You can easily disable the speaker on your Airtags. While they will still receive the notification and map view, but the speaker will not work, and you will have valuable information on the location of your bike. It is not enough for a search warrant or probable cause, but it can certainly help.
I don’t get it. The thief will get notified that he’s being stalked by a tag. The thief might not hear the tag if the speaker is disabled but the thief will still know that there is a tag somewhere on the bike. Even if the tag is hidden it probably won’t take long to find it on the bike. Then the thief could easily just get rid of the tag and perhaps put it on a random van or truck. The owner of the bike would then track down an innocent person’s vehicle and get in a really awkward and potentially dangerous confrontation. Or am I being stupid and missing something here? Please let me know if I’m wrong
@@34JohannesHeinz34still gonna take the thief time to find it, especially if there is more than one , and even if they do find it, still better than nothing
@@34JohannesHeinz34a thief might look regardless. If they are savvy there are Bluetooth apps that shows you every single Bluetooth device surrounding you and the signal strength. That way you can find an AirTags a Tile or whatever device.
@@34JohannesHeinz34I removed the speaker and use a Muc-Off tubeless AirTag holder. I can’t use in my rear wheel bc of the cushcore insert, so I put it in the front wheel. It puts the AirTag inside of your tubeless tire and the theif would literally need to remove the tire from the rim to find it. Also, I haven’t had any issue in regard to feeling the rotating mass inside of my tire if you were wondering.
Agreed! When out bike packing I got talking to a local guy in Scotland as we locked out bikes up. He said he had his stolen which shocked me as only a a fairly small town/village. He said he went in and told the manager. The manager gave him a lift in his car - they went hunting for the bike. They managed to find the thief - a teen lad - and get the bike back. An air tag would def have helped there to make it easier to hunt the thief down. It might not help all cases but I can see many where it would. Not all thieves are super pro - can be opportunists.
I just got my electric scooter back thanks to my AirTag! I tracked it to the thief's house and saw him taking it inside, the right moment at the right time. Called the police after an initial report that lead to nothing, but they did take action this time when I tell them as a witness I saw him, they questioned him and basically they could tell he had it, and retrieved my $800 scooter and took the guy in handcuffs.
I'm at 6. Weeks without my 2000 ebike that has an smart tag 2 in it found the house its at but police won't get it unless they can see it from the road 😡
@@dupedizzlesvizzles File in small claims court. It will force them to show up and defend themselves and if they don't you will get a judgement. It may never be worth collecting on, but the legal notices may scare them into giving it back.
@@_PatrickO ^^^is a method, the singular issue I can think of is getting their full legal names. (regardless will cost you money, time, and... yeah (get money back if win and collect, but... yeah))
Last year I noticed a couple of guys hanging around outside the front of our house looking at their iPhones. They were clearly looking for something and I asked them what they were up to. They said that they’d had some bikes stolen from their business and an AirTag was saying they were within 20 metres of the AirTag. The police turned up about two minutes later and they narrowed it down to my neighbour’s shed. Turned out he had five stolen bikes in there. I don’t know what they did differently to you, but it definitely worked, at least on this occasion in the UK.
@ Not sure how it all went down. Just know that later in the day I saw the police taking the bikes from the shed and putting them on a police transporter.
One thing you guys gotta know for future references majority of bike or e scooter thieves that are out on the streets running a muck (homeless) and these people most of them are drug addicts they don’t have the iPhone phone the crowd and everyone they hang around with they have the free Obama phones woud the AirTags still be traceable with them kind of phones through their Bluetooth?
The air tag is horrible for this and ripe to be replaced by better options that do the job far better. The air tag is for finding your keys. The shimano 4iii crankset is for catching a theif. Apples product is too ubiquitous and easy to slip anywhere, requiring the built in rape whistle for stalker protection.😮 The technology is sound, we just need better devices, made for this purpose. Not something for keys. Its a lot harder for a judge to deny a search warrant for the $350 crankset built onto your bike than a $25 digital poker chip that can be placed anywhere. Sure the crank is more expensive, but its buying you a search warrant, and it comes with a power meter!
There is so much information left out of this video: Removing the speaker from an AirTag is trivial, it removes the audible alerts and makes finding the tag harder, Tile stickers ONLY locate when they in in proximity to a phone whose owner uses Tiles while AirTags ping off of every iPhone out there. There have been billions of iPhones sold, how many Tiles users are there? Another point to make is that there is NOTHING you can put on a bike that would give a police officer probable cause to enter a domicile without a warrant to retrieve a bike, an AirTag is still the best option. Also, forget the simple AirTag stealth accessories, I put an AirTag inside the bottom bracket area. It works fine there (carbon frame) and good luck trying to find it, much less remove it. I doubt a bike thief would have the specialized tools necessary to remove the bottom bracket. Are these options a guarantee? No, but they are the best we can do. Another point to make is that many bike computers (I use a Garmin) have an alarm mode that will alert your phone/watch if someone moves your bike (you must be within Bluetooth range), this is the only device that I have had to use. I was in a fast food place when someone moved my bike (it was only to make room for their bike) but I was alerted on my watch and darted outside to hear the bike computer alarm sounding. Again, not perfect but securing a bike is not a matter of using one device, it is a layered approach and the more layers, the better.
What about AGPS tracking device question mark not just some stupid air tag period that requires somebody else's phone to work ? Yeah you know like it doesn't matter if they're in the middle of nowhere you can still find it because it has a bloody GPS Tracker? you know how the CIA knows where you are wherever your fucking phone is? yeah actually like that
I have heard of judges not giving warrants for apple airtags. I dont like the airtags built in rape alert as it pertains to theft prevention. I think the airtag is ripe to be replaced by better options that dont inform theives they are being tracked and offer a stronger arguing point for a search warrant. There is already 1 of these such items on the market. The 4iii power meter has air tag tech built in. No rape mode, no audible alerts, and is a functional part of the bike, not a poker chip that can get tossed anywhere for $25. I would absoloutley love to see bottom brackets made with this tech built in. And as far as hiding places go, you chose possibly the best spot! It takes special tools to get in there!
I removed the speaker from my AirTag and put it inside my tubeless tire with the Muc-Off stealth AirTag holder. The only way a thief would be able to find it would be to remove my tire from the rim 😏
Hi, I have the same system but with a second 'sleeper' airtag hidden in the stem. In my opinion the kind of drug/alcohol addicted bike thieves in my town are very unlikely to have the skills and tools available to remove a tag from a tubeless tire and will likely just give up and dump the bike. Tubeless tires can be notoriously difficult to re-inflait even for experienced users and I doubt that the thieves will be carrying air bottles or co2 cartridges! 😆 The thieves are also getting covered with pink Muc-Off tubeless slime which shows up under UV! Let me know if anyone tries to steal your bike and what happens or if you think of anything to further improve the system
I keep a couple of those small little luggage padlocks purchased from the Dollar stores. I put these through the links on my chain to stop it from going over the chain ring. They're out of sight usually and will stop a thief from riding away on your bike only (they won't know what is stopping them at first). They are not the easiest to cut off either so don't lose the keys.
This sounds useful but I don't quite understand what you mean by 'put one through the links on the chain to stop it from going over the chain ring'. What is the chain ring?
@@suziejacobson2469 The chain rings are those circular disks with teeth that interlock with the chain, grabbing onto it, and allowing you to apply a force to the wheels. If you put them on cranks it becomes a crankset, if you stack multiple together of varying size on the wheel it becomes a cassette. By placing a lock through a link, they mean inserting the shaft of the lock through a hole in the chain, so as to lock the lock onto the chain. It all sounds like a greasy affair to me as i dont wax my chain (yet).
It may not be legal or ideal. But you can disable the speaker and if it does ping the hope is they just ditch the bike. If they don’t ditch it, at least you will know where the bike is and you can deal with it yourself.
The government needs to take theft seriously and not just give thieves a slap on the wrist or even no punishment at all. I have had things stolen at least half a dozen times, and it always scares my wife and makes me paranoid about any sounds at night. They really have to track down thieves and deliver strong justice to them, ankle monitors and curfews for a first offence, not just giving them probation to not get caught for 90 days. Everything is so expensive nowadays, and replacing a bike or camera or phone takes so much work to cover the cost and hassle of replacing something. I got a security camera for safety, and they smashed the cage around it and stole the camera, luckily they had their face in front of the camera and had a facial tattoo so were easily identified and got put away for 6 months. The police weren't even going to pursue it till I kept pushing for it, they really didn't care till I complained, but it still took 18 months to get them and I still didn't get my camera returned, or the cage fixed.
