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I can't say that I'm familiar with bikeindex, it seems to be generally the same idea as 529 garage which is much more commonly used in BC/WA/OR/CA. https://pro

I can't say that I'm familiar with bikeindex, it seems to be generally the same idea as 529 garage which is much more commonly used in BC/WA/OR/CA. https://project529.com/garage https://project529.com/garage Donations to 529 are encouraged and you can buy their sticker, but you can also register your new bike for free just by taking a few photos of it, your bill of sale, and its serial number (typically embossed into the bottom bracket somewhere). Takes a max of 5-10 minutes to do to set up new account and register a bike. I am loathe to recommend the use of Facebook for anything, but people in the metro Vancouver area have taken it on themselves to create a group called Stolen Bikes Vancouver which has successfully crowdsourced the location and return of bikes to some people. It's at least better than doing nothing, in the almost total lack of law enforcement cooperation. https://www.facebook.com/groups/stolenbike604// https://www.facebook.com/groups/stolenbike604//

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
softbuilder 5y ago
Bike Index is very well known at least in OR/WA (I'm in PDX) and has been around a long time. I appreciate you're supportive of another effort but you don't need to push one effort down to lift another up.
- walrus01 5y ago
  I don't see where I said anything disparaging bikeindex, it certainly can't hurt to register a bike or search on both sites. My comment was a one person sample size anecdote of what I've commonly seen used on the west coast.
  - softbuilder 5y ago
    > it seems to be generally the same idea as 529 garage which is much more commonly used in BC/WA/OR/CA. This read (to me) as "sure, but the REAL thing is over here", stated as authoritative fact, not a one person sample size anecdote.
    - walrus01 5y ago
      interestingly both sites want to claim to be the single authoritative source of data, and place to register and search for stolen bikes, but the "market" for such online services is really split between the two... or maybe there's a 3rd online bike registry I'm totally unaware of as well? from the bikeindex faq (https://bikeindex.org/help https://bikeindex.org/help): ===== Right now people with good intentions buy stolen bikes because there isn't a single searchable, simple resource to check before buying a bike. Bike Index is that resource. The next time you buy a used bike, check the Index first. ===== 529 garage also would seem to present as if it is the only source of data... https://project529.com/garage/faq/en/ https://project529.com/garage/faq/en/ in reality I think the data is split between the two sites. My bike is registered on 529, this has provided motivation to me to also submit the same photos/data to bikeindex for a belt and suspenders type approach.
      - jvolkman 5y ago
        Didn't think I'd be spending part of my Saturday reading about drama in the world of bike tracking, but - According to this page, project529 uses bikeindex's stolen bike reports in its own listings, but doesn't share its data with bikeindex. https://bicyclesecurityadvisors.com/protect-your-bike/index-your-bike/ https://bicyclesecurityadvisors.com/protect-your-bike/index-...
        walrus01 5y ago
        I was surprised by the table showing 177,000 listings for one and 700,000 listings in the other. Ideally they could both share data and mirror each other for both registrations and stolen bike listings, for the most effective use by people who may be unaware of the other entity.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  I see no pushing down.
throwaway82931 5y ago
> I am loathe to recommend the use of Facebook for anything, but [...] It's at least better than doing nothing Is it? A central theme of the article is how Facebook is facilitating bike theft by providing essential electronic storefront space, and that you can't get Facebook to take down such storefronts.
- walrus01 5y ago
  yes, though as facebook seems to be a lowest-common-denominator method of social media communications for many people, even if they use it rarely, I am not aware of any other 4000 person group for sharing stolen bike information in that specific city. simultaneously you've got stolen bike sales going on within the facebook marketplace and also a group of people trying to find/recover their stolen bikes.
- gs17 5y ago
  > and that you can't get Facebook to take down such storefronts. This really surprised me given the difficulty I had with Facebook Marketplace incorrectly taking down my listings and refusing to put them back up (one was an empty aquarium, taken down for selling "live animals").
  - yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
    The remarkable thing about modern online platforms that have zero accountability or customer service is that they somehow manage to have an alarmingly high false positive rate and false negative rate at the same time. It remains unclear to me if this is inevitable at their scale, or simply that they really are that bad.
sethherr 5y ago
Donate to Bike Index! We’re more widely used everywhere except for Vancouver. Also, we wrote this article! And Bike Index is a non profit, so it makes sense to donate to us, rather than a for profit company. https://bikeindex.org/donate https://bikeindex.org/donate

