Bike Security

Getting around the Uni by bike is convenient, helps with fitness and offers the perfect chance to explore Campus. Check out the Waterside Travel Map to view the various cycling routes, cycle parking and showers available for students.

If you don’t have a bike of your own, the Cycle CoNNect scheme provides bike hire across all university sites, and if you’re a member, you’ll get the first 30 minutes free, which should make the trip from Waterside to Avenue completely free of charge.

However, with more than 327,000 bikes stolen every year in England and Wales, it’s important to know how to protect your two-wheeled method of transport.

Where should I park my bike on campus?

Waterside provides plenty of bicycle parking throughout. You can check where the spaces are and how many there are in total at each location on the Waterside Travel Map (look for the orange squares containing numbers).

When parking your bike, it’s essential you lock it securely with a heavy duty, high quality D-lock. Poor quality cable locks can be cut in seconds with the right tools, whereas D-locks are virtually impossible to detach without the key.

If you choose to park your bike off campus, make sure you pick somewhere well-lit, where plenty of people are likely to pass and where there’s an immovable object to which you can attach it (such as a chain link fence, gate or grille).

Get insured and tagged

Bicycle insurance often comes as part of your home contents insurance, but there are plenty of independent brokers who offer relatively low-cost policies for ultimate peace of mind.

Bike Register enables you to mark your bicycle so it can be more easily identified if found after being stolen. By marking your bike with a unique number, it’ll be added to a national police-approved database and is likely to reduce the risk of theft by warning thieves that you’re part of the scheme. Immobilise is another great option for this.

My bike has been stolen – what should I do?

If your bike has been taken by thieves, start by reporting the theft to the police.

If you’re on the Bike Register, you can report your bike as being stolen directly on their website, which gives you the opportunity to easily tweet details of your bike (including a photo) to their large social media following.

It’s also important to report the theft to your insurers within 24 hours, and remember to give them the crime reference number from the police if you were provided with one, along with the original receipt for the bike, if you have it. That should help speed up the claim process.