Anti Theft - Prevention Ideas

FISMA

All,
If you have any anti theft or prevention ideas or tricks, please share. Here are a few that I have used over the years. FWIW, I never leave my ride chained up, without eyes on it, I know they will get it.

I do, however, stop midway through a ride and have a coffee, scone, ... Sometimes the bike will be outside without a lock. Eyes never off of it but for a few seconds. Anyhow, here's a few ideas.

1) Before you stop, kick the gear up - big chain ring, little cassette/cogs. There's little chance anyone is going to make a fast getaway like that. Throw in the flight deck shifting, and they may not know how to use it.

2) Open brakes. Careful now, less you forget yourself. Would be lovely to find a thief at the bottom of a hill piled into a wall. As for the bike, it was going to be stolen anyhow, at least now I have a few parts, AND a thief.

3) If you are with a few friends, lock handlebars. Mine always goes in the middle the lads have never copped this one yet...

4) Write your name and address on a piece of paper. Put the paper in a plastic bag and waterproof. Write on the paper that there's no way this bike was sold. If you are reading this, the bike was stolen. Please contact me at .... Put the baggy in the head tube or seat tube. I have heard of several mechanics finding stolen bikes this way.

5) Talk to people, be suspicious. There was an avid cyclist who was a cop in the states. He was riding and came across someone on a high end bike wearing a t-shirt and sneakers, no kit made him suspicious.

The cop asked him a few questions: What size bike is that? How much did it cost? The kid could not tell the size and said he bought the bike for $400 when the cost was more like $4500.

Anyhow, suspicion confirmed, cop runs numbers, stolen bike - done!

Any other simple effective ideas?

Moflojo

Would it be possible to set up a database for frame numbers of stolen bikes? Even a simple one as a thread here on boards?

I'm sure there are some legal implications that I'm not thinking of right now but it would be handy to have something to crosscheck when buying a 2nd hand bike, just to make sure that it isn't stolen.

Does anyone know if this exists already or if it is something worth doing at all?

From what I've heard and read this is an almost futile exercise anyway, as it seems that there are highly organised gangs targeting high end bikes and shipping them out of the country for sale elsewhere in Europe.