Looking to buy a bicycle

   So you just bought a bicycle...  Well what can you do as preventative measures to make your bicycle safer.  Remember flashy cycles or scratchy cycles alike are stolen every day.

   Well the first thing I would do is hold onto that receipt.  You say well I'm getting a used bicycle how do I get a receipt???  Just at the very least get a hand written receipt and a photo copy of the previous owners ID.  Why do this you may ask yourself...  Especially with a used bicycle.  Well it the prudent thing to do in law is to protect your assets and property.  Say you bought a bicycle and someone spotted you being the prudent person that they are, they in fact have a receipt or maybe a police report with the serial number of the bicycle on it.  After the police are called they will take the bicycle to evidence and it will sit on a thirty day hold.  If no one can furnish proof that it is in fact there bicycle purchased in a good faith purchase; then the bicycle becomes property of it's original owner.  Kind of weak for the craigslist shopper.  However having this proof of sale accounts for quite a bit.  You can then ask the person you bought the bicycle from for your money back as they just sold you a stolen bicycle. 

   Another thing I would suggest is to get photo documentation.  I mean lots of photo's.  Well take a picture of the bicycle from a distance to start but get some close ups.  Make sure you take pictures of any and all scratches, dents, stickers, serial numbers, component names.  Anything that would let your cycle stand out if noticed by someone that could be walking around.  Furthermore, I would advise that you keep some digital prints with your receipt maybe in an envelope or file.  This makes it so that if you do ever have your cycle stolen you may now go and file a police report and give them copy's of all pertaining data linking this cycle to you as it's rightful owner.

   Register your bicycle....  It's defiantly a good idea to register your bicycle with the local police department.  If someone is picked up and the police decide to run the serial number of the bicycle then BAM they just found the owner.  Sometimes thieves will file the serial number off of a bicycle.  If you are looking to buy a cycle and realize the serial is filed off.  This very well could be an indication that this is a stolen bicycle BEWARE! 

   Here is a link to the National Bike Registry.  Ranging on how long you wish to register your bicycle you can choose of a few different methods of time as well as how many bicycles.  If your bicycle was just stolen then it can still be placed in the registry for about a dollar for a term of six months.  Some of there plans hold your bicycle registered for up to 30 years for about 25 dollars.

National Bike Registry
800-848-BIKE

You can even register by mail if you print there PDF here

NBR Brochure
   Though the National Bike Registry is a great thing as it covers a vast area, I would still suggest checking with your local police department as to there costs.  Remember to check out this link it as well is in my Law section on this page.

Bicycle Laws Pertaining To Bicycles

If you read through this you will find some law talking about how much you can legally be charged for registering your bicycle.