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

softbuilder 5y ago

Bike Index is very well known at least in OR/WA (I'm in PDX) and has been around a long time. I appreciate you're supportive of another effort but you don't need to push one effort down to lift another up.

walrus01 5y ago
I don't see where I said anything disparaging bikeindex, it certainly can't hurt to register a bike or search on both sites. My comment was a one person sample size anecdote of what I've commonly seen used on the west coast.
- softbuilder 5y ago
  > it seems to be generally the same idea as 529 garage which is much more commonly used in BC/WA/OR/CA. This read (to me) as "sure, but the REAL thing is over here", stated as authoritative fact, not a one person sample size anecdote.
  - walrus01 5y ago
    interestingly both sites want to claim to be the single authoritative source of data, and place to register and search for stolen bikes, but the "market" for such online services is really split between the two... or maybe there's a 3rd online bike registry I'm totally unaware of as well? from the bikeindex faq (https://bikeindex.org/help https://bikeindex.org/help): ===== Right now people with good intentions buy stolen bikes because there isn't a single searchable, simple resource to check before buying a bike. Bike Index is that resource. The next time you buy a used bike, check the Index first. ===== 529 garage also would seem to present as if it is the only source of data... https://project529.com/garage/faq/en/ https://project529.com/garage/faq/en/ in reality I think the data is split between the two sites. My bike is registered on 529, this has provided motivation to me to also submit the same photos/data to bikeindex for a belt and suspenders type approach.
    - jvolkman 5y ago
      Didn't think I'd be spending part of my Saturday reading about drama in the world of bike tracking, but - According to this page, project529 uses bikeindex's stolen bike reports in its own listings, but doesn't share its data with bikeindex. https://bicyclesecurityadvisors.com/protect-your-bike/index-your-bike/ https://bicyclesecurityadvisors.com/protect-your-bike/index-...
      - walrus01 5y ago
        I was surprised by the table showing 177,000 listings for one and 700,000 listings in the other. Ideally they could both share data and mirror each other for both registrations and stolen bike listings, for the most effective use by people who may be unaware of the other entity.
jacquesm 5y ago
I see no pushing down.

throwaway82931 5y ago

> I am loathe to recommend the use of Facebook for anything, but [...] It's at least better than doing nothing Is it? A central theme of the article is how Facebook is facilitating bike theft by providing essential electronic storefront space, and that you can't get Facebook to take down such storefronts.

walrus01 5y ago
yes, though as facebook seems to be a lowest-common-denominator method of social media communications for many people, even if they use it rarely, I am not aware of any other 4000 person group for sharing stolen bike information in that specific city. simultaneously you've got stolen bike sales going on within the facebook marketplace and also a group of people trying to find/recover their stolen bikes.
gs17 5y ago
> and that you can't get Facebook to take down such storefronts. This really surprised me given the difficulty I had with Facebook Marketplace incorrectly taking down my listings and refusing to put them back up (one was an empty aquarium, taken down for selling "live animals").
- yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
  The remarkable thing about modern online platforms that have zero accountability or customer service is that they somehow manage to have an alarmingly high false positive rate and false negative rate at the same time. It remains unclear to me if this is inevitable at their scale, or simply that they really are that bad.

sethherr 5y ago

Donate to Bike Index! We’re more widely used everywhere except for Vancouver. Also, we wrote this article! And Bike Index is a non profit, so it makes sense to donate to us, rather than a for profit company. https://bikeindex.org/donate https://bikeindex.org/donate