Can Airtags Recover my Stolen Bike?

Two bike thieves used an angle grinder to steal my electric bike. In this video we use Apple AirTags and an Invoxia GPS tracker to go find it.
Interested in finding out where I hid my trackers? Join the Battery Bikes Discord: / discord
Best universal GPS tracker for ebikes and cargo bikes:
Invoxia GPS: www.invoxia.com/us/gps-tracke...
Get $13 off with ANDREW10
Amazon | Apple Airtag: amzn.to/2T8PA6Z
Official Giveaway Rules:
You must subscribe to the channel and leave a comment with the word "giveaway" or "track worthy" inside the comment. New and current subscribers are eligible. Previous winners are not. Comments are eligible through 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time, February 15th 2022.
I'll pick a winner and they can decide on either an Invoxia GPS tracker or a 4 pack of Apple Airtags. I'll try my best to buy either of these for you, but if you live in a country where it is difficult or expensive for me to to send these to you, I reserve the right to instead send you $100 cash over Venmo, Cash App or equivalent.
I reserve the right to remove any comments (I hope to only do doing this for comments that are duplicates, spam, inappropriate or mean-spirited).
I'll attempt to notify the winner through the User's about page, using their contact or social links. if I can't get ahold of the winner within 30 days I'll select another winner and repeat the contact process.
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[@batterybikes]

Interested in finding out where I hid my GPS and Airtags? Join the Battery Bikes Discord: discord.gg/EVatuwuJTj Here were my takeaways from this: - We should pressure and call out ebike companies that will sell you very expensive bikes but neglect to include gps tracking (almost none include it) - We should support the handful of ebike companies that do the engineering to make gps integrated (VanMoof, Stromer, ...any others?) - In the mean time we can install tracking ourselves and it is still almost as effective, though more of a hassle because it isn't integrated (have to keep it charged and working ourselves) - You need to recover your bike quickly when it's stolen. Reading other stories of less successful attempts often is because people end up having their bike taken to an apartment where police are less likely to do anything. It sounds like my thief had a bit of a reputation so they were able to find the bike inside.

[@lastfm4477]

Why can't you just tell us here where you hid them? Yet another silly social media account needs to be created just for a one-time piece of information...

[@batterybikes]

@@lastfm4477 Hey Last thanks for watching. So, finding good spots to hide GPS trackers is surprisingly difficult. So I feel like it's worth it and also reduces the spread of the location a bit. If you stare at your bike long enough you can find somewhere and then won't need my one time piece of info

[@MadmanInUkraine]

Santos / IDWorx / Brompton / all pinion and rohloff integrators. Much money lost in EU too.

[@tomalexander9140]

I work for a Dutch company called VanMoof and it has AirTag built in to the computer

[@alanandconnielast]

Not really, its shit.. Needs iPhone detection. There is better out there. The police wont bother with might be here or there half the time.

[@doctor567]

"we agreed we wouldn't press charges and just wanted the bike back". This is why bike theft epidemics continue to survive and grow. There are no consequences - for them it's like buying a scratch off ticket.

[@px_Crp]

He wanted to give him money first 😂😂

[@matthewcooke4477]

Bro most of the time cops wont fuck with it when your trying to press charges because of all the extra paperwork they have to do if you press charges

[@DamienAlexander]

@@ytfeelslikenorthkorea if you want to go to jail for life, follow this easy trick!

[@Pintexx]

You gotta understand that they purposely did all this. No one actually leaves an ebike outside for 24 hrs it was an experiment to prove that trackers work

[@EmonWBKstudios]

Do you like the taste of boot leather in your mouth so much you just have to tell everyone?

[@scratchinmyhead5147]

The fact that you brought cash, and considered haggling with a thief to buy back your own stolen bike, is beyond my comprehension.

[@user-sw9vl3zf4x]

San Francisco 🏳️‍🌈

[@aviapoIis]

Absolutely insane. Trying to offer armed thief money for your stolen bike.. And telling him that you have his record on video cam. Can not understand why he doesnt even press charges.

[@brianburkett7243]

Dumb

[@Yaswil]

madness

[@Yaswil]

Biden's America

[@racingdreamz8021]

I air tagged my dirtbike, Got stolen & I flew my drone right to the address & recorded it in their backyard, Called cops then they got a warrant & raided the house .

[@ProfessionalKafir]

Love to read stories like this. America seems like the wild west where everyone is allowed to do as they want, so it feels nice to read when stuff gets recovered. Also smart to use a drone and inspect the area.

[@ryandundas2851]

Brilliant move. Bravo sir.

