Hiding GPS On A Bicycle Frame

[Bret Cahill]

Assume the bike thief knew every thing about cycle design and GPS technology. Would it still be possible to design a system that could only be disabled by destroying the frame?


Bret Cahill

 

[whit3rd]

On Sunday, February 7, 2016 at 8:41:38 PM UTC-8, Bret Cahill wrote:
> Assume the bike thief knew every thing about cycle design and GPS technology. Would it still be possible to design a system that could only be disabled by destroying the frame?

Sure, with a suitable boobytrap that detonates and destroys the frame. Possibly
dangerous, though. Frames survive brazing oven temperatures, no feasible
GPS would.

 

[Bret Cahill]

Assume the bike thief knew every thing about cycle design and GPS technology. Would it still be possible to design a system that could only be disabled by destroying the frame?

Sure, with a suitable boobytrap that detonates and destroys the frame. Possibly
dangerous, though. Frames survive brazing oven temperatures, no feasible
GPS would.

The idea was to at least get the frame back.

 

[Jasen Betts]

On 2016-02-08, Bret Cahill <bretcahill@aol.com> wrote:

Assume the bike thief knew every thing about cycle design and GPS
technology. Would it still be possible to design a system that could
only be disabled by destroying the frame?

No.

--
\_(ツ)_

 

[Bret Cahill]

Assume the bike thief knew every thing about cycle design and GPS
technology. Would it still be possible to design a system that could
only be disabled by destroying the frame?

No.

What about something that would take a few hours to disable? Most bike thefts take place when the rider is only indoors for a couple hours or less.

Assume the thief doesn't have a high tech shop on his truck. He's just a meth head with everyday knowledge of the system.

The GPS and a rechargeable battery could be sealed inside of the down tube with the recharging socket exiting a braze-on. Maybe diodes could protect the battery from being shorted out but the antenna must still be outside of metal tubing. Fake decoy antennas would not help because the assumption here is the thief has knowledge of this and could pry them all off.

The antenna could double as a switch in the alarm system. The alarm and phone alert go on if the bike is moved 10 meters w/o the key and it also goes off if the antenna is disturbed. A nearby sensor detects additional metal, i.e., a foil blanket, nearby which also sets off the alarm.

GPS doesn't always work well is where it is needed most, inner cities with high rise buildings, but this is easy to check with Geofix, GPS Status and other apps. A lot of the convenience of a bicycle is lost wasting time to lock it up. The phone alert service could be cost effective for many commuters even if their time is only worth minimum wage.

The cyclist could use warning stickers or, for vigilante types, just let the thief find out later he screwed up. If the police don't do property crimes Tucson cyclists could call an Uber.

Moreover, it's hard to get the weight of an effective lock down below a few pounds thereby defeating the point of expensive light weight bikes.

GPS is already cheaper than a good lock. Bicycles are the most common consumer item theft. There should be a big market for this. It should be standard on even Walmart bikes.


Bret Cahill

 

[Jasen Betts]

On 2016-02-09, Bret Cahill <bretcahill@aol.com> wrote:

Assume the bike thief knew every thing about cycle design and GPS
technology. Would it still be possible to design a system that could
only be disabled by destroying the frame?

No.

What about something that would take a few hours to disable?

no.



--
\_(ツ)_