@@jamesmadison9244 We don't need "Sharia Law", the punishment for theft is found in the BIBLE. It's just that the "government" took that LAWFUL RIGHT AWAY from us.
Great information. Being very "old school" I didn't know anything about air tags or tile stickers. Always good to learn something new. Thank you Dylan 😊
Both options are crap. The air tag tech is good, just destroyed by the built in rape whistle... It has left a huge opening for new tech to enter the bike scene. Like the 4iii powermeter cranks with built in air tag tech, yet no alarm on the device, nor a stalker mode.
Garmin has a very nice anti-theft feature. You can turn it on and it will sound an alarm and send a notification to your phone if your bike is moved. If you have a garmin anyways (I spotted one on the video) it’s no extra weight either :)
I use an Invoxia tracker. I saw it briefly in your video when you were highlighting other YT videos. I paid upfront for the version that has 2 years of included LTE tracking. Which means it has GPS, LTE and Bluetooth. It also has a very sensitive movement detector, so if anyone is outside messing with your bike while you grab a drink it will pretty much instantly notify your phone. I have almost nothing bad to say about it, aside for maybe the size. It obviously isn't as small as a tile or airtag, so hiding it takes more creativity. But it's also pretty obscure, so a thief may find it but will they even know what it is?
The Unihertz Atom XL is quite small, by modem smartphone standards; it's got a DMR radio, infrared IO, decent standby time, & by using community-made 'Automate!' or 'Tasker' routines, you can have the whole device remain in deep sleep except to check for warnings\messages periodically, sending GPS coords (&\or recordings etc) exclusively to whitelisted phone numbers / messaging accounts of your choice, on demand; as opposed to tracking devices that send the device's location to a corporate server that you _may_ retain access to... By wiring a small prepaid cellphone to the bike (instead of a prepaid cellular tracker), you also gain the surveillance features of the phone, & the potential to use it as a spare or as a radio, in an emergency. I got a few AirTags, & do also have a cellular WiFi hotspot device that can be tracked thru the cellular carrier, but I've been eyeing the Atom XL since it came out & am especially eager to learn of any other small Android devices.
The speaker in the air tag CAN be removed and it isn’t hard to do it. I know it is not the complete solution but it gives you more time for recovery of your stolen item. The thief can get notifications when they have an air tag near to him on his phone BUT, (as surprising as it might be nowadays) 1- many people don’t know about air tags 2- don’t suspect they have one on the stolen bike 3- the thief doesn’t have the time to check for air tags while he’s stealing your bike or his phone for notifications. I think that the sound of the air tag would be the main concern and if you can eliminate that, it’ll be really helpful.
My airtag is behind 4 screws and locked inside the battery compartment of my ebike. I leave the keys at home. 113db motion alarm hidden underneath. U lock through frame and rear brake rotor. Cable through front wheel. Keypad locked with 4 digit code. And I still stress when it's out of my sight. If it gets stolen despite all that I'll be at a disadvantage since I'll be on foot.
Pretty much what I had planned. But does the metal surrounding the air tag reduce the range significantly? It would seem to me even worse than under the bottom bracket and as bad as in the handlebars stem.
There are quite a few AirTag mounts for bikes which use special security screws that can’t easily be removed - this could be a solution as the thief would likely have to order a tool to remove the tag, by which time you could potentially have easily found the bike
Good article. If I just want my bike to not roll while I'm not using it I lock it with a gun lock. The cable is long enough to go through the back wheel and the seat tube or seat stay. Every once in a while sporting good stores, army surplus stores or the city gives out gun locks for free.
Hiplock combo lock lasted under 3 minutes for me one resupply. I went in to get some drink and a sandwich and the bike was gone. I'm not really surprised as I somehow managed to alter the code by accident in the past and it took me barely any time at all to feel the new combination with zero prior lockpicking experience.
The Latest 4iiii power meter has apple find my function without the AirTag chirping. Plus, if the thief are pedaling, the power meter will only function as power meter, it won't alarm the thief.
I also use a simple padlock alarm, if cut or moved the siren is instantly loud. When not activated it’s a simple padlock hung on the frame. It’s cheap, quick and easy to carry. It can attach a bag handle to the frame too. It’s good for letting me know a theft attempt has begun. My bike has a wheel lock too, so it can’t be easily ridden away. The key lives in it so I can’t lose it. The locking mechanism can be removed with tools but that’s where the padlock alarm comes into play. That said nothing is 100%, so I ask nicely and take my bike into stores.
I have a cheapo cable lock that’s long enough to secure the front wheel and frame to a parking meter pole. It’s super lightweight and is not much more than a visual deterrent but it may stop a crime of opportunity.
Removable pedals, Tile and, Z locks(combo) on my bike. I personally think removable pedals (alloy type) is good idea because what do bike thieves want to do once they steal your bike? ride it. If there are no pedals, not going to get anywhere walking it or running with it. Pedals can easily fit in your pockets if going into a store.
@@TheEnduranceStudio Mine have been bullet proof including a couple crashes. The pedals I use are the Promend PD-R67Q. I know what you're thinking, when people mention removable pedals they may think of those plastic ABS type that you see on Brompton folding bikes. These are definitely not them. These are all solid alloy axel. Only difference is they have a sliding collar that allows them to be easily removed.
@@TheEnduranceStudio MKS also have super reliable removable pedals, with a couple models quite appropriate for off-road use: Pretzel Ezy Superior & LAMBADA Ezy Superior. Pricey...
Start researching lora with gps. It requires custom script but just create a sequential location ping protocol and good to go. You can even tie into Internet of things groups to relay location data. And it's fully encrypted so only you see where your things are
thank you for sharing. yes this does look like a viable solution to look into. www.thethingsnetwork.org/article/4-most-popular-lorawan-trackers-on-the-market
Not many nodes to help track your stuff; especially compared to ~50% of all US mobile devices (iPhones ≥12)... AirTags are (by design) not an _ideal_ tracking device, but they're the most effective tracking device without a recurring bill.
yeah looks like Samsung has a smart tag. I don't know much about it, however. www.samsung.com/us/business/mobile/mobile-accessories/phones/galaxy-smarttag-ei-t5300bbegus/
Disabled speaker and the airtag somewhere where you need special tools to access. Like inside the frame. If you do your own maintance, you got the tools.
As mentioned in comments, diy disabling of speaker might be done. And I think I recall Apple stating AirTags weren't offered as an anti-theft product. - And yes, I wish it did work as one. Video laid out a lot of the difficulties with using one for dealing with someone stealing your bike.
whenever I have leave my bit for a bit to go into a store. I put the bike in the biggest gear then stop. Once stopped, i push my gear shifter so the gears will fall all the way down when pedaled. if you try to jump on it and pedal it, it will lock up the rear wheel.
I ride XL frame bikes. One day, I leaned mine against a fence while walking around chatting, & a little while later I glanced that way, to see a _tiny_ child standing _under the top tube,_ trying to pedal the bike away. The sight was _hilarious,_ made only slightly less funny when they turned out to be eight years old with an enviable vocabulary of cursewords. Ever since, I've wanted a semi-recumbent penny-farthing with a 66" front wheel, partially just because of how funny it would be to see anyone who isn't excessively tall, try to ride it.
Great Vídeo!! Guys, I'm trying to find the option for my bike. Aahnn does tile sticker work with all Apple network? Or does it only work with apple phone that have some Tile Sticker app installed?
My bike is serviced annually. I’ve put an AirTag in the bottom bracket (tube leading to it!) and have removed the sound from it. Doubt it can easily be located without the chirping. Know it can’t be easily removed!
Two anti theft tactics I've used traveling solo: 1Take a quick release lever with me and leave the wheel a bit wonky. 2) Release the air from a tire giving it a reinflatable flat. Take the pocket pump with me. I walk up rocking this look if necessary. Others too fragile to mention here.
1) My bike uses through axles, i cant just take a quick release, i have to take the whole greasy axle. Leaving the wheel ready to be stolen 2) My tires are tubeless. If i give myself a flat, its easy to pop a bead. If a bead pops, no mini pump is going to solve the issue. I like the lightweight bike lock deal, I'm never leaving my bike unattended long. Its also so light i could buy 3 and lock my wheels to the frame if desired. I feel a strong need to get this sorted out. Im new to biking as an adult. I went for a ride with the family and everyone just left their bike unlocked while we stopped @ a restaurant for food! In fact all the bikes were unlocked, about 15 of them! It was on the boardwalk @ the beach. I inquired to the group about the bikes, I was told "this is newport beach, your bike is safe!" I had a flashback to 2 people getting arested in front of my house for stealing bikes, in newport beach...
