There are plenty of bike thieves operating in Oxford and unfortunately bike theft has a very low priority as far as the police are concerned these days. The thieves can be quite brazen and opportunistic when they see a bike that makes an easy target, but most of them are quite amateurish, so if you take steps to make it difficult for them you should be able to keep hold of your bike.
Oxford bike thieves don’t tend to go around in the daytime with serious cutting tools, but they are likely to have some cable cutters on them, so don’t rely on a flimsy cable lock to keep your bike safe. A decent chain and padlock, or U-lock is a much better option.
The other crucial thing is to always lock your bike to something solid when you leave it out around the city, even if you’re just popping in to the shop to buy something quickly. Don’t rely on just locking a wheel or locking the wheel to the frame because somebody is likely to pick it up, still locked, and walk off with it!
Finally, don’t leave a decent bike outside in a public place regularly overnight because your local bike thief will eventually get the necessary equipment together to steal it!
We always keep a wide range of bike locks suitable for use in Oxford – see a selection here or contact us if you’d like our advice.
