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Hey guys. I'm new to MTBing and just wanted to know how do you guys handle bike safety in SA. I used to ride my bike around my neighbourhood before as a kid in Bloemfontein, but now that I have a trail-ready hardtail MTB as an adult living overseas, I wanna start going out to bike trails but I wanna know how you guys keep safe while riding in Sa. Do you have trackers for your bike? Do you ride in groups? Do you carry pepper-sprays? My hardtail cost me close to R18000, which is a lot of money to spend as a student, the idea of having someone steal it while on a ride alone, freaks me out! I'm moving back to Bloemfontein next year, and I have no idea what the biking culture is like in SA.

Good Afternoon: Please note we are starting to experience an escalation in attacks on cyclists within the Langebaan area. 1) Monday 18 April 2022 at approx 10:15 a female cyclist was accosted by two males on a tarred cycle path off Oostewal Road (main entrance road) outside Seaview Park (commonly known as Hopland). The cyclist refused to hand over her bicycle and was assisted by another cyclist and a motorist. The perpatrators ran off and could not be located by local SAPS. 2) Male cyclist was accosted and assaulted on Langebaan entrance road near Engen One Stop, by a single assailant. The perpetrator made off with the bicycle, but was apprehended by SANPARKS rangers and a motorist who stopped to assist. The cyclist has been seriously injured. The perpetrator is in SAPS custody and a formal docket opened. The bicycle was recovered. We are currently experiencing an unsettling crime spike within Langebaan. I would like to caution all who visit our area to please keep your items safe, cycle within the West Coast National Park, the Langebaan Country Estate or make sure you are cycling in numbers. Many bicycles have been reported stolen, few have been recovered and the new attacks on cyclists is very concerning. We are trying to give it priority attention with our local law enforcement agencies and government as well as our Neighourhood Watch, Team Langebaan Neighourhood Watch. Kind Regards Jon Amira Cycleworx Langebaan

https://m.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/cape-town-mountain-biker-assaulted-stabbed-for-his-bike-20190205 Apologies if double post. THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!

http://www.climbing.co.za/2015/09/cyclist-mugged-below-rhodes-memorial/ "A cyclist (who also happens to be a climber) was mugged and relieved of his bicycle below Rhodes Memorial. Below is an account from the cyclist: Around 15:30 on Sunday the 13th of September I rode across the M3 bridge at Mostert’s Mill, and went through the rotating gate intending to cycle up to Rhodes Memorial. There was a group of hikers about 100m ahead of me walking up. Two men ran through the group (hence I did not see them coming). One man headed straight to me. He had a gun, which he made visible to me as he ran towards me. He ordered me to get off off the bike and his partner took it. He then ordered me to take off my watch and helmet which he took. He asked for my phone which was not on me. He told me I has lying, and I told him to search me, which he did not do. He then ran down towards the gate and I think they split up. I walked down after him, he was adjusting the seat, and then shouted at me to run up the mountain in the opposite direction, which I did not do. He then rode across the bridge and away. Fortunately I was not hurt in any way. I did not retaliate at any point, but I was tempted to shout to the hiking group (that were ahead of me) but not while he was holding a gun. I reported the muggins to the police immediately at the Mowbray police station and have registered a case. See below a photo from the internet of the bike and colour scheme which was stolen." http://www.climbing.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/GT-A-1_table_mountain_bike_mugging.jpg

Hi Hubbers, Just out of curiosity, how many people in Cape Town whom have had their bikes stolen from their property use Strava? I mean you effectively show your start and ending position on a map and a pic here and there of your bike,now the criminals have everything they need to know... your address and what is for the picking inside based on your pictures on Strava? Or am I missing something?

while killing time at the orifice today I wandered across this inidegogo campaign. Its aimed at kids and pets but I thought it would be great to use with the things we love the most. Tracking down our bikes. It reads to be a pretty badass GPS tracker that you could hide somewhere on your bike and then if stolen locate your bike on the app. The cell subscription seems pretty reasonable $89 (+ $10 for international coverage) - and if one bulk buys 10 then this comes down to $78. This include a year of data coverage subs - then i think its $46 a year every year after that... Oh battery like is 3 months. What do you guys think? https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ping-the-world-s-smallest-global-gps-locator-bluetooth#/ I see it has an accelerometer built in so it could be updated to have crash detection built in..

Afternoon All, Through luck, fortune, destiny or just plain whatever I haven't been a victim of a bike theft or related mugging. BUT I've had to cut back on riding close to home that will suit me I've had to cut back on riding times I've had to cut back on riding solo.A quick glance at the forums on here and it doesn't take much to see there's been more and more bike theft related threads and it doesn't look like it's going to end or get better soon. Now I'm not the kind off guy who can sit idly by and either live and ride in fear or wait till something happens to me too. So...what are we going to do. Where to next with this? Should we organize a sting op to catch some of these bastards, should we start patrolling danger areas, should we call John Wick...something needs to happen and if it's going to be by us then nothing's going to happen. Ideas?