I once spent a few months riding around the Mississippi's West bank near NOLA, on a janky 12 speed with a broken shift lever (replaced with a wood screw within washers) & no return spring on the rear derailleur... one day, the bars crimped & folded over, where foam wrap had retained a few decades of moisture; I bent them back & kept riding the old thing. Heading to a friend's, everyone else dumped their bikes beneath a carport, while I gingerly stood the decrepit relic on its kick stand, just outside their heap of pedals, spokes & frames. "Your bike's gonna get stolen if you leave it there." 'It might. They probably won't get far.' Less than 15 minutes later, we came back out of his house, to find my 'bike' gone... about half a block, to the very first curb slope, where it lay bent handlebar side up, 'shifted' to the hardest gear, beside a ~3ft streak of roadrash stain on the concrete. I've had a nice bike stolen when I made it very easy, & I've seen cheap bikes stolen for the same reason; but ebikes & scooters & motorcycles etc, with a remote cutoff, seem like the next best thing, to just having a vehicle so unsafe it injures uninvited riders? I dunno, maybe I just enjoy the memory too much; schadenfreude isn't healthy, is it?
Does anyone else use a vibration alarm? I sometimes bring one and activate it for a short leave. Obviously it does nothing to actually prevent the bike being moved, but it feels to me the noise (and even a $3 one is _proper_ loud) should be enough to discourage most opportunistic theft.
Wish I knew you could get $3 vibration alarms. I paid $30 for a light with one. I also have a lock with an alarm I think cost close to $100 plus my standard old lock. I hope between 2 blaring alarms and 2 locks they'll just move on to an easier target or I arrive in time to sucker punch a thief. To this day I've had the alarms go off twice, and am not sure if my bike almost disappeared or the wind moved it, but it was safe with no one around when I got outside both times.
@@DarthTinderalla-qm9zw Usability counts though. Honestly I very seldom use my cheap alarm these days either since it’s a pain to enable and disable, and even more pain to change the battery. $30 is about the amount I’d pay now for a better package (say an integrated alarm lock).
I think mostly you recognize a bike theft in minutes after it was stolen. Especially when usually you lock it properly, an AirTag is only a gimmick. But when going to a store and someone stole it, then this guy would recieve an notification after 15 Minutes. That is enough time to track down someone. Also you could disable the speakers by disconnecting them. Finding the AirTag is not that easy. There are many locations to hide them. Especially when it requires tools. An AirTag costs around 30 Euros. To rely a bike worth 3000 Euros is not a good idea, but it definitely gives an additional security.
I removed the speaker from one AirTag put two on the bike knowing that the first one probably would be found and hopefully the second one will not be found and give a chance to be recovered. But will use means to prevent it in the first place.
With regards to the precision of the air tag providing the location, there are issues. The accuracy improves when you are in an area of multiple cell towers such as a central business district. However, such places seldom have buildings with just one or two stories. If the location is an office building, the police would have difficulty determining which floor the air tag is on, and which room on that floor to search. This is because the triangulation of the air tag is imprecise even in an area well supplied with cell towers. If the building is an apartment building, the police would need a warrant for each of the possible locations shown for the air tag.
Maybe anti theft mode would mean anti movement outside of a given radius. Wouldn't matter if your bike falls over but if someone leaves with it there'd be a harsh alarm that sounds
Leave the bike in the highest gear, slacken off the wheels, take the saddle/post in to the shop if they won't allow the bike....With well adjusted minimal clearance rim brakes in the olden days you could wind out the barrel adjusters so the bike wheels barely turn...
My husband had a bike stolen. He spotted someone riding it, and called the cops. The person with the bike showed the cops a receipt for the bike. The cops told my husband that nothing could be done unless he could prove that he didn’t sell the bike to the perp.
Would they consider it stalking if you track the thief? The tile sticker seems ideal for my motorcycle… but what if they share my speed to police department ☠️ if someone drives to another city with an AirTag with no speaker… would you still be able to track it if there aren’t any iPhones around?
I'm not a lawyer. But anything that tracks your stuff digitally has the potential to be shared with anyone - advertisers or law enforcement. The question is do we trust apple's privacy policies over google.
Completely agree with the warrants. I had a bike that got stolen that was sitting in the thief's house for a whole year. The police told us they will need a warrant to get in, and that never happened. Luckily the thief pawned the bike off and it ended up sitting in a pawn shop, where we were allowed to recover it!
Im a noob to this arena but does the Samsung's Airtag 'equivalent' the SmartTag 2, have this anti-stalker notif and beep, same as airtag, or is the SmartTag 2 not even an option in you folks opinion? Note, I m a Samsung user (please no shaming)
Another low-tech option for short gas station stops is opening the quick release(assuming you still have an older bike) of your wheels. It will at least prevent someone from riding away safely.
@@joelv4495 Although I agree with you, a strategy to avoid a lawsuit is to plead that the “QR came loose while riding and you were wondering why the handling was poor!” I recently had a slow flat on my front wheel that I hadn’t noticed in a straight line, that became evident when I made a sharp turn - landed flat on the road when the rim gripped the tarmac.
@@joelv4495 And why would you ever admit to doing that, lol. In fact, you would want to file a lawsuit against the thief for damaging your perfectly good bike.
I have an air tag in my head tube. I can’t get it out and neither can a thief! It’s dropped in there with the bike upside down and happens to be exactly the right size.
And neither can the 2.4Ghz frequency.... your Bluetooth range will be significantly reduce when shieled by a metal tube. Worth a range test in and out of the frame.
Oh man idk. In Finland you don’t have to lock your car or your house. You can leave em wide open and noting will happpen. But your bike might get stolen even with the toughest lock
Great video.. How about a bike alarm? Question, I'm 6'2 and 300 lbs. I want to get an Ebike and have spent hours of research, seriously looking at the Walkee X3 pro. Any insight? I don't have a car and need transportation to places 1-7 miles away on a daily basis. I live in Miami, zip code 33156. Thank you.
Since i've made this video, I've found the Garmin Edge devices have built in motion alarms. So hypothetically you can set the alarm when your bike is outside somewhere and if it moves enough to trigger the alarm, it will make an audible alarm and alert your phone if its connected.
I’m not aware of the same stalker laws here in Norway. Afaik we’re totally allowed to track our property and retrieve it. But it’s best left to law enforcement to take care of that, for safety
You can open the AirTag up and disconnect the speaker. There’s plenty of videos on UA-cam on how to disable the speaker. Makes it vastly harder to find then.
Spiral steel cable + combination lock (don't use the travel bike locks, they are nearly all crap!) That way I can lock the bike anywhere, in best case on to something. Additionally I would also remove the speaker of the air tag. Yes, the thief would still be informed, but even if he needs 5 more minutes to find the tag, that could already make the difference between loosing it or getting it back.
I have a Samsung Smart Tag 2 which is only coupled to my father's phone which I have been carrying around for months, but I never recieved a notification that I was being followed. I have a Motorola and he has a Samsung. Also my girlfriend's iPhone has never said anything about the tag either. Located in Europe.
What happens if you remove the speakers on the tags and then put more than one air tag on the bike so the thief eventually finds one (after his phone alerts him) and destroys it. I guess eventually he'd get alerted again, but by that time, haven't you already found the location?
Great insights, i use two six foot long small diameter plastic coated aircraft cables (from amazon) with loops on each end and the the bigger ziplocks to secure.
Great advice! Thanks for the share i learned a lot in this video. I use a tile and installed a alarm I bought off Amazon, it's actually a pretty good add on. Again appreciate the help and advice.
You can detect any Bluetooth device near you by just scanning for thier advertisements that they send periodically, so Stalker mode is just a more obvious way of detecting the air tags.
My bike is at a house I can’t get the police to do anything about just like this says. I have been trying everything possible for weeks. I have multiple addresses of where it has gone. I am hoping for the best still but it sucks.
I have that. I-Lock-It. It's a European cafe lock with a bump warning alarm and a much louder real theft alarm. Plus, the location of the lock would make it very awkward to get at with angle grinders. The lock has GPS as well, but that only works in Europe.
