Cycling is an excellent way to stay active, reduce your carbon footprint, and explore our wonderful city of Liverpool.

However, the joy of cycling can quickly turn into frustration if your bicycle falls victim to theft.

Bicycle theft is unfortunately pretty common in all urban areas, including Liverpool.

To help you keep your beloved ride safe, we’ve compiled a guide on how to prevent your bike getting nicked.

One of the most effective ways to deter thieves is to invest in a high-quality lock. Opt for a sturdy U-lock or a heavy-duty chain lock made of hardened steel.

Cheaper cable locks are easier to cut, so it’s worth spending a little extra for added security.

I find a heavy-duty chain lock is better at not chipping bicycle paint, as they usually come covered in a protective fabric, which protects your bike from metal-on-metal chipping.

Most insurance policies now require you to use a Sold Secure Gold or Diamond rates bike lock. These are purchased easily from any on-street bike shop, or online.

‘Sold Secure’ Gold rated locks start (at the time of writing) at around £35.

Ultimately, with the right tools – and crucially, the right amount of time – a determined bike thief can likely succeed in stealing any bike.

The trick is to make your bike the least attractive option, using a combination of factors such as where you leave your bike, how long you leave your bike for, what bike you have, what lock or locks you have, and so on.

The more locks you have, the more time the thief will have to spend trying to free your bike.

And the more time they spend doing this illegal activity, the higher the risk is for them that they will be caught. And they do not want that.

So using two locks is an absolute no-brainer if you are leaving your bike for some time, or if you have a bike that is of particular perceived value to the thief’s customer base.

Two locks could make the difference between the thief deciding on going for your bike, or taking their chances elsewhere.

A combination of a U-lock and a chain lock is a popular and effective choice.

Personally, I use one lock – a motorbike chain lock, Gold standard, at the lighter end of the motorbike lock range. Its hefty, but my bike is an ebike, so I can take the extra weight.

Final note on locks: do not forget to lubricate your lock regularly.

If you start to feel your lock getting ‘crunchy’ – the key doesn’t turn as smoothly as it used to, or the sliders on your combination lock are not rolling smoothly, then trust me when I say, lubricate immediately.

Once your lock is crunchy, it is liable to break at any point.

Having a key needlessly snap inside your carefully sourced lock as you try to get your once reliable lock to work on a cold day when your fingers are barely functioning, a lock that is the only frontier between your bike and the bike thieves, is a deeply frustrating experience.

And with a bit of lube, easily avoidable, and your lock will last on for a very long time for you.

Thieves prefer dark and secluded areas where they can work undisturbed.

Whenever possible, park your bicycle in well-lit and busy areas.

This not only makes it more difficult for thieves to operate unnoticed but also increases the chances of someone noticing suspicious activity.

It’s not always possible to find an actual bike parking rack; providing bike racks for their shoppers and visitors around town is an area of improvement for Liverpool!

But use one if you can – as they are often covered by CCTV as well, or are at least lit, and/or near to shops and better populated spots.

If there is no option for well lit, or racks, this is where your double locking comes in handy, and consider whether you need to leave your bike at all – or try to cut down on the length of time you are leaving it.

Oh that rare and wonderful phenomena, the secure bike parking facility. Liverpool does offer secure bike parking facilities in a few locations.

Look for designated bike racks or storage areas equipped with CCTV cameras. These facilities provide an added layer of security and discourage potential thieves.

However – do not relax too much if you do leave your bike in one of these. We recommend still using your bike lock or locks, even if you are in a locked, dedicated bike park with CCTV, foldaway bike shelving, and a scan-in system in place.

These thieves are committed, and finding hacks is their jam!

A final note on secure bike parking facilities, including bike crates and scan-in zones. These have often been hard won by dedicated individuals in planning departments or communities, so do make use of them if you can.

Keeping them highly utilised proves their worth and will encourage more to pop up for us to make use of.

Register your frame number on the National Cycle Database BikeRegister.

The frame number is usually found underneath the bike between the pedals or where the back wheel slots in.

If your bike is ever stolen and recovered by the police, it can be traced back to you.

In the unfortunate event that your bike is stolen, having it registered increases the likelihood of recovery.

Merseyside Police run regular bike marking events in Sefton Park, along the Loop Line and various other locations.  We advertise these via posts on our Spond app.

OK I’ll be honest. I never remove my quick release wheel.

But I do make sure it is individually locked to something before I walk away from my bike.

Thieves are not only interested in the entire bicycle but also valuable components like seats, wheels, and handlebars.

This kind of bike-stripping is relatively rare, because people tend not to leave their bikes with sellable versions of these components slung to a lamppost or bike ring for that amount of time.

However, if you do have desirable components that can be removed with a simple lever or allen/hex key, you might want to consider investing in non-quick-release skewers and bolts for your wheels and seat.

Additionally, we recommend removing accessories like lights, GPS devices, or bags when leaving your bicycle unattended.

I was stunned on one occasion where I was profiled by a thief on my way into a swimming pool.

They actually removed my bike lock key from my locker while I was swimming. My bike wasn’t even that great. I was 14.

This is some seriously good work on the part of the thief. They should get recruited by MI5.

So be mindful of where you leave your bike lock key, or the bag your keys are in, while you are getting on with your day.

If your bicycle lock comes with spare keys, avoid storing them on your bike (!!) or in an easily accessible location.

Think twice before sending young people or children out on trendy, desirable, high-worth bikes.

This could make them vulnerable to the worst kind of bike theft – the kind that happens when you are actually on or with your bike.

These can be very scary ordeals and take quite a bit of recovering from.

For youngsters, a helmet, lights, hi-vis clothing if possible, and a reasonable, functioning bicycle that takes good care of their knees and has decent brakes, is good enough – and arguably makes them less of a target for potentially violent crime.

Buying second hand can be a fantastic way to buy a bike; you can see our guide on how to buy secondhand here

However – we all need to avoid encouraging thieves by buying stolen bikes.

We recommend Stolen Ride’s article Tips for buying a second hand bike (that is not stolen) – click here to read it