Protect your bike and cycling gear with a QR tag

In Finland, cycling is both everyday transportation and a popular hobby. During the cycling season, Finns ride millions of kilometres, and the number of bicycles in households is estimated at over three million. Cycling has grown in popularity especially in cities, where city bike systems and expanding cycle networks have brought new riders into traffic.

Commuter cyclists use their bikes daily between home and work. Bikes are parked at workplaces, train stations or shopping centre racks, often unattended for hours. Hobby cyclists invest in expensive road and mountain bikes that can be worth thousands of euros. The rise of e-bikes has pushed the average bicycle value even higher: an e-bike typically costs 1,500 to 5,000 euros.

Police received reports of 16,364 bicycle thefts in 2023. This figure covers only reported cases, and the actual number is estimated to be significantly higher because many people do not bother filing a report. Bicycle thefts concentrate in city centres, around train stations and at school and university grounds.

Beyond the bike itself, accessories also go missing. Lights, pumps, bags and tools are left along cycle paths or forgotten at service stations. A cycling helmet might be left on a cafe chair or at a workplace coat rack. A bike lock key disappears from a pocket.

The problem is often the same as with other lost items: a finder would like to return the item but does not know who it belongs to. A bike left at a rack whose owner does not collect it for days may eventually be scrapped or stored without the owner ever being reached.