http://bilder.afterbuy.de/images/22228/GPS_Tracker_23.jpg

 

http://bilder.afterbuy.de/images/22228/0051.jpg

 

http://bilder.afterbuy.de/images/22228/0071.jpg

 

http://bilder.afterbuy.de/images/22228/GPS_Tracker_01.jpg

http://bilder.afterbuy.de/images/22228/GPS_Tracker_2.jpg

thats exactly what i just bought. i'll give a quick review now that i've had a chance to play with it.

 

all you have to do is phone it and you get a SMS message back with all the information shown. lattitude and longditude can be typed into any satnav to find the location. the time given in the message is the time of the last known GPS reading (it searches for signal all the time). so if it looses signal (in a tunnel, multistorie, etc) then you will at least know the last known location and should be able to track it.

 

it has lots of functions that can help with bike security. a movement alarm can be set that will text you when the bike moves anywhere (e.g. if it gets nicked). this only takes one message to set up. but the manual says the sensitivity of the alarm is 200 meters (your bike is well gone by the time it reacts). there is an SOS button on the unit that could presumably be hooked up to a prox/motion detector like that abc alarm?

 

the geo-fence function sets a box around an area that you allow the bike to be in. if it moves out side of that area it sends you a text. a bit like the movement alarm.

 

if your bike is stolen you can use the auto tracking function to make it fire off messages every (X) seconds. this would be good if it was a moving target like if they put it in a van. there is a real time tracking feature that directly interfaces with mapping software on a good enough phone. but my phone is not set up for that. if you have a web phone you just follow the link in the message. there is another real time tracking feature where it interfaces with a computer but that seems complicated to set up.

 

it gives you the capability of being able to listen to whats going on around the stolen bike. i don't know if thats any use?

 

i tried putting the bug inside my battery box but there is no signal. so i had to just hide it somewhere on the frame. it's made of molded plastic so you can't open it to extend the aerial outside the battery box. thats the only draw-back. i have powered it from my main battery using a 5V dc converter and its accessory charger, so it will never need to be manually recharged. i just put an old vodaphone sim in it that i hadn't used for 3 years and it still had £4 worth of credit on it. cost me £75 to get it from a UK location.

 

i'm pleased with it

Edited January 28, 201016 yr by monster

Thank you for the feedback / review. I'm interested to hear more about your 5V DC converter. Do you use a 36V battery ? Many thanks, Daniel

i wouldn't trust any chain either. you can break a link in 5 seconds with two pairs of pliers (maul grips) just by bending them back and forth. experiment for yourself.

I'd love to see someone break a decent chain with pliers when three foot boltcroppers won't do it.

The tracker looks really good, is there any way to stop someone ripping it off and leaving it in the pavement? I guess not enabling the alarm any making it discrete would help.

Edited January 28, 201016 yr by Mussels

If you can't hide it inside something like the frame for instance then its appeal is limited IMHO...under the saddle may work though....

its wraped in duct tape. most of my bike is made of duct tape. noone would guess its there.

Comiserations, I've had 4 or more (lost count of how many bikes I've owned over the years) stolen and the sinking feeling you get when you realise it's gone is just horrible, then you get angry and after a while you're still angry but you start working out how to get another one. The last one I only had for a month, bought it as an intermediate one to ride until during the 3 month wait for my ebike.

 

I'll have to try the pen trick to unlock my lock as I lost one of the two keys a couple of years ago, the lock itself is well over 10 years old now and has survived 4+ bikes.

If you can't hide it inside something like the frame for instance then its appeal is limited IMHO...under the saddle may work though....

 

An oblong one that could fit inside a seatpost would be ideal, metal seatposts likely wouldn't allow radio comms but would a carbon fibre seat post allow GPS & GPRS signals?

 

A lot of mountain bikers have very expensive bikes so spend lots on lightweight components, carbon fibre seatposts being one of them and there would definitely be a market for tracking devices in seatposts.

Interesting, I think I may have to get one of these. Just got a spangly new DH bike, and although it's insured, if it goes walkies it would be great to just go and pick it up. The only problem I can forsee with using these on high end road/mtb's is that, like mine, most are custom build and easily recogniseable. They appeal to the pro bike thief, who will have buyers for the parts already, and it will more than likely be in pieces by the time you realise it's gone. At this point they would have found it unless it is buried deep inside the frame. The good thing about electric bikes is that they are certinly not appealing to the pro thief, so are less likely to be split. Hence a tracker would probably remain un-discovered for longer.

