Bike theft is extremely common and thieves will stop at nothing to get a hold of your machine. Between the period this year from January 1st to May 31st there had been 1,600 reported bike thefts in the capital alone.
Bike theft is on the rise and the numbers of bikes being damaged as a result of crashes is also growing.
With the unprecedented increase in the number of people now cycling, both competitively and leisurely, it’s not surprising that bikes are now seen as a pretty lucrative market for thieves.
And they'll stop at nothing to get a hold of what they know are expensive pieces of gear.
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Earlier this year we brought you news of the a theft at the An Post Rás where race leader Lukas Postlberger had bikes and equipment stolen from their van the night before the final stage.
Here are 10 facts that’ll startle you.
- Over the last 10 years the level of bike theft has increased by 227 per cent.
- There were around 6,750 reported bicycle thefts in 2014.
- This equated to a monetary loss of in the region of €4 million.
- The Dublin Cycling Campaign estimate the actual number of bike thefts from 2013 was in the region of 20,000, according to Irish household surveys.
- The number of people now insuring their bikes have increased by around 70 per cent over the last two years.
- Competitive club cyclists are among the group who are availing of insurance cover, particularly for damage cover and race/competition cover.
- At the end of May this year there were in excess of 2,100 reported bike thefts nationally.
- Over of 1,600 (76 per cent) of those were reported in the Dublin region but the increase in thefts is happening nationally.
- The instances of theft from homes is on a par with on street thefts with expensive bikes being targeted by thieves.
- Thieves often target specific places and use Facebook as one way of finding out who owns the bike and where they live. Stolen bikes are then usually shipped abroad to be sold.
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