A Silent Alarm For Your Bike
Bike Separation Anxiety (BSA) is that feeling every cyclist has when they are forced, for whatever reason, to be out of sight of their precious bike. For example, those times when we’ve left our lock at home, but need to run into a store, or we’ve stopped to pick up a friend for a ride and just left our bike sitting in his backyard while he gets ready. What if there was a way to ease some of this anxiety? A way to know for sure that our bike is right where we left it, without having to get up to look at it every three seconds?
Well, there’s some hope. There soon may be a way to end BSA once and for all. Allow me to introduce The Cricket. The Cricket is a small device, (about the size of a bottle cap and weighing less than 20 grams,) that can be securely attached to your bike in an inconspicuous place. Inside the wireless device is an ultra sensitive motion detector, and if the bike is so much as even touched, it notifies the user instantly through its own smart phone app. The Cricket communicates using Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology and has a range up to 150 feet (30 meters). The device is always on, armed and ready to go, but uses very little energy. Battery life is expected to far exceed a year before needing replacement.
And while the goal of the device is, of course, to prevent thieves from taking your bike, its usefulness doesn’t stop there. Should the worst case scenario manifest itself, and your beloved bike goes missing, just mark it as stolen using the phone app, and The Cricket becomes a beacon, alerting you of your bikes location any time another Cricket user’s phone passes within range of it.
The Cricket is certainly not meant to be a replacement for a sturdy bike lock, but it can help prevent theft in those situations where you need to take the risk of turning your back on your bike and moving a short distance away from it. It’s not uncommon for bikes to disappear from right under the owner’s nose as they’re looking the other way. This simple and inexpensive device might also just pay for itself in peace of mind, allowing you to enjoy the post ride beer and conversation at the pub with your riding buddies without being afraid that if you take your eyes off your bike you’ll never see it again.
Are you interested in owning one of these trick little devices? The Cricket has not yet been brought to market, but the maker of the device is engaged in a start-up campaign to raise $30,000 on Indiegogo. The campaign runs from October 22nd until November 25th, and within the first five days had already achieved 20% if its goal, selling out of the first 100 early bird specials offered for the incredible price of $19.
If you think that The Cricket is a good idea and would like to see this project succeed, than I would encourage you to go over to the campaign page to learn more about the product, and if your convinced, you can pre-order one and help get this device closer to production. The Cricket is reasonably offered for $39 and early birds can still get a limited amount of them right now for $29. If enough people back this thing, by next spring you could see the foundations of a neighbourhood watch program for bikes!
Video: The Cricket
Photo Credits: The Cricket – B45H.com
This looks awesome, a really good idea….hmmmm. Great to see you posting again man…love your blog!
Thanks Rivers! Its great to know that someone comes by the site once in a while just to check in. Your right, this blog was neglected most of the summer. Since my daughter was born last fall free time seems kind of scarce :-). At least you’ll be happy to know that my wife and I both managed to find time to ride a few days a week. Now that work at the shop has slowed down for the between season, and the baby is a little older, I feel pretty positive about getting back into the swing of things here on BikeFAT.
P.S. The MTB Life has been on my favorite reading list ever since I found it. Thanks to you and all the other authors over there for the great reading. Best of luck all of you!
Would just like to congratulate the Cricket team for a campaign done well. I just took the time to check the indigogo campaign page to see how they did, and saw that they managed to raise $32,221, more than $2,000 past their original goal of $30,000.
It looks like the Cricket is going to become a reality and we can soon worry a little less about the security of our bikes when we’re away from them. I hope they manage to get an Android App together soon for my own sake 😉
bought one over two months ago still waiting for it, flytrex said they shipped the cricket : (
Reading this, it says it has a Bluetooth range of 150 feet (30 meters). But 30 meters is actually on the smaller side of 100 feet. Is it actually 45 meters or 30?
I can’t begin to think of the times I have felt bicycle anxiety. There are so many times that I have been on a long training ride or a tour and had to go into a convenience store and had to leave my bike leaning up against the store with no lock. It seems like I spend my time looking outside as much as I look for what I’m buying.
Your remark about going into a house and leaving my bike on the porch is a big worry spot for me too. I had a girlfriend who wanted me to leave my bike on her porch so we could have a quickie inside and I was so worried my bike wouldn’t be there that I actually said no. Can you believe that?
This device would have been so helpful.
I might have been in a very compromised situation if it alerted me of someone taking the bike while doing the act but the peace of mind would have mattered to me.
I am definitely looking into this.