b dub 

I was at a block party today and the police showed up to offer free bicycle registration to residents. Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?

Come to find out that bicycles are required to be registered in my city. Well, I wasn't planning to bring all 12 bikes owned by my family (7 are mine, 4 kids bikes and my wife's bike), but for good measure and because I thought it to be a good idea to register my two most precious bikes I came back with four.

While waiting in line I noticed that they flipped over the bike to put it upside down on the handlebar and saddle. They used windex before reading off the serial number then finish of it off with a big green registration sticker.

In my mind I started to panic. Do I really want to go through this?

When it was my turn I immediately told them that my v. Herwerden does not have a serial number. They said no problem, we'll just stamp it in the frame. I kindly declined this offer and told them I pass. My Raleigh International was next. I made sure to flip it over myself. But again, I had to think quickly, do I really want this big green sticker on my bike? I gave in and let them put it on. They first wanted to put it right over the Reynolds sticker, but I quickly told please don't do that.

Now I have this ugly sticker on my bike. Shall I remove it or leave it (for now)?

lostarchitect 

Maybe you could remove it, but stick it on a piece of card stock and keep it in your wallet in case a cop ever gives you a hard time about the registration.

repechage

Remove it and put it on the seat post, NOW. The adhesive sets up usually in 24 hours. Or, just take it off after you snap some images, if the bike gets stolen, removing the sticker is one of the first things that will happen. If you get stopped, someone took it off...so, keep the paperwork.
Also remove the seat post and insert a business card with your info into it. I have known folk who this has helped in recovery.

This reminds me, long ago LA city used to issue licenses. a decal on the bike. Once I was handed the decal, I cut it down to make it more tolerable leaving the key info. They also at the time gave you a wallet card to keep in your wallet. Even got stopped once and they asked to see it. I think the officer was so astonished I had it I got off with a warning.

brockd15 

Remove immediately!

rootboy 

First, your bikes. next .....

brockd15 

Exactly.

rootboy 

I wonder what the fine is/might be, for riding an un-registered bike in Evanston?

b dub 

I just did. Came off without a hassle. I stuck it on an index card which I will keep in my wallet.

b dub 

I actually asked the officer if it's illegal to ride an unregistered bike. He said while it is the law it's not really enforced. He stated that it's more used in situations like being able to pull over some homeless person on a $1200 Cannondale bike at 2 am.

mapleleafs-13 

over the reynolds sticker, wtf, I KILL YOU, is what i would say hahaha.....

man i'd rather have my bike stolen then have an ugly sticker on it.

I don't know what to do if i had to get my pinarello registered, they don't have serial numbers

maybe i'll just get a boomerang system for my bike, do they make those yet?

mapleleafs-13 

actually just did some surfing

https://www.pegtech.com/sbts.htm

https://www.integratedtrackers.com/GPSTrack/

LeicaLad 

In addition to the name card in the seat tube, I also put one -- laminated -- inside the bb shell when I overhaul the bb. Some thieves will find the one in the seat tube, but it's a rare thief who would open a bottom bracket!

I hate those police stickers. Honolulu used to want you to put a new one on every year. The old ones were hard to get off, and they wouldn't apply the new one on top of the old one. Some guys had a line of them up their seat tube.

I only got one, and then didn't allow them to catch me after that! The damn sticker is still there, too.

lostarchitect 

That's genius about the laminated card in the BB. I'll do that next time.

Oregon Southpaw

I'm no anti-government nutbag but hands off the bike, LEO.

Everything about that scenario just screams "no way" to me. I think there's about a 1 in 1,000 chance that would ever help get your bike back to you.

Oregon Southpaw

Oof.

jeepr

my Schwinn Speedster has one. I should look and see what year it is.

catmandew52

Where I live it is supposedly required, no more than a warning if you don't.
We have a multi city-township MUP that runs thru here and they can't waste there time stopping everyone without a sticker.
I have one from 1982 on my Huffy Beachcomber(last yr for us made frames) and it was needed then.
We had a young kid in town who was a pathalogical klepto. He'd take any bike he would see, ride it to his destination and drop it. If there was more than one bike there when he had to go home, he would just take the closest one, and leave it on his front lawn.
Stickers helped everyone get there bikes back.
When he was older, he tried the same thing with cars. I think he is making license plates now.
+1 on the BB ID.

vandalarchitect

I had a friend who got their bike stolen and the police told them that since they never registered it, they couldn't help them out. She had the serial number and everything to prove it was hers but because it didn't have a little blue sticker on it, no love from the LEOs

UberGeek

Leave it.

Registration stickers are a good deterrence against theft, of their own right. Visible, and they make a thief think twice about lifting it.

mapleleafs-13 

i would have said, "where the hell are my tax dollars going to then?"

Rabid Koala

San Diego used to issue these obscenely ugly yellow reflective license stickers, I always took my chances with theft rather than defile my bike with one of those hideous things. As a kid I got a fix it ticket for not having a bike license, but back then they were actually little license plates.

LeicaLad 

I genuflect.

I just opened up my 1971 Gitane TdF (purchased new). Many countries, many miles. The BB was last opened up in, maybe?, 1980.

In place of the usual plastic cup was a sheet of aluminum cut from a beer can. The colors of the label were barely there, but I could make out that it was from a Coors Light. (Never my beer, but there were roommates involved.)

Also scratched into the aluminum, my name and what was my parents address.

... as an alternative to laminating a card.

treebound 

A car and motorcycle lisc. is allowed to be bolted onto the vehicle, so get one of those mini-plates and hang it from your seat and stick the sticker to that.

Registration is a revenue generator, not a theft deterrent. Are skateboards and scooters and tricycles also required to be registered?

Sorry, not C&V, more like one of the other board sections.

Last summer I looked at a bike where the previous owner engraved his driver's license number onto every component of the bike. Nice bike otherwise, but I passed on it.

Stamp a police I.D. number into the frame will affect the value of it. They also have no concern of covering up decals or logos or material stickers on a bike so thank you very much.

Plus, what happens if you move to a different city that also requires registration, do you have to notify each city and denote to them your relocation?

Sorry, slipped again.

wrk101

+1 Small aluminum plate, mounted to the seat post clamp bolt or similar.

Love the LEO response. Like they are really going to look for your bike if it has the freakin' sticker? Sure. Right.

rootboy 

I agree. If they could actually point to some useful reason for requiring registration, I wouldn't have a problem with it. "It might help get your bike back if stolen" doesn't cut it with me.