E-bike stolen – what matters now

In 2025, people across Germany reported around 214,000 bicycle thefts – a drop of 13 % on the previous year, and only around one in nine cases was solved (clearance rate around 11 %, source: the German police crime statistics (Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik) 2025). With an e-bike, the annoyance of the theft usually comes with a far higher material value. What matters now differs from a classic bike in only three points – but those points are important.

Track it immediately, if possible

If your e-bike is gone, the first question is: can it be tracked? Many manufacturers now offer app-based tracking or locking functions for their drive systems. Open the app for your drive system and check whether such a function is available and activated for your model. If it shows a location, note it down together with the time – a screenshot is enough.

If a separate GPS tracker was fitted as well, the same applies: document the location and the time before you do anything else. Also note how long the location has stayed unchanged – that helps the police judge whether it is worth going there at short notice.

The most important point: do not go to the displayed location yourself to get your bike back. You do not know who is there or what the situation on the ground looks like – in the worst case you end up in a dangerous confrontation, and legally you are on the safe side as a private individual if you leave the matter to the police. Instead, pass the location on in your police report or by phone and let the officers take over.

A police report with every number

When filing a police report, more counts with e-bikes than with a classic bike: you do not just have a frame number, but several unique identifiers. Where possible, give the police all of them:

• Frame number – usually stamped into the bottom bracket shell or the rear triangle.
• Battery number – printed or laser-etched on the battery itself.
• Motor number – found on the mid-motor or drive housing.

The more unique numbers appear in the report, the more likely your e-bike can be identified beyond doubt during a police check, at a dealer or on resale – even if the frame has long since been repainted or covered with different stickers. That is especially true for the battery and motor: these parts are often sold on separately after a theft, because they are hard to recognise without the frame – with the serial number noted down, they stay recognisable anyway.

One point of classification: if a lock was broken open, that normally counts as aggravated theft under § 243 StGB – that must not be missing from your report either, if traces are visible on the lock or at the parking spot. Our guide “Reporting a bicycle theft” explains how a police report works and what belongs in it; “Finding & checking the frame number” shows you exactly where to find the frame number.

Insurance: the value decides

E-bikes often cost several times as much as a classic bike – and that is exactly what makes the insurance question more important. E-bikes are usually not automatically covered in full by standard home contents insurance: cover normally only applies with a bicycle clause, and that is generally capped at a percentage of the sum insured. With a high-value drive system, that limit is quickly no longer enough. Whether and to what extent your contract applies is set out solely in your contract terms – ideally check that before something happens, not afterwards.

Batteries and motors are often only covered to a limited extent as attached parts, separately from the frame – this too is handled differently from provider to provider and belongs on your checklist before you rely on any particular cover.

What this means for you in practice, and what to watch out for with clauses, compensation limits and alternatives, we explain in detail in the guide “Home contents insurance and bicycle theft”. With an e-bike it is doubly worth a look: if the replacement value is above your compensation limit, a gap remains in the event of a claim that you carry yourself.

The basic steps at a glance

Apart from the three special points above, the basic steps for an e-bike are the same as for any other bike:

• Record the place and time of the theft as precisely as possible – even rough details are better than nothing.
• File a police report, ideally with all identifying numbers and photos of your e-bike.
• Have your receipt and photos ready, if you have not already stored them digitally.
• Tell the people around you – neighbours, relevant groups on social networks, dealers nearby.

You will find the full step-by-step guide for the first few hours in our emergency help “Bike stolen – what to do?”. Simply add tracking, the extra numbers in the police report and the insurance question from this article to those steps.

Preparing for your next e-bike

After the theft comes the next bike – and there is plenty you can prepare here. Register the frame, battery and motor numbers together with meaningful photos while you still have undisturbed access to your e-bike. If the worst happens, you save yourself the frantic search for the receipt and can give the police or your insurer solid documents straight away.

Also lock the battery separately or take it with you when you only park the bike briefly – for thieves it is often just as attractive as the bike itself. The lock is also worth a closer look on an e-bike: as a rule of thumb, around 10 % of the bike’s value is a guide figure for the lock – with a high-value drive system that quickly adds up to more than you first think. You can read more about theft protection specifically for e-bikes on our topic page e-bike theft protection.

With BikePass you store the frame, battery and motor numbers plus photos of your e-bike free of charge as digital proof of ownership – registration takes under 3 minutes, works across the EU and covers as many bikes as you like.

BikePass Editorial Team

We write about bike theft, security marking and digital theft protection – practical, without scaremongering and with real steps you can take.

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