Tracking system if your bike is stolen?
steve9uk
Posts: 128
I'm sure i read in a earlier edition of what mountain bike magazine that there is a tracking system you can fit inside your bike so if it's stolen it can be traced? Does anyone know of this system or any other types?
Much appreciated for any suggestions.
Stevie
Much appreciated for any suggestions.
Stevie
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Comments
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I don't think a GPS system exists, it would need power and an aerial so don;t know where it could be safely hidden on a bike.
You could be thinking of Datatag, which is an identification system. It would only be useful if the stolen bike passed through the polices hands and they scanned it
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=9881Planet X N2A
Trek Cobia 29er0 -
I wish there was, ive had 2 good bikes nicked since ive lived in york and a couple more before i moved up here.
Ive not heard of anything like this myself primarily because of the problem of powering such a device although if such a piece of kit does exist then you have my undevided attention.0 -
I'm positive i seen it in a magazine. I keep all of them so i'll trawl through the lot of them if i have to and will let you know what the system is. Could well be a tag system that colint mentioned. but i'll keep looking. Cheers guys0
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no commercially produced GPRS tracker for bicycles exists at this moment ,
what you will have seen is the data tag stolen recovery system that colint mentioned , and there is more than one company operating similar tagging registers.
however , i have seen diy versions retro-fitted into bikes and its actually quite feasable with some electronics know-how.
power not a problem , modern phone lithium battery weighs only a few grams and will last a week before needing charging.
ariel can be fitted under saddle , out of sight and not enclosed by metal.
and on the instructables website a guy even managed to split down the components of a stun gun , fitted it onto bike , and linked it to the GPRS transmitter module.
the result is he can sent a text message to the phone built into his bike which activated the stun-gun and sent a 50,000 volt charge through the frame and electrocuting potential bike thief from miles away. Awesome :twisted:
obviously the legal implications of this system are , ahem , sketchy.0 -
i reckon i could build the above system if someone is prepared to bank-roll the project.
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Electronic tagging if u ask me is completely and absolutely pointless, its not a deterrent even with the big sticker sayin the bike is tagged and is only of any use if the bike is found which in my case it was neva seen or heard of ever again.
The only positive i can say about it is it didnt cost me anything to have it done, the police were out one day in town and i happened to to come upon their trailer by chance and thought it was ok for free, i certainly wouldnt pay for it though.
If there was a subscriptions based tracking service then that's another matter entirely and i would willingly pay for such a service.
On the subject of powering the device, would it not be possible to power it via some kind of rotating device placed inside the BB shell on or around the axle? this would constantly recharge and therefore avoid the problem of recharging batteries as someone suggested above.0 -
jayson wrote:
On the subject of powering the device, would it not be possible to power it via some kind of rotating device placed inside the BB shell on or around the axle? this would constantly recharge and therefore avoid the problem of recharging batteries as someone suggested above.
it would , but any sort of dynamo system will be heavier and more complex than a simple battery that can be removed and charged indoors.0 -
biff55 wrote:jayson wrote:
On the subject of powering the device, would it not be possible to power it via some kind of rotating device placed inside the BB shell on or around the axle? this would constantly recharge and therefore avoid the problem of recharging batteries as someone suggested above.
it would , but any sort of dynamo system will be heavier and more complex than a simple battery that can be removed and charged indoors.
It would be slightly heavier but if it meant an unremovable tracking device could be built into the bike i would willingly put up with it if my bike could be traced as im sure alot of other people would that have their pride and joy taken from them.
Anyways with current technology im sure it wouldn't actually be that heavy and with it being placed at the lowest point of the bike it would barely be noticeable when riding, either way its a sacrifice worth making to keep my pride and joy safe from theiving scumbags.0 -
You could have a field core windings in the bb cup and magnets in the bb axle but you'd need somewhere to hide the transmitter etc. Just in the process of pulling a gps tracker from a subaru... its massive.Mountain: Orange Patriot FR, SubZero & Evo2LE.
