[canadmos]

This is a neat device, with an actual sim card in it for real time data.

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/snik-announces-gps-enabled-security-device-to-protect-your-bike-from-theft.html

Looks wise, it could be better.

I was going to just stick a Samsung Smarttag in my bike box when I travel this summer, but this could be another (pricey) option.

 

[Westy]

I don't see how that would prevent theft, just let you know where it is after it has been stolen. 'Round here there have been a lot of cases where people have had bikes stolen with a tracker. They call the cops and get told to just take it up with their homeowners insurance, so then your only option is vigilante recovery.

 

[SylentK]

I think it would be good while traveling. I'm looking at you Airlines that constantly loose bags.

Or maybe you're in Moab and someone "accidentally" had too much to drink (pretty much impossible in Utah, BTW) and "accidentally" took the wrong Yeti.

 

[bullcrew]

I don't see how that would prevent theft, just let you know where it is after it has been stolen. 'Round here there have been a lot of cases where people have had bikes stolen with a tracker. They call the cops and get told to just take it up with their homeowners insurance, so then your only option is vigilante recovery.

And!!! Lol
Zero issues collecting my stuff.

 

[canadmos]

I don't see how that would prevent theft, just let you know where it is after it has been stolen. 'Round here there have been a lot of cases where people have had bikes stolen with a tracker. They call the cops and get told to just take it up with their homeowners insurance, so then your only option is vigilante recovery.

That's true, nothing will really prevent theft other than maybe a cocaine bear or bullcrew standing guard.

Would make recovery at least a possibility.

We have that problem up here as well. Few years ago a friend's Pivot was stolen. Four or five months later we found it for sale, did some sleuthing and found it was at a pawn shop a few cities away.

We called the police in that city, but they told us to go pound sand; you have to go to the police where the report was filed, get them to contact us yadda yadda yadda. Luckily one of our riding buddies at the time was an undercover type detective down there, who is covered in tattoos and is all around intimidating (big softy though, genuine nice guy). We called him up and he basically said "awe fuck that noise hold up" and within 30 minutes he had the bike back.

 

[Westy]

That's true, nothing will really prevent theft other than maybe a cocaine bear or bullcrew standing guard.

Would make recovery at least a possibility.

We have that problem up here as well. Few years ago a friend's Pivot was stolen. Four or five months later we found it for sale, did some sleuthing and found it was at a pawn shop a few cities away.

We called the police in that city, but they told us to go pound sand; you have to go to the police where the report was filed, get them to contact us yadda yadda yadda. Luckily one of our riding buddies at the time was an undercover type detective down there, who is covered in tattoos and is all around intimidating (big softy though, genuine nice guy). We called him up and he basically said "awe fuck that noise hold up" and within 30 minutes he had the bike back.

Bike got stolen when I was in college. Friend spotted someone we knew riding it. A little yelling and some mild choking and I got it back. Here it would most certainly end up with a squad of meth heads, am I gonna go get it from them? Nope.

 

[canadmos]

Bike got stolen when I was in college. Friend spotted someone we knew riding it. A little yelling and some mild choking and I got it back. Here it would most certainly end up with a squad of meth heads, am I gonna go get it from them? Nope.

You could pay another squad of meth heads to counter them.

 

[Toshi]

Bike got stolen when I was in college. Friend spotted someone we knew riding it. A little yelling and some mild choking and I got it back. Here it would most certainly end up with a squad of meth heads, am I gonna go get it from them? Nope.

I had a very rare model of trumpet stolen from my Pathfinder parked in Belltown late one night.

I discovered this around midnight. I called every pawn shop in and around Pioneer Square when they opened the following day, and sure enough some heroin addict tried to pawn it an hour later.

got the trumpet back (mildly damaged, repaired adequately later). Perp got charged. I even got restitution years later that covered the repair costs—garnished some portion of his paycheck for quite a while.

 

[Westy]

I had a very rare model of trumpet stolen from my Pathfinder parked in Belltown late one night.

I discovered this around midnight. I called every pawn shop in and around Pioneer Square when they opened the following day, and sure enough some heroin addict tried to pawn it an hour later.

got the trumpet back (mildly damaged, repaired adequately later). Perp got charged. I even got restitution years later that covered the repair costs—garnished some portion of his paycheck for quite a while.

That wouldn't happen today

 

[Westy]

You could pay another squad of meth heads to counter them.

Just guessing that no business interactions with meth heads goes well.

 

[toodles]

That's true, nothing will really prevent theft other than maybe a cocaine bear or bullcrew standing guard.

Thats too extreme. Just stick with the cocaine bear.

We actually recovered a mate's stolen bike last year. It popped up on FB marketplace nearly 12 months after it got pilfered from his place. He let the crew know and one guy teed up a meeting pretending to be a keen buyer with cash. I went as the "buyer" and met the seller in a carpark. Just some little junkie kid and his deadbeat dad in the end.

Note - the guy who lost the bike initially is a fucken huge unit of a person, so when the buyer listed the bike and claimed reason for selling was "too small" I expected a giant to be shifting it but instead some weedy dipshit and his deadbeat father figure. Was a sigh of relief from me

"Test rode" the bike over to a car and padlocked it to the bullbar. Then the lads all popped out of their hiding places and the deadbeat dad realised and got back into his car and started the engine. Junkie kid tried to fast talk but soon noped and bailed with his dad as well but we filmed the whole thing and gave it to the cops. At least the cops went and busted him, he got done for possession and distribution of stolen property although they couldn't pin him for the OG breakin that took the bike.

 

[Jozz]

The word is out about airtags and all. Bike thiefs (not meth heads) will tear bike appart quickly after theft to get rid of tracking device.