 

Maybe the answer would be to mount it inside the steerer tube, using a star fangled nut to hold it in place as these still have gaps in them? I once used this exact method to hide some sardines in a friends race bike. They went undetected for 5 weeks:eek: The best bit about it all was he has a people carrier, so the bike was inside with him when he went to Scotland to race (from Bournemouth....lol) not on a carrier, the smell was epic, as was his face upon return. For the record we are actually good friends, and it was a revenge strike for something he did to me previously.

 

Another possibility would be to mount in the frame and make your own antennea extension that could come through a bottle mount perhaps? I am definately going to get one and do some testing!

 

Regards

 

Lloyd

I'd love to see someone break a decent chain with pliers when three foot boltcroppers won't do it.

 

 

Quickrelease.tv » Blog Archive » Lock it or lose it

 

 

No offence monster but I had to chuckle when you suggested the chain I pictured could be broken with pliers or grips. Not saying it cant be defeated, it is still a compromise with heavier motorbike chains........

 

http://i50.tinypic.com/rirbl1.jpg

Edited January 29, 201016 yr by eddieo

SCUM of the earth, jobless no hopes, will keep an eye out for you.

SCUM of the earth, jobless no hopes, will keep an eye out for you.

 

Everything mankind produces is imperfect, needing to be tested in every possible way so that the imperfections

can be found and corrected.

 

The position with man made laws and man made security is no different, both are produced with flaws and need

to tested in every possible way, the flaws found then subsequently corrected.

 

The group of people who carry out that testing we call criminals and punish them for the damage they do, but it's

undeniable that their activities are a valuable service to the community.

 

The almost thiefproof nature of the latest cars is a testament to how much we owe them for their past services.

.

For anyone buying a padlock they are often the weakest link in the chain, apart from brute force attacks this link shows how easy it is to make the right tool to open them quickly. Look for one where the shackle is protected like the one in Eddieo's picture.

TBH I don't think that the kind of person who might buy a stolen Ezee (or a higher end pushbike like a flash racer or mountainbike) is usually jobless though.. they wouldn't be able to afford even the "street value"

 

and contrary to popular misconception, the more successful drug dealers (i.e those who aren't caught!) use very old and battered transport (whether its two or four wheels) to avoid attracting attention.

 

I used to have aspirations of one day joining the lycra lot - before I realised that as passing 30 means you now grow sideways instead of upwards so I'd have to go for a Vladimir Putin-style fitness régime to be able to even think of wearing that sort of gear without my belly hanging out..

 

and the impression I got from reading Cycling weekly and local club sites is that there were loads of competitors who would think nothing of nicking their rivals bike (or bits thereof) as there was clearly a thriving black market for stolen high-end racers and parts.

 

Ssadly I think we need to realise the same will apply to e-bikes (particularly as "generation Y" gets interested in them) and beef up our security accordingly.

 

I only ride the Wisper to places I know it will be 100% safe such as work or trusted friends houses, and even then I watch it like a hawk..

the week link in the chain is the welds. just put some grips on the link either side of the weld and bend it back and forth. it will break in 30 seconds. i worked this out when i was trying to chain my batteries to my bike and i needed to alter the length of the chain. my chain was 5mm thick and had links about an inch long. your results may differ.

 

for the 5V dc converter i used something like this but i found one that went up to 72V input. requires soldering. great for charging phones, satnav, etc.

i used the Lariteck LT4DW11 18-72V IN 5V OUT DC-DC Converter

The group of people who carry out that testing we call criminals and punish them for the damage they do, but it's

undeniable that their activities are a valuable service to the community.

 

We need bike thieves so that we can stop them being stealing bikes

We need bike thieves so that we can stop them being stealing bikes

 

Yes, it sounds like a circular argument, but it isn't in fact. Even if by some miracle we had no criminals today, the

nature of the young growing human makes a new generation of criminality inevitable, bringing with it the need to

protect. There's also the need to find the flaws in our laws so that they can be revised to improve them.

 

That argument isn't an original of mine by the way, it's a well established part of discussion in criminology circles.

