Last year the police accounted for 3,719 complaints in total,  against 2,515 in 2013. This means an increase of 50% in almost six years. It must also be said that the number of cyclists has increased. The police recall that several protection systems exist in addition to traditional padlocks. Insurance can also be a solution.

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« After that, everything went very slowly. Days passed without news from the police. I had lost hope until the Find My Bike app suddenly indicated that my bike was in Budapest, and not much later in the Albanian village of Fier, » continues the man. « I communicated this information to the police, but it took weeks before they moved. So I posted a message on the Reddit Internet forum.  »

The man immediately received many reactions from Albanians who wanted to help him, including someone who explained how he could contact the cabinet of the Albanian Minister of the Interior. « I emailed them and the next day they found my bike.  »

Denis Hacquin and the Prime Minister’s representatives are studying how to bring his bicycle back to Brussels. He is currently in a local police station in Albania.

The post Brussels-based man finds his stolen bike in Albania thanks to an App appeared first on Brussels Express.

The four projects, that received a total amount of 526,160 euros, will take place in four different municipalities of Brussels:

Uccle. The Royal Uccle Sport hockey and tennis club will install a 60-space bicycle parking and will incite players to make more trips by bike.

Saint Gilles. The VeloS(h)ool project has two component. On the one hand, the designation of twenty bike lanes where the bike will have the precedence over the car. On the other hand, the « vélothèque » will be expanded thanks to the purchase of dozens of bicycles and more introductory bike courses will be held in all primary schools of the municipality.

Jette. The municipality will receive support for building a pedestrian and cycling bridge.

Schaerbeek. The municipality has already planned the purchase and installation of 20 bicycle boxes. 50 additional bike boxes will be purchased.

The post King Baudouin Foundation to provide half a million euros to improve the cycling infrastructure in Brussels appeared first on Brussels Express.

From the 20th to the 23rd of September, Tour & Taxis is hosting the Bike Brussels Expo, in the frame of the Mobility Week. Apart from the many exhibitors that will fill the 100.000 square meters of the location, the event also includes expositions, animations, and demonstrations. During the expo, it will also be possible to listen to the stories of various testimonies of “globe-bikers” who will lead the public through beautiful landscapes and adventures. Some specialists will also give the necessary advice on equipment and organization.

In addition, during the expo, it will also be possible to test the different bikes on the apposite tracks that have been set, one especially for kids.

In conclusion, an incredible occasion for bikes lover, but not only.

Order your tickets and see more information on the event’s website.

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However, they have not yet been able to proceed with the necessary installations.

The plan was to transform 1,800 out of 5,000 existing shared bicycles into electrically powered ones. This would require inserting a portable battery on these bicycles.

Jérôme Blanchevoye, Deputy General Manager in charge of Public Affairs at JCDecaus stated: « Each person subscribing to the service of the Villo Electric will have a portable and rechargeable battery that it can install on one of the Villo electric fleet.« 

He added that the batteries which are rechargeable via a USB-C plug in a matter of 1-2 hours will be enough to cover a range of 10 kilometers or 30 minutes.

According to JCDecaux, the electric villos will be ready by the end of September. The subscription will cost an additional 4.15 euros per month.

The post Electric Villo bicycles delayed until September appeared first on Brussels Express.

The amount of the premium has been set at 15% of the purchase price, with a maximum of 150 euros if you purchase bike and 300 euros for cargo bikes.

Each household is entitled to a maximum of 2 bonuses over a period of 3 years. This decision is entirely in line with the municipality’s active cycling policy, which aims to encourage hesitant users to barter their car against a bicycle, thanks to financial incentives.

You can get the full details on their website.

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The police realized that the Facebook group would facilitate communication between the cyclo-community and the police. As such, stolen bikes will find their rightful owner.

During June 2019 the police of the Brussels-Capital Ixelles was able to find a lot of bikes which were presumed to be stolen. However, a lot of them had yet not been picked up by their owner.

With the help of the group the online publications will be shared more easily and the bikes will be claimed by their owners.

The post Veloflic Polbru: A Facebook group aims to help find stolen bikes appeared first on Brussels Express.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Full gas here in @tourdepologne #lottofixall #bigballoons

A post shared by Bjorglambrecht (@bjorg.lambrecht) on Aug 4, 2019 at 11:38pm PDT

He was taking part in the Tour de Poland on Monday when the tragedy took place. This was his second time joining the Tour of Poland, which is a 7 day race covering 600-700 miles.

The biggest tragedy possible that could happen to the family, friends and teammates of Bjorg has happened… Rest in peace Bjorg… ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9u9LZkp2Rt

— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) August 5, 2019

According to the team, Lambrecht crashed on the third stage of the race between two other cyclist and was soon taken to the hospital, where he passed away.

Lambrecht was only 22 years old and had joined Lotto-Soudal as a pro- cyclist the year before.

He had shared his excitement and expectations for the tour through a video he posted beforehand.

Second time @Tour_de_Pologne for @bjorg_lambrecht, let’s discover his expectations going into the race 👇. #TDP19 pic.twitter.com/1Cejp0La2i

— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) August 3, 2019

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5,000 cyclists now own the new regional anti-bicycle theft device.

Owning the device – which is essentially just a sticker with a unique associated QR code – allows you to register on a platform managed by the Brussels Region; the QR code allows you to find out quickly if a particular bike has been reported stolen. Various other information may also be indicated by the code, such as the colour of the bike or certain distinctive elements. The system is currently being used by police.

A “bait” bike project has also been considered by prosecutors, i.e. a system that would entrap bike thieves. However, such a project has not yet secured the necessary agreement of the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office.

While there are more and more cyclists on the streets of the capital, there are also increasingly more bicycle thefts: 3,719 bicycles were reported stolen in Brussels in 2018.

The post 5,000 cyclists now own the Mybike.brussels anti-theft device appeared first on Brussels Express.

As of now, Cowboy announces that all users of its electric bicycle benefit free of charge from the “Easy Rider Basic” plan, which includes the “Find My Bike” feature, in order to geolocate its bicycle from the Cowboy application. Two other paid insurance plans are also provided by the company: the Easy Rider Standard plan protects against theft of their bike, and allows them to report theft and obtain priority access to customer support via the Cowboy app; and the Easy Rider Plus plan protects against vandalism or damage to the bike. These services are charged from 8 euros per month (for the Easy Rider Standard plan) to 10 euros per month (for the Easy Rider Plus plan).

Cowboy points out that this insurance, offered in collaboration with Qover, covers bicycles in locked spaces and on public roads, as long as the bicycle is attached to a fixed point with an anti-theft device. Moreover, the insurance contracts are valid in the event of a claim in the countries of the European Union, the Principalities of Andorra and Monaco, Vatican City, Iceland, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland.

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