[@AKJJSIM]

Brilliant! What city/state?

[@racingdreamz8021]

@@AKJJSIM Los Angeles Ca

[@dealerofgame]

Your literally James bond 😂😂

[@Sabitar1]

The only thing I learned from this video is that you can steal as many bikes as you want with 0 repercussions. Even if the damn police track you down you can still walk away like nothing and keep on stealing other people's property. Great 👍🏻

[@David-ys4xb]

Thieves use to get their fingers/hands cut off for thieving. Should be brought back but people are too weak-minded and think its evil. I say it's just.

[@aidancampbell7935]

SF for you

[@bleepbloop7039]

murica fk yea

[@rossbrumby1957]

@@jackred2362 had he said "charges please", the cops wouldn't have been able to find it.

[@mook528]

Nah that’s not what you learned. You learned that if you steal from THIS GUY you might make some money. Steal from me and it’s gonna be a different and much painful lesson learned.

[@One_Cebu]

This is the reason why these thugs doesn’t bother going to school or work, because we treat them like babies. You’re going to offer him cash for stealing your bike? Are you kidding me

[@Ferrichrome]

What would you do then

[@PGTV-yl8ys]

@@Ferrichrome I’ll will beat his ass plain and simple why pay for your own bike

[@bikesandbandos]

@@Ferrichrome getting my damn shit back

[@wojtek8660]

@@Ferrichrome atleast press charges ? No wonder he will do it again tommorow if he will be only slapped on his hands

[@Ferrichrome]

@@bikesandbandosI agree, but I'm not about to get in a fight and lose an eye, or worse, over a bike. Not sure how the thief will act under confrontation. Maybe it's fine, maybe they shoot you, ya just don't know.

[@paschalisdan792]

The question is why did you let the thief go unpunished? so that he can calmly steal the next one?

[@rje613]

Not only that, why were these betas considering giving the thief money for their OWN property?!?

[@Gilgameshh]

@@rje613 haha yeah that was weird. Even if they feel weak, its two against one. I'd teach him a good lesson so he remembers not to steal again.

[@kevjay-med1225]

@@Gilgameshh Next thing you know, some bystander films you beating up a homeless person and you go viral then the city presses charges against you. Truly not a safe world to be a vigilante

[@mikehawk120]

Weak yt ppl doing weak sh1t. As soon as dude drive by the 1st time and they just acted all chill and not pissed, I said to myself these are the type of cats who go through life letting this shit happen and will criticize you if you take action over a “property crime”, clowns.

[@allywilkeforsenate]

If they have no hands or feet they can’t steal anymore.

[@dylanjg18]

Literally zero repercussions for the bike thief which will only result in more thefts for ou bikes. Nice guys, really helping us out here.

[@FuriaPolska]

And he want to pay this thief lol such a idiot

[@kingrobert7246]

Imagine if these thieves put as much effort as they did in stealing bikes in actually helping society

[@waleedabdulrab8779]

I can’t believe you just let the thief ride past you. I would’ve hulk smashed him off the bike. 💥

[@electricityonMARS]

At least He - Manned him off!

[@loltime8346]

Not everyman knows kung fu, buddy! you wanna risk getting stabbed, or shot for a couple of hundred dollars E Bike? Like I said, not everyone knows how to fight. And even if you do, is it worth the risk?

[@azeon562]

Watch the part where a guy pulled a gun in that same neighborhood for a simple fist fight. Then reconsider hulk smashing a guy, who already commited one crime today, off your stolen bike in that same neighborhood.

[@batterybikes]

haha can confirm - I do not know kung fu. And guns always beat kung fu

[@batterybikes]

yeah I thought leaving this shot in would show the type of neighborhood we were in. not a great one

[@MrJayArt]

You're not exactly what I would consider "Intelligent" for offering money to a criminal who stole your property and not pressing charges...

[@mikesimms3380]

A tip for the AirTag: I pry the cap off (carefully with an xacto knife), and remove the beeper. This way, a thief will not be alerted to the tracker's presence when it starts beeping continuously. They may get the notification on their iPhone, but if you hide the AirTag really well, they will have a hard time locating it.

[@Liquination]

@Cancel Culture my thought as well :p they probably use a cheap ass knock-off phone

[@aaronbrykaliuk3509]

Great idea. I will definitely be fiddling with mine to remove the speaker. Thanks for the advice.

[@XandarYT]

@@Liquination Android are gonna get the notification too now...

