Road Cycling - LoJack for bicycles... does this exist?

Two commercials in a row while I watch the Cleveland Cavs vs. the Boston Celts (no tv, streaming, just waiting for the Lakers game)... LoJack commercials. I totally forgot about LoJack until these commercials, which may be a good sign that I haven't had to think of them.

One of my family's cars has LoJack. I'd like to get LoJack (or equiv.) for my bicycle... Heck, I'd get LoJack for EVERY bicycle I have - even the 'rain' bike.

Why doesn't this exist? I could easily see the placement of the tracking device within the tubing somewhere... say deep in the seatpost, and placed there only by a special tool, etc:.

Oh yes, the obligatory: how much would the tracking device weigh? :D

No, seriously, that would be a consideration as well. I'd imagine no more than 9-15gms. That would be acceptable for me.


Anyway...
Has this been attempted before? Does this service exist?
Is there someone on BF who has the capital to start a company offering this service?
I'd pay for it.

Thoughts?

i remember my friend talking about this very subject he said there is one, i will search around and see wha ti can find, also i will ask him for you heh.

where are you going to put it so that it won't interfere with the radio signal?

I think bikes are mechanically way too simple to hid that device somewhere on or in the bike.
It's like hiding a bowl of salad in a skeleton.

The idea is interesting though.

University of Toronto Police have been using GPS equipped bait bikes to catch the on-campus thieves for a while now - successfully

http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/061120-2634.asp

University of Toronto Police have been using GPS equipped bait bikes to catch the on-campus thieves for a while now - successfully

http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/061120-2634.asp

This is designed for bait systems, I guess teir technology would be a lot better. Would lo-jack be nearly as good as this?

Depending on the size of the technology, you could drop it into the down tube with the seat post removed. The antenna would have to feed through the seat post and somehow be adhered to the under-side of the saddle. ...at least that's one option. Great until someone rips off your seat/post.

where are you going to put it so that it won't interfere with the radio signal?


Where would it interfere with the signal? I mean, compare this to an automobile (or motorcycle) - lots more metal, usually a lot more steel. Electronics? They've got a heck of a lot more electrical issues going on than a bicycle, even if the e-groups (Shimano/Campagnolo) come out.

Besides, say it's on a carbon frame. Rather, it's IN the carbon frame. If the LoJack (or equiv) company creates a method to reach into the inner depths of the tubing, areas that are not normally reachable by the frame's normal access points (see circled pictures, below), then how is there a risk of the transmitter being taken off? Even if the person takes the bicycle to the equivalent of a 'chop shop', the transmitter will still give off signals. How much time would you leave a good bicycle unattended? LoJack has claimed "finding a car within 30 minutes." So... you're saying someone will completely dismantle the bicycle within 30 minutes including leaving the location of the theft, going to the 'chop shop' location?

I think the LoJack for bicycles concept is definitely viable - and marketable, given the increasing number of people cycling these days and people who are concerned about the preservation of their favourite mode of transport! ;)

**referenced image. I just took a basic image of a bicycle (borrowed from BD, but purely for illustrative purposes**

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/9245/lojackmp8.jpg

Depending on the size of the technology, you could drop it into the down tube with the seat post removed. The antenna would have to feed through the seat post and somehow be adhered to the under-side of the saddle. ...at least that's one option. Great until someone rips off your seat/post.

Yeah, but it could be really deep in the seat-tube. There's usually a lot of distance to cover/place a transmitter between the BB shell and the space where a seatpost would typically occupy.

Don't forget, you will have to change a battery occasionally.

After a good internet read, the only ones I have found are too big for the biggest seat tube. I would personally be quite interested in one.

Is there some problem with using a metal frame as the antenna? With the right impedance (is that the right word?) in the system it could work.

I like this discussion and hope it continues. Who knew that there might be a good discussion on BF:Road?

I just realized that next week either on Tuesday or Wednesday I have the opportunity to meet up with a former client of mine who runs a business that focuses on these sort of devices and technologies. He also happens to be a cyclist (but a MTB guy ;)). More importantly, he likes bu$ine$$. I'll post up what I find out from him as soon as I have a conversation with him about this.

You know how you can get a personalized chip in you dog or cat? how about that? with your personal information in it...

You know how you can get a personalized chip in you dog or cat? how about that? with your personal information in it...

That would work well to determine ownership after recovery, as the reader must be quite close to what is essentially an RFID tag, but I think most people here want to assure the recovery aspect.

where are you going to put it so that it won't interfere with the radio signal?

I bet it would work pretty well inside a carbon frame. Inside the seat tube would be my suggestion as well, or simply fabbed into the frames on high end carbon bikes. The device itself wouldn't have to be that expensive - it's basically just a cell phone.

The biggest problem I see with this is that it would require a battery that would have to be recharged periodically, meaning it would have to be accessible somehow.

...I know this may sound completely off the wall on first glance - but what if riding the bike actually charges the battery? Either through the motion of the cranks or... something... Again, it may be a little off the wall of an idea.

...I know this may sound completely off the wall on first glance - but what if riding the bike actually charges the battery? Either through the motion of the cranks or... something... Again, it may be a little off the wall of an idea.

Seems like you'd have to design the whole bike around it in order to make that happen, and I think the battery would need to be replaceable, as even the best rechargeables wear out after just a couple of years.

Also, I'm not sure who the market for this would be. As I recall, Lojack comes with a monthly fee, which is reasonable in comparison to the replacement cost of a $50K car, but for a $1K bicycle, it's not, really. After just a few months, you'd have spent a sizable chunk of the cost of a second bike. Furthermore, having Lojack would not really make me all that much more comfortable about leaving my obviously expensive racing bike locked up in public.

The people I could see thinking this is useful would be the folks who use bikes as transportation - urban dwelling freds and fixie-riding hipster doofuses. The fixie scenesters might be willing to pay for it, but I'm not so sure about the urban freds. I have a feeling it would be hard to sell them on a subscription service that costs more than a few bucks a month.

True. Damnit.
Yes, I'm thinking about all cyclists and all bicycles.
(Except for those recumbents, of course. They don't count)

At a reasonable price it would be mostly oriented towards the commuters - but also anyone, really. I would pay a low fee per year for coverage. I mean, low fee to recover a bicycle saves time and stress if the bicycle is stolen - a lot of work, time, and energy goes into getting that bicycle just right for each rider/owner. Customization, fitting, parts... in a sense, it does become as 'valuable' to someone as a car. How low can the monthly fee be? Pretty damn low if the service business is set up on an intelligent and efficient platform.

stash it in a water bottle, or they should make one that looks like something else, like a bikepump, or u can hide it under something like that. they could also make it so it is a feature in a bike computer, or bike gps. u could also hide it under your handlebar tape too. and for the identification chip, i think i heard u an register your bike at most police stations, so if they find it they can know whos it is by the frame number or something or other.

I think I figured it out
put it in the steerer tube, sitting on the brake caliper mounting bolt and run the antenna through the fork.
you can power it through some dyno type device.

Most road bikes come with carbon forks these days and thieves wouldn't take apart the fork only.