So your own property (apple airtag) registered on your device. Being inside somones house you dont know and that you have never been to, is not probable cause? If thats the case its time to serve your own warrant.
yeah I've been doing this approach during bikepacking races and touring. I use the brightest colored Hiplok Z lok mostly as a deterrent. so far so good! hiplok.com/product/z-lok-combo-teal/?Google+Shopping&US+Google¤cy=USD&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuou6BhDhARIsAIfgrn55VFrfOzM0HM6Qn4sszPWdpda3c5wFQwCwhBpousQRZ9P1MipsY20aAlplEALw_wcB
When I got my bike 2nd hand I notice that even tho it had a heavy duty U-Lock there could be another deterrent for opportunist thieves on foot, the seat was easily removed and it not easy to ride a bike without a seat. 😂 Although, it is possible. Just a possibility for a certain situation I could be in.
Even the Bank, I have no problem. ID ,at the Bottom Bracket with a engraver with your Driver's Licensee for additional information in claiming your Bike.
I never needed to use a lock in Iceland, the manager of the YH laughed at my antics of locking up my bike…. So I never bothered after the 1st day there…. Maybe Iceland has become less safe in the past 30yrs?
Interesting. I got several notifications on my Android phone that an AirTag was moving with me while riding Amtrak from Galesburg, IL to Lincoln, NE. I ignored them.
Remove the speaker first of all second of all if something important to get stolen from me and I’m able to get it back. I will get it back by all means necessary.
Look up Knog Scout. Technically it's a apple AirTag with a motion alarm. If you're near enough, it will even send the alert to your phone if there's a movement to your bike.
Never had to use one for yrs, buddy system works well, been alone on bike trails to, I bring the bike into the bathroom. I do carry a D-Lock for day trips just in case. I don't care how much a D-Lock weighs, my old classic bike packed, weighs in at 75 lbs water, tools, spare tube, food, first aide so a D-Lock isn't going to make much of a difference for weight. Commonsense goes a long way. Blind spots to avoid. Groups of other bicyclists that are not. You see something out of place, pass it by. I carry pepper spray, never had to use it yet. Just beware of your surrounding without being paranoid LOL!
wow just when I was about to use the airtag to protect my bike. I think now we will need a bike designer like how tesla chaning the car game for someone to change the bike game to include a device aka part of the bike to be a security system and without it the bike just will not work, will not ride or function without it. there's always a better way, but looks like companies are lazy and more interested in jacking up high prices to pay for the same lame old system. one solution will be to make a piece of the down tube removeable, it has to be stiff and just as strong to complete the tube since that its hollow on the inside anyway. remove it and the bike simply is unusable. im so sick of thieves stealing people's bikes already as I lost 2 already. thanks man and great video.
i dropped a tag into an unrecoverable area of my vehicle. they'd have to cut it out. hoping it gives me enough time. smaller property on the other hand... good luck stay safe out there
Last summer in Amsterdam (title of a movie) nope. But hot and needed some more water, so tank station, next time I ask if I can bring my bike inside. Don't ask me about theft in Amsterdam, that's water to te sea. Great video thank you. :)
I set up bait bikes around town, the cops know it i let them know what model color & where, so that way they don't send the city workers to remove them, the bait bikes are set up with elastic cables in the frame just like a pop tent, once the bike is stolen & the thief starts ridding it with in a few minutes it falls apart & the thief get a mouth full of road asphalt. 😂. It seems to be working because the police have told me that there are less bike theft reports since i started doing this.
yeah this was one of those things I figured out towards the end of the trip. But it would have been a real bummer to fly to iceland to bikepack and have my bike and all my gear disappear in Reykjavic a day before flying to the Westfjords. Worth the peace of mind for me. The other thing I did that felt silly was filter water - but there were tons of sheep so worth the small amount of inconvenience for the peace of mind.
Why don't riders campaign for pack racing organisers to make a robust lock part of mandatory equipment? Then everybody has to carry one so there's no advantage to anyone.
I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. Bolt the tag down with torx screws and pink loctite. It isn't going to stop the thief forever, but it will put him on the clock to figure out an option. Most likely, that option will be to ditch the bike and not catch a grand larceny charge when you show up with the cops.
Search warrants are a purely American problem. In France they strictly apply to the home - the police can search a car, a backyard, a garage… And people will not store a stolen bike in their flat, they’re too small and the risk is too high to link the stolen property to them if there is indeed a search warrant. For instance an Air Tag allowed the police to seize a hundred stolen bikes in a thief backyard. You can’t store this many bikes in a flat. And stalker mode does not work when the bikes are outside. Besides localizing the Air Tag along this many bikes stored together would be a nightmare. Moreover a pro thieve might just get rid of the bike rather than lose time searching for the device : they have power tools and can steal another bike in 30 seconds, that’s faster than localizing a well hidden Air Tag…
Nice video, thank you. However, I wanted to ask if you are driving with an air tag in your car and you get pinged by a car passerby, will the passerby's iPhone get notified later or will it not show up, no matter the if day or days go by?
this has never happened to me with my phone or other peoples airtags. Apple has this one figured out, similar to if there are people on a crowded subway or bus.
You can easily disable the speaker on your Airtags. While they will still receive the notification and map view, but the speaker will not work, and you will have valuable information on the location of your bike. It is not enough for a search warrant or probable cause, but it can certainly help.
I don’t get it. The thief will get notified that he’s being stalked by a tag. The thief might not hear the tag if the speaker is disabled but the thief will still know that there is a tag somewhere on the bike.
Even if the tag is hidden it probably won’t take long to find it on the bike. Then the thief could easily just get rid of the tag and perhaps put it on a random van or truck. The owner of the bike would then track down an innocent person’s vehicle and get in a really awkward and potentially dangerous confrontation.
Or am I being stupid and missing something here? Please let me know if I’m wrong
@@34JohannesHeinz34still gonna take the thief time to find it, especially if there is more than one , and even if they do find it, still better than nothing
@@34JohannesHeinz34a thief might look regardless. If they are savvy there are Bluetooth apps that shows you every single Bluetooth device surrounding you and the signal strength. That way you can find an AirTags a Tile or whatever device.
@@34JohannesHeinz34I removed the speaker and use a Muc-Off tubeless AirTag holder. I can’t use in my rear wheel bc of the cushcore insert, so I put it in the front wheel. It puts the AirTag inside of your tubeless tire and the theif would literally need to remove the tire from the rim to find it. Also, I haven’t had any issue in regard to feeling the rotating mass inside of my tire if you were wondering.
Agreed! When out bike packing I got talking to a local guy in Scotland as we locked out bikes up. He said he had his stolen which shocked me as only a a fairly small town/village. He said he went in and told the manager. The manager gave him a lift in his car - they went hunting for the bike. They managed to find the thief - a teen lad - and get the bike back. An air tag would def have helped there to make it easier to hunt the thief down. It might not help all cases but I can see many where it would. Not all thieves are super pro - can be opportunists.
I just got my electric scooter back thanks to my AirTag! I tracked it to the thief's house and saw him taking it inside, the right moment at the right time. Called the police after an initial report that lead to nothing, but they did take action this time when I tell them as a witness I saw him, they questioned him and basically they could tell he had it, and retrieved my $800 scooter and took the guy in handcuffs.
glad this worked out for ya!
I'm at 6. Weeks without my 2000 ebike that has an smart tag 2 in it found the house its at but police won't get it unless they can see it from the road 😡
@@dupedizzlesvizzles File in small claims court. It will force them to show up and defend themselves and if they don't you will get a judgement. It may never be worth collecting on, but the legal notices may scare them into giving it back.
@@_PatrickO ^^^is a method, the singular issue I can think of is getting their full legal names. (regardless will cost you money, time, and... yeah (get money back if win and collect, but... yeah))
Last year I noticed a couple of guys hanging around outside the front of our house looking at their iPhones. They were clearly looking for something and I asked them what they were up to. They said that they’d had some bikes stolen from their business and an AirTag was saying they were within 20 metres of the AirTag. The police turned up about two minutes later and they narrowed it down to my neighbour’s shed. Turned out he had five stolen bikes in there. I don’t know what they did differently to you, but it definitely worked, at least on this occasion in the UK.
thanks for sharing this story. Did the police have to ask the owner to search the shed on private property?
@ Not sure how it all went down. Just know that later in the day I saw the police taking the bikes from the shed and putting them on a police transporter.