[@setLillie]

even better is when the thief is stealing so they can buy a phone, and they dont get any notifications 😋

[@RainyJo715]

Well, I’m glad you got your bike back, but I never would have agreed to NOT press charges. What lesson will they learn if they don’t get in trouble? I can understand why you did, with it being a bait bike, but if someone steals my bike, and they get caught, they’re going downtown! Lol Thanks for sharing! 👍

[@batterybikes]

Fair enough! Thanks for watching

[@gonzales2011]

It is SF. If you press charges it will lead to nothing but paperwork for the officer...

[@jacksilver930]

@@gonzales2011 That's just too bad. A cops' job is to arrest criminals and protect people. If they are "inconvenienced" with too much paperwork then they shouldn't be cops. I've never heard of a decent cop asking a victim to not press charges against a criminal, especially because it's too much work? These cops suck big time! This is why San Francisco is in the condition it is now with how they treat criminals.

[@rogerwilco1777]

Yeah sadly unless someone got horribly physically hurt cops wont do anything anyway.. My 92civic got stolen, they caught the people on security cameras, police caught the getaway car a few hrs later.. got the friends to rat out the thief, but the thief never admitted that he took it.., (Even-though he was clearly on camera). ..The cops said that even though he was on camera, by him simply not admitting to the crime ment that they would have to take him to trial.. and taking him to trial would cost more than my car was worth, so they weren't going to bother with prosecuting him at all.. ..To top it all off, my engine was blown, the interior stripped, and I had to pay $600+ in impound fee's and another $200+ towing bill to tow my once pristine but now busted car back to my house.. The cops charged me over 800$ to have my now busted car returned to me even-though the culprit was caught.. Lesson learned is: Commit small crimes, never admit to them, even when they have you dead to rights on camera etc.. odds are, the cops/courts will be too lazy to do their job and you'll be let go..

[@dudeonbike800]

AirTags come in handy if you're traveling and your luggage doesn't arrive as expected. Half of my tandem didn't arrive at our destination a few months ago, so I opened up the FindMy app and saw it had been misdirected to baggage claim in our layover airport. It was nice to see it's physical location as the airline worked to get it on the next flight. And it made it just in time for our ride start. They're pretty handy.

[@krispewkrem3]

Just a bit of advice: had my electric dirt bike stolen. Thieves destroyed my GPS tracker. The Air Tag was working but the police said it isn't accurate enough to go on property.

[@batterybikes]

Yeah man - I think you've really just a got a couple hours to find the bike while it's still outside before the thieve have a major advantage. I'm so sorry about your dirt bike man. We need the bike companies to integrate the trackers into the inner most parts of the bike so they can't be so easily destroyed.

[@nekron75]

Sorry to hear about your bike. Do these airtags still work when you say for example put them somewhere inside the frame, like in the hollow "tube" where the saddle is shoved in?

[@SpartanKitten]

@@nekron75 ya

[@allywilkeforsenate]

Glock goes anywhere.

[@kguvener]

Maybe one of the biggest problems with the GPS trackers is to find a good spot to hide them. Since the bikes are the vehicles with their simplicity it is really hard. Maybe that's why they should definitely offer integrated tracking solutions, especially for the expensive e-bikes! Thanks for the giveaway :)

[@S-O-T]

It's not GPS 😱

[@Vostorn]

For some years now, I have been thinking about 2 things on a bicycle to prevent bike theft that unfortunately does not exist : 1) Tracker integrated in the top tube that gets charged with the battery/dynamo. 2) A way to lock the fork direction to the frame also integrated. Even if someone steals your bike, there is no way to turn the front wheel making most of the bike (frame+fork) useless

[@dazednconfused31337]

@@Vostorn I've seen some Raleigh and other bikes from the 60s - 80s with a key lock on the fork. I'm looking at buying a Dutch frame/ring lock that jams the rear wheel. I've done an ebike conversion and want it for when delivering to a customer for just a minute.

[@batterybikes]

@@Vostorn Yeah - it seems like there is a lot of exploration to be done in this arena - and almost no bike companies are doing it. Hopefully that changes

[@frafra224]

Bosch has that in their new ebikes but they charge a monthly fee to use.

[@mooseking87]

you may see bike bike thieves but he sees engineers and doctors

[@funkingonuts1325]

Dude that was awesome. That’s great that they got your bike back. But I wouldn’t pay to get my own bike back. So glad you got the cops involved. Great video.

[@billh.1940]

Like your screen name, I to am, and I would get mine back! I won't live in fear! A better way to keep your bike is to bring it in to house, everyplace I lived had a big walk in closet, put my bike in there! If you wanted to steal it, you had to break in, get past my 60lb dog. you do that you can have the bike! And I will give you some bandages.

