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First things first, mods please delete this if you think it's inappropriate.
In the spirit of threads gone by (I'm thinking mostly about Trout's lights and the m970 endcap project, although I'm sure there are others!) I've been working away on a bike tracking solution for quite a while now, and on Christmas Eve finally took delivery of the parts for the first proper batch!
The basic idea is to conceal an Apple AirTag as discreetly as possibly inside your bike (in a location where the signal can still escape) so that if your bike is stolen you can easily track it down and get it back. It turns out that the bottom a tapered steerer tube is the ideal place, and so the BikeTag Trail was born. It's a simple plastic widget with an expanding washer that installs securely into your steerer tube, holding the AirTag in place. It also stops it filling up with muck.
The AirTags are really great for this purpose as they have a mega battery life (>1 year) and don't require an expensive subscription to run. In years gone by I've looked in quite some detail (knocking up PCBs etc) at making a GPS based tracker, but the physics of GPS make it very hard to conceal on a bike, and that's before you get into subscription costs and battery life. When the AirTag came along I knew it was perfect.
Anyway, you can find them on eBay.
Hope everyone's had a great Christmas and is getting out on the bike today!
Certainly a lot more concealed than some of the alternative designs on eBay. Nice, I might have a look at the air tag as a cheap tracker device. I haven't got an iPhone, but my missis does.
But if the thief has an iPhone doesn't it warn them that an airtag is nearby?
Not for three days, and even then doesn't tell them where it is. I think it needs to be travelling with them consistently to trigger the warning too - plausible if they're actually using it for transport, but I suspect most get stored and sold on.
Problem is if this becomes a normal thing to use, it will be the first thing the scrotes look for and remove. Nice idea though.
Can you not just Air Tag all the scrotes so we can keep an eye out for where they are lurking?
Doesn't it rely on being in bluetooth range of another iphone?
might want to double-check thatNot for three days
Would an airtag inside a frame tube (maybe stuck inside a washing up sponge pushed into the top/downrube via the headtube or BB area. ... a be less obvious than a repurposed crud bung.
An RFID tag would also be easy to hide for tracking if found..... they are the size of a paracetamol tablet reliant on being scanned obviously but if fitted right hard to remove without destruction of frame...... (Dip in epoxy and push into a frame tube somewhere)
Is there a decent Android equivalent of the airtag that's worth looking at?
Problem is if this becomes a normal thing to use, it will be the first thing the scrotes look for and remove. Nice idea though.
That would be a nice problem to have but with over 3 million bikes sold in the UK each year I think it could be a while 😅
Would an AirTag inside a frame tube (maybe stuck inside a washing up sponge pushed into the top/downrube via the headtube or BB area. … a be less obvious than a repurposed crud bung
This is a great idea but sadly wouldn't work as there's nowhere for the signal to escape from - even deep inside an open ended tube won't work very well, let alone fully enclosed. You're basically locking the AirTag inside a Faraday cage.
Is there a decent Android equivalent of the AirTag that’s worth looking at?
There are quite a few alternatives out there, but most of them are too big to conceal nicely on a bike. Tile have just released the Sticker which looks like a good alternative and is significantly cheaper than an Airtag (you can get four packs for about £50), and is iOS/Android compatible, but it doesn't have a user replaceable battery (boo e-waste).
The trouble with the Android equivalents if the size of the userbase - all these devices work by having everyone in the userbase "listen out" for the tags - all iPhones now do this in the background without the user realising, so the userbase is very large and the AirTag only needs to come within 20m or so of an iPhone to be picked up and report its location to the AirTag owner. For a stolen bike, this is very, very likely to happen. If you'd used, say, a Tile, the chance of it coming in range of an Android phone with the Tile app installed is much slimmer. I think Tile also charge a subscription for their remote premium service.
You’re basically locking the AirTag inside a Faraday cage.
Indeed how ever it would preferable than tracking your "bike" to a ditch ...as the scrotes removed the obvious and easily removed tracker....
Unfortunantly if it's a popular device it'll be a victim of its own success.....the best defence would be to have a device that could be mounted in several different place so the scrote has to invest time in looking for it rather than checking the one obvious
They look really good. I was looking for an AirTag mount a while back and ended up buying a couple of 3D printed ones that sit behind the bottle cage. They work really well but yours are much more discreet (if a little pricey).
