If you care about your bicycle, invest in the best lock possible, police say

Spring is on the way, which means you may be thinking of getting your bicycle out of storage if you're a fairweather cyclist.

But you may also be concerned about keeping your investment safe.

Const. Bryan 'Buzz' Dean of the Guelph Police said last year, 424 bikes were stolen in the city.

• Three people nabbed trying to steal police bait bike in Guelph
• ​Man charged after walking off with 'ghost bike' memorial in Hamilton
• Bait bike dupes 8 would-be bike thieves in Kitchener

"We also recovered another 306 that were found, but not reported stolen," Dean said.

He said there appears to be a connection between street level crime and drug-related crimes.

Last year, police set up a bait bike locked with a routine lock. On two separate operations, police arrested two people each time and found during the investigation, the people were involved in the drug subculture.

"Unfortunately, bikes have become a bit of a commodity, traded, stripped down," Dean said.

When police have done raids that resulted in recovering bicycles, it's not just a few bicycles – it's dozens.

• Guelph police recover stolen bikes with self-storage raid
• Bicycle thefts in Guelph expected to exceed 400 by year end, police say

"They're getting stripped down for their parts, taken apart, shuffled around," Dean said. "The bike itself does not keep its original condition usually very long before it's altered somehow."

'Spend the money on a proper lock'

What can people do to protect their bikes - especially if they have invested in a good one?

"It's simply not enough just to lock your bike up," Dean said.

He said far too often, he has seen someone who has bought a good bike, but they use a cheap lock that can be easily snipped.

"You need to spend the money on a proper lock," he said.

• 11 nabbed for stolen property, drugs in Guelph Police investigation

He noted many locks now will give you a rating for how secure they are and how well they'll protect the bike.

He said if your bike is stolen, report it online on the police's website.

Write down your bicycle's serial number and include that in the report and let police know if you have a video or photos of the theft, or if you happen to find it online on a classifieds website or an online auction.

As well, try to have something that makes your bike clearly identifiable. Dean said one bike returned to its owner last year had a different coloured seat post, which was unique to the bike.