[@EmonWBKstudios]

The cops could have killed that man, a bike is not worth a human life.

[@jjv5344]

Great video. I would assume the reason ebikes don't have trackers pre-installed is because that would defeat the purpose because the thief would be able to easily google the bike, find out where the tracker is installed and then remove or break it. Would be nice if ebikes came with a tracker on the side so that owners can hide themselves though

[@TheNinjinx]

If the tracker was built into the frame then a thief couldn't easily break or remove it

[@Onqio]

I know that some gps don't work well if you put it inside the frame, I guess it depends on the metal. @@TheNinjinx

[@tylerwilson4651]

My surron just got stolen on Thursday! And I got it back Friday the following day I’m so glad I have the Apple AirTag! Cause man I payed a lot for all the upgrades I love this AirTag

[@oamaizingo3733]

your so lucky , if the theif had an iphone , the airtag would notify him

[@Top5ebikes]

Great video Andrew and I'm glad your experiment turned out well. That's a good point about adding a gps tracker to ebikes especially considering the cost of a tracker is not much vs the total cost of a typical ebike. Some ebike manufacturers, like Electric Bike Company, add an alarm to their ebikes but gps cost extra.

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks. Oh nice, I'll have to look into that. I'd like to make some video praising companies that are at least trying to do something about that. Merry Christmas dudes

[@NYoung-lq5us]

Cool video and very clever idea. If I can say just something to you and people reading: don't ever offer money to a thief to try to get your stuff back. If they see that they'll know you are weak and will just take the money and maybe harm you. Better to involve the cops, or if you are one of these people who think cops don't do anything in SF (like you seemed to express in the video initially) then handle it yourself like a man with the thief, or just accept that you stuff is gone. There's no rational, "lets talk it out reasonably" solution available with criminals.

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks Neil. Yeah you are probably right. I think the adult thing to do is to probably just bite the bullet and get $400 a year ebike insurance, but that is an expensive pill to swallow. I appreciate the thoughtful comment and hope you'll stick around on the channel

[@shortymcsteve]

This was way more interesting than I expected and I'm glad you got your bike back. It was great to see a proper real world test. Too bad you can't share the location with someone else, but hopefully Invoxia or Apple update this in the future after user feedback. For the price, it would be silly not to install an airbag on a bike. I'm kind of surprised the cops didn't care to find out who the offender was though? Seems like he's just going to do it again since they were so organised. Anyway, cool video and good luck with the giveaway!

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks idek. The cops definitely talked to the thief but I think it’s a bit safer if they don’t press charges. If it was my normal bike and I wasn’t shooting a video I probably would have pressed charges. Agreed - I’m surprised trackers aren’t more ubiquitous.

[@fbi99000]

Really impressed with SFPD in this video! Still, I'm also definitely surprised that ebike makers don't include built in GPS trackers.... Thank you for setting up the giveaway!

[@batterybikes]

Me too. Your mileage may vary but these guys never made it seem like they were going crazy out of their way. Yes - I can't wait until they all come with them. It confuses me to no end that they haven't done it yet. Goodluck!

[@RianSpaulding]

Great video man!! I feel like if bike manufacturers put trackers in bikes they would have to put them in the same place for every bike. Thief's would eventually figure the location out and just remove it. But I may be giving to much credit to the thief's. Either way great job on this!

[@batterybikes]

Hey man it's a been a minute. Hope LA is treating you well. Yeah I think VanMoof has done a good job integrating it with the bike so it's not super removable, but they sorta failed on the execution and are using really lousy quality GPS (they do some theft recovery on their channel). But also... a couple hours with the tracker in the bike is a good head start for us. And thank you!

[@craigapache8639]

That is true but they could also include one with purchase and have you hide it where you choose. That way it wouldn’t be able to be found if everyone knew where to look.

[@Aprinsa]

Well, if buyers know it's supposed to have one, they'd be suspicious if the tracker were missing. That would lower the value of the stolen bike at least.

[@raywyatt5368]

A better idea would be to put the tracker in random places.

[@mdemers767]

I was thinking make the tracker integrated to the frame so as to be next to impossible to remove without proprietary tools.

[@zachnlil]

Great video thinking about installing these on my motorcycles, keys, and wallet. Definitely could use a 4 pack. Thanks for the info you provided.

[@batterybikes]

thanks for watching man. I think Airtags are great, but you always run the risk of a thief having an iPhone and being notified. For something as expensive as a motorcycle I might consider a GPS tracker too

[@izoyt]

@@batterybikes they will scan for gps trackers probably even sooner.