@@TheEnduranceStudioIn England a police inspector can authorise a search of premises given reasonable grounds to suspect
Air tags have been used to recover thousand of stolen cars and bicycles, it still by far the best tool to locate.
I wish there were some stats on this available
One thing you guys gotta know for future references majority of bike or e scooter thieves that are out on the streets running a muck (homeless) and these people most of them are drug addicts they don’t have the iPhone phone the crowd and everyone they hang around with they have the free Obama phones woud the AirTags still be traceable with them kind of phones through their Bluetooth?
The air tag is horrible for this and ripe to be replaced by better options that do the job far better.
The air tag is for finding your keys. The shimano 4iii crankset is for catching a theif.
Apples product is too ubiquitous and easy to slip anywhere, requiring the built in rape whistle for stalker protection.😮 The technology is sound, we just need better devices, made for this purpose. Not something for keys.
Its a lot harder for a judge to deny a search warrant for the $350 crankset built onto your bike than a $25 digital poker chip that can be placed anywhere. Sure the crank is more expensive, but its buying you a search warrant, and it comes with a power meter!
@Chitolopezal100 “Free Obama phones”? Are you retarded?
@@Chitolopezal100 Obama is tracking you Right now.
There is so much information left out of this video: Removing the speaker from an AirTag is trivial, it removes the audible alerts and makes finding the tag harder, Tile stickers ONLY locate when they in in proximity to a phone whose owner uses Tiles while AirTags ping off of every iPhone out there. There have been billions of iPhones sold, how many Tiles users are there? Another point to make is that there is NOTHING you can put on a bike that would give a police officer probable cause to enter a domicile without a warrant to retrieve a bike, an AirTag is still the best option. Also, forget the simple AirTag stealth accessories, I put an AirTag inside the bottom bracket area. It works fine there (carbon frame) and good luck trying to find it, much less remove it. I doubt a bike thief would have the specialized tools necessary to remove the bottom bracket. Are these options a guarantee? No, but they are the best we can do. Another point to make is that many bike computers (I use a Garmin) have an alarm mode that will alert your phone/watch if someone moves your bike (you must be within Bluetooth range), this is the only device that I have had to use. I was in a fast food place when someone moved my bike (it was only to make room for their bike) but I was alerted on my watch and darted outside to hear the bike computer alarm sounding. Again, not perfect but securing a bike is not a matter of using one device, it is a layered approach and the more layers, the better.
What about AGPS tracking device question mark not just some stupid air tag period that requires somebody else's phone to work ?
Yeah you know like it doesn't matter if they're in the middle of nowhere you can still find it because it has a bloody GPS Tracker? you know how the CIA knows where you are wherever your fucking phone is? yeah actually like that
❤ THANK YOU! A sensible nuanced response
I have heard of judges not giving warrants for apple airtags. I dont like the airtags built in rape alert as it pertains to theft prevention. I think the airtag is ripe to be replaced by better options that dont inform theives they are being tracked and offer a stronger arguing point for a search warrant.
There is already 1 of these such items on the market. The 4iii power meter has air tag tech built in. No rape mode, no audible alerts, and is a functional part of the bike, not a poker chip that can get tossed anywhere for $25.
I would absoloutley love to see bottom brackets made with this tech built in. And as far as hiding places go, you chose possibly the best spot! It takes special tools to get in there!
I removed the speaker from my AirTag and put it inside my tubeless tire with the Muc-Off stealth AirTag holder. The only way a thief would be able to find it would be to remove my tire from the rim 😏
Hi, I have the same system but with a second 'sleeper' airtag hidden in the stem. In my opinion the kind of drug/alcohol addicted bike thieves in my town are very unlikely to have the skills and tools available to remove a tag from a tubeless tire and will likely just give up and dump the bike. Tubeless tires can be notoriously difficult to re-inflait even for experienced users and I doubt that the thieves will be carrying air bottles or co2 cartridges! 😆 The thieves are also getting covered with pink Muc-Off tubeless slime which shows up under UV! Let me know if anyone tries to steal your bike and what happens or if you think of anything to further improve the system
I keep a couple of those small little luggage padlocks purchased from the Dollar stores. I put these through the links on my chain to stop it from going over the chain ring. They're out of sight usually and will stop a thief from riding away on your bike only (they won't know what is stopping them at first). They are not the easiest to cut off either so don't lose the keys.
This sounds useful but I don't quite understand what you mean by 'put one through the links on the chain to stop it from going over the chain ring'. What is the chain ring?
@@suziejacobson2469, google it ;-)
The drive train between the pedals and the rear wheel. If you put a small lock in that chain, the bike can't be pedaled away.
@@suziejacobson2469 The chain rings are those circular disks with teeth that interlock with the chain, grabbing onto it, and allowing you to apply a force to the wheels.
If you put them on cranks it becomes a crankset, if you stack multiple together of varying size on the wheel it becomes a cassette.
By placing a lock through a link, they mean inserting the shaft of the lock through a hole in the chain, so as to lock the lock onto the chain.
It all sounds like a greasy affair to me as i dont wax my chain (yet).
this is brilliant!
I take my bicycle in the store, the bank, the hardware store ect. I resupply by ordering the groceries and waiting at the grocery pickup parking area.
curbside pickup! brilliant!
Great idea for placing that have the feature. Thank you.
It may not be legal or ideal. But you can disable the speaker and if it does ping the hope is they just ditch the bike. If they don’t ditch it, at least you will know where the bike is and you can deal with it yourself.
The government needs to take theft seriously and not just give thieves a slap on the wrist or even no punishment at all. I have had things stolen at least half a dozen times, and it always scares my wife and makes me paranoid about any sounds at night. They really have to track down thieves and deliver strong justice to them, ankle monitors and curfews for a first offence, not just giving them probation to not get caught for 90 days. Everything is so expensive nowadays, and replacing a bike or camera or phone takes so much work to cover the cost and hassle of replacing something.
I got a security camera for safety, and they smashed the cage around it and stole the camera, luckily they had their face in front of the camera and had a facial tattoo so were easily identified and got put away for 6 months. The police weren't even going to pursue it till I kept pushing for it, they really didn't care till I complained, but it still took 18 months to get them and I still didn't get my camera returned, or the cage fixed.
Okay Bigot. Your bike is more important than someone's life? Can't believe you want to put fathers in prison over a bike.
I’m for Sharia Law type punishments for theft.
@@jamesmadison9244 We don't need "Sharia Law", the punishment for theft is found in the BIBLE. It's just that the "government" took that LAWFUL RIGHT AWAY from us.
Great information. Being very "old school" I didn't know anything about air tags or tile stickers. Always good to learn something new. Thank you Dylan 😊
Glad you enjoyed it
Both options are crap. The air tag tech is good, just destroyed by the built in rape whistle... It has left a huge opening for new tech to enter the bike scene.
Like the 4iii powermeter cranks with built in air tag tech, yet no alarm on the device, nor a stalker mode.
You can buy a knog alarm that uses the air tag network system but adds a vibration alarm. And it doesn’t do stalker anything
Garmin has a very nice anti-theft feature. You can turn it on and it will sound an alarm and send a notification to your phone if your bike is moved. If you have a garmin anyways (I spotted one on the video) it’s no extra weight either :)
whoa I had no idea! I just bought an 1040 solar. This could be a great layer of anti-theft redundancy combined with some other options!
Ya i had no idea either! Im using a 1040 right now.
Yeah, my watch alerts me when the ebike goes out of range... about 50ft with clear line-of-sight, or 30ft if I stand between watch & ebike;
Why wouldn’t the presence of a tile on a stolen bicycle be probable cause?
It is
I use an Invoxia tracker. I saw it briefly in your video when you were highlighting other YT videos. I paid upfront for the version that has 2 years of included LTE tracking. Which means it has GPS, LTE and Bluetooth. It also has a very sensitive movement detector, so if anyone is outside messing with your bike while you grab a drink it will pretty much instantly notify your phone. I have almost nothing bad to say about it, aside for maybe the size. It obviously isn't as small as a tile or airtag, so hiding it takes more creativity. But it's also pretty obscure, so a thief may find it but will they even know what it is?
Thank you! I will look into it for my motorcycle. Nervous about it just sitting out in the parking lot of my apartment.
