Stolen Bikes

Unfortunately, despite being a bike-friendly community, bike theft still happens on this campus, but only if you do not properly lock your bike (no one will be cutting your lock, except us if you abandon your bike).

Students will frequently "borrow" unlocked bikes for a quick ride to class or to their dorm but will never return the bike to its original location afterwards. So, always follow the below steps to prevent your bike from being stolen:

Prevent your bike from being stolen!

Register your bike with Project 529. If you bike gets stolen, you can report it missing, and the crowdsourcing feature in the app allows any student to help keep an eye out for your bike. This also makes it incredibly easy to allow us to keep an eye out for your bike during collections, and registration gives you proof of ownership if/when anyone finds your bike.
Always lock your bike! Yes, even if you're running into Collis for 5 minutes to grab something. A lock is no good if it's not being used.
Make sure to turn more than one dial if you have a combination lock, as even if a bike is locked, some more crafty thieves know that lazy students will only turn one dial of their lock and can open the lock if you do not securely use it.
Bikes are also more likely to be stolen if they have been sitting in the same place for an extended period of time. If you are not going to be riding your bike for a long period, store it indoors.

Help, my bike disappeared! Who took it?

It depends on where and when it was last seen.

If you were away from campus for a term or more and left your bike outside at a public rack;
Or you did not ride your bike for an extended period of time and if did not check if we put a collections tag on your bike near the end of the term;

We may have collected your bike as part of our termly abandoned bike collections, done according to college policy. If your bike was registered, you would have gotten an email from us saying we collected your bike.

If your bike was parked where bike parking is not allowed, Residential Operations or Dartmouth Safety and Security may have impounded it. If your bike was registered, you would have gotten an email from them saying your bike was impounded and allowing you to retrieve your bike.

If your bike was unregistered and placed within a college storage room, Residential Operations would have impounded it.

If your bike was outside, especially if it was unlocked, it was likely stolen, and you should file a report through Project 529, and the Dartmouth Dept. of Safety and Security. Also, keep an eye out for your bike, and ask your friends to do so too! Bikes stolen from campus racks are likely still on campus. If you found your bike but someone else locked it, contact us and we can help you out.