[rjfrussell]

i don’t fully understand how they work-  could they be used as a bike tracker/ anti-theft device if you popped one in the seat tube, say?

Topic

[HoarseMann]

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Carbon I would expect no probs

Carbon fibre is electrically conductive and will attenuate an RF signal.

I’m thinking somewhere like epoxy bonded to the inside of the right crank, under the chainrings covered with a bit of black tape? Or stuffed up the steerer tube from under the fork crown? Maybe someone will make a security stem cap that could fit one…

[HoarseMann]

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Let’s hope the thieving toe rags mostly use android 

Apple have thought of that too – the tag starts beeping occasionally if it’s been away from it’s owner for a while or reported lost!

[Secret_squirrel]

If I’ve understood things

If I’ve understood things right the advantage of an Airtag over a Tile, is that Air Tags can be automatically discovered by any modern iThing/MacThing that passes once lost mode is activated, whereas Tiles rely on a user with the Tile app passing by.

TL;DR The chances of a lost Airtag being found should be much much higher.

[Secret_squirrel]

Bear in mind BT uses the same

Bear in mind BT uses the same frequency as WiFi, which has pretty good penetration through objects and most bike frames regardless of materials have thicknesses in the 1mm range.  
 

Carbon I would expect no probs, metal frame experiments would be interesting. 

[Secret_squirrel]

Funnily enough I was about to

Funnily enough I was about to post the same question.  Ordered a pack to experiment with.  The tracking protection is a good point, was going to fix it under the saddle, now I guess I try to find somewhere more hidden.

Let’s hope the thieving toe rags mostly use android 

If the anti tracking causes them to abandon the bike I guess it’s still a win.

[Rich_cb]

I suppose you could test it
I suppose you could test it on your own phone but I’d have thought the sticker version under the saddle or stem would be your best bet.

A bar end plug version would be pretty good though.

[Rich_cb]

Yeah that’s not so great on
Yeah that’s not so great on the sustainability front, the slightly larger trackers now have replaceable batteries and you could probably hide one of those under the saddle or something if you didn’t want to use the disposable one.

[Sriracha]

Tile certainly push the bike
Tile certainly push the bike angle:
https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/blog/bike-trackers

Interestingly, they suggest hiding the device inside the frame. However I’m not sure whether radio signals would penetrate through a metal, or even a carbon fibre, frame.

[Sriracha]

hawkinspeter wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

One issue with Tile is that the battery is non-replacable so when it goes flat you just have to chuck it.

Depends which Tile
https://tileteam.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/229572348-What-is-the-difference-between-Tile-Pro-Series-Tile-Mate-and-Tile-Slim-

[hawkinspeter]

One issue with Tile is that

One issue with Tile is that the battery is non-replacable so when it goes flat you just have to chuck it.

[Rich_cb]

Tile is another company to
Tile is another company to consider, they make relatively small Bluetooth trackers, you can set geofence alerts and AFAIK there’s no way for the thief to know the bike is being tracked.

I have some for my keys/wallet etc and they do work well. Once lost my keys on a ride and was able to track them down using the app.

[mdavidford]

Oli Pendrey wrote:

*Very out of character for Apple so expect one to become available an an astronomical price anytime soon.

Seems like they’re focusing more on getting third-party partners to build custom devices instead: https://road.cc/ebiketips/content/news/vanmoof-s3-and-x3-e-bikes-among-the-first-items-to-work-with-apple-s-find-my-app-2949

[HoarseMann]

Would only work as an anti

Would only work as an anti-theft device if the thief didn’t have an iPhone. There’s an ‘anti-tracking’ feature whereby your iPhone will alert you if it notices a tag that’s following your movements but is not registered to you. Likely it wouldn’t be too long before the thief realises it’s being tracked.

It also lacks the movement detection that bike-specific trackers have, so that would delay you getting notified that something is up. Not sure if you can set a GPS ringfence on it, but would be surprised if not.

That said, it’s discreet, cheapish and low maintenance. If you can find somewhere to stash it that’s not going to interfere with the radio signal too much (i.e. away from and not enclosed by metal), then it’s a lot better than nowt.

[Oli Pendrey]

Yes, I can’t see why not.

Yes, I can’t see why not. AFAIK they work using Apple’s existing ‘Find My’ network that they use for locating your Apple devices, they piggy back on other Apple devices around them to update their current GPS location so it would update location details if the bike was on the move, once your’e in Bluetooth range then you get step by step directions to your AirTag. I guess the only barrier to using one on a bike would be finding somewhere discreet and secure to attach it (it’s just under 32mm in diameter), seems like Apple might be missing a trick* here by not having a custom accessory or shaped AirTag to make them bike specific. 

*Very out of character for Apple so expect one to become available an an astronomical price anytime soon.

[Author]

Replies