2022 marked the 9th year of Bike Index’s registration and recovery nonprofit services. In it, we reached new milestones, expanded the registration network, and entered into exciting new realms of research and academia.

Here are some highlights from 2022 and where we’re trekking in the year ahead.

Bike Registration

Before the midyear mark, the Bike Index registry reached a record 800,000 registered bikes. That not only means that 800,000 bikes have a better chance of being recovered if they are ever stolen, but that the global community of cyclists fighting bicycle crime is also growing and expanding.

By how much? In 2022:

• 246,368 bikes were registered on Bike Index
• 18,074 bikes were marked stolen on Bike Index
• 1,669 stolen bikes were recovered through Bike Index

Why does bike registration matter?

Bike registration prevents bike theft by providing a single, searchable database for those purchasing a used bike, for law enforcement to find the owner of a recovered bike, and for bike shops, universities, municipalities, and other organizations to curb bike theft as a whole.

The 246,368 bikes registered in 2022 further expand the registered bike community and add another layer of prevention against bike theft—making the black market for stolen bikes smaller. There’s still a lot of work to do, but we’re inspired by our quickly-growing community.

Community Partners

Community partners are the activators of bike registration. It’s your local bike shop owner or mechanic, or university registration program that often serves as the introduction to Bike Index and its benefits.

In 2022, our network of community partners grew by 174. That includes:

• 83 Bike Shops
• 35 Police Departments
• 10 Schools & Universities

With their existing connections within the biking community, these partnerships provide a powerful bridge for both connecting with the community and tracking stolen bikes.

For example, large universities such as UCLA or the University of Iowa (who both joined Bike Index in 2022) introduce thousands of students to bicycle registration. Their registered bikes stay registered within the database and can be used to locate stolen bicycles off campus or in years after graduation.

This year, we’re looking to expand our community partnerships even further so more people and more organizations can tap into the potential of a global bike registration network.

If you’re interested in becoming a community partner, learn more here!

Donations

Bike Index is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with over half of our revenue coming from donations. To fund our stolen bike recovery efforts and research opportunities, we rely on donations from cyclists like you.

In 2022, we received donations from nearly 4,000 donors totaling over $73k of taxable contributions! Thank you for supporting Bike Index!

Those funds will be going straight to recovering more stolen bikes and furthering the Bike Index mission. If you’d like to make a donation for our work in 2023, you can donate here.

2023: The Year Ahead

With 2022’s growth, we’re excited for the year ahead. 2023 marks ten years of Bike Index and we hope there will be plenty more to celebrate throughout the year.

This year, we’re on target to reach 1 million registered bikes on Bike Index. So spread the word and get your bikes registered!

Here are a few ways you can support Bike Index this year.

How you can help:

1. Get Your Community Involved

Are you a bike shop owner? A transportation administrator? A passionate cycling community member who likes to get involved in great causes?

We’re looking to expand our partnerships and grow our registry with more bike shops, municipalities, schools, universities, and community organizations.

Learn more about how to get involved, here.

2. Donate

Our nonprofit runs from the generous donations of Bike Index users like you. Any dollar amount helps support the prevention and recovery of stolen bikes and allows us to continue our mission. Make a donation to Bike Index.

3. Participate

Bike Index has partnered with UCSB and UC Davis for groundbreaking research into bike theft and its effects on communities.

You can help by making a donation to help us continue our research or participate in research studies and surveys as they’re posted.

4. Tell Us About Your Biking Events

If you have a biking event coming up, we’d love to be a part of it. Reach out to us at press@bikeindex.org to see how we can best collaborate with you.

As we enter our tenth year, we look forward to making 2023 the best year yet. More registrations, more recoveries, and more community members like you.

Thank you for supporting Bike Index, and happy riding!