It's used mainly in connection with discussion and teaching on the purpose of punishment, revenge or reform (both

together are impossible).

.

Edited January 31, 201016 yr by flecc

You couldn't make it up

 

Quick update.

 

It has been sufficient time now, and no sign anywhere, so I thought it might be worth reporting it to plod on the off-chance that it had been handed in. I mean, even if it was wrecked, there might be something salvageable.

 

Having reported bikes stolen in the past (only to get a crime number for insurance purposes) I was amazed to see how PC the force is these days.

 

I kid you not, I was asked, in an earnest manner whether I felt I needed counselling. Ffs - I loved that bike, but counselling!! Who pays for that?

 

Anyway, it get's better (in a good way). They are doing the following:

 

 

Contacting the council for the CCTV footage, and are prepared to trawl through four hours worth, frame by frame.

 

Contacting Wetherspoons to obtain their CCTV footage and doing the same.

 

Trawling the second hand bike shops

 

I am absolutely amazed. All of this seemingly offered as a standard service. They didn't even have issue with why I had waited so long to report. Made it very difficult to remember what I had been wearing though. I guess the one thing that will probably come out of this, is I will get the answer to the main question. Did I screw up and mislock it, or were they really very clever... and if it's the former, do I want to know :o

It's good to hear that they are taking it so seriously Nick. I felt awful about your posting of the loss since you'd

only just bought that new 14 Ah battery from me and had virtually no use from it.

 

Fingers crossed they turn up something, it woud be good to recover it regardless of condition since at least the

high value battery should be unaffected.

.

I guess the one thing that will probably come out of this, is I will get the answer to the main question. Did I screw up and mislock it, or were they really very clever... and if it's the former, do I want to know :o

 

Fingers crossed for the search.

 

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/files/imagecache/feature/files/20080314_sherlock_holmes.jpg

 

I am absolutely amazed. All of this seemingly offered as a standard service. They didn't even have issue with why I had waited so long to report. Made it very difficult to remember what I had been wearing though. I guess the one thing that will probably come out of this, is I will get the answer to the main question. Did I screw up and mislock it, or were they really very clever... and if it's the former, do I want to know :o

 

 

I would wanna know if me

 

If you did "screw up" I would reason that there is more chance of getting it back? as probably an opportunistic theft, so bike could be around locally languishing in someones hall with a flat battery........

 

The police probably offered counciling because of the delay in reporting? Assuming you where to heart broken to do anything about it:)

I was amazed to see how PC the force is these days.

Just to reinforce that thought it isn't called a Police Force anymore as that's agressive, it is now the Police Service.

It's good to hear that they are taking it so seriously Nick. I felt awful about your posting of the loss since you'd

only just bought that new 14 Ah battery from me and had virtually no use from it.

 

Fingers crossed they turn up something, it woud be good to recover it regardless of condition since at least the

high value battery should be unaffected.

.

 

Thanks Tony.

 

Initially I was of a similar view to you. I had looked at the bike that morning and realised that I was going to have to spend a fair bit on it in the near future and funnily enough wondering in general whether I shouldn't think about a new one.

 

I now realise that I was missing the point entirely: Me and that bike were made for each other.

 

I purchased another Torq from Nick (Tiberius). It is a great bike, with dual batteries, cycle analyst etc etc. It is a great machine, and I really like it. I have also used a faster wheel on my other bike. It's an improvement, and again I really like it.

 

Problem is, whilst both of these actions are positive, neither of them can actually replace the old bike. I don't wish to sound silly or ungrateful, but the new Torq has very different characteristics to my old one. I'm not sure if it is an ezee or SB motor, but it's characteristics are quite different to the old one. The suspension forks also feel very different. It's more of a grand tourer. Also, because it is so nice and looks far more expensive I am totally paranoid about leaving it anywhere. Ever.

 

Prior to the theft, the old one was perfect utility transport. It looked innocuous (or so I thought), so I could leave it unattended, it used to accelerate like a mad thing, and I could keep it at 22mph over most terrain. My typical avg speed was between 18-20mph.

 

It was pretty well stripped down, with relatively thin tyres, and because I am a reasonable cyclist, I could cope with hills up to 1:5. Apart from when accelerating hard, the motor was near silent in operation.

 

I guess what I really want is all three....