Very top of your seat post ..... Sheltered by the saddle. Or a replacement seat post top plate where you fit it inside the very top of the post but that requires dismantling to find it.
Inside the stuffing of the saddle it's self.
@trail_rat - not quite, but not far off:-
https://www.freewheel.co.uk/laut-bike-tag-saddle-mount-for-airtag-black-laut0002
An RFID tag would also be easy to hide for tracking if found….. they are the size of a paracetamol tablet reliant on being scanned obviously but if fitted right hard to remove without destruction of frame…… (Dip in epoxy and push into a frame tube somewhere)
That's exactly what an Immobitag is, but it's a passive device that relies on the police finding your bike then scanning it to match with the real owner. This is much more active, and having read up about the airtag, definitely something I'm thinking about getting.
I think it's a cracking idea to attach an airtag, or similar.
Serious thief will probably scan a bike first and give up if one is found, as it'll be too much hassle to remove it before stealing.
A scallywag scrote looking to quickly move on a nicked bike will probably not be arsed to look for a tag and dispose of it.
gplama did a review of an airtag mount disguised as a reflector on his youtube channel, which looked about the best option I have seen.
not perfect, but the 'whatabouts' are pretty much inconsequential, especially considering the nominal cost. Might even be worthwhile installing two on a frame- most people looking for a tracker won't look any further after finding the first one.
Reckon these'll become pretty much universal in some shape or form in a few years, probably even oem.
Maybe worth contacting someone like Cotic or Bird who seem quite flexible and responsive, they might be willing to take it on and add to purchase options/install at purchase.
EDIT or even Charlie on here- might be willing to add it to the shop on here.
I do think it's better than nothing, and a suitably cheap option, but the more recent privacy updates make them really limited. Apparently even within 24 hours of being apart from their owner they start beeping to alert anyone nearby of their presence, and any iOS device that travels with it will fire up an alert. So it might give you some info in the first day or so after a bike has been stolen, but anything beyond that is optimistic.
what testing have you do on it?
what testing have you do on it?
I've been running the various iterations of it on my bike and a few others for about 4 months now (everything takes longer to develop than you think...) and it's performed faultlessly. I've sent friends off to hide bikes around the city and see how long it'll take to find them on the app and then locate the bike - quite a boring game as they always showed up right away and you just follow the dot on the map right to the bike. I've also done tests comparing the signal strength of the airtag in the steerer tube compared to the airtag in the air - the difference is certainly measurable but not enough to make a big difference. In fact when my van broke down in Glen Shiel and I had to leave it for a week or so, I was constantly getting location updates on the airtag in my steerer of the bike in the back of the van.
where abouts are you?
where abouts are you?
Lancaster way
This is much more active,
But also much more likely to be removed.
Two separate things. One would be proving a bike was stolen (ergo a prosecution )
The other for possibly getting back your bike within the first 24 hours or less.....
The idea of multiples is a good one though as you say unlikely to look beyond the first
They're called 'BikeTag Trail' if anyone wants to find them on ebay
Well done for developing a product. Doing it properly always takes longer than you think.
Has an airtag ever been used to recover a stolen bike or any stolen property? Just wondering if the police would act if it tracked it to a house?
They look good and I’ll have a look on EBay. I have a couple of very low profile bottle cage AirTag holders from WooCycle that come with secure (ish) Allen key bolts. I’m sure a serious thief will find them and remove them it’s just not a bit more of a deterrent. I have also heard of a friend of a friend getting their bikes back due to AirTags.
apparently a colleague of a friend used one to retrieve a stolen Land Rover! Thieves had disabled the installed GPS tracker but there were some keys or something with an AirTag on inside. Managed to find it parked up a few miles away!Has an airtag ever been used to recover a stolen bike or any stolen property?
See post above yours! Yes bikes recovered with AirTags. Stolen in S.London recovered in Hampshire
excellent, I was looking at this recently. I thought the bottom of the steerer was the only place. I/we have a few top end racers that I have them in the little saddle pack but where to put them elsewhere. not a clue...
I have disabled the sounder.
