How to Keep Your Electric Scooter from Being Stolen

When you need to make savings on gas for commuting to work, college, or short journeys, electric scooters fit the bill.

However, their portability and usefulness make them a top target by thieves. Thus, it’s vital to take the necessary steps and know how to prevent electric scooter theft.

Anyone who leaves a scooter outside the office, gym, or cafeteria unlocked makes a gross mistake.

Follow the below steps and prevent scooter theft;

How to Prevent Electric Scooter Theft

Invest in a Good E-Scooter Lock

Well, no lock is completely theft-proof. On the other hand, a scooter left outside unlocked is highly tempting to steal. Investing in a reliable lock deters thieves, makes it very involving and time-consuming to vandalize.

On the same note, here are some types of scooter locks to consider;

Chain Lock

A thick chain lock with a gold or silver secure rating is not easy to cut through. Moreover, its large size and weight work to your advantage when locking a large scooter or chaining it to a big immovable object. When you need to be away for a considerable time, a chain lock proves helpful.

One such reliable chain lock to consider is the 1-meter long Kryptonite New York FAHGETTABOUDIT 1410. It features 14mm thick manganese steel and a sturdy padlock with a 15mm thick hardened steel shackle. However, when you need a more portable chain lock, Kryptonite Evolution is a viable option.

Cable Lock

Cable locks make a good option when you want to be away from the scooter for only a few minutes. Most of them feature braided steel, for example, the Master Lock 8143D. The 120 cm long and 8 mm thick combination chain lock needs no padlock.

D Locks (U locks)

If your scooter wheels aren’t solid, then D locks can boost the security of your e-scooter. It allows you to chain the wheel to a bike rack or lock the wheel and keep it from rotating.

A U-lock such as Kryptonite New York LS Heavy Duty lock isn’t easy to cut except with a power tool. But how many thieves walk with such robust power tools? Besides, such tools produce high distracting noise.

Folding Locks

When you have less space in your backpack and portability is the chief concern, a foldable lock is an appropriate option. It occupies less space yet offers a significant amount of security to the scooter, especially when combined with chain locks.

Don’t Expose it to Prying Eyes

Having locked it up or chained it to a bike rack, cover it. Leaving the scooter open is like showcasing it to thieves. He’ll value it up and gauge out the ease of breaking away with it. Remember, thieves usually prioritize high-end scooters.

Never Leave it Outdoors

Leaving your e-scooter outside predisposes it to thieves. They can easily value it and gauge out the difficulty of stealing it. Before stopping by the cafeteria, gymnasium, or cinema, leave your scooter with a friend or even a colleague in a nearby house. Leaving the scooter out for a few minutes or just a night may be all that the thief requires

For Portable E-Scooter, Take it With You

If you own a portable electric scooter, then it’s better to take it up with you. That way, you can keep it beside your chair or under the office desk thus, ensuring it’s safe. A portable scooter left outside is an easy target for thieves.

Choose Your Parking Location Carefully

When you have to park your one-man vehicle, choose your parking sight carefully. Keep off poorly lit locations with high human traffic. Most important, know the places in your area where thieves often invade unsuspecting scooter drivers. Then avoid such sites at all costs.

Consider Investing in an Alarm

If your residential or office location is known for electric scooter theft, it’s wise to invest in an alarm. A tiny but loud pitched alarm is easy to hide. Some use tilt or vibration/motion-activated technology.

An alarm and its sticker easily scare ordinary thieves. Ideally, consider investing in a model that can send you a notification through an app.

Fit a Tracker

Another option for boosting the security of your e-scooter is fitting a tracker unnoticeably somewhere. If it gets stolen, you can activate it remotely with the help of an app. That way, you can get notifications on the GPS location of your asset.

The Best Way to Lock an Electric Scooter

Choosing a reliable lock alone is not enough. Therefore, you have to know the best ways to lock an e-scooter to get the highest level of protection from the latch.

So consider the following tips;

Always Lock Your Scooter

You never know when the thief may drop or pass by, so keep the electric scooter locked. Even when you are sure you’ll be away for only a few minutes, secure and double confirm it’s locked. A pro thief may need a minute or even less to steal your equipment.

Keep off Cheap Chains and Padlocks

To get the highest protection keep off the cheap locks. As a rule of thumb, some security firms propose a lock that costs 10% of the total cost of the scooter. For example, consider disc locks with alarms, hard steel U locks, and asymmetrical chains of at least 5/8inches thick.

Use More than One Lock of Different Types 

Besides the inbuilt e-scooter lock, use two or more other padlocks to make it more effective. Preferably they should be operating on different mechanisms.

For instance, you can use one to anchor the rear wheel immovable and another lock for securing the scooter to a fixed post. That way, potential thieves won’t take it away easily.

Moreover, a scooter locked with two additional locks besides the inbuilt appears more difficult to steal. So, itâ’s likely that thief may feel discouraged and walk off to an easier target.

Choose Sturdy, Immovable, and Tall posts

If you decide to settle for chaining your scooter with a heavy-duty lock to a post, choose carefully. Possible places for chaining your bike include bike racks and tall light poles.

Such posts are rooted and tall, hence won’t allow lifting off the equipment from the post. On the same note, short poles and flimsy street sign posts give thieves an easy time to cut.

Minimize the Chain Slack

When wrapping a chain around the scooter frame, ensure that you minimize the sagging as much as possible. A chain fastened in a saggy manner is easy to cut or break by inserting a rod in the space.

At the same time, secure the scooter so that the lock and chain stay above the ground. Furthermore, ensure the keyhole points down. Leaving the padlock on the ground gives thieves leverage in tampering with it and the chain.

Conclusion

One of the best ways to keep your scooter from being stolen is to invest in a high-security-rated lock. But you need at least two locks and use them wisely at any given time to boost the e-scooter’s security.

Then by backing it up with other outlined security measures, you can prevent or significantly reduce scooter electric theft.