Police say they have recorded a 25 per cent increase in bike thefts and have named Civic and the Australian National University as hotspots.
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The spike has prompted police to urge cyclists to lock up their bikes to stop would-be thieves.
ACT Policing received 1005 reports of bicycle theft during 2014 and 802 reports in 2013.
Coinciding with the Lock it or Lose it campaign, police are eager to stop the rising number and educate the community on how to prevent bike theft.
Officer-in-charge of crime reduction, Station Sergeant Daryl Neit, said cyclists were not being cautious with their bicycles.
"People think their bike is a possession that will never get stolen by the villains, often thieves will steal bikes just to get a ride home and then leave it on somebody's front lawn," Sergeant Neit said.
ACT Policing have reported that the highest number of bike thefts take place around the city and ANU within business hours.
Bike and Ride facilities placed throughout Canberra provide cyclists with cages, lockers and rails in which to secure bicycles, but Canberrans are not correctly using the facilities or securing their bikes with locks.
"Often people leave bikes just leaning in the shelters, the bike shops around town all sell great locks, if you've invested thousands on a bike another $20 to $100 on a really good lock is the way to go," Sergeant Neit said.
The Lock it or Lose it campaign was also implemented to educate the community on how to record bike details and what to do if it gets stolen.
"On the bottom of the crank on the pushbike is the serial number, everybody owns a mobile phone with a camera in it, just take a photo of the crank area with the number and a photo of your bike.
"If your bike sadly gets stolen or lost you can come out to the Exhibit Management Centre where we store them and you can retrieve your bike.
Recovered bicycles are held at the Exhibit Management Centre for a maximum period of four months, before they are put up for auction or sale.
Sergeant Neit said bicycle theft was made more tempting for would-be thieves when bikes were left unlocked.
"People who aren't locking their bikes up are ultimately asking for it, if you're not going to lock your bike up and just leave it then you might as well put a sign on it saying please take me."
