Electronic theft protection for your bike: What you can do to prevent theft!
Timo Dillenberger
· 01.09.2024
In the car sector, alarm systems have been standard equipment for 30 years, at least in the luxury class. It obviously reassures owners that any burglars, thieves or vandals are made as difficult and unpleasant as possible. As the police stations in Berlin and Münster confirm: 'The best remedy against theft is to make the actual act of theft as long and public as possible, even in the bicycle sector. As the average value of bikes increases, the theft methods also become more professional, according to the specialised police department for bicycle theft in Münster.
Operations with battery-powered cut-off grinders are much more common today than they were years ago, even during daylight hours. Methods are currently being reported in Berlin where bike racks are cut in advance and the gap is then inconspicuously sealed with stickers. If an appropriately valuable bike is fixed to this stand, the bike and lock can be removed from the supposed security system through the gap within seconds, even if the anti-theft device was exemplary. In addition, even high-tech locks offer little protection against the theft of parts or wilful damage to parked bikes.
Electronic theft protection for bicycles: alarm systems
Additional electronic theft protection is good for both your soul and your wallet. The simplest is the alarm. Generally, devices the size of a packet of cigarettes are permanently mounted on the frame and contain a sensor for inclination, movement and/or vibration of the bike above a certain level. If it detects possible illegal access, an unpleasant sound is emitted, which at the very least attracts attention. Occasional thieves and amateurs are thus effectively deterred.
However, if professionals now even open locks during the day, the alarm is unlikely to bother them. Such devices, which are often integrated into rear lights, cost just 20 to almost 50 euros. More and more locks are also appearing with such a sensor and siren integrated into the body of the lock. Alarms are of course all the more effective the more public the parking location is. Also important: disassembly should not be too simple; good alarms use concealed screws and solid clamps or even offer fixing points to match bottle cage threads. The more concealed and robust the installation, the greater the deterrent effect.
Electronic bike theft protection: GPS tracker
However, as both the police stations and the suppliers of locks and protection systems with whom we have spoken agree: there is no such thing as one hundred per cent protection against theft! The latest trend in the arms race with bike thieves is not the actual protection against theft, but the possibility of tracking the stolen bike. GPS tracking is already familiar from mobile phones and dog collars. Local movements are recorded via the satellite system and usually picked up by a commercial provider. Such a transmitter chip must be equipped with a power source and permanently mounted on the bike.
Generally, the parked bike can then be put into a kind of "parking mode" via mobile phone apps - if its position changes during this time, the owner receives an alarm on their smartphone and the bike's movements are recorded and saved. Important: The tracker should not be confused with a permanent position indicator that records your routes, for example, as Katerine Pauwels from bikefinder explains.
If a citizen puts us on the GPS trail of his stolen bike, we will take up the pursuit as soon as possible and across borders. - Berlin Police Press Office
Recovery rate of around 80 per cent
The position of the bike is not sent permanently, which would drain the battery within hours rather than weeks, and could also be difficult in terms of data protection. Only when the theft is confirmed does the transmitter constantly transmit the route so that the bike can be tracked. However, this should be done by the police. According to the Berlin police, if it goes onto other people's property or even into buildings, you are in the area of trespassing, even if it is your own stolen bike.
According to all of the departments interviewed, such persecution has become increasingly common in recent years. They take such reports very seriously and are even grateful and happy for this help. In the case of bikefinder, additional signals such as Bluetooth even make it easier to locate the vehicle to within a few metres, and even floors can be determined, according to Katerine Pauwels. The Norwegians can boast a recovery rate of around 80 per cent. That is around four times higher than the statistics from the police and insurance companies.
GPS tracker: 3 categories of tracking systems
The providers of such tracking systems can be divided into three categories. The first are the cheapest, but the transmitter requires a device at a fairly close distance, such as Apple's Airtags, which are more for locating keys. Pure GPS systems are usually associated with running costs. They transmit their location and an external service takes over the localisation and reporting of the theft and the last location.
Multiple transmitters are somewhat more expensive to purchase and operate, but are the most promising. In addition to the GPS and Bluetooth network, Bikefinder also works in the GSM mobile phone network; a SIM card is installed ex works. Localisation is often still possible via the mobile phone cells even if the other signals are limited, e.g. by buildings. In addition to the purchase price of just under 200 euros, top trackers cost between 2.29 euros and around eight euros per month to subscribe to. In the event that the replacement does not work, bikefinder confidently offers insurance. A huge advantage for trackers is certainly the hidden installation method, the thief should not even know that he or she is being tracked.
According to the Berlin police, profiling thieves sometimes have specially prepared, shielded vans or move their prey as quickly as possible to appropriately protected rooms until the chip has been removed or its battery is safely empty. With factory-integrated trackers in e-bikes such as the new Bosch system, however, this can take a long time; the continuous signal of a retrofit transmitter lasts around three days. Another thing thieves like to do to avoid being tracked: They park the stolen bike in public, lock it with their own lock and wait. If the owner finds the bike within a few days, it is difficult to trace the thief. In this case, it is paradoxically illegal to pick someone else's lock on your own bike - damage to property!
All-round carefree with electronic theft protection on your bike?
Both alarms and trackers are not a substitute for a high-quality lock, but merely an extra layer of security. An all-in-one solution is offered by an East German manufacturer. The frame lock from "I lock it" with integrated chain loop (see photo) is good protection in itself. Coupled with a smartphone and activated by remote control, the locking bar not only closes in a very impressive motorised manner, but also activates an alarm that sounds if the bike is shaken several times. The 110-decibel sound is a bloodcurdling alarm. In the "GPS" and "Pro" versions, the tracker is activated at the same time as the alarm, and the owner receives a notification via smartphone and can now track the bike on the map in this mode.
The costs are also around 200 euros, but the lock, alarm and the first two years of operation are already integrated. Of course, the frame lock is not quite as elegant as invisible solutions. Incidentally, we asked six insurance companies whether the premiums for household contents or bike insurance could be reduced by such a security bonus. All of them found the idea interesting, but neither they nor the insurers' association were able to make any concrete offers. Additional electronic security is not mandatory, even for five-digit values. With an average loss per insured event of 2023 to 1100 euros, this is hardly surprising.
Reputable providers of electronic theft protection/GPS trackers
- Bike Trax: GPS tracker especially for e-bikes for retrofitting
- Bikefinder: Bike tracker for invisible installation in the handlebars
- Abus: Alarm Box RC / Bordo Alarm Alarm device for frame mounting / shackle lock with alarm
- Knog Scout Bike Alarm & Finder: Quite favourable combination of alarm and Bluetooth tracking
- I lock it: Combination solution comprising lock, alarm and multi-band tracker
- Swisstrack GPS bike tracker: Medium-priced for mounting in the frame, logbook function.
- Apple Air Tag: Senderless for retrieval in the Apple network (without subscription)
- Tractive: Animal tracker with possible misuse (subscription)
