LoJack for your bicycle?

Like many- I fear bike theft.  Not all my bikes are junk and some have sentimental value.  If they were stolen, I would not have the money to replace them and this makes me sad.

I know more people that have had bikes stolen in Seattle than I have fingers or toes- and that just seems too high.  In the last year I came across two thieves doing what they do- one ended up walking away into the night, the other getting a little more harsh of a reprimand by yours truly.  I’ve been in many barroom discussions about how we could devise a way to track bicycles that were stolen.  The discussion of the dismemberment of the thieves I won’t discuss here due to it’s graphic nature.  Cellphone technology seemed a likely source for the GPS unit and someone has now made it available at a reasonable cost.

Enter the SpyBike GPS tracker- a UK company that has designed a device that is hidden inside your steer tube.  It looks like a normal headset cap.

From the website:

Free Online Tracking Service

Should your bicycle be stolen, this vibration activated tracker will begin uploading its coordinates to our free online service. You can log into the WhereIsIt page and see where your bicycle was taken. This service is free for you to use.

Cheap to run

Install a pay-as-you-go SIM from your country. We do not charge for our tracking service. It is free to use.
Your only cost is the SIM credit. In the UK, each data-upload costs a fraction of a penny. Costs will vary depending on country. The tracker does not upload via SMS message. It uses GPRS and only sends a very small amount of data

Anti-theft key

Spybike comes with a special installation key. This lets you install and remove the tracker

Vibration armed

When you lock your bicycle up, you can arm the tracker with your arming keyring. Should the bicycle then detect movement, it will send you an SMS to alert you. It will then automatically start uploading its position. You can then logon and track your bike.

GSM fallback

Should your bicycle be inside a building it may not be able to obtain a GPS lock. In this case it will fall back to GSM positioning. This is less accurate (approx 200 meters) but will give you an indication of where your bicycle is until it can obtain a better lock

Battery

The tracker contains a rechargable lithium battery and comes with a charger. The tracker can go for months between charges so long as you remember to disarm the tracker before riding your bike

Covert

The trackers main defence is disguise. It is designed to look inconspicuous. It appears as a regular headset cap.

Configuration

Initial configuration is done by sending the unit SMS text messages. Once it is installed, you should not need to touch it again. It is armed and disarmed with your Spybike Keyring

SIM

Your tracker requires a SIM card. Since it will use little credit it is usually most cost effective to buy a pay-as-you-go SIM and just top it up occasionally

 

They retail for around US$130.00.  The reality is that you may be able to stop a theft before it starts.  This of course can be dangerous.  The device might be better suited to those that prefer to take the law into their own hands (not recommended.) When a bike is stolen- you can track it, but if it becomes stationary again or is taken to a place without reception- the signal could be lost.

I do feel that this technology would be very helpful to police departments that suspect bike theft rings in operation in their precincts.  A number of these in Capitol Hill and the University District would likely lead to multiple arrests.

Obviously there could be huge improvements made to this technology and hopefully they come.  A smaller package, lighter weight, better tracking, possibly tracking via cellphone app?

And of course I’ll still say- buy a good lock and know how to use it.  Death to bike thieves.