According to the British Crime Survey over two thirds of all cycle thefts in the UK are from peoples homes. Despite this there has been little research into the circumstances surrounding these thefts.

Have you, or someone you know had a bicycle stolen or the components of a bicycle stolen from the home? Do you store a bicycle in your home? if the answer to either of these questions is ‘yes’ then we want to hear from you.

Your feedback to this short survey will contribute to important research that Bikeoff and the Design Against Crime Research Centre are carrying out on behalf of the Design Council into the issues surrounding bicycle theft from the home.

The responses you give will be used to help designers create products that may help cyclists store their bikes more securely and conveniently. We hope the end result will be a reduction in residential bicycle theft. By completing this survey you will be entered into a prize draw for £100 of vouchers.

*A note on privacy. This survey is anonymous. Your responses will not be shared with any third parties and will be used for research purposes only.

The survey, which takes only a matter of minutes to complete can be found here

The survey will run over the Christmas period, between Monday 20th December 2010 and Monday 3rd January 2011.

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The German online electronics store Conrad.de has made this viral ad for a new concept of bicycle parking. It could be the flyparking of the future, a robotic climbing device that stores your bike away from potential thieves.

Although you could face a problem if someone sends their bike up behind yours.

Tags: bicycle, flyparking, future, Germany, Locking, robot, storage, theft
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Due to the nasty conditions of last year’s prolonged winter there are more pot holes than ever on London’s roads… Here are just two of the many innovative ways cyclists and cyclist organisation are highlighting the problem:

Will Shannon has built the ‘Street Plotter’. It’s a device that automatically drops paint on the road as you go over a bump. A creative DIY approach to highlighting bad road surfaces, it’s not really at a marketable stage yet and is probably a bit illegal!

The CTC have developed an iPhone app – ‘Fill that Hole’. It combines a photograph of a pothole with GPS technology to pinpoint the exact location of the hazard. Once a report is logged, the relevant local authority is informed, so they can quickly inspect and fix it.

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Writing on The Guardian’s Bike Blog, Tom Bogdanowicz and Mike Cavenett – two cycle campaigners working for the LCC – want to see an increase in convenient secure cycle parking located in and around central transport hubs throughout London. They argue that the Boris Bike has illustrated London, as a cycling city, contains enormous potential to expand its sustainable transport networks, but that without a commitment to deliver secure indoor parking such capacity will remain dormant.

The London Cycle Campaign have also just launched the Cycle Parking for London Campaign, where cyclists can tell the LCC where cycle parking shortages are and where new stands should be introduced. The information will be used to support the LCC’s request to introduce 100,000 across London and to advise key decision holders where new stands should be placed.

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PRESTO, a project part of the EU’s Intelligent Energy, is producing tools for technicians to create cycle friendly urban infrastructure. They’re producing policy guides to meet different urban contexts with differently developing cycle cultures and are working in 5 different European cities – Grenoble, Zagreb, Tczew, Venice and Bremen – trialling different methods to promote cycling and improve cycle infrastructure. Their cities and activities section worth a look.

They’re also doing some really interesting work trying to spread the use of Pedelics, an important step if cities are going to be able make cycling accessible to less physically active groups or users living in hilly urban areas. Their work on Pedelics is the first European project to involve bike dealers as partners and could have some really exciting outcomes for spreading cycling as a sustainable travel option across Europe.

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The European Cycling Federation has announced that the 2011 Velo-city conference will take place in Seville in March. The Velo-city conference series is the premier international cycling planning conference series in the world. It seeks to encourage cycling as a part of daily transport and recreation and is a gathering point for those involved in policy, promotion and provision for bicycles. The conferences have been running for over thirty years and is becoming increasingly important given rising demand for expertise and resources in the field of cycle related sustainable travel. Information on previous conferences can also been accessed here.

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With the implementation of the new Barclays Bike scheme, cyclists are sprouting around London. However so are street savvy promoters. Here is one instance where a bike has been stripped clean of its back fender and another example of a Camden bar taping over the stickers to promote their own venue.

The stickers weak bond will continue to be exploited until something is a; legislated or b; the sticker is improved

Photos: Phil Gyford, http://www.flickr.com/photos/philgyford/4927182335/

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A new twitter based game has been started by myLondonCycle using the new Barclays Cycle Hire program in London.

The game is built on the social community of Twitter and Barclays Cycle Hire users. The goal is to top the leaders table, as well as earning special badges.

If the user rides the same bike the most time then they will “rule the bike”. This means that bike is virtually “yours” until someone else beats you.

To play, the cyclist must “check-in” with a special tweet everytime they make a journey on the hire bike. The tweet should contain the #mlc hash tag followed by the individual id, which is found on the back of the bike.

Tags: gaming, london cycle hire, mylondoncycle, social network, twitter
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Steve Hunt has designed a bicycle lock called the ‘Halo’, that can notify you when your bike is being stolen.

If the lock is being tampered with a message can be sent directly to the users smart phone. It works using a Wi-Fi card, called the “Eye-Fi”, which is normally found in digital cameras.

The drawback is that the bike must be parked in a Wi-Fi zone to work, and the owner must also be prepared to confront whoever is interfering with the lock.

Tags: bicycle lock, Halo, smart phone, steve hunt, wi-fi
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A third of guardrails on London’s red routes are being removed by Transport for London in an bid to reduce street clutter and improve the urban realm, according to the LCC.

TfL is removing the rails as they can block escape routes for cyclists threatened by motor vehicles, and are also believed to encourage motor vehicles to drive fast.

But they’re also frequently used for bike flyparking. So the LCC has written to TfL asking that any guard railings which are removed, and which serve as bike parking, should be replaced by bike stands.

TfL says it’s surveying locations where guard railing is removed to assess the need for cycle parking.

Tags: flyparking, guard rails, london red routes, tfl
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