[@Anudorini-Talah]

Great officer! He is a perfect officer. Big respect for him from Germany.

[@batterybikes]

Yeah - I had someone message me on Instagram that did not have as good of luck with the police. As always, your mileage may vary in this scenario.

[@Neemzz]

Awesome video man! Definitely buying this tracker for my super73 after watching this. Putting your safety on the line for the sake of seeing if the tracker really works. Even if the tracker does not 100% guarantee you getting your property back, its nice to see the chances are increased tremendously with this technology. Giveaway is great too!

[@batterybikes]

Hey Nima that's great. Yeah I think a Super 73 will have tons of good cracks and crevices to hide a couple trackers. Yeah, I think that's the key. Not 100% chance but a small price compared to getting a new ebike. Thanks for commenting

[@lalotime]

Just let him go? Wow im sure he wont ever try it again 🤷‍♂️

[@Mobile_Gamer707]

Just got my $300 e scooter stolen today :( I wish I would have known about this video earlier and stay aware! I totally press charges while filing a report today why wouldn’t you? 😵

[@Olme]

Jokes on the thieves because they'll have a much harder time finding a charger for the Jetson Bolt than the time it took for them to steal the bike.

[@batterybikes]

Hah shoot. I never heard getting them was such an issue.

[@scootersonlyrepair6773]

Bullshit it uses the same charger as basically all mass produced ebikes and scooters I have 60 of them from my time charging bird and lime scooters. $10 to $30 on ebay

[@Olme]

@@scootersonlyrepair6773 I see, thanks for the info. I was going off of the availability of the stock charger from Jetson's website which is always "out of stock". Good to know I can just buy whatever charger if mine stops working or gets lost.

[@jasonfrance4927]

They would just sell it with a cheap $30 charger or say comes with no charger it's basically free money to them.

[@kylegoodfield9088]

@@Olme no you can't use any charger that dude is isn't the brightest don't listen and fry your battery

[@richardhamel3539]

Excellent video. Glad you guys safely got your bike back. track worthy for sure!

[@batterybikes]

Thanks Richard!

[@nkadir4626]

If I hadn't seen how many subscribers you have I'd think it would be at leasttt 500k and not 500 because you guys put out quality quality videos. Keep it up.

[@batterybikes]

Thanks Nabz. Getting subscribers is a lot harder than I thought, but I hope to eventually get there. I hope you'll stick around

[@Emery008]

Exact same thing happened to my E-MTB (0ver 5.000 Dollars/Euros) in Dusseldorf, Germany a month ago. Also had it tracked with an AirTag, called the police, which were extremely helpful. It was parked in an elevator room of a hotel nearby my office, where it had been stolen chained to a staircase. Luckily the elevator room was close to the street so the app even gave the exact location in meters. Police checked the surveillance videos and found the thieve with my bike on it. The thieve had even stolen another E-MTB beforehand which was even more expensive than mine. BTW: Bosch will be selling an anti theft appliance for newer generation bikes later this year.

[@wrightvcx2249]

I have Bosch's Gen 4 motor on my ebike. I live in Frankfurt. Where did you hide the airtag on your bike? Did you remove the speaker from the Airtag?

[@danke1150]

Were the people that stole your bike German or "German" ?

[@Ryan-Herron]

Didn’t expect that result, how trackworthy!

[@catherinemccullough7427]

Thanks for sharing! Wishing I had the AirTag before two bikes have been already stolen. Hoping we can prevent this from happening again! Track worthy 😎

[@qolspony]

I agree! Gps should be standard. Even for car rentals, which is another story.

[@davidly139]

Nice video! I'm looking for a gps tracker for my motorcycle and the invoxia came up with some decent reviews. I appreciate the effort if answering all the "what ifs" on this video. Trackworthy

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks man. I should probably re-evaluate the landscape next year, but I think it's a great choice given all the potential trade offs

[@ColinZimmerman]

You make San Fran look like a godless hellscape. I ride an escooter around Pittsburgh and I can't imagine having any issues with an angle grinder and a blow torch walking around ... Hopefully I don't get my scooter stolen but I am definitely going to be buying a GPS tracker.

