Thief tracking pedals hit $50,000 funding target in just 24 hours

French start-up, Connected Cycle, launched an Indiegogo campaign for the world’s first smart bike pedal this week. Billed primarily as a means of locating your stolen bike, the pedal hit its $50,000 funding goal within 24 hours.

We reported on the Connected Cycle Pedal earlier in the year. As well as tracking the bike’s location, alerting the owner when it has been moved, it also delivers a number of other functions. It will automatically record the speed, route and incline of all of your rides, along with the calories you’ve burned, and it will do all of this without requiring any battery power as it charges through your pedalling.

The pedal is installed pretty much the same as any other, but with the crucial difference that a specific coded tool is required – a means of preventing its removal by a thief. Once installed, all bike locations and ride statistics are automatically uploaded and available through the Connected Cycle smartphone app.

If you’ve forgotten your phone or it’s out of battery, it doesn’t matter. The data will still be there when you next log in. The app will also notify you should someone move your bike. The Indiegogo page mentions someone trying to take off the lock as an example of when you will be alerted, so presumably relatively little movement is required to trigger this.

The pedals, which will be available in five colours, may also feature a cadence sensor if $250,000 can be raised. At the time of writing, funding had topped $90,000 in three days with 28 days still to go.

The standard pedals will sell for $220 (around £140) and it is hoped that they will be on the market by December.