The Unihertz Atom XL is quite small, by modem smartphone standards; it's got a DMR radio, infrared IO, decent standby time, & by using community-made 'Automate!' or 'Tasker' routines, you can have the whole device remain in deep sleep except to check for warnings\messages periodically, sending GPS coords (&\or recordings etc) exclusively to whitelisted phone numbers / messaging accounts of your choice, on demand; as opposed to tracking devices that send the device's location to a corporate server that you _may_ retain access to...
By wiring a small prepaid cellphone to the bike (instead of a prepaid cellular tracker), you also gain the surveillance features of the phone, & the potential to use it as a spare or as a radio, in an emergency.
I got a few AirTags, & do also have a cellular WiFi hotspot device that can be tracked thru the cellular carrier, but I've been eyeing the Atom XL since it came out & am especially eager to learn of any other small Android devices.
The speaker in the air tag CAN be removed and it isn’t hard to do it.
I know it is not the complete solution but it gives you more time for recovery of your stolen item.
The thief can get notifications when they have an air tag near to him on his phone BUT, (as surprising as it might be nowadays) 1- many people don’t know about air tags 2- don’t suspect they have one on the stolen bike 3- the thief doesn’t have the time to check for air tags while he’s stealing your bike or his phone for notifications.
I think that the sound of the air tag would be the main concern and if you can eliminate that, it’ll be really helpful.
My airtag is behind 4 screws and locked inside the battery compartment of my ebike. I leave the keys at home. 113db motion alarm hidden underneath. U lock through frame and rear brake rotor. Cable through front wheel. Keypad locked with 4 digit code.
And I still stress when it's out of my sight. If it gets stolen despite all that I'll be at a disadvantage since I'll be on foot.
if it gets stolen despite all that I think it may be an act of god.
Pretty much what I had planned. But does the metal surrounding the air tag reduce the range significantly? It would seem to me even worse than under the bottom bracket and as bad as in the handlebars stem.
@@johnsmolley1941 I was able to track it instantly when it was stolen a few months ago. I retrieved it within 30 minutes! Worth every penny.
The sound on air tag can be disabled
There are quite a few AirTag mounts for bikes which use special security screws that can’t easily be removed - this could be a solution as the thief would likely have to order a tool to remove the tag, by which time you could potentially have easily found the bike
yeah true. good advice.
Or they could just drill it out or smash it.
Good article. If I just want my bike to not roll while I'm not using it I lock it with a gun lock. The cable is long enough to go through the back wheel and the seat tube or seat stay. Every once in a while sporting good stores, army surplus stores or the city gives out gun locks for free.
a gun lock is a great idea. thanks for sharing.
Hiplock combo lock lasted under 3 minutes for me one resupply. I went in to get some drink and a sandwich and the bike was gone. I'm not really surprised as I somehow managed to alter the code by accident in the past and it took me barely any time at all to feel the new combination with zero prior lockpicking experience.
sorry to hear. you think the keyed version would have been better?
The Latest 4iiii power meter has apple find my function without the AirTag chirping. Plus, if the thief are pedaling, the power meter will only function as power meter, it won't alarm the thief.
Is that Apple only?
@@Bazza1968 Yes. Google has a similar function called "find my device", but the power meter does not support it.
@@Bazza1968 ua-cam.com/video/9v4yFQJupis/v-deo.htmlsi=wg8EBlmABjyk_y8E
This guy explains how does it work.
This seems like it would be an ideal solution. Or even a great redundancy to the airtag with the speaker removed.
I also use a simple padlock alarm, if cut or moved the siren is instantly loud. When not activated it’s a simple padlock hung on the frame. It’s cheap, quick and easy to carry. It can attach a bag handle to the frame too. It’s good for letting me know a theft attempt has begun. My bike has a wheel lock too, so it can’t be easily ridden away. The key lives in it so I can’t lose it. The locking mechanism can be removed with tools but that’s where the padlock alarm comes into play. That said nothing is 100%, so I ask nicely and take my bike into stores.
I have a cheapo cable lock that’s long enough to secure the front wheel and frame to a parking meter pole. It’s super lightweight and is not much more than a visual deterrent but it may stop a crime of opportunity.
I add alarm device
Removable pedals, Tile and, Z locks(combo) on my bike.
I personally think removable pedals (alloy type) is good idea because what do bike thieves want to do once they steal your bike? ride it.
If there are no pedals, not going to get anywhere walking it or running with it.
Pedals can easily fit in your pockets if going into a store.
removable pedals seem like a great idea but make me nervous - are they built to withstand lots of mountain biking riding abuse? What kind do you have?
@@TheEnduranceStudio Mine have been bullet proof including a couple crashes.
The pedals I use are the Promend PD-R67Q.
I know what you're thinking, when people mention removable pedals they may think of those plastic ABS type that you see on Brompton folding bikes.
These are definitely not them.
These are all solid alloy axel. Only difference is they have a sliding collar that allows them to be easily removed.
@@TheEnduranceStudio MKS also have super reliable removable pedals, with a couple models quite appropriate for off-road use: Pretzel Ezy Superior & LAMBADA Ezy Superior. Pricey...
Start researching lora with gps. It requires custom script but just create a sequential location ping protocol and good to go. You can even tie into Internet of things groups to relay location data. And it's fully encrypted so only you see where your things are
thank you for sharing. yes this does look like a viable solution to look into. www.thethingsnetwork.org/article/4-most-popular-lorawan-trackers-on-the-market
Not many nodes to help track your stuff; especially compared to ~50% of all US mobile devices (iPhones ≥12)...
AirTags are (by design) not an _ideal_ tracking device, but they're the most effective tracking device without a recurring bill.
Are there any alternatives to Apple Airtag or Tile stickers that are compatible with android devices?
yeah looks like Samsung has a smart tag. I don't know much about it, however. www.samsung.com/us/business/mobile/mobile-accessories/phones/galaxy-smarttag-ei-t5300bbegus/
Disabled speaker and the airtag somewhere where you need special tools to access. Like inside the frame. If you do your own maintance, you got the tools.
This right here!
As mentioned in comments, diy disabling of speaker might be done. And I think I recall Apple stating AirTags weren't offered as an anti-theft product. - And yes, I wish it did work as one. Video laid out a lot of the difficulties with using one for dealing with someone stealing your bike.
4iii power meter cranks. They have air tag tech inside and are made for theft recovery. No audible alerts, no rape warnings!
whenever I have leave my bit for a bit to go into a store. I put the bike in the biggest gear then stop. Once stopped, i push my gear shifter so the gears will fall all the way down when pedaled. if you try to jump on it and pedal it, it will lock up the rear wheel.
I ride XL frame bikes. One day, I leaned mine against a fence while walking around chatting, & a little while later I glanced that way, to see a _tiny_ child standing _under the top tube,_ trying to pedal the bike away.
The sight was _hilarious,_ made only slightly less funny when they turned out to be eight years old with an enviable vocabulary of cursewords.
Ever since, I've wanted a semi-recumbent penny-farthing with a 66" front wheel, partially just because of how funny it would be to see anyone who isn't excessively tall, try to ride it.
Are alarm locks like made by ULAC reliable? Any western alarm lock models?
Great Vídeo!! Guys, I'm trying to find the option for my bike. Aahnn does tile sticker work with all Apple network? Or does it only work with apple phone that have some Tile Sticker app installed?
what editing do you use to smoothen your face? i have been finding one for a long time, but not satisfied with many.
none. I just have an unusually smooth face 😛
My bike is serviced annually. I’ve put an AirTag in the bottom bracket (tube leading to it!) and have removed the sound from it. Doubt it can easily be located without the chirping. Know it can’t be easily removed!
How long do the battery last?
@@CrazyCranker about a year. Replaced when serviced.
Two anti theft tactics I've used traveling solo:
1Take a quick release lever with me and leave the wheel a bit wonky.
2) Release the air from a tire giving it a reinflatable flat. Take the pocket pump with me. I walk up rocking this look if necessary.
Others too fragile to mention here.
1) My bike uses through axles, i cant just take a quick release, i have to take the whole greasy axle. Leaving the wheel ready to be stolen
2) My tires are tubeless. If i give myself a flat, its easy to pop a bead. If a bead pops, no mini pump is going to solve the issue.
I like the lightweight bike lock deal, I'm never leaving my bike unattended long. Its also so light i could buy 3 and lock my wheels to the frame if desired.
