Bike Registry?

[LadyStache]

Has anyone registered a bike with the National Bike Registry http://www.nationalbikeregistry.com/ or the International Bike Registry http://www.bikeregistry.com/? Please share your experience.

[MidwestGal]

Wow, I'd never heard of that till now...it sounds like it may be worth the dough when factoring in the guarantee.  My bike is one of my most prized possessions as well as an important form of transportation.

The site says someone could still get the label off, but the serial number will still be in the registry for police to search.

[Thegoblinchief]

Putting the sticker on the bike tells the thieves that the serial number needs to be ground off.

How many people know that the serial number of a bike is on the bottom of the bottom bracket?

[m8547]

It doesn't seem like it's worth the money to register. See if your city's police department does bike registration; it's probably free if they do. Also check nearby colleges, and maybe you can register a bike even if you are not a student. Most stolen bikes are sold locally, at least in cities. The NBR stickers are not very good- you have to write your registration number on it yourself, and it rubs/fades off over time. Why can't they send printed stickers for $10? Why can't the registration last longer than 10 years? It's not like a database costs much to maintain.

[taekvideo]

Bike registration/tags is $1 at my local police station.... for life.

[MidwestGal]

Putting the sticker on the bike tells the thieves that the serial number needs to be ground off.

How many people know that the serial number of a bike is on the bottom of the bottom bracket?

What if the bike's serial number was registered but the sticker never placed on the bike?  There would be no way for a random thief to tell whether it was on the registry or not.  I had a close friend whose brand new $$$ bike was stolen literally half an hour after she last saw it and before I went to get mine, which was parked next to hers.  It had gotten less than 100 miles of use.

[GuitarStv]

I think that grinding the serial number off the bottom of a bike is going to make it difficult to sell.  It's a pretty obvious tell that the bike is stolen.  I certainly would never buy a bike like that.

[taekvideo]

I think that grinding the serial number off the bottom of a bike is going to make it difficult to sell.  It's a pretty obvious tell that the bike is stolen.  I certainly would never buy a bike like that.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't even know that bikes have serial numbers, or wouldn't check it before buying.