PROTECT YOUR BIKE AND YOUR INVESTMENT
While many types of property theft have declined in recent years, bicycle theft is on the rise according to FBI statistics. The increasing popularity of bicycling as a sport and a means of transportation have made bicycles an easy target for thieves. It is estimated that over 1.5 million bicycles are stolen every year. No where is bicycle theft a bigger problem than on college campuses, over half of the property crime in the University of California involves the theft of bicycles.
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NATIONAL BIKE REGISTRY OVERVIEW
Since 1984, the National Bike Registry (NBR®) has been working with law enforcement to return stolen bikes to their rightful owners. A bike registered with NBR, the only true national database, can be identified by police and returned to you instead of being sold at an auction.NBR has established a network of police departments coast-to-coast who look for the NBR label and can easily report recovered bicycles. In 1999, BoomerangIt, Inc. recognized the advantages of a truly national bicycle registration system and purchased the NBR database.
Since then, BoomerangIt, Inc. has upgraded the label and database technology for NBR and is expanding awareness of the service through outreach with law enforcement and other fiduciaries (hotels, restaurants, airports), partnership programs for non-profits and Web affiliates, as well as programs for bicycle retailers and manufacturers.
The National Bike Registry works! Every time a police officer has recovered a bike that was in our database, we have been able to quickly identify the owner so that the bike could be returned.
We provide an effective and easy-to-use system that allows people to register their bikes so that they can protect their investment and reduce the loss from bicycle theft. With NBR, bicycle owners everywhere can increase security, discourage theft and enjoy their bikes for years to come!
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FOUR TYPES OF REGISTRATION
You can register online from our web site. Our highly encrypted and secure server allows you to use your credit card for the registration fee. If you prefer, you can register by phone (800-848-BIKE) or you can print out the registration form from our web page and return it, with your check, to NBR.
- $10 - 10 years of coverage for an individual bike
- $25 - 30 years Registration allows you to transfer your registration when you replace your bike. Notify NBR and we will change the information in our database and send you a new certificate and label. This registration is limited to one bike at a time and valid for 30 years.
- $25 - Family Registration will cover up to 5 bicycles located at a single address. Each bicycle will have 10 years of coverage.
- 99cents - You can register a bike AFTER it has been stolen. In the event that one of our participating law enforcement agencies finds it, it can be returned! (This registration is for one bike, for six months, and does not include a decal or certificate).
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The Noblest Invention: An Illustrated History of the Bicycle
Click to buy @ Amazon.com
The Noblest Invention: An Illustrated History of the Bicycle
Amazon Price: $18.45 (as of 07/09/2008)
This nicely balanced coffee-table volume (featuring 250 color and 50 black & white photographs) from the editors of one of the sport's premier magazines covers more information in its six chapters than any six recent books on the subject. Straightforward and well-researched essays cover every aspect of what has become a major sports and recreation industry-and a range of clever sidebars illuminate all sorts of bike-related odds and ends, such as how riding a bike helped Albert Einstein develop his theory of relativity. "What Every Kid Wants" is a short reverie on the significance of bicycles in childhood, with such sweet insights as the appropriateness of bikes as a parental gift: "It's a metaphor of what they must do to raise us: Provide us with the tool we need to leave them." "Bicycling Culture" looks at the diverse worldwide impact of cycling; "History" and "The Art of the Cycle" are cogent looks at those subjects, from early Leonardo da Vinci drawings through the disputed "invention" of the bicycle in 19th-century Paris to today's multibillion-dollar bicycle industry. However, it's the wonderful illustrations that will make this an essential holiday or birthday gift book for any bicycling fan.
NATIONAL BIKE REGISTRY DATABASE
Information about your bicycle is stored for the life of the registration in our state of the art database. This information is protected and maintained by NBR and only accessible to the bike owner and authorized law enforcement agents. You have unlimited and free access to your file if you ever need to change an address or contact information. Your information is private and protected, please click on Privacy for more detailed information.The NBR database can be searched by police using the serial number stamped on the bike by the manufacturer. Even if someone has been able to remove part of the label, your bike can be identified by serial number. The police can also search the database by make, model, color, and frame size, if the manufacturer's serial number has been altered.
