Police put spoke in it

Bike thieves beware: Rotorua police have a plan to protect the hundreds of valuable racing cycles in the city for the world mountain bike championships.

Under the leadership of community policing head Senior Sergeant Brent Crowe, police are offering competitors a free registration system.

Riders record personal and bike details, including make, model and serial number, on a police database and get a fluorescent green sticker to attach to the frame to deter thieves.

Senior Sergeant Crowe said the stickers were difficult to remove and showed that the bike was registered.

The scheme was tested at the Oceania Mountain Bike Champs in Rotorua in March: no bikes were stolen.

Mr Crowe said he already had a "steady stream" of email registrations and hoped remaining riders would register at the police marquee at the event headquarters.

UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships spokesman Graeme Simpson said international riders welcomed the move. "They've never seen it anywhere else in the world."

Custom-built mountain bikes cost up to $20,000 but some, designed by Honda, were worth more than $100,000.

Senior Sergeant Crowe said security would be tight.

Officers would patrol Mt Ngongotaha on two-wheel and quad bikes.