13 July 2017

App of the Day: 529 Garage

Bike thieves are scum! They are the lowest of the low, Deserving of ire normally reserved for current presidents and other politicians.

I've show videos before of potential thieves getting their comeuppance in some very painful if not funny ways, but all of the groin-meets-stem videos does nothing to help recover bikes.

Project 529 is an app-based service that hopefully will help you recover your bike if it is ever stolen. How it works, is you register your bike on the service, record your serial number, and include as many pictures and details of your bike, including a picture of you with your bike, that along with the serial number will help prove ownership if it is recovered.

Probably not a picture like this, but who am I to judge?

Forward to that fateful day when you go out to get your bike, and discover that it isn't there. A few taps on the app will get the word out to the community and authorities that your bike is missing. The app will also help you create a missing bike poster to hang up in your local coffee shop.



Does it work? I can't say. I fortunately haven't had a bicycle stolen from me yet. I've read in several places that these registries don't work, since there are numerous registries out there, and in most cases, the police don't check any of them when a "stolen" bike is recovered. Either way, It can't hurt because the information is out there, and hopefully someone will see it.

You can find the app for both iPhone and Android based phones

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