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Where on your bike is your AirTag?

I had one in the saddle bag. And just as well, because I ended up with a flat shifter battery (CR2032) and nobody else had a spare one. Then I remembered I had the airtag in the saddle bag and raided that for the battery and borrowed a screwdriver from the Mavic mechanic so I could get the SRAM shifter battery compartment open.

Lucky. I had a long descent and was in a pretty low gear. So that got me down into Nice from the top of Col de Braus.
 
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Good thread. Discuss publicly where you will hide your protection device… it is like discussing your alarm code. Next discuss your home address.
 
That’s fine, it’s probably somewhere else now. Or something else might be doing the same purpose.
 
startergo said:
Good thread. Discuss publicly where you will hide your protection device… it is like discussing your alarm code. Next discuss your home address.
Click to expand...
If your bike gets stolen solely because you anonymously posted on an obscure thread where the not-really-a-tracking-device is on it, I feel like the thief sort of deserves the bike at that point. Especially considering it'll be locked up most of the time.
 
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mikedop said:
If your bike gets stolen solely because you anonymously posted on an obscure thread where the not-really-a-tracking-device is on it, I feel like the thief sort of deserves the bike at that point. Especially considering it'll be locked up most of the time.
Click to expand...
Do You know that whatever you wrote does not make any logical sense whatsoever, don’t you? In fact it proves my point.
 
www.amazon.com

Bicycle Bell for Apple AirTag, Stouchi AirTag Bike Mount GPS Tracker Waterproof Classic Brass Holder Hides Air Tag Under Bike Bell Anti-Theft 2 Sizes for Choice

Color: Black This Stouchi bicycle bell not only fulfills the function of the bell, but also allows you to hiddle the Apple Airtag GPS tracker in the bike very well. Use the Apple Find My Network, you can track your bike anytime and stop worrying about your bike being stolen. Feature: Fits...
www.amazon.com
Bicycle Bell for Apple AirTag
bell.png
 
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startergo said:
Good thread. Discuss publicly where you will hide your protection device… it is like discussing your alarm code. Next discuss your home address.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

A smart thief is already going to think of all the likely hiding spots on their own, and the stupid thief isn't cruising MacRumors for tips on bicycle theft.
 
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I ride only-
never owned a car and pedal over 500 miles per month easily.

the only time i will depend on an airtag in my saddle bag on the Trek Verve 2
is when i park that on a beach railing on Marco Island
this way when a bored "mall-cop" wants to relocate the bike i know where that is.
so far for 4 years this never happened.

i like the hidden bell trick, nice!
 
Sheldonsmith said:
I have one inside the top cap of a Specialized Keg that I carry in the seat tube water bottle cage. The Keg also holds my tire fix stuff.

22ba7b99003b5cb4b054833a4826e869.jpg


I was able to track my bike while working its way through the airport on one of my recent trips.

I agree with the others; stashing an AirTag inside the frame doesn’t work very well because of the signal impediments caused by the bike tubing.

~ Sheldon
Click to expand...

Using mine right now. Looks like my bike and I will be on the same flight…. -always a good thing…

085528d63ea4e9fae8839ff45ac340f5.png
 
RonFromOregon said:
www.amazon.com

Bicycle Bell for Apple AirTag, Stouchi AirTag Bike Mount GPS Tracker Waterproof Classic Brass Holder Hides Air Tag Under Bike Bell Anti-Theft 2 Sizes for Choice

Color: Black This Stouchi bicycle bell not only fulfills the function of the bell, but also allows you to hiddle the Apple Airtag GPS tracker in the bike very well. Use the Apple Find My Network, you can track your bike anytime and stop worrying about your bike being stolen. Feature: Fits...
www.amazon.com
Bicycle Bell for Apple AirTag
View attachment 2368946
Click to expand...

I should have updated this thread a few months ago, I mentioned I retrieved my motorbike with an airtag, well a few months ago now my bicycle vanished as well, I had two airtags in it, one hidden in the rear light and one in this bell. They didn't find the one in the bell until 30 minutes before I arrived at the thief's house along with the police.
I retrieved the bike.
 
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northernmunky said:
I should have updated this thread a few months ago, I mentioned I retrieved my motorbike with an airtag, well a few months ago now my bicycle vanished as well, I had two airtags in it, one hidden in the rear light and one in this bell. They didn't find the one in the bell until 30 minutes before I arrived at the thief's house along with the police.
I retrieved the bike.
Click to expand...
Bell ya!

:)

I have the same one. IYKYK but it sure doesnt look like it houses an Airtag! AND its highly functional. Love mine.

I also have another hidden/epoxied 3rd party tag as well.

Are you in the USA, in a major city?

Surprised the cops helped.
The one way to help your chances of Police response to such a matter is to make it clear you are actively tracking and in route to attempt recovery of your property. Once you say that, they dispatch.
 
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erihp said:
Bell ya!

