Bike Tel Aviv Blog: News, Updates & More

Bringing Bikes Back

As a follow-up to a former post on stolen bikes, an article in the Jpost details some success against the bike thieves and their nefarious ways.

The article states:

“To nab the culprits, police implanted tracking devices in bicycles and left them around the city in the hope that they would be stolen. The thieves took the bait, and the police moved in on the bike theft network.”

It’s quite a clever and simple operation that yielded some impressive results.  The police managed to recover 2,000 bikes from garages that housed the stolen bikes.   The recovered bikes are now being made available to the public in an attempt to reunite the bikes with their bereft owners.

As far as identifying the stolen goods, there doesn’t seem to be a very strict ID procedure.  If one simply fingers a bike as their own, the police are willing to let it go.  One such person “confessed that he was ‘not 100% sure this is my bike. Many parts have been changed. The repair will probably cost more than the bike itself.’”

Better to have the bikes being reclaimed and used than sitting in a chop shop garage somewhere for some shady character to make a fistful of shekels from.   And, lest the obvious not be illuminated, this is great PR for the Tel Aviv police.  It’s a win-win situation.

What continues to baffle, however, is how cyclists fail to understand how simple it is not only for one’s bike to be stolen but how easy it is to protect your bike and its components from theft.

“I’ve had seven bikes stolen. I’m simply happy. I am grateful to these guys,” she said, gesturing toward Ch.-Insp. Shlomo Perry, head of the Tel Aviv Police’s lost and found office, and Supt. Ro’i Amihai, deputy commander of the Horev Police Unit, who were overseeing the operation.

“This time around I’m going to put three locks on it – two on each tire and one on the seat,” said Goveritch. “I can’t bring it up to my apartment on the third floor.”

If you’ve had seven bikes stolen, you’re doing something wrong.  Invest in a top of the line lock; even if the lock costs as much as your bike ($100 for the best bike lock money can buy), $100 once is better than $100 seven times over.  Leaving a bike outside overnight is certainly not a good idea but even so, locking it properly will deter bike thieves.   It’s surprising that bike theft isn’t more prevalent considering how carelessly people secure their bikes.  Draping a chain around a frame and leaving the seat and wheels open for the taking is not effective; it takes just seconds to remove a quick release wheel or seat and post.

It’s certainly welcome news that the police are scheming effectively against the bike thieves but bike theft can be effectively prevented using simple, tried-and-true methods that can save the cyclist the agony of bike theft in the first place.

Should you wish to find out more information regarding the chances of reclaiming a stolen bike, contact Ch.-Insp. Shlomo Perry, head of the Tel Aviv Police’s lost and found office at (03) 680-2135/6.