BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Bike crime is not only a nuisance for cycle consumers, but it’s also cited as a major factor in putting people off making bike purchases so naturally any anti-bike theft device or initiative is of note.
GPS trackers have been available before, but now there’s a new product on the block – Locca – touting itself as the world’s most sophisticated GPS tracker. It also claims to be the world’s lightest and have a battery life that will last a month.
Significantly, the Locca is the first to use a number of different locating technologies in the tracker: AGPS, GSM cell-triangulation, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth low-energy and FSK. What’s more, the bike owner can stay in contact with the tracker (and their bike) using a smartphone app, tablet or via their PC or laptop. There’s even a torch function on the device that can be activated by smartphone to help you locate the bike in the dark.
There’s an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign behind it which has raised more than €13,000 and has 48 days left to hit its €75,000 target.
Locca founder and CEO, Julian Breitenecker, said: “Locca locators have integrated five of the best locating technologies: AGPS, GSM cell-triangulation, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth low-energy and FSK. Therefore the positioning is very accurate and fast, and tracking is possible worldwide, e.g. had your bike stolen with a Locca attached in Yorkshire, and you can see where it is from London."
Now available for pre-order in the UK and smaller than a matchstick, the Locca Mini comes with a pre-installed beeper for audio-locating, motion detector, LED flashlight, energy saving mode, as well as waterproof and shockproof technology.
You can find the Indiegogo crowdfunding page here and there’s a video explaining the concept below.
According to Stolen Bikes, more than £100 million (CORRECTED) worth of bikes have been stolen this year.
