Cycle parking and safety
Tips to help you secure your bike and what to do if it's stolen.
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Oxfordshire contains a variety of purpose-built cycle parking infrastructure available for securing your bike.
Additional advice can be found on the Thames Valley Police and Secure by Design webpages.
Where to park your bike
Oxfordshire contains a variety of purpose-built bicycle parking infrastructure available for securing your bike.
Our bicycle parking map can be used as a reference tool to locate cycle parking.
Download this map data (csv format, 80Kb) - updated 20 October 2021
How to lock your bike
Sheffield stands
Sheffield stands are the most common form of cycle parking installed for use by the public in Oxfordshire.
The stand is a metal arch secured to the ground, which allows the user to lean the full frame of their bike up against it and lock at multiple points. Common practice should be for short-term use only.
To best secure your bike, place it as close to the Sheffield stand as possible, lock both wheels and the frame, keeping the lock off the ground and facing down to minimise access and opportunity for potential theft.
If you have a quick-release front wheel and only one lock, the best practice is to remove the front wheel and lock it with the rear wheel and frame to the Sheffield stand.
Watch a Thames Valley Police video on locking a bicycle to a Sheffield stand.
Anchors
Anchors may be wall or floor-mounted and provide cyclists with infrastructure to secure a single bicycle wheel.
Locking the rear wheel of your bike to the anchor through the frame is best practice with a single lock however it will not secure the whole bike.
For best protection, use a second lock to secure the front wheel to the bike frame.
Watch a Thames Valley Police advice video on locking a bicycle to an anchor.
Streetpods
Streetpods are Secured by Design accredited and officially recommended by UK Police.
Place the front wheel of the bike into the streetpod to secure the front wheel and use a lock to secure the frame and back wheel to the stand.
Users only need to use one sold secure approved lock but can maximise security by using an additional lock to secure the front bicycle wheel to the frame.
Watch a Thames Valley Police advice video on locking a bicycle to a streetpod.
Register a bike
BikeRegister is a national bicycle marking and registration scheme used by UK police forces. Registering your bike for free online allows it to be traced back to you if lost or recovered from a theft.
For additional security, cyclists can purchase security marking kits, stickers, and barcodes to mark their bike as registered. Adding visible security marks to your bike is a highly effective deterrent to bike thieves.
Stolen bicycles
If your bike is stolen report it via the Thames Valley Police’s website.
Ensure you provide as much detail about both your bike and the circumstances of the theft. If your bike is registered with a database be sure to include this in your report to the police as well as updating the database to mark the bike as stolen.
Abandoned bicycles
On-street cycle parking is only intended for short-term use. Leaving your bicycle locked in the same location without moving it for long periods of time may increase the chance of theft or it being marked as abandoned and removed.
Publicly accessible cycle parking is checked by the relevant local authority for bicycles that may have been abandoned. Where a bike is found to show signs of abandonment it will be visibly tagged with a notice for removal within seven days.
If the owner does not come forward within the first seven days, the bicycle will be removed and held until 35 days have elapsed since the notice was first issued. Once the holding period expires, unclaimed bicycles will be recycled.
Bicycles found to be parked causing a serious obstruction or danger can be removed immediately.
If you would like to report an abandoned or dangerously parked bicycle, you can contact your District Council: