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news
stolen bike - via flickr creative commonsMore than 110,000 bikes stolen in Britain since pandemic began
A new study estimates that as many as 113,000 bikes have been stolen in the UK since the first lockdown began. Direct Line's research points to a correlation between the increase in cycling miles and greater number of bikes on the street with the higher numbers that have been falling into the hands of thieves.
While the research suggested that up to 14.5 million bikes worth £5 billion have been bought since lockdown began, unfortunately that has led to an inevitable surge in crime alongside all the positives that came with a cycling boom. An FOI request found that the official number of stolen bikes reported since April stands at 32,700; but Direct Line say that a figure of 112,600 is a realistic estimate, because 71% of people don't report the thefts.
In London, where bike theft now accounts for 10% of all reported crime, the average insurance claim now stands at £800, which is up 27% from 2019. Figures released by the Met Police last week found that bike theft had almost trebled since the start of the pandemic, with over 3,000 bikes reported stolen in September compared to just over 1,000 in April.
Dan Simson of Direct Line commented: "Bikes can be expensive and often catch the eye of thieves when left unattended, especially if not well secured.
"With so many now relying heavily on their two wheels for travel and exercise, we would recommend investing in a strong D lock to deter thieves as well as having home insurance with cover for personal possessions away from home included to reduce the risk of being hit with a hefty bill to get you back on the road.”
Other positives to come out of the research include the stat that weekly cycling miles in the UK are now estimated to number more than one billion. The increase is thought to be commuter-led, with 28% more commuting miles being ridden now compared to pre-lockdown levels.
Witn cycling numbers up, the rise could simply be a result of the richer pickings available to thieves with more bikes around, many of them likely to have been bought on a budget and secured with modest locks. At least there's one less thief on the streets though... as we reported yesterday, "one man crime wave" Francis Graham was jailed for two years for a series of bike thefts in London between October 2019 and September 2020. Also in London, last week police discovered more than 60 stolen bikes worth up to £5,000 each after a 'bait bike' equipped with a GPS tracker led them to the haul.
Jack has been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of the website including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named Editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master's degree in print journalism and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it's a long story).
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11 comments
I am not sure about the stats but I am not surprised that so many bikes get stolen. A few years ago a friend had a bike stolen when he left it overnight at a bus station. I was out one day and I saw it, minus its front wheel, locked to a bike stand in a busy shopping street. We went to collect it, walked up to it with a pair of bolt cutters and carried the bike off. Not one person asked what we were doing.
There are probably good reasons for this behaviour but until it changes bike thefts will continue. I was heartened to see the deliveroo rider preventing a bike theft in a story a few days ago so there are still some community minded people out there.
Same with me. I lost my key so I went to a local bike shop (where they didn't know me) and borrowed an angle grinder after leaving a small deposit. I then went back to the bike, asked a local office if I could plug an extension lead in, rolled the lead out across the pavement and cut the lock. No one questioned me. I guess I just look honest.
A few news reports i've seen say it was actually her bike. If so, then that was the reason for her motivation to stop it. There's also the social aspect of the thief being less likely to threaten or attack a woman, than a man, without others jumping in to help.
Is it possible to link to the research please? £5 billion spent on bikes since March is so far off the mark it's untrue. New bike sales are around £1 billion each YEAR and the market is up by a lot - but not 500%.
Even accounting for sales of used bikes this figure cannot be true.
The article states: "While the research suggested that up to 14.5 million bikes worth £5 billion have been bought since lockdown began".
That would average to £344 a bike...So it's not unreasonable. The number seems excessive though...Have a quarter of the adult population in the UK bought a bike in the last 6 months?
Always suspicious of figures reported as "up to". Typical journalese, more interested in an "impressive number" than conveying any intelligent understanding.
True - up to 100,000 could be 99,999 but could be just 2
Although it's probably at the higher end
1 to 5 is up 4, so a 400% increase. Think about it, if sales were up to 1.5 we'd call it a 50% increase, not a 150% increase.
In terms of the value of the market increase, I'd guess that the "extra" bikes bought in lockdown were for adults rather than kids, so maybe the average unit price was higher than for the baseline spend.
That figure seems rather high, official figures for 2018 were 3.3 billion miles for the entire year.
About the same as cycling to Pluto and about just as pointless. Even if the stats were accurate, do they serve any useful purpose? To me it's just numbers.
With a population of about 68 million, a billion miles is 14 miles a person, including infants. That at least seems possible in a week, but not probable.