GPS tracking for ebikes...what do you recommend?

C

ClintBX

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Hi ESFMs,

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this thread.

I'm looking for a trustworthy gps tracking device for my ebike. I've gone through 2 dissapointing trackers.

The first one was a fake A8 tracker that didn't send me any coordinates. Just a link to some error page.

The second one is a TKSTAR that worked okay for about six months or so until it stopped responding altogether. I've tried ressting it, different commands, etc.

Even when it works well, usually have to ring it or text Twice or more before it responds and the battery goes flat even when you don't use for a week.

I want a tracker that I can conceal in my battery pack bag so that, should my bike or the battery should get stolen, I can track it immediately without crossing my fingers in hope that it will respond this time.

What's a trustworthy gps tracker you use that you can recommend?

I don't want to waste more time and money getting a bad tracker again.

Clinton
 
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75888

This guy offers an option. I'd imagine the gps would only work if the battery is plugged in but perhaps you can rig a small pouch cell in the controller to charge while the battery is hooked up and continue to power the gps module after it is unplugged. This isn't the most plug and play solution but all said and done it would be pretty elegant.
 
Looks cool but I want something simple and again, I want a tracker I can put in the battery.

You see, my battery is a triangle that I strap on and while I usually lock the bike with a D-lock and nobody has the thought of unstrapping the battery from my frame, I would prefer having total piece of mind by having a tracker in the in or the battery should it happen.
 
When a tracker's specs say that they are GSM, doesthat mean that they are only working on 2G network?

Because I'm just learning now that 2G is being phased out and I'm,wondering if thats why my TKSTAR won't answer my calls or texts anymore.
 
Banggood, some cheap units to play with. Actually some decent circuitry. Local fellow used one to catch a bike theif with a garage full of stolen bikes.
 
GSM is just a standards group (as well as the standards) developed by Europe and used worldwide for cellular - it is by far the most common-standard and is not limited to 2G and is the standard adopted by AT&T, T-mobile, etc. One of the few countries with another standard is the US which also has CDMA (Verizon, Sprint, stc.).

I've always thought tracking for a bike to be.... err, difficult. Where do you put the thing where it has good RF view (rules out the frame), isn't totally obvious and easy to remove? I guess the battery is sort of a good place but in my hard case batteries there isn't likely enough room and now you have a tracker for the battery, not the bicycle. I'm getting more concerned that as time goes on and thieves start to realize the value of the batteries, they'll start stealing just the batteries since they are very easy to steal - then you're left with two choices, let them steal the battery and track just it or like I do when I'm locked in a higher crime area, take the battery with me. I don't care much for a monthly charge unless it's quite low.

I think I'm more inclined to work with insurance - my homeowners covers my electric bicycle. I don't really think it's practical to have a tracker for a bicycle - just the battery and I'm not even sure that's practical due to the tracker size...
 
AZeBikeGuy said:
GSM is just a standards group (as well as the standards) developed by Europe and used worldwide for cellular - it is by far the most common-standard and is not limited to 2G and is the standard adopted by AT&T, T-mobile, etc. One of the few countries with another standard is the US which also has CDMA (Verizon, Sprint, stc.).

I've always thought tracking for a bike to be.... err, difficult. Where do you put the thing where it has good RF view (rules out the frame), isn't totally obvious and easy to remove? I guess the battery is sort of a good place but in my hard case batteries there isn't likely enough room and now you have a tracker for the battery, not the bicycle. I'm getting more concerned that as time goes on and thieves start to realize the value of the batteries, they'll start stealing just the batteries since they are very easy to steal - then you're left with two choices, let them steal the battery and track just it or like I do when I'm locked in a higher crime area, take the battery with me. I don't care much for a monthly charge unless it's quite low.

I think I'm more inclined to work with insurance - my homeowners covers my electric bicycle. I don't really think it's practical to have a tracker for a bicycle - just the battery and I'm not even sure that's practical due to the tracker size...
Click to expand...


Ive considered contents insurance but that can be costly too. And even if I get my ebike covered in the case of theft, I still have the inconvenience of not having it or the battery until I can get a new one.

Having the power to track it and recoup is much more appealing and there some phone companies that sell prepaid plans that are zuper cheap. I'm paying $10 for 365 days of credit.
 
Ok - $10/365days is a winner... but it still doesn't get you around the "technical" challenges.

What type of batteries are you using? Soft bag or hard shell?

I'm following this and if you find a solution at that cost that protects the bike and not just the battery, I might be on-board. I have several batteries and I rotate them so I'm not using the same one for each ride and a battery-based tracker just won't work unless I put them in all the batteries or only have a special battery for rides into high theft areas (like the local college campus) and I'm still concerned within a year or so we'll start seeing an ever-increasing rate of battery theft - it's so easy to just rip the bottle carrier mount ones off if you don't mind destroying the cradle... I'm pretty sure thieves don't care about the carrier...
 