I've got a few Tile trackers, one on each set of keys. My oh left her keys somewhere and they kept popping up in the app quite frequently. I'd imagine apple are even better
Samsung also do some that are located by any Samsung phone and there are a lot of those.
I think they are a great idea for tracking a bike until someone build a GPS tracker into an ebike.
If I used apple stuff I'd check out the ops steerer option.
Can the apple ones be used on android?
That looks pretty decent. I think I’d quite like a plug similar to that without the AirTag just to fill the hole.
Thieving scumbag defeating device
Disappointed, was hoping for some kind of cellular-activated dropper post based arse spike, or self-destructing stem/grip bolts.
Could be used as a Fork Cork? It's £10 cheaper.
Can the apple ones be used on android?
Can't set them up or put them in lost mode. Can read them with NFC or detect if one's following you.
I've ordered four, brilliant idea, now just need to order some airtags 🙂
I'd say the first few hours after your bike is nicked will determine whether you get it back or not.
Ordered one - Not sure of the name though.
Inside the stuffing of the saddle it’s self.
Was my thought. Also under a plastic frame protector or disguised as a computer magnet/ cadence monitor. Still need to rip it open and disable the beeper though.
apparently a colleague of a friend used one to retrieve a stolen Land Rover! Thieves had disabled the installed GPS tracker but there were some keys or something with an AirTag on inside. Managed to find it parked up a few miles away!
No, you must be mistaken, I was told this absolutely couldn't happen on the previous Airtag thread since so many folk have iPhones.
Can’t set them up or put them in lost mode. Can read them with NFC or detect if one’s following you.
That's pretty useless.
That’s pretty useless.
Yes, if you have an Android phone, but they're not designed with that technology in mind.
Have to say I'm really thinking my next phone might be an Apple. Small format 'mini' , great camera and now this genuinely useful and sensible priced accessory.
I’ve ordered four, brilliant idea, now just need to order some airtags
Instant £400 spend there... Nice to be able to splash that on a whim!
I like the look of the seatpost reflector one for a gravel bike or something without a tapered steerer, I much prefer to run my mtb without reflectors though, and they're not available to buy as of yet. The BikeTag Trail provides a similar level of sound deadening to the internal speaker thing, it's pretty hard to hear once installed.
As bfw says:
I have disabled the sounder.
I'm told this is quite easily done, not that I'd know anything about it...
Could be used as a Fork Cork? It’s £10 cheaper.
Yes, it would work very well, just needs a 2.5mm hex to remove it so don't go stashing your multi tool up there 😂
Ordered one – Not sure of the name though.
I was hard to come up with a good name! I quite like the BikeTag bit, but needed to come up with something to suggest that it's mainly for mountainbikes (needs a tapered steer with an open bottom), which is where the Trail bit came from. All ears for better suggestions!
For people struggling to find them on eBay, it's easiest to put biketag in. For some reason airtag bike tracker works, but just airtag bike doesn't. I guess SEO isn't my strength 🤷
Instant £400 spend there… Nice to be able to splash that on a whim!
AirTags a £30 each, or they do a 4 pack for £100. So just £100, not so ridiculous!
Instant £400 spend there… Nice to be able to splash that on a whim!
4 x £20 is £80
Hey, @BeveledEdge I've got an idea, as you've had a fair chunk of free advertising now. If it takes off, why don't you bung, (pun intended) a couple with air tags towards Singletrack for next years Megasack?
Biggest mistake is limiting your audience to Apple only users. You could have gone for the Chipolo One devices which integrate into Apple's Find MY network but the plus side is that they are also compatible with android devices. At 38mm diameter, they are only marginally larger than an airtag
Android version please!
Ps think this is a really good idea. Good work.
4 x £20 is £80
Well, dey ain’t much use wivout da Airtagz. Except to keep ya steerer toob clean
AirTags a £30 each, or they do a 4 pack for £100.
Ah, thats better, I only sawed £79 each on apple.com! Dunno where I saw that, but it wasn’t here https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-airtag/airtag
Yes, if you have an Android phone, but they’re not designed with that technology in mind.
And as such, useless to me.
Chipolo One devices which integrate into Apple’s Find MY network
This, potentially less so.
