Whether students are jumping between Centennial and Main campus or merely running late for class, bikes can be a fast and efficient resource for students. But what happens when, suddenly, your bike goes missing? 

Throughout the year, stolen bikes are reported to NC State Police. Sometimes an entire bike is stolen, other times, parts of the bike — a wheel or a seat — go missing. In October alone, the NC State Crime Log listed 13 reports of bicycle larceny. 

Here are some tips NC State Police and NC State’s Transportation Department shared for students with bikes on campus. 

Register your bike 

Registration is both free and mandatory for bikes on campus. As scooters have become popular modes of transportation, NC State Transportation also supports scooter registration. 

During the registration process, students have the opportunity to provide identifying characteristics, including the serial number as well as the make, model and color of the bike. 

Once registration is complete, students receive a hard-to-remove sticker with an identification number to add to the vehicle. Students should memorize this number as well as the serial number in case their bike goes missing. 

Bike registration can be helpful in other circumstances as well. Amanda Simmons, a transportation planner and transportation demand management program manager, said it can also help the transportation department warn students of bike impoundment.

“If [a student has] blocked accessibility accidentally and not realized it, then we can get in contact with students instead of impounding the bike to move it out of the way for accessibility or access,” Simmons said.

Lock up your bike

While this advice might seem like common sense, Chief of NC State Police Daniel House said this preventative measure is often overlooked by students. 

“Probably the biggest thing is the prevention aspect of it,” House said. “I mean, you’d be amazed how many people just don’t lock their bikes up. They don’t take the time.” 

U-locks, a tool commonly used in cases of bike theft, are widely recommended because they are difficult to break with bolt cutters. Students should be sure to lock both the bike’s front wheel and frame to the bike rack.

Location also matters. Bikes must be parked or locked on a bike rack. Bikes left anywhere else are subject to impoundment by NC State Transportation. 

Students have also reported on social media sites that their bikes have gone missing over holiday breaks. To prevent this, students are recommended to move their bike to a safe location, whether that be taking the bike home, storing it in an apartment or moving it to a more sheltered bike rack. 

Additionally, electronic transportation like electric scooters and electric skateboards are prohibited in on-campus housing. Check with your on-campus or off-campus housing regulations before storing any bike or related item indoors. 

Know the serial number 

Knowing your bike’s unique and identifying serial number is also helpful. While each bike is different, House said the serial number is most often engraved on the underside of the bike where the two pedal cranks meet. 

While knowing the serial number is helpful for police, Simmons said students have reported having a hard time finding it on their respective bikes. If you can’t find the serial number, at least know the registration number, which will help police in searching for the bike. 

When a stolen bike is reported, University Police runs the bike’s serial number or registration and checks with the Transportation Department to see if they have impounded the bike. 

Sometimes, stolen bikes are then sold in pawn shops or on reselling sites like Facebook Marketplace and eBay. NC State Police keep an eye on what arrives at pawn shops, but if students don’t know the bike’s serial number, confirming the bike has been stolen is difficult. 

Take care of your bike 

Bikes are also flagged and sometimes subject to impoundment if they are believed to be abandoned. This often happens at the end of the school year, over summer break or when students leave bikes in one spot for long periods.

“Transportation does come at the end of the semester and takes all the bikes and puts them in a secured area,” House said. “So if you run into somebody who’s like, ‘Oh, I left my bike here last year and it’s gone,’ which has happened, transportation probably has it.” 

Simmons recommended students keep their bike tires inflated, both for user safety and also to prevent impoundment. 

“We want to make sure people are actively bicycling and not just storing their bike all year long and taking up valuable parking space for other people who are wanting to bike,” Simmons said.