“This could very well be the only right of passage to become an official Long Beach resident. If you haven’t had a bike magically wander off from the safety of wherever you left it then just know that one day…. it will.”
This shirt is almost sold out. You can still buy a sticker though! On LBPD’s list of priorities for public safety, “Stolen Bikes” probably hovers near the bottom. In 2024, there were 1,515 “Stolen Bikes” reported. 57 were recovered. So with a generous 4% recovery rate, let’s find out what we can do to prevent our bikes from magically wandering off in the first place.
When you file a report for a stolen bike with LBPD, you’ll come across Project 529, a community based bike registration database. It makes sense to register your bike in order to have a record of ownership and a way to identify your bike if it gets lost or stolen. You register the serial number, an estimated cash value, and the make/model of your bike. Help a detective out and register your bike for free here:
http://www.project529.com/longbeach
Bike Theft in general is a crime of opportunity. It is rarely a well-thought out burglary or an elaborate heist. When you go somewhere with your bike, it is crucial for you to lock it up. The idea is to make it difficult and too time consuming for someone to try to unlock your bike. Sheldon Brown has a great article that recommends best practices for locking techniques. And as far as security, Project 529 has some great resources and a blog dedicated to preventing bike theft, including a review of the best locks for maximum protection. It’s worth checking out:
https://project529.substack.com/p/529-garages-simple-guide-to-the-complex-99d
So register your bike, learn the proper bike locking techniques, and get yourself good quality locks and chains. Next, consider where you lock your bike. Is it solid and not easily broken? Can you keep an eye on it? Ideally you want to lock your bike within eyesight of the business you are visiting. We’re collaborating with Car-Lite LB to start our own database of Bike-Friendly Businesses that let you park your bike inside and/or offer other amenities, so stay tuned for that. If you are a business owner, then you can help get some bike traffic to your business by having a bike rack installed in front of your business or letting bikes enter the premises.
These are probably the most reasonable things we can do to keep bikes from being stolen. Recovering your bike though…
You can hide some type of location device like a Tile or an AirTag in your frame and track it, but chances are you might end up finding your bike in some pretty sketchy places. Long Beach passed an ordinance in 2018 aimed at shutting down “Chop Shops”, which is a place that sells stolen bicycles or breaks them down for parts to sell. Whether or not the ordinance was effective in Long Beach is probably moot since some of the more infamous and suspected chop shop locations in 2025 are along the LA River Bike Path and in Signal Hill, which is out of the jurisdiction of LBPD. I don’t advise pulling up under a bridge trying to get your bike back.
Bike thieves suck. Even with your bike properly secured and locked up, people sometimes pick stuff off your bike or basket. I’ve had lights, helmets, and tools lifted out of my basket or bags. It’s frustrating and demoralizing. I wish we could live in a world where people didn’t have the need to steal. Our bikeshare program is pretty affordable. Leave my bike alone! So while we wait for the culture to change and my wish to be fulfilled, hopefully these resources help prevent your bike from being stolen. Low-Key I don’t want LB Swag to order more of these shirts.