[@batterybikes]

It's not. It's still beautiful. But the bike ended up in the neighborhood with the worst crime/drugs. And my friend in the video used to live pretty adjacent. I think a tracker is a great idea - but angle grinders aren't just a San Francisco problem. They're in Pittsburgh and any other city if you talk to some bicyclists. kzbin.info?search_query=angle+grinder+bike+theft

[@Sparkshooter95]

Your content is amazing! I have an ebike that I leave unattended for hours at a time at work, so security is important to me. After seeing this video, I made up my mind to get one of those trackers. Thank you. Keep up the good work. Giveaway trackworthy

[@batterybikes]

Hey that is too kind of you. Thanks for watching and looks like you joined the discord. Killer - what bike do you have?

[@Sparkshooter95]

@@batterybikes I have an Aventon Level.

[@norriaty]

Kind of sad to see how unsafe San Francisco is, growing up I’d always associated it with the summer of love, Herbie and general happy stuff. Doesn’t seem like a nice place at all.

[@LukeBornheimer]

Great video (and great end result), Andrew! Agreed about trackers coming with bikes. Given the cost of AirTags (and the cost of some ebikes), seems like a no-brainer for retailers (e.g. The New Wheel) to sell and install an AirTag (or four) at a discount (or throw it in for a free with a $4,000+ purchase) to help protect people’s investments. Also, great idea on the giveaway! 👌🏼

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks for watching Luke. And thanks to all your behind-the-scenes work. Yeah, there is lots of improvements to be made here. I think even retailers throwing something basic like an AirTag into the wheel is a huge improvement. I'm hoping more smart bikes like Van Moof become the rule rather than the exception. Though they may not the be best example of execution.

[@StoryDrivenThomas]

Andrew this was great documentary work. It was also fantastic way to show ppl how to protect themselves from Bike Theft. I am so glad you got you bike back.

[@BikeShopGirl]

Awesome video, Andrew. Sharing widely!

[@batterybikes]

Thank you, that means a lot. And much appreciated!

[@pamo]

Not the ending I was expecting. 👏🏼 track worthy.

[@batterybikes]

Woo woo. Hoping to string everyone along for a bit

[@wreks]

Thanks for making this video. Would you recommend the invoxia over the airtags then? I was in the TL for several years and am familiar with that street scene. But living above that atmosphere day after day starts to wear on you. I'm out by the park now. In any case electric bikes are a great way to get around the city. I've noticed at least one manufacturer who made a space specifically to lock an airtag inside the bike.

[@batterybikes]

If you can swing it I'd do both. The Invoxia is way better for actual recovery, but in the end their locations did line up. With that said, having the map history that the Invoxia has gave us confidence that we were in the right area, and it also gives you an immediate movement notification that we got about a minute or two into them using the angle grinder on the bike. The AirTag didn't notify us for about a half hour and doesn't provide any tracking history. Had the bike been in the van the Wideband bluetooth tracking on the AirTag would have been helpful. The downsides for the Invoxia are its bigger size and having to make sure you charge it every month or so. Yeah the TL is rough. The area has a lot of potential and some fun spots so I hope it will eventually improve. Yeah, I was living in The Richmond for 5-6 years but just moved more toward NB/Nob HIll. We may go back. Being by the park is underrated

[@nanachevy58]

Wow, huge kudos to SFPD for going above and beyond. 💙

[@batterybikes]

agreed! 👏

[@cowsagainstcapitalism347]

How many bikes do you suppose the police steal every day?

[@amaturearcadia]

How is that above and beyond. It's literally what anyone in their position should have done. And if our police force doesn't do their job then they can start expecting people like me to get my things back while carrying a bat

[@23Butanedione]

HAHAHAHA

[@billh.1940]

That is what they are paid for! Maybe cops should use their clubs more!

[@franzantoni1255]

Had my bike stolen while living in n SF...rode around on my motorcycle and discovered it leaning against a tent in an encampment...took out my knife, stated that I'm taking my bike back and that if there's an issue, we can handle it right now...there were no objections...straddle the bike around my frame, got on my bike and rode home.

[@kees1117]

Great video. Really impressed with image quality, detailed descriptions, and your dedication. I use the Invoxia for my motorcycle and it helps me sleep at night. Oh and giveaway, trackworthy. Keep it up!

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks Kees. Yeah it seems Invoxia is doing well in Motorcycle world. I imagine the size, cost and number of hiding spots makes it an even bigger no-brainer

[@mannyrodriguez6279]

Having my bike stolen was not fun , always worried that the lock is good enough to stop thieves is not something a person should worry about when trying to enjoy a bike ride. You're giveaway will hopefully help prevent a financial strain if it can save their bike from thieves.

[@maksgorczynski83]

In Mountain Biking, our bikes often have in frame storage. It’s basically extra storage for a tools and such, but since the frames are hollow, you can put a gps tracker deep in the frame so that only an educated thief can find it.

