eelvio Posted October 17, 2014 Share Just a by the way - would it be able to connect with Strava (deal klincher) tracking software + armed reaction. These are items that add to the cost of a unit whether you pay monthly or once off, the development is expensive and to have armed response comes at a price. It is certainly something to look at and will be taken into consideration when putting a needs assessment together, however chances are you will take your phone with anyway, so this product should then be simple and inexpensive which would make it more worthwhile. Otherwise you would have to make it do everything that your Garmin's and other GPS devices do including Strava and the cost would be a hell of a lot more which seems to be a problem for people. Its funny how we spend R8k on a cellphone but skimp on a helmet. Edited October 17, 2014 by eelvio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelvio Posted October 17, 2014 Share hey Lee, I for 1 would not be interested they can have it, my insurance will pay out with some luck and I will buy another. A bike is a nice to have but not a necessity.... What if the device saved on your insurance cost? Same as most basic vehicle tracking devices, as in, fit a device and pay less on your premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbit Posted October 17, 2014 Share How about the device only becomes 'awake' when you activate it. Ie. only once it's stolen do you phone the tracker guys, they turn on your device and then track. I'm not too worried about panic buttons etc as most of my riding happens nearish to public roads and I can get to help before the cops can get to me tbh. Also this way the battery would last much longer - having to charge it regularly would become a hassle for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vangar Posted October 17, 2014 Share What if the device saved on your insurance cost? Same as most basic vehicle tracking devices, as in, fit a device and pay less on your premium. I'll answer as well since I said the same. Still not, now I have to worry about a device working at all times or the insurer doesn't pay, or come payout time they erm and ahh. I pay R196 for a R30 000 bike, so how much would I really save me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelvio Posted October 17, 2014 Share i've been thinking of this one for a long long long long time. To be honest, I will only purchase a device that is effective in Amsterdam. That for me is the ultimate testing ground of stolen bikes. fwiw a friend of mine had her bike stolen in leafy vancouver last week, locked in a car inside their property.Fair enough but people are under the misconception that if you have a device it will always work as intended. Even expensive vehicles are recalled for errors in design or manufacture. So it's about the right quality product to start with and then still expect a small percentage of quality control issues.A cheap unit with a poor quality chipset will have a high chance of failure.A badly installed unit will in all probability fail.An educated criminal targeting a particular product will find a way around most problems but that is few and far between, whereas an opportunist looking to do some previously/currently disadvantaged shopping, which we all seem to encounter, could be traced with a higher possibility of the return of such stolen property. BTW - disclaimer and added to OP, I am not from a tracking company, I do however supply hardware to them and have been thinking long and hard on how to help our cycling community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floatfox Posted October 17, 2014 Share I dont think that bike tracking could work..what do you want to achieve, you want to reduce hijackings..getting 500 out of 40000 cyclists in south africa to fit a tracking device just wont work. And it will be expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floatfox Posted October 17, 2014 Share If there was a good idea to reduce theft and hijackings that would cost you around R200 per year....would you sign up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i24 Posted October 17, 2014 Share I don't think electronic tracking is going to work for bicycles. They day your bike gets stolen, the battery will happen to be flat. Or it will go flat before the recovery can be effected. Otherwise the thief will find a means to remove the device off the bicycle. I think a better plan would be to mark bikes with a "microdots" or similar. Microdots could also be applied to components like rims and forks. This would require a register of owners and bike "vin" numbers (maybe someone like PPA could manage this.) Once the markings are applied, the only ongoing costs is keeping the owner register up to date. No monthly tracking costs. You could afford to register and mark all your bikes. The database could allow for the components which get upgraded and sold to new owners to be registered with the new owners while the replacements items are marked and registered to the original owner. A bike, with a frame and components, that can be traced back to its original owner will have much less value on the 2nd hand market. Lower value will mean less motivation to steal or hijack them. This idea is being promoted in other parts of the world, for example like these: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/how-to-security-tag-your-bike/https://www.bikeregister.com/ Costs seem to be about R400 per bike. It would be interesting to get some feedback from other parts of the world to hear how well the concept works. Disclaimer: I am not in the microdot business. But I am a member of the PPA, I hope they can take this up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porqui Posted October 17, 2014 Share i24 there are already tracking devices available that work - can locate with phone or laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelvio Posted October 17, 2014 Share I dont think that bike tracking could work..what do you want to achieve, you want to reduce hijackings..getting 500 out of 40000 cyclists in south africa to fit a tracking device just wont work. And it will be expensive. i24 there are already tracking devices available that work - can locate with phone or laptop.Yes there are devices as mentioned I have a 60g one available with battery that lasts for in excess of 2 weeks in a sleep mode and will wake up with movement. It just does not lend to hiding in or on a bike very well in its current casing. I am trying to get an idea of what people want or don't want and then I can get some info and determine whether the cost could be justified or it would be just plain ridiculous. float fox the idea is also to help when someone may be in trouble not only stolen or jacked bike. As much as I want the comments, I am looking to get positive criticism or ideas so if you foresee a problem tell me what it is. 500 units will not cut it but 2000 may just be enough. No one has answered my questions yet only really giving their opinion, which is fine but I want more info on what people want.What would make you use one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johanpre44 Posted October 17, 2014 Share All my bikes are fairly cheap and insured. Stolen bike will be inconvenient at most, would rather spend the monthly tracking fee on races or rides in safe environments. If the cost is extremely low and I do not need to worry about charging the permanent device on the bike it may be an option. How about tripping an "alarm" if the bike and I do not move together (2 tracking devices, one on the bike, the other on myself), possibly incorporating crashes in this scenario. I also think the the best place to hide the device will be inside downtube near the BB, will be the most work to remove the device from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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