I feel a strong need to get this sorted out. Im new to biking as an adult. I went for a ride with the family and everyone just left their bike unlocked while we stopped @ a restaurant for food! In fact all the bikes were unlocked, about 15 of them! It was on the boardwalk @ the beach. I inquired to the group about the bikes, I was told "this is newport beach, your bike is safe!" I had a flashback to 2 people getting arested in front of my house for stealing bikes, in newport beach...
@@brandonhoffman4712 Maybe for a $50 Goodwill beat up bike, you can leave it out. Even then it is much safer with a simple $10 lock on it.
I once spent a few months riding around the Mississippi's West bank near NOLA, on a janky 12 speed with a broken shift lever (replaced with a wood screw within washers) & no return spring on the rear derailleur... one day, the bars crimped & folded over, where foam wrap had retained a few decades of moisture; I bent them back & kept riding the old thing.
Heading to a friend's, everyone else dumped their bikes beneath a carport, while I gingerly stood the decrepit relic on its kick stand, just outside their heap of pedals, spokes & frames.
"Your bike's gonna get stolen if you leave it there."
'It might. They probably won't get far.'
Less than 15 minutes later, we came back out of his house, to find my 'bike' gone... about half a block, to the very first curb slope, where it lay bent handlebar side up, 'shifted' to the hardest gear, beside a ~3ft streak of roadrash stain on the concrete.
I've had a nice bike stolen when I made it very easy, & I've seen cheap bikes stolen for the same reason; but ebikes & scooters & motorcycles etc, with a remote cutoff, seem like the next best thing, to just having a vehicle so unsafe it injures uninvited riders?
I dunno, maybe I just enjoy the memory too much; schadenfreude isn't healthy, is it?
Does anyone else use a vibration alarm? I sometimes bring one and activate it for a short leave. Obviously it does nothing to actually prevent the bike being moved, but it feels to me the noise (and even a $3 one is _proper_ loud) should be enough to discourage most opportunistic theft.
Yes I use a knog
Wish I knew you could get $3 vibration alarms. I paid $30 for a light with one. I also have a lock with an alarm I think cost close to $100 plus my standard old lock. I hope between 2 blaring alarms and 2 locks they'll just move on to an easier target or I arrive in time to sucker punch a thief. To this day I've had the alarms go off twice, and am not sure if my bike almost disappeared or the wind moved it, but it was safe with no one around when I got outside both times.
@@DarthTinderalla-qm9zw Usability counts though. Honestly I very seldom use my cheap alarm these days either since it’s a pain to enable and disable, and even more pain to change the battery. $30 is about the amount I’d pay now for a better package (say an integrated alarm lock).
@@DarthTinderalla-qm9zw High Dollar Tree has motion and magnetic window alarms for less than $3! 😅
I know in the UK the police can’t (and won’t) just search a property that seemingly has your AirTag in it.
Just because a security device isn’t perfect doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it. AirTags complement other security measures.
I think mostly you recognize a bike theft in minutes after it was stolen. Especially when usually you lock it properly, an AirTag is only a gimmick. But when going to a store and someone stole it, then this guy would recieve an notification after 15 Minutes. That is enough time to track down someone. Also you could disable the speakers by disconnecting them. Finding the AirTag is not that easy. There are many locations to hide them. Especially when it requires tools. An AirTag costs around 30 Euros. To rely a bike worth 3000 Euros is not a good idea, but it definitely gives an additional security.
well said!
I removed the speaker from one AirTag put two on the bike knowing that the first one probably would be found and hopefully the second one will not be found and give a chance to be recovered. But will use means to prevent it in the first place.
With regards to the precision of the air tag providing the location, there are issues. The accuracy improves when you are in an area of multiple cell towers such as a central business district. However, such places seldom have buildings with just one or two stories. If the location is an office building, the police would have difficulty determining which floor the air tag is on, and which room on that floor to search. This is because the triangulation of the air tag is imprecise even in an area well supplied with cell towers. If the building is an apartment building, the police would need a warrant for each of the possible locations shown for the air tag.
Maybe anti theft mode would mean anti movement outside of a given radius. Wouldn't matter if your bike falls over but if someone leaves with it there'd be a harsh alarm that sounds
Does the stalker mode work with off brand air tags ? Basically tags that aren’t by Apple
Leave the bike in the highest gear, slacken off the wheels, take the saddle/post in to the shop if they won't allow the bike....With well adjusted minimal clearance rim brakes in the olden days you could wind out the barrel adjusters so the bike wheels barely turn...
My husband had a bike stolen. He spotted someone riding it, and called the cops. The person with the bike showed the cops a receipt for the bike. The cops told my husband that nothing could be done unless he could prove that he didn’t sell the bike to the perp.
What’s your take on the airtag bike lock?
Would they consider it stalking if you track the thief? The tile sticker seems ideal for my motorcycle… but what if they share my speed to police department ☠️ if someone drives to another city with an AirTag with no speaker… would you still be able to track it if there aren’t any iPhones around?
I'm not a lawyer. But anything that tracks your stuff digitally has the potential to be shared with anyone - advertisers or law enforcement. The question is do we trust apple's privacy policies over google.
Completely agree with the warrants. I had a bike that got stolen that was sitting in the thief's house for a whole year. The police told us they will need a warrant to get in, and that never happened. Luckily the thief pawned the bike off and it ended up sitting in a pawn shop, where we were allowed to recover it!
wow! this is exactly what i'm afraid of. Thanks for sharing and glad you got it back.
Im a noob to this arena but does the Samsung's Airtag 'equivalent' the SmartTag 2, have this anti-stalker notif and beep, same as airtag, or is the SmartTag 2 not even an option in you folks opinion? Note, I m a Samsung user (please no shaming)
I'm no expert but I believe it does have anti-stalker mode.
Another low-tech option for short gas station stops is opening the quick release(assuming you still have an older bike) of your wheels. It will at least prevent someone from riding away safely.
Sounds like this idea might actually open you up to a lawsuit from the thief in the ridiculous legal landscape we live in these days. 🙄
@@joelv4495 Although I agree with you, a strategy to avoid a lawsuit is to plead that the “QR came loose while riding and you were wondering why the handling was poor!” I recently had a slow flat on my front wheel that I hadn’t noticed in a straight line, that became evident when I made a sharp turn - landed flat on the road when the rim gripped the tarmac.
@@joelv4495 And why would you ever admit to doing that, lol. In fact, you would want to file a lawsuit against the thief for damaging your perfectly good bike.
Just buy the knog bike alarm with 85db alarm and apple find my support, price around 50,- can ve mounted underneath your bidon.
I remove axle/skewer form the wheel and put it slightly out of drop out.
I have an air tag in my head tube. I can’t get it out and neither can a thief! It’s dropped in there with the bike upside down and happens to be exactly the right size.
And neither can the 2.4Ghz frequency.... your Bluetooth range will be significantly reduce when shieled by a metal tube. Worth a range test in and out of the frame.
Oh man idk. In Finland you don’t have to lock your car or your house. You can leave em wide open and noting will happpen. But your bike might get stolen even with the toughest lock
so bike theft is a big problem in Finland?
Great video.. How about a bike alarm? Question, I'm 6'2 and 300 lbs. I want to get an Ebike and have spent hours of research, seriously looking at the Walkee X3 pro. Any insight? I don't have a car and need transportation to places 1-7 miles away on a daily basis. I live in Miami, zip code 33156. Thank you.
Since i've made this video, I've found the Garmin Edge devices have built in motion alarms. So hypothetically you can set the alarm when your bike is outside somewhere and if it moves enough to trigger the alarm, it will make an audible alarm and alert your phone if its connected.
I’m not aware of the same stalker laws here in Norway. Afaik we’re totally allowed to track our property and retrieve it. But it’s best left to law enforcement to take care of that, for safety
You can open the AirTag up and disconnect the speaker. There’s plenty of videos on UA-cam on how to disable the speaker. Makes it vastly harder to find then.
AirTag only gives last location seen. So you might not ever find it still on the move plus if the battery gets low you might be able to beep it
Spiral steel cable + combination lock (don't use the travel bike locks, they are nearly all crap!)
That way I can lock the bike anywhere, in best case on to something.
Additionally I would also remove the speaker of the air tag. Yes, the thief would still be informed, but even if he needs 5 more minutes to find the tag, that could already make the difference between loosing it or getting it back.
I have a Samsung Smart Tag 2 which is only coupled to my father's phone which I have been carrying around for months, but I never recieved a notification that I was being followed. I have a Motorola and he has a Samsung. Also my girlfriend's iPhone has never said anything about the tag either. Located in Europe.