Road: Tifosi Race Custom.
Do it all bike: Surly Disc Trucker 700c/29er0 -
How big does an antenna need to be for a gps tracking device? my thinking is if its only a small antenna needed then couldnt it be attatched to the underside of the BB shell externally?0
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jayson wrote:How big does an antenna need to be for a gps tracking device? my thinking is if its only a small antenna needed then couldnt it be attatched to the underside of the BB shell externally?
Well they can fit in a mobile phone.
As for power, think of the hassle of changing the BB when you've got a dynamo built in there.
Personally, I think the money is better spent on insurance. A thief could take your bike, strip it in about 10 minutes, then throw the frame in the canal. Then they can head home with all your expensive, untraceable parts.0 -
bails87 wrote:jayson wrote:How big does an antenna need to be for a gps tracking device? my thinking is if its only a small antenna needed then couldnt it be attatched to the underside of the BB shell externally?
Well they can fit in a mobile phone.
As for power, think of the hassle of changing the BB when you've got a dynamo built in there.
Personally, I think the money is better spent on insurance. A thief could take your bike, strip it in about 10 minutes, then throw the frame in the canal. Then they can head home with all your expensive, untraceable parts.
Thats the whole point of tracking device, hopefully it would be found before the theives have had the time to strip it down to its bare parts unless they turn up in a van and do it there and then on the fly.0 -
The problem is that you can strip a bike almost completely (leaving headset, chain, BB and not much else) with a 4 and 5mm allen key. So if you take the bike, ride it round the corner to somewhere quiet, strip it in 10 mins and go, you could be gone before the owner knows it's missing. Even if the owner did know, they'd probably call the police, or at least a mate as backup before confronting any theives, which gives them the time they need to take off the wheels (almost instant with QRs), brakes (2 bolts at the caliper, leave the levers attached to the bar and nick that too), forks (stem bolts and preload bolt), mechs (one bolt each) and shifters (leave on bars).
It's not like taking a car apart, it really can be done in almost no time at all.
Assuming a couple of QRs (wheel and seatpost), you can get the brakes, shifters, rear mech, bars, stem, forks, wheels, seatpost and saddle off the frame. All for undoing (by my calculations) 8 bolts.0 -
I'm pretty sure that you can little pin chips that you can put inside your frame where seat post is located, however this is only for identification if the police find the bike.Giant XTC SE 2006
Cube LTD Race 2009
Trek Fuel EX 90 -
bails87 wrote:The problem is that you can strip a bike almost completely (leaving headset, chain, BB and not much else) with a 4 and 5mm allen key. So if you take the bike, ride it round the corner to somewhere quiet, strip it in 10 mins and go, you could be gone before the owner knows it's missing. Even if the owner did know, they'd probably call the police, or at least a mate as backup before confronting any theives, which gives them the time they need to take off the wheels (almost instant with QRs), brakes (2 bolts at the caliper, leave the levers attached to the bar and nick that too), forks (stem bolts and preload bolt), mechs (one bolt each) and shifters (leave on bars).
It's not like taking a car apart, it really can be done in almost no time at all.
you're working on the basis that most stolen bikes are stripped down as soon as they're nicked , they're not , some maybe but most are sold on intact and unchanged.
ebay proves this with the amount of clearly stolen bikes they have on their site.
as for ringing cars , the pro's can do it as fast as you can strip a bike , absolutely no doubts about that. 0 -
biff55 wrote:you're working on the basis that most stolen bikes are stripped down as soon as they're nicked , they're not , some maybe but most are sold on intact and unchanged.
ebay proves this with the amount of clearly stolen bikes they have on their site.
as for ringing cars , the pro's can do it as fast as you can strip a bike , absolutely no doubts about that.
