Whether Apple’s AirTags can be used to track a stolen bike was already discussed here recently. To cut a long story short: they can be quite helpful under certain circumstances and offer a long battery life – but a full-fledged GPS tracker will still be more reliable. Vodafone now presents such a tracker especially for bicycles, which also offers some practical functions.

For some time now, Vodafone has been offering compact GPS trackers under the product name Curve, which can be attached to a key ring, for example. Vodafone has recognized that the demand for such a tracker is particularly high among cyclists and is now also launching the Curve Bike Tracker on the market.

Hardware

This comes in the form of a tail light, which is attached to the seat post of the bike. A bracket with the actual tracker is firmly screwed to the bike, while the attached rear light is removable and can be conveniently charged via USB away from the bike. Attached again to the bike, the taillight then charges a second battery for the GPS function in the mount. A practical solution, since the GPS technology consumes quite a lot of power: so the Curve Bike should offer up to 4.5 days of runtime in standby. If it’s not in standby and fully charged, the battery of the tail light and that of the tracker each last up to 8 hours. After all, it can be recharged pretty easily this way.

Features

For tracking, the Curve Bike uses GPS and cellular communication as well as WLAN and Bluetooth, and a Vodafone SIM card is integrated in the tracker. This also means that you need a Vodafone contract to use the device. Numerous functions can then be used via the associated smartphone app, above all, of course, the tracking of the bike. The location of the bike can be tracked in real time, and the user can also be notified if the bike is moved without the owner. Of course, the rides with the bike can also be recorded.

Thanks to an acceleration sensor that is also integrated, the Curve Bike also has accident detection. Together with the app, an emergency contact can then be stored, which is notified in the event of a supposed accident and can see the last location data. In addition, the sensor ensures that the taillight also offers a brake light function: in case of strong deceleration, it then lights up brighter and than normal. Incidentally, the tail light is also StVZO compliant may thus be operated legally in Germany.

Pricing and availability

Currently, the Curve Bike can be pre-ordered for 99 Euros, but then requires an additional and paid mobile option. This bundle for around 140 Euros including a cell phone contract for 2 years might be more interesting for some. Both prices are currently reduced by 20 Euros as an introductory offer.

Thanks to the GPS function, tracking should thus work well, but you have to be aware of the mediocre battery life. However, the easy recharging option is positive, and you also get a full-fledged taillight. Ultimately, we can only hope that potential thieves do not already know about the Curve Bike – because then they will probably remove the highly visible part directly.