 

[Jm_]

The word is out about airtags and all. Bike thiefs (not meth heads) will tear bike appart quickly after theft to get rid of tracking device.

Then use green locktite

 

[Jozz]

Then use green locktite

To put where?

 

[norbar]

We called the police in that city, but they told us to go pound sand; you have to go to the police where the report was filed, get them to contact us yadda yadda yadda. Luckily one of our riding buddies at the time was an undercover type detective down there, who is covered in tattoos and is all around intimidating (big softy though, genuine nice guy). We called him up and he basically said "awe fuck that noise hold up" and within 30 minutes he had the bike back.

The way US police is organized never ceases to amaze me. Every local police force being like a separate kingdom so no one works with no one. Sure Euro Police has it's problems but at least we don't have issues like Police depts not sending crucial info to themselves.

 

[norbar]

The word is out about airtags and all. Bike thiefs (not meth heads) will tear bike appart quickly after theft to get rid of tracking device.

Not all of them are as organized.

 

[Jozz]

Not all of them are as organized.

They are around here. Using Strava to pin point valuable bikes. They empty garages and houses. 4, 5, 6 bikes at a time

 

[toodles]

Not all of them are as organized.

I'd wager that little syndicate that got busted with a U-Haul truck full of bikes they'd stolen from Whistler would at least know to check them for trackers now. From memory they got caught after nicking a GPS tracked police bait bike.

 

[toodles]

Not sure if these devices satisfy "airplane mode" requirements but would also be handy for regular travellers or racers who have to deal with lost and delayed bikes a bit. At least someone would know where the fuck the bike is.... sitting in a baggage handling facility on the other side of the world.

 

[rideit]

I think it would be good while traveling. I'm looking at you Airlines that constantly loose bags.

Or maybe you're in Moab and someone "accidentally" had too much to drink (pretty much impossible in Utah, BTW) and "accidentally" took the wrong Yeti.

 

[canadmos]

This seems to be another option, that someone pointed out in the PB comments:

GPS Tracker Pro - Turnkey tracker with real-time tracking | Invoxia

Protect your valuables or vehicle against theft with real-time GPS Tracking over LTE-M. Features Geofencing, Theft Alerts, Location History and Proximity Radar. Works with all cars, motorcycles, bags, boxes, etc.

invoxia.com

Its a little cheaper too, though not integrated into the bike, which could be a good thing.

 

[norbar]

I'd wager that little syndicate that got busted with a U-Haul truck full of bikes they'd stolen from Whistler would at least know to check them for trackers now. From memory they got caught after nicking a GPS tracked police bait bike.

Them? Yeah. If it's a syndicate roaming bikeparks sure. But a lot of bike thefts happen because of random burglars.

 

[norbar]

They are around here. Using Strava to pin point valuable bikes. They empty garages and houses. 4, 5, 6 bikes at a time

The key part is not all of them. Just because there are some groups that are very organized doesn't mean all of them are. They just get the most press and stay in your brain because of how organized they are. Im not going to speak about your area but when I see robbed bike shop stories from around the world the guys are rarely super duper crime people. Those groups sure do exist but if an airtag helps me in 50% of the cases or even 30% of the cases I'd take it over 0% of the cases.

 

[toodles]

The key part is not all of them. Just because there are some groups that are very organized doesn't mean all of them are. They just get the most press and stay in your brain because of how organized they are. Im not going to speak about your area but when I see robbed bike shop stories from around the world the guys are rarely super duper crime people. Those groups sure do exist but if an airtag helps me in 50% of the cases or even 30% of the cases I'd take it over 0% of the cases.

Oh absolutely. A shop near me had a window smashed and the thief grabbed some crazy expensive customers bike worth like $20K. It was later spotted leant up against the entryway of the local shops a few days later so its some dumb junkie using it as a get-around no idea of the value of the thing

 

[dump]

They are around here. Using Strava to pin point valuable bikes. They empty garages and houses. 4, 5, 6 bikes at a time

Happy to not use any of those services! The few times I did use one, I always started and ended far from my house. Nosy neighbors also add a level of security .

 

[Westy]

Oh absolutely. A shop near me had a window smashed and the thief grabbed some crazy expensive customers bike worth like $20K. It was later spotted leant up against the entryway of the local shops a few days later so its some dumb junkie using it as a get-around no idea of the value of the thing

Some junky living in a tent next to the highway near me rides around on a cherry Specialized Demo. I am sure he is just a hardcore downhiller who can't give up the one remaining possession of his former life.

 

[toodles]

Some junky living in a tent next to the highway near me rides around on a cherry Specialized Demo. I am sure he is just a hardcore downhiller who can't give up the one remaining possession of his former life.

@26forlyfe

 

[Jozz]

Happy to not use any of those services! The few times I did use one, I always started and ended far from my house. Nosy neighbors also add a level of security .

Strava has a setup to hide Start and End point automatically. A lot of people don't know about this.

 

[canadmos]

Strava has a setup to hide Start and End point automatically. A lot of people don't know about this.

There is also a setting to opt out of contributing to the global heatmap.

Those types of things should be on by default, but alas data gathering and selling....

 

[Jozz]

There is also a setting to opt out of contributing to the global heatmap.

Those types of things should be on by default, but alas data gathering and selling....

Yes! Indeed, heatmap opt-out is as important.

 

[norbar]

Oh absolutely. A shop near me had a window smashed and the thief grabbed some crazy expensive customers bike worth like $20K. It was later spotted leant up against the entryway of the local shops a few days later so its some dumb junkie using it as a get-around no idea of the value of the thing

Remember the guy who sold stolen Honda DH bikes on ebay claiming he "found them in his basement" ?