well.
Riding home on an ebike with no wheels and motor is impossible, and awkward.
As for the back wheel or the front wheel, technically it depends. If you are using a cable lock, either the front or the rear works well. But if you are using the recommended U lock, it's nearly impossible to lock your front wheel and frame together. That's why I tell you to lock the back wheel and the frame.
Lock the Ebike with 2 Locks.
Some people are still worried about their precious electric bike, even if they have done a lot to secure it.The best suggestion is also the most obvious one. Try to use 2 locks if 1 doesn't work for you.
2 locks are not the double unless you lock it on a different part. As previously mentioned, the first lock could be locked on your back wheel and the frame. If you still remember the triangle rule, run your second lock through the frame and the front wheel so that you can lock all the wheels.
Don't Leave Ebike Accessories.
I bet you cannot find your accessories if you leave them on your ebike, leaving it in the public for more than 3 hours. You'd better remove as many of the accessories fitted to your bike as possible. Having them be with you when you're ducking into the cafe.
Never try to be optimistic about the theft. Being not popular and not good looking doesn't mean it's not attractive to thieves.
However, camouflage and stickers are not worth stealing. On the contrary, it could be the subtle proof to recognize your ownership if it got stolen.
Attach a GPS Tracker.
GPS tracker is an ideal security improvement for e-bikes considering the tracker’s sensitivity when others touch it. Ebike GPS is spoiled for choice on the U.S market now. A GPS tracker installed on your electric bike would be connected to software on your phone so that you can track its location and movement anytime you want. Most trackers are too small to be noticed by the thief. There are lots of cases that tracking the bike back after the theft.
Usually, choosing a GPS tracker means choosing a tracking system. Sometimes, you could also register your bike in the database. For it, please do research to find the one that suits you well.
Remember, your ebike is potential money to thieves and you should never hold contempt for them. These principles and suggestions are useful but cannot help you secure the ebike all the time. Each technique would be developed as time goes, you should move forward and keep learning. Lastly, I'll suggest you follow our principles or customize them to your own security needs if you haven't done any yet.
