I know there are some who collect data and use it, but there doesn’t appear to be a general database that could be used quickly and easily by LBS’s or others when they could check if a bike they’ve taken in for fixing, or are looking to buy is stolen.

As stolen bikes appears to be a huge issue (i’ve had 4 nicked in my life!), i honestly don’t understand why the industry aren’t doing more, even just starting with ebikes, which tend to have more issues that require main dealer, LBS or companies to assist and fix, surely a simple online database would at least catch a few.

It is just weird, every day we read of more bikes getting nicked, a lot of ebikes as well, and you know instantly that they’ll more than likely have an issue at some point, they’ll also need chargers and so on, i just see the industry making it way too easy for them to ride and sell without that much risk.

http://Www.stolen-bikes.co.uk!

Have reunited people on this very site with their bikes via that very ‘register of stolen bikes’!

It’s not a register, it’s a user completed website that’s error strewn and not really used by the ones who need to use it most, i’ve got two of my nicked bikes on that one!

I think what he’s saying is some sort of database where the frame number of every stolen bike gets entered automatically, I don’t know by the police or something when they log the crime, and then an LBS could just do a quick frame number check on all bikes they get in, would take two seonds to type it in.
The link above is too voluntary to be effective, both data entry and data checking. The above would work if it were more wildy used, and used routinely.

It might take two seconds to type in but have you tried to read the frame number on some bikes? They are often badly stamped and buried under paint, grime and cable guides etc. There is also no standard format so easy to get digits / letters wrong. Frame numbers are usually only reliably logged at original point of sale where they are duplicated on other stickers / labels / paperwork / printed on the box the bike came in.

Id marking of things like caravans and plant machinery sort of works because they standardised the marking system and made it prominent and easy to read.

https://www.bikeregister.com/

Bike Register is starting to get rolled out by the police, at least in Scotland.

I’ve thought about this too – if you registered a frame number when you bought it new, then had some sort of means of saying ‘this is who I sold it to’ and then passed it along, then over time any second hand bike that didn’t have it would be very suspect. A minor fee on purchase might actually add value to your bike on resale because you’d be reputable/registered keeper, and maybe insurance companies would give you a discount for registering it and making it less resellable/more traceable.

But, it’s also a bit of a slippery slope towards cyclist registration, which would be a disaster.

What else am I missing?

With older bikes it might be harder to do quick checks, but newer ones, especially ebikes, you just look at the plate or do a diagnostic, just seems to be a bit of a forgotten thing, couple of years back when i had my focus ebike stolen i called round as the thieves had no charger, no-one was interested, Focus just stated they do not have a register.

Just seems embarrassing when you think the average cost of high end bikes now, look at Ae bikeshop yesterday, about 3 x ebikes, Santa Cruz, it’s not just about recovery, what about the folk who buy those stolen bikes, an app or website that can interrogate serial numbers could save them several k in lost money if they find out later it’s stolen.

As above bike register. It’s free to register bikes with serial numbers and photos and free for prospective buyers / shops to check serial numbers too to see if they have been reported.

What else am I missing?

Companies all have their own wildly varying formats for frame numbers, there’s nothing out there consistent or standard. It’s designed more for their own warranty and tracking processes; as a method of recovering stolen bikes it’s crap – given the ease that a frame can be stripped and resprayed, rebuilt (or even binned off entirely in favour of selling the untraceable parts), it’s a token gesture towards insurance.

Since very few people ever record or register their frame numbers, it’s also an easy way for police to get out of doing anything in response to bike theft. The numbers on my CX are printed on a permanent sticker on the BB shell. Unfortunately, the ink used on it was not permanent and now after years of being in the direct firing line of all the mud off the front wheel and associated cleaning, they’ve long since worn off.

With Bike Register you can pay a fee and get a permanent sticker and a kit to etch the unique number onto your frame.
I’ve done all of ours and when I sold one recently I just logged on and transferred the ownership via an email address.

I’m sure I’ve read that it is also not uncommon for frame numbers to be duplicated and recycled by manufacturers. If you can’t rely on the frame number to be a unique identifier, that’s not going to be suitable for entry on a register for tracing purposes.

I’ve also gone down the Bike Register route for the family’s bikes, in the hope that anyone offered them would check the etched number against the register.

Have to be honest, i’ve been in this game a long time and never checked a bike even had bike register, let along looked into it much, again it’s an option, do LBS’s, etc check them, doubt it.

As for a lot of the issues raised, again i was looking forward, we’re getting more into ebikes these days, so not just s/n’s on metal, but diagnostically, it just seems like a lot more could be done in the bike industry to cut down on the ease of hiding stolen bikes in plain site, which just fuels the market.

Obviously any national register would require funding, so how much extra would you be willing to pay on top of your new bike?

I’ve only had one bike stolen in my whole life, and none since I’ve been an adult. I’d not be willing to pay a registration cost to cover those people who think that a £5 lock is sufficient, or keep their bikes in their front gardens..