[@___xyz___]

No you can't because the frame is made of metal, so effectively works as a faraday cage, blocking out any and all signal to electronics inside.

[@andrsz3119]

@@___xyz___ What if the frame is carbon fiber?

[@oregonphototrekker8894]

@@___xyz___ usually frames that have storage inside are carbon fiber.

[@Gollammeister]

I've had my bike stolen many yrs ago and it sucks as at the time I relied on it heavily to get work a to b I had a family to provide for scummy thieves don't stop and think about that they couldn't care less

[@rajdattani1507]

This is awesome. That cop riding your back back to you was epic! I’ve hidden 3 air tags in my car in various places.

[@thepeterparkershow]

What a great video. I’m surprised you guys got the bike back and that even the cops helped recover it. You gained a Sub 🤟

[@batterybikes]

Thanks spider man. I appreciate it! I was surprised too. I already had a second narrative thought out which was “GPS doesn’t work as an add on, bike companies need to be the ones smartly + safely hiding them”. But I think it’s certainly more fun in real life and the video to get it back.

[@fortnightplayer85]

Going easy on thieves is stupid should have pressed charges u dumb he's stealing another one tomorrow

[@SuperAnatolli]

If all bike thieves was killed, when we would, after a while, not need locks or trackers.

[@billh.1940]

But some might graduate to robbing politicians, lawyers, judges! Lol But yes, if head rolled we wouldn't have problem, but we also have to feed and house people! Then criminals have no excuses!

[@adirtyhippie]

Great video. I really wish these track worthy airtags were around when the bike I took on my cross country ride got stolen. Or even when another bike got stolen outside a Lucky store (with the theft recorded on their security cams.) Thanks for the video and the giveaway.

[@batterybikes]

Ach. Sorry man. I think almost everyone that rides a bike long enough experiences theft. Sorry to hear that and I hope we can make bike theft a thing of the past

[@AdrianW_photo]

Informative video. I have been carrying two locks, which is a pain but gives me a little more peace of mind when I park my regular bike. I ordered an e-bike last fall,, which comes with gps installed, but it won't ship until this February. I will still keep my regular bike for those situations where I don't want to take a chance parking my e-bike. I use garage 529 to register my bike. The frequent alerts on stolen bikes on the app show just how prevalent bike theft is.

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks Adrian. Yeah I was doing the same setup, but have recently switched to just using one since I feel a pinch more confident with the GPS setup. Also, my longest exposure is probably groceries with lots of other people around

[@batterybikes]

Vanmoof?

[@AdrianW_photo]

@@batterybikes The Cowboy version 4. Still waiting on shipment date.

[@JohnHerbst]

Finally! Been waiting for this video and its outcome. Thank you for sharing, Andrew, and thanks to the SFPD for going the distance in helping you. It’s infuriating and discouraging seeing someone steal your bike (after so many other people also tried). However, it’s also so good and awesome to see the lengths you went to posting this video (and the videos that have led up to it!). You’re doing a great service as a cyclist and as a human. Very interesting all around - real-world bike theft comparison between the two makes me confident that the way to go is to have both an AirTag AND a GPS tracker like the Invoxia. The Invoxia is obviously much larger and harder to to hide, but it seems more reliable on regular updates, regardless of what’s around it. AirTags are just so small and easy to hide that they’re a no-brainer of an addition to hide somewhere on the bike and hope for the hyper-accurate location finder works if it’s near an iPhone. Anyways, thanks again Andrew!

[@batterybikes]

Hey John, thanks so much! I was hoping you'd see it, thanks for waiting. Yeah, If you've got a beater maybe it doesn't matter. But if you've got any bike maybe $500 and up it seems like it just makes sense to do both. The Invoxia standby battery life is great too if you don't ride the bike all the time. If you're a Discorder I'd love to have you join the channel I linked to to be able to show early videos with you and get better feedback. Hope you have a great New Years!

[@JohnHerbst]

@@batterybikes I tried accepting the Discord invite, and it said the invite was invalid!

[@swimmingmonitor3524]

Great work sfpd!

[@batterybikes]

agreed - thanks!

[@cyberbri6899]

Cool cop!! With a lot of people getting their bikes stolen in my area I am thinking I should get some kind of GPS tracker.

[@batterybikes]

Definitely. If you can find a decent place to hide it I think it should be a high priority. Airtags will work for a bit longer but Apple said they’re going to roll out a feature soon where it can tell you where unwanted tags are.

