Security tags deter would-be bike thieves and help the police recover your bike if it stolen.
There are various places you can get a security ID tag, however I recommend:
The tags you can purchase from both are highly tamper resistant. The security tags may look like simple stickers, but they are very hard to remove.
Order your chosen ID tags and carefully attach them on a clean part of your frame in the locations recommended by the instructions.
Then, register your bike with the ID tag number and frame number along with a picture on either Bike Shepherd or Bike Register.
Bike Shepherd also offers a mobile app that allows you to scan codes. This is useful if you are purchasing a bike and you wanted to check if it was stolen.
The Metropolitan Police offers free bike tagging. They use Bike Register though, which I find not as good as Immobilise (e.g. you need to pay in order to upload pictures of your bike).
http://www.met.police.uk/transport/cycle_marking.html
Thanks for the link Esteban – very useful – didn’t know they had their events listed somewhere online.
You get a FREE photo upload with BikeRegister! I think its a new service though.
To ensure best adhesion of any stickers:
Use methylated spirits (purple colour) to clean your frame before attaching the stickers.
Wait ten minutes for the meths to evaporate, then put the stickers on.
Do not use white spirit, petrol or lighter fluid as these will leave a residue.