Yeah, mine is ine of triangle bags strapped on the frame batteries. I like to strap the tracker in a special spot in there.

If you have a hard case, that could be a challenge. Might still be possible but if your juggling batteries, might not be a practical approach. Unless you can have 1 tracker to conveniently strap on the outside in a way that conceals it and have a geofense setup. You can get trackers that alerts you the moment its moved outside a given perimeter.
 
I think it's nearly impossible to conceal a tracker on a bike. Where on earth can you put it where it will still have reception (i.e. not in the frame) and not be easy to spot to the thieves - after all if they are worth their salt as bike thieves (I've got one heck of a lock so it won't be the casual guy) they will be looking for them.

If you want to prevent being a victim you have to think like the thief!

Your idea of using the battery bag is a good one since there will be a lot of electronics in there and it might be "camouflaged" and if they steal just the battery bag they'll be taking the tracker with them and that's the second largest big ticket item.

Personally I like having several hard shell batteries that change so quickly (just a couple of seconds - it takes me longer to enter the ride in my logbook!). Riding in town there's always at least one that's charged at the house (my bike carries two) and when I go out to the backcountry I can have enough to more than wear me out in a day with no charging. But it makes using them for concealment pretty much a no-go. Oh well...
 
This whole idea is somewhat misguided. You should be focused on preventing anyone from messing with the bike in the first place. If I put my ebike somewhere that's not secure and I can't see it I know things might be missing when I come back...so I don't do that. Anyway, you might get your bike back using a tracker with really low hanging fruit but I wouldn't expect it to happen if the person stealing your bike is halfway intelligent (many of them are).
 
I definitely focus on prevention. I rarely park in what are high-traffic / bike-theft areas but that's different than never. When I do I have a massive chain lock and the seat, seatpost and wheels get a cable lock through them. Battery goes with me as does anything easily removable. This would be like when I go to one of the town festivals/air show, etc.

Most of my urban parking is not where I can keep an eye on it but it's also not what I would call high risk areas like ASU (the university) and I would *not* be comfortable leaving anything that was worth much there for more than a very short period.

If I limited myself to parking only where I could keep an eye on the bike.... Well that would rule out most of my urban riding and I'm not willing to do that... So how far I go from just using a quick cable to locking with the chain and removing batteries etc. depends on the situation.


I pretty much have the general life attitude of risk management where I analyze the risk, figure out what practical actions to do in order to minimize the risk, determine if it's acceptable and if so, then taking the actions to mitigate the risk, go on without much concern as to whatever happens. In this case part of the risk plan is that it all may need to be replaced.... That won't stop me as long as I've done the practical risk mitigation and accept whatever risk is left...


Having said that, in past conversations trackers have come up as part of these risk management plans against bike theft and I've dismissed them for the reasons I posted. You've put an interesting spin on it with the battery as a place to put it that got me thinking that perhaps a tracker could be part of the plan. I'm still paying attention. If you find a tracker that works well, is as inexpensive monthly as you say (I never thought they'd be that low) and I could stash in a battery, it might make sense to have one battery, or even a dummy battery shell (hmmmmmmmm, maybe with a bit of dead weight in it and unlocked so they hopefully don't tear the cradle off trying to steal it, decoy =] ), with the tracker in it for those areas where I'm more concerned. My latest bike has two battery cradles anyway...
 
flat tire said:
This whole idea is somewhat misguided. You should be focused on preventing anyone from messing with the bike in the first place. If I put my ebike somewhere that's not secure and I can't see it I know things might be missing when I come back...so I don't do that. Anyway, you might get your bike back using a tracker with really low hanging fruit but I wouldn't expect it to happen if the person stealing your bike is halfway intelligent (many of them are).
Click to expand...

Hey even the best and "safest" places are a sure thing. I had my last bike locked up ro a bike rack right outside a supermarket with a surveillance camera staring right at it. I went in to do some food shopping for 20 minuses and it was gone.

It was locked, there was surveilance (not that helped. The police tell me they couldn't see anything on the tape)

I know people that have lost their bike from a secure and well locked place.

I once lost a bike that was in the "safety" of my garage.

Its impossible to prevent theft 100%. You have to have a contingency should it happen.
 
Also, as a bicycle courier, its not practical or acceptible to take my ebike in and out of buildings when I pick and drop off.
 
@AZ: You can get trackers that look like bicycle parts. Like reflectors or lights. I don't know how practical that would in your case but maybe something you could clip on and off. Or better still, screw on and off.
 
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