Insurers Aviva conducted an experiment in which five bicycles were left poorly secured in London bike theft "hot spots". Result?
One was stolen within twenty minutes when it was left outside a London shop in West London. It had not been secured by a lock. Other bikes in the experiment were stolen within five hours, even when locked to a short parking meter. However two bikes planted outside a central London office and Euston station were, luckily, still in place after 48 hours. The bike outside the station was unlocked, but left next to locked bikes making it appear more secure and the bike outside the office was locked, but with the lock around the saddle, leaving it easier to steal.
The inconvenience and sheer kerb-biting annoyance of having your wheels pinched is my second biggest reason for not cycling in London, following a safe distance behind fear of certain death. As the annual Mayor's Skyride approaches it is claimed that bike theft is on the rise. Whether it actually is or whether it just suits insurance companies to say so, Dave Hill's London Blog fearlessly asks: could more be done in the capital to prevent it?