What happens if you remove the speakers on the tags and then put more than one air tag on the bike so the thief eventually finds one (after his phone alerts him) and destroys it. I guess eventually he'd get alerted again, but by that time, haven't you already found the location?
I have quick release pedals I can pop off and slip into a bag. It's impossible to ride the bike away without pedals.
What about samsung's trackers?
Great insights, i use two six foot long small diameter plastic coated aircraft cables (from amazon) with loops on each end and the the bigger ziplocks to secure.
Great advice! Thanks for the share i learned a lot in this video. I use a tile and installed a alarm I bought off Amazon, it's actually a pretty good add on. Again appreciate the help and advice.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching and good luck!
You can detect any Bluetooth device near you by just scanning for thier advertisements that they send periodically, so Stalker mode is just a more obvious way of detecting the air tags.
My bike is at a house I can’t get the police to do anything about just like this says. I have been trying everything possible for weeks. I have multiple addresses of where it has gone. I am hoping for the best still but it sucks.
Bummer. I hope you get a resolution soon. 🤞🏻
How about a noisy alarm lock? When anyone touches your bike it will be quite loud and either you or anyone else will pay attention to what up there
I have that. I-Lock-It. It's a European cafe lock with a bump warning alarm and a much louder real theft alarm. Plus, the location of the lock would make it very awkward to get at with angle grinders. The lock has GPS as well, but that only works in Europe.
So your own property (apple airtag) registered on your device. Being inside somones house you dont know and that you have never been to, is not probable cause?
If thats the case its time to serve your own warrant.
Round here compromised bikes are just chucked in the canal …
probably lots of compromised things end up there?
if you're doing a quicky grocery stop... just get a super lightweight zip lock/combo. works great for grab and go.
yeah I've been doing this approach during bikepacking races and touring. I use the brightest colored Hiplok Z lok mostly as a deterrent. so far so good! hiplok.com/product/z-lok-combo-teal/?Google+Shopping&US+Google¤cy=USD&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuou6BhDhARIsAIfgrn55VFrfOzM0HM6Qn4sszPWdpda3c5wFQwCwhBpousQRZ9P1MipsY20aAlplEALw_wcB
When I got my bike 2nd hand I notice that even tho it had a heavy duty U-Lock there could be another deterrent for opportunist thieves on foot, the seat was easily removed and it not easy to ride a bike without a seat. 😂 Although, it is possible. Just a possibility for a certain situation I could be in.
Just disable the sound. It’s a hardware mod, so there is no way they can enable the sound via software.
Even the Bank, I have no problem. ID ,at the Bottom Bracket with a engraver with your Driver's Licensee for additional information in claiming your Bike.
I never needed to use a lock in Iceland, the manager of the YH laughed at my antics of locking up my bike…. So I never bothered after the 1st day there…. Maybe Iceland has become less safe in the past 30yrs?
Great info I have one myself ands it’s great for loosing keys and stuff
Interesting. I got several notifications on my Android phone that an AirTag was moving with me while riding Amtrak from Galesburg, IL to Lincoln, NE. I ignored them.
It was likely in someone's suitcase, especially if they were traveling by air at some point
Remove the speaker first of all second of all if something important to get stolen from me and I’m able to get it back. I will get it back by all means necessary.
Look up Knog Scout. Technically it's a apple AirTag with a motion alarm. If you're near enough, it will even send the alert to your phone if there's a movement to your bike.
Great video but what would the regret be? The money spent?
The regret would be you may think you’ll get your bike back and have a safety net but could turn out it doesn’t help with shit.
not enough to get a search warrant so the encounter and retrieval is all on you.
I wish I could hire Dog the Bounty Hunter for my retrieval.
Never had to use one for yrs, buddy system works well, been alone on bike trails to, I bring the bike into the bathroom. I do carry a D-Lock for day trips just in case. I don't care how much a D-Lock weighs, my old classic bike packed, weighs in at 75 lbs water, tools, spare tube, food, first aide so a D-Lock isn't going to make much of a difference for weight. Commonsense goes a long way. Blind spots to avoid. Groups of other bicyclists that are not. You see something out of place, pass it by. I carry pepper spray, never had to use it yet. Just beware of your surrounding without being paranoid LOL!
I'm not an avid biker who worries about this topic but found the general information interesting. Thanks!
wow just when I was about to use the airtag to protect my bike. I think now we will need a bike designer like how tesla chaning the car game for someone to change the bike game to include a device aka part of the bike to be a security system and without it the bike just will not work, will not ride or function without it. there's always a better way, but looks like companies are lazy and more interested in jacking up high prices to pay for the same lame old system. one solution will be to make a piece of the down tube removeable, it has to be stiff and just as strong to complete the tube since that its hollow on the inside anyway. remove it and the bike simply is unusable. im so sick of thieves stealing people's bikes already as I lost 2 already. thanks man and great video.
i dropped a tag into an unrecoverable area of my vehicle. they'd have to cut it out. hoping it gives me enough time. smaller property on the other hand... good luck stay safe out there
What happens when it runs out of battery?
@@TheEnduranceStudio DJ Khaled; anotha one. actually i saw some cool ideas in this video maybe i'll have a better option when the time comes.
Last summer in Amsterdam (title of a movie) nope.
But hot and needed some more water, so tank station, next time I ask if I can bring my bike inside.
Don't ask me about theft in Amsterdam, that's water to te sea.
Great video thank you.
:)
I was told in Amsterdam that every bike in the Central District has been stolen 1.8 times!
😬
I'm on android and lent my mates xmax he hid a air tag on my phone, told me there was one and if I wanted ro play a sound to find it
It's well known that you have to disable the speakers to use it this way. There are plenty of UA-cam videos explaining how.
I set up bait bikes around town, the cops know it i let them know what model color & where, so that way they don't send the city workers to remove them, the bait bikes are set up with elastic cables in the frame just like a pop tent, once the bike is stolen & the thief starts ridding it with in a few minutes it falls apart & the thief get a mouth full of road asphalt. 😂. It seems to be working because the police have told me that there are less bike theft reports since i started doing this.
I bought a generic brand and it has no speaker
I don't think you needed a lock, or any anti-theft strategies, in Iceland. ;)
I laughed at that too...
yeah this was one of those things I figured out towards the end of the trip. But it would have been a real bummer to fly to iceland to bikepack and have my bike and all my gear disappear in Reykjavic a day before flying to the Westfjords. Worth the peace of mind for me. The other thing I did that felt silly was filter water - but there were tons of sheep so worth the small amount of inconvenience for the peace of mind.
By far the simplest anti-theft strategy is to simply bring your bike into the store with you. I do it all the time, and it's never a problem.
yep totally agree
Why don't riders campaign for pack racing organisers to make a robust lock part of mandatory equipment? Then everybody has to carry one so there's no advantage to anyone.
This is an interesting idea. I guess a race director could make that call.
I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. Bolt the tag down with torx screws and pink loctite. It isn't going to stop the thief forever, but it will put him on the clock to figure out an option. Most likely, that option will be to ditch the bike and not catch a grand larceny charge when you show up with the cops.
Food for thought. Thanks.
thanks for watching🙏🏻
Thank you for reading the fine print
for sure. can't believe whats in there sometimes.
I put mine inside my electric motor on my e-bike! Lol they would have to tear the whole motor apart to find it lol
Search warrants are a purely American problem. In France they strictly apply to the home - the police can search a car, a backyard, a garage… And people will not store a stolen bike in their flat, they’re too small and the risk is too high to link the stolen property to them if there is indeed a search warrant.
For instance an Air Tag allowed the police to seize a hundred stolen bikes in a thief backyard. You can’t store this many bikes in a flat. And stalker mode does not work when the bikes are outside. Besides localizing the Air Tag along this many bikes stored together would be a nightmare.
Moreover a pro thieve might just get rid of the bike rather than lose time searching for the device : they have power tools and can steal another bike in 30 seconds, that’s faster than localizing a well hidden Air Tag…
Thank you for this non-American perspective! Very interesting
Well that sucks. I wanted to use them on my robot lawn mower that, surprisingly enough, does not have GPS.
Nice video, thank you. However, I wanted to ask if you are driving with an air tag in your car and you get pinged by a car passerby, will the passerby's iPhone get notified later or will it not show up, no matter the if day or days go by?
this has never happened to me with my phone or other peoples airtags. Apple has this one figured out, similar to if there are people on a crowded subway or bus.