A few suggestions to deter thefts or recover a stolen bike:
1) Photograph your bike. A picture is worth a thousand words. The EBBC is migrating to more “content” on ebbc.org that can include images. Note that a recent web post of a recovered stolen bike was identified by the rightful owner within 4 hours of posting on ebbc.org.
2) Mark your bike. Certainly a classic Jean Brun or distinctive paint or other features makes a bike easy to identify but a cop is not going to know who it belongs to. The recovered bike mentioned above was brought to our attention because it had EBBC stickers on it. An engraved CDL# would immediately ID the rightful owner and put a suspect in jail. My bikes are conspicuously engraved on the top tube to deter theft and engraved in hidden locations to make it difficult to sell or part out.
3) Record your serial number. Keep a list of your bike serial numbers and descriptions filed away.
4) Lock your bike correctly. Use a U-lock to secure the frame rear wheel and removable front wheel to an immovable metal object. Improper locking is common. See illustrations for how to lock posted by Berkeley’s Missing Link.
5) Never buy a stolen bike. Demand to see the owner’s/seller’s photo ID. Good bike shops that sell used bikes will provide ownership documentation.