For anyone interested, a 4 pack of Airtags is £87 on Amazon atm
You could have gone for the Chipolo One devices which integrate into Apple’s Find MY network but the plus side is that they are also compatible with android devices. At 38mm diameter, they are only marginally larger than an airtag
Sadly that's just too big to go up a tapered steerer. The Tile Sticker would work if you're an android only household, but if there's an Apple device in the house I reckon it's best to stick with the AirTags for maximum coverage.
I've just ordered a couple - well done, look really useful
These look great, however nobody in my house has (or wants) an iPhone.
Is there any other way to connect to an airtag? Can I borrow someone's phone to set it up and then use a website or something to track it?
Failing that, will the app work if I buy an ancient cheap iPhone simply for this purpose?
From the link I posted to Apple’s site:
Airtag… “ Requires iPhone SE, iPhone 6s or later, or iPod touch (7th generation) with iOS 14.5 or later, or iPad Pro, iPad (5th generation or later), iPad Air 2 or later, or iPad mini 4 or later with iPadOS 14.5 or later.”
How to find Apple AirTag with Android phone?
Once installed on an Android smartphone, the 'Tracker Detect' helps Android users to carry out a manual scan for item trackers near them. If the application detects any trackers, it will inform the user. Additionally, the application will also allow Android users to play a sound on the tracker device to find its location. The app has been built to detect both lost AirTags and any other trackers that are being used for malicious purposes. The Tracker Detect application says that it looks for item trackers that are separated from their owner and that are compatible with Apple’s Find My network. Additionally, the item trackers that can be detected by using the application also include tracker devices from other companies. Android users who think they are being tracked can scan their surroundings using the application.
Apple kindly defeats the purpose of having an airtag
Hopefully Apple will have some antitrust problems with AirTags and then we'll get Android compatibility.
Could be used as a Fork Cork? It’s £10 cheaper.
Yes, it would work very well, just needs a 2.5mm hex to remove it so don’t go stashing your multi tool up there 😂
What's the thickness please?
Also I'm sure we'd all prefer a 3mm hex.
Anyone used the Chipolo one product and have a review on it.
Apple kindly defeats the purpose of having an airtag
What exactly was the purpose of an airtag?
Wasn't it to help find misplaced things. Not covertly track things ,.
Yes, this is a fundamental limitation to anything like an airtag. If it's too good at being hidden and tracked then it'll be used by stalkers etc., so it's not allowed to be very good.
I think disabling the beep is pretty necessary for bike use, even if only to stop it beeping away ad infinitum in the garage while I'm at work.
Despite the limitations, I do think that there will be many cases where these are useful. Three bikes were stolen from my garage a couple of weeks ago. If I'd been able to give an address to the police the next day then you never know..
Nice idea, certainly a good location for them - more discreet than bottle cage or saddle rail mount.
I was about to order but got concerns about the tags. Say your bike goes walkabout and you’re able to track the location using an AirTag. Then what? Are police likely to act (and act in a timely manner) to recover the stolen items, given limited resources? I’m not sure I’m powerfully built enough to go and recover stolen bikes myself.
This obviously relates to limitations of the AirTags in general, not @BeveledEdge’s product.
Mine arrived today
Hopefully, you'll never need it/them 🙂
I notice you doubled the price of the item in the last 6 months.
Yes, I sold 5 with hand made rubber washers to test the market/see if there was any interest at all. Needless to say that couldn't last as I was making a loss on them, particularly if you account for the time and faff involved in hand moulding the rubber washers, it was a real pain but convinced me to invest in the tooling to do it properly.
Bump, as it's a relevant topic again.
I see the mucoff one that goes on bottle cage mounts uses security torx head bolts. Seems a good idea to slow the thief down slightly. @BeveledEdge might be worth you doing the same?
gplama did a review of an airtag mount disguised as a reflector on his youtube channel, which looked about the best option I have seen.
I just bought one of these to try (gravel bike so can’t put anything up the steerer) haven’t tried it on the bike yet but it’s a bit naff.
It looks a bit cheap and nasty and might stand out a bit much on any reasonable looking bike.
Will report back once I’ve tried it.
I have just successfully disabled the speaker on an AirTag though 👍