1. As soon as something like this became even slightly regularly used on high end bikes, theives would be wise to it and would change the way they work. Just like all of a sudden they started breaking into houses to steal car keys, rather than just taking the car, when immobilisers etc made cars 'unstealable'.
2. 'The Pros'.....right, but I can wave a spanner in a generally sensible fashion. I could undo those bolts in 3 minutes, I guarantee it. Then I could walk off with the bits I'd removed. I (or a 'pro') couldn't get the engine, stereo, airbags, seats, alloys and gearbox out of a car in 3 minutes and then walk off carrying it all! 0 -
in 1 hour 3 ringers will have engine out , interior out , wheels and suspension off and all I.D. plates removed.
most bike fettelers will still be trying to get the crank arms off in that time. 0 -
what about the old watches that were kinetically charged? don't seem to see them touted as much as they were a few years ago, but a couple of them charging a lith battery... ?
Or how about a dynamo that, when the bike is pedalled puts a charge through the seat into your nuts - and requires a pin number to deactivate it
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I've got an immobitag transponder stuck down my seat tube with a non-removable decal on the outside. It was a special offer with the warranty.http://www.immobitag.com/uk/
So far, it's been 100% effective as the bike hasn't been stolen at all.Canyon XC 8.0 '11
Whyte 19 steel '100 -
Happy Harry wrote:So far, it's been 100% effective as the bike hasn't been stolen at all.
I like to keep my bike safe by only ever cutting my toenails on a Wednesday. So far, it's been 100% effective as the bike hasn't been stolen at all....0 -
biff55 wrote:in 1 hour 3 ringers will have engine out , interior out , wheels and suspension off and all I.D. plates removed.
most bike fettelers will still be trying to get the crank arms off in that time.
Comparing a team of professional car theives with someone who can't work an allen key is like comparing apples with idiots
Bikes are easy to take apart, compared to cars. And the parts are then easy to sell, compared to cars. Surely you agree with that.0 -
What about folding up an old expired drivers liscense and stuffing it in your seattube or seatpost? Nobody would find it and its instant proof to the police that the bike is yours0
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ExTrEmE BiKeR wrote:What about folding up an old expired drivers liscense and stuffing it in your seattube or seatpost? Nobody would find it and its instant proof to the police that the bike is yours
And the flaw would be, not all of us can drive so won't have driving licenses :arrow:0 -
projectsome wrote:ExTrEmE BiKeR wrote:What about folding up an old expired drivers liscense and stuffing it in your seattube or seatpost? Nobody would find it and its instant proof to the police that the bike is yours
And the flaw would be, not all of us can drive so won't have driving licenses :arrow:
Why use a driving license? Just your initials and post code. Something like that, so that you can give specific instructions about what's in/on the bike.
I still think insurance and replacement is the best option.0 -
The problem with insurance is when you have a bike like mine that's been built up with loads of different 2nd hand parts which together are worth say £700 but its almost impossible to get a valuation and therefore insure it
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Keep receipts of everything on it, and get a bike shop to do a valuation on headed paper.
Sure, insurance isn't perfect, but the tag things are only any good if the bike is recovered. And then, in a case like that, seeing as it's custom there would be no trouble in identifying it as yours. You may as well just use a UV pen to put your name under the bottom of the saddle.0 -
It would be so interesting to see what would happen if they did produce some sort of GPS tracking chip that could be activated once your bike was nicked - you'd just track it to some chav's garage and then......wait 2 hours for the police, ask nicely for your bike back, end up being surrounded by hoodies while you wait......
Taser's the best idea by far0 -
you may wish to have a look at www.pawtrax.co.uk.
They have a small enough device for dogs and does not require a subscription.
Could possibly be hidden under saddle or in a dunmy light0 -
That PawTrax actually looks the dogs danglies for this sort of thing, it sends you a text message when the battery needs charging so that reduces the headache somewhat.
The cat version is even smaller and can download gps data via usb to see where you've been if you wanted to track your rides.
Good find lewislurcher0