:)

I have the same one. IYKYK but it sure doesnt look like it houses an Airtag! AND its highly functional. Love mine.

I also have another hidden/epoxied 3rd party tag as well.

Are you in the USA, in a major city?

Surprised the cops helped.
The one way to help your chances of Police response to such a matter is to make it clear you are actively tracking and in route to attempt recovery of your property. Once you say that, they dispatch.
Click to expand...
London, yeah pointed out my bike to the police and they let me ride off with it. Even though they were standing next to it they wouldn't arrest them for 'not enough evidence'... ffs.
 
My e bike was stolen on 11/22 (inside my building in the bike parking area) and I did not have an Airtag. An Airtag is nice but it will never replace a bike theft insurance. I got my money back (almost the same value that I bought it for), it took one month altogether from the date it was stolen and the declaration of the theft to the police to the reimbursement from the insurance. I am not sure if I'd like to confront the thief, even with the police. I am now considering not to get an electric bike but a normal bike or an electric scooter like Ninebot/Segway. Electric bikes are targets for thieves like honey for bees, everyday in Brussels there are posts of people that got their e-bike stolen. Nevertheless, I'll consider the Airtag for my next bike, does it work also with Ipads?
 
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I had my e-bike stolen out of the garage (with no AirTag). For the replacement bike I've installed 3 AirTags, one in a stealth water bottle cage secured with T-20 security Torx bolts, one tucked under the motor housing cover, and one in one of the wheels between the tire and tube. All speakers have been removed. The water bottle cage will be easy enough to find, as it is a well known hiding spot. Both wheels have the Abus security skewers, which many if not most thieves won't know how to open. To access the AirTag inside the motor housing cover, the scumbag(s) will need to use an 8mm Allen key to remove the crank arm fixing bolt, then they will need a crank puller and know how to use it, then will need a specific Torx wrench to remove the 4 recessed screws securing the cover (they won't know what size, let alone that they're Torx bolts).

Good luck, cretins!
 
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Snide said:
I had my e-bike stolen out of the garage (with no AirTag). For the replacement bike I've installed 3 AirTags, one in a stealth water bottle cage secured with T-20 security Torx bolts, one tucked under the motor housing cover, and one in one of the wheels between the tire and tube. All speakers have been removed. The water bottle cage will be easy enough to find, as it is a well known hiding spot. Both wheels have the Abus security skewers, which many if not most thieves won't know how to open. To access the AirTag inside the motor housing cover, the scumbag(s) will need to use an 8mm Allen key to remove the crank arm fixing bolt, then they will need a crank puller and know how to use it, then will need a specific Torx wrench to remove the 4 recessed screws securing the cover (they won't know what size, let alone that they're Torx bolts).

Good luck, cretins!
Click to expand...
some good ideas but if i were you, i would replace one of them with a third party find my tag.

the reason being that even with the speaker removed, with a compatible phone (don't underestimate the proliferation of tech amongst thieves) all of the genuine airtags will be easily findable via precision finding.

since third party tags come in all different shapes and sizes (another advantage), and do not support precision finding, they will be that much harder to locate. works better in a car since there are so many places to hide a tag, but could be applicable here too.

the everyday thief probably wont have the knowledge or tools to get physical access to the components you mentioned, but around here these guys operate full on bike chop shops. they definitely know the ins and outs and have any tool youd need to do what you describe.
 
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Good point about precision finding. The idea is to slow down if not flummox your average tweaker. Even if a thief has an iPhone with precision finding, it's going to take some time to remove the 3 AirTags, especially if they don't have the tools on hand. I mean, how many of them (even pros) will happen to have an 8mm Allen wrench, crank puller, and the correct size Torx wrench on hand?

That said, if anyone can recommend a good 3rd-party tracker which utilizes the Apple network, I'd like to check it out. I'm also curious about GPS trackers. In the meantime, I'm focusing on making the bike harder to steal. I'm about to invest in an angle grinder-resistant U-lock, and I'm carrying the 50lb bike up 2 flights of stairs to my bedroom (as I've been doing with my high end road bike for some time). Eventually I might get an angle grinder-resistant ground/wall anchor for the garage so I can store the bike there. The battery will be taken out and brought upstairs.
 
Snide said:
I mean, how many of them (even pros) will happen to have an 8mm Allen wrench, crank puller, and the correct size Torx wrench on hand?

That said, if anyone can recommend a good 3rd-party tracker which utilizes the Apple network, I'd like to check it out.
Click to expand...

1) You'd be surprised.
2) They are basically all the same functionally. The considerations are internal/rechargable battery vs replaceable, Shape/size of form factor, cost, and tone of speaker.

I even have one that doesn't make a sound at all, and instead flashes a strobing LED flashlight. Cheap enough to buy a few and evaluate.
 
Am I the only one who thinks listing all the tag strategies people use in one handy thread for bike thieves to see is a stupid idea?
 
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