NBR is working with Law Enforcement Agencies nationwide so that no matter where a bike is stolen or where it is recovered, it can be returned to you. NBR has maintained its database since 1984 and continues to use the latest technology to improve the service and expand police connectivity.
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The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom & Wanderings
Click to buy @ Amazon.com
The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom & Wanderings
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 07/09/2008)
This book might remind you of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, or On the Road -- but it takes a much bigger view, from writers with perspectives you never looked at. What biking does to you, where biking takes you, what biking does for the world and what biking teaches you. The writers love bikes, they love the journeys, and the bikes and journeys become one. Even if you only manage a Sunday glide in the park, there is something here for you.
HOW TO APPLY THE NBR LABEL
Our labels are specially engineered to be tamper-proof. They are designed to shred if removal is ever attempted. Police can identify a bike in the NBR database even with a partial label.
- Locate the manufacturer's serial number stamped on your bike. It is usually located in one of these four areas on your bike. Write your bicycle serial number on the label with a ball point pen.
- To maximize its strength, pick a good location for the label on your bike. Look for a smooth surface. Under the top tube near the saddle is a good place. Application works best when the temperature is between 60° and 110° Fahrenheit, you can heat the bike frame with a hair dryer if necessary.
- Clean and dry the surface. Expose about half of the adhesive area and place exactly where you want your label. Peel back the rest of the liner paper and smooth the label on the frame. Press down firmly for about 2 minutes, giving special attention to the edges.
- For best results, let the label set for 24 hours before using the bike. Once the label is attached to your bike, it can not be removed intact. Your bike is now permanently labeled with your NBR number and your serial number is registered in the NBR database.
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HOW TO LOCK YOUR BIKE
- Always lock your bike, especially at home. More bikes are stolen from home than from any other location. Wherever you store your bike; a garage, a college dorm room, an apartment building, use your lock.
- Pick a good Location. Select a location where there are other bikes. The chances are better that there will be a bike with a less secure lock -- or even without a lock -- and thieves will usually take the unlocked bikes first.
- Lock your bike to a fixed, immovable object like a parking meter, or a permanent bike rack that is cemented or anchored into the ground. If you use a parking meter, make sure the locked bike can not be slipped off over the top of the pole. Beware of locking to items that can be easily cut, broken or otherwise removed.
- Try not to let your lock rest against the ground where a thief can use a hammer or rock to smash the lock.
- Use the lock correctly. Position your bike frame and wheels so that you take up as much of the open space within the U-portion of the lock as possible. The tighter the lock up, the harder it will be for a thief to insert a pry bar and pry open your lock.
- If your U-lock has its keyway on the end of the crossbar, position the lock with its keyway end facing down towards the ground. This makes it harder for the thief to access your lock.
- Always secure your components and accessories, especially those that can be easily removed, like quick release wheels or seats.
- If you have a multi-speed bike, leave it in the highest gear. This makes it that much harder for a thief to shift quickly and get away with your bike.
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TIPS TO KEEP YOUR BIKE SAFE
- Many bikes are easily stolen because they are not locked. Your first line of defense is a good lock, properly used. Lightweight cable or chain locks are easily cut and offer little protection.
- Many bikes are stolen from home (yard, porch, garage, dorm room, etc.) Store your bike in a secure place when not in use. If you are not sure your storage is secure, use your lock!
- Ask your neighbors and local bike shops about bicycle theft and safety in your area. If you know where your bike is most vulnerable, you can better protect it.
- Register your bike in a national database. Professional bicycle thieves frequently sell stolen bikes in other cities and states because of the difficulty in tracing owners.
- The National Bike Registry database is accessible to law enforcement throughout the country. No matter where a bike is stolen, or where it is recovered, the owner can be identified. The NBR Certificate of Registration can be used as proof of ownership if your bike is recovered, or for your insurance claim if it is not found.
NBR GUARANTEE
NBR guarantees your registration. If your bike is stolen and not recovered by police within 6 months, NBR will register your next bike for free and the stolen bike information will remain in the database until the bike is recovered no matter how long it takes. REGISTER TODAY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
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