Picture this: Late one evening, you find yourself tucked away in a cozy corner, bathed in the gentle glow of your laptop. You’re scrolling through page after page of used bikes on Facebook Marketplace. Suddenly, your heart skips a beat—a bike catches your eye. It’s the model you’ve always dreamed of, lightly used, and it’s even cheaper than you’d hoped!… Read more →
Featured
529 Garage’s simple guide to the complex world of bike locks
You already know that having locking is critical for the safety of you bicycle. But, shopping for a lock is complicated – there are many different types of bike locks, they work in different ways, they protect different parts of our bike, and of course, there are multiple rating standards. So how do you work through the maze and figure… Read more →
How to keep your bike safe from theft
When you purchase a new bike, we know the last thing you want to think about is it getting stolen. Typically you are just excited to get out and ride it and go on adventures. It’s easy to forget that bikes are frequently stolen, and unfortunately there’s possibility that it could happen to you. A bike is stolen about every… Read more →
10 Questions with 7 from Sprocket.bike
Online marketplaces such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp may make it easy to clear out the clutter, but they come with a serious darkside: they are a haven for selling stolen property, especially stolen bikes. We’ve been trying to get online marketplaces to take action on this for years (even gathering over 50,000 signatures on a petition to Craigslist… Read more →
529 Garage surpasses one million searchable bicycles worldwide
World’s largest bike database program spreading throughout North America, transforming the way police fight bike theft SEATTLE, WA, July 24, 2019 – 529 Garage has surpassed one million searchable bicycles worldwide, locking in its status as the world’s largest bike registration program. More than 1,400 law enforcement, city, university and bike shop partners have now signed on throughout North America,… Read more →
Bike Theft Victim Do’s and Don’ts
Bike Theft Victim Do’s and Don’ts We hope you never have to deal with having your bike stolen but if you do, here are some tips: DO… Report the crime to police either in person, online or via the non-emergency number, obtain a crime reference number and contact your insurer. Fire up the 529 Garage, find (or register) your bike… Read more →
Reflections on our 3 year pilot to reduce bike theft in Vancouver
3 years ago I visited Vancouver to kick off Bike to Work Week. We announced a 3 year pilot in cooperation with the Vancouver Police Department and Vancouver Police Foundation to address the region’s growing bike theft epidemic. Constable Rob Brunt, a veteran of the VPD was assigned the task to investigate what could be done and reached out to… Read more →
Vancouver recognized as world leader in fighting bike thefts
Bicycle thefts drop 30% in three years VANCOUVER, B.C. (Monday, Oct. 29, 2018) – A Vancouver pilot project focused on cutting bike crime is showing astonishing results and attracting worldwide attention. With local bicycle registrations surpassing 70,000, the joint initiative of the Vancouver Police Department, City of Vancouver and Project 529 has resulted in a 30-per-cent drop in bike theft.… Read more →
The “other” QR – Quick Response Codes
Dear Annie, I don’t understand why there is a 7 character code on 529 Shields. Seems very 20th century. Why not join the 21st century and use QR codes to make the bike more easily scannable? Everyone has smartphones today! – Computers read a code kleaner CRACK, QR, or quick response codes have been around since the early 90’s. From a… Read more →
GPS – The bike theft silver bullet?
Dear Annie, I left my iPhone on the bus last winter and recovered it using the “Find my iPhone” feature from my computer. Seems that doing the same kind of thing for bikes would be the best possible solution to help recover a stolen bike. Why doesn’t 529 just add “Find my Bike” to their app and sell GPS trackers… Read more →