[@mathematicalistic]

On my S-pedelec I use both the small Invoxia Pet Tracker permanently charged via USB and an Airtag with removed speaker ... and also a very decent lock and in high theft area's multiple locks. The trackers provide me "peace of mind" :-)

[@batterybikes]

Oh wow - I've never heard of anyone with the same setup. And major props for having the confidence to remove the speaker. Do you mind if I ask what kind of bike you have? I think that's my next move if I ever have to commute again; Something a little smaller/lighter than the GSD but with 28 mph.

[@croagh202]

What do you think would've been the outcome had you tried to grab it back off the thief? Trackworthy.

[@batterybikes]

#1 he asks for more money. #2 he thinks we're cops #3 he has friends around that beat us up? Not sure if you're in SF but we were in a pretty dangerous part of town. I think we would have had more confidence of it working out if it would have been daylight and just about anywhere else in the city

[@croagh202]

@@batterybikes no... small town Ireland. It's surreal to me to see this lawlessness and anarchy.

[@danke1150]

@@batterybikes It's insane that you can write that as if it's normal, but then it's entirely within your character to do so because you wouldn't even press charges. People like you cause these problems because you're weak and the rest of us have to suffer and live around these animals.

[@Lando_P1]

The best advertisement for the Republican Party is to watch any video filmed in San Francisco. What’s been done to your community is extremely sad.

[@Jose-sy1je]

Your bike won't stay locked up long in Alabama. Problem is that the police does absolutely nothing and they don't even want to defund it.

[@ez2rememberchris]

Congrats on such a creative video documenting your bike recovery journey with the police. I need a few AirTags to place all over my belongings!

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks Chris. I really appreciate it. I agree! Airtags are certainly worth the price and if you've got a bike of any value I think a GPS is worth it too

[@robhildebrand9914]

If that was me I would’ve said “excuse me sir, I think you have something that belongs to me”

[@tvdw053]

you are the reason that bikes get stolen

[@DetectingMyrtleBeach]

Weak.

[@SuprGeeky]

Great video (and in 4K). In the same neighborhood. Glad to see you were able to recover it. [GivTracAway]

[@batterybikes]

Hey thank you. Ring a bike bell if you me in the city!

[@kelechiwamijr7729]

Great video. Congrats on getting your bike back. I’ve kept an AirTag on my bike, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in it not being found if the bike gets stolen. Anyway, you’ve got a new subscriber! Giveaway ;)

[@batterybikes]

Yeah I think the key is to just act quick If it gets stolen. At least our thief didn’t seem quite to examine the bike.

[@batterybikes]

GIVEAWAY: The winner of the second Tracker Giveaway is Jezelle. kzbin.info/door/iOpM7X_XVfpeh584A4EYZQ I'll message them and get them sent a GPS or some Airtags. We'll run this again soon. Interested in finding out where I hid my trackers? Join the Battery Bikes Discord: discord.gg/EVatuwuJTj Full giveaway rules in video description.

[@AdrianW_photo]

track worthy

[@Anudorini-Talah]

Great officer! He is a perfect officer. Big respect for him from Germany.

[@xozai]

Having had 3 bikes stolen in SF, the issue was not FINDING the bike but RECOVERING the bike. The SF police never offered to help recover it , especially if it was inside a building.

[@batterybikes]

Yeah agreed. I think inside a building is very tricky. In order to recover it from a home they need to have a warrant. I think the trick is to recover the bike before they're able to take it indoors. With that said, if we all had trackers and tracked a dozen bikes to a single place, I think we'd have a more compelling argument to get a warrant. Sorry about your bikes man.

[@jorgedelagarza7611]

Subscribed! We love Jetsons! Awesome production by the way

[@robshell5367]

Its amazing the effort people will put into trying to steal a fricken bike. A fricken bike.

[@batterybikes]

I think it’s just the easiest way to (eventually turn into?) cash. We gotta make bike theft more of a pain

[@jester209a]

Great video, glad you recovered it

[@gavin67]

Awesome video! Very interesting to see how far people will go to steal bikes, the guy brought an angle grinder for a bike, unbelievable

[@batterybikes]

Hey thank you. Yeah I think it's a combination of desperate people and also the general lack of consequences for bike thieves. I suspect the guy that use the angle grinder steals bikes for a living. Though... I'm not sure how great of a living it is since it's hard to sell the bikes complete without moving them across the country.

[@ajsioson405]

Hold on, you had a e-bike out in the TL for 24 hours, until it was stolen? That's actually impressive. Great video!

[@batterybikes]

Just barely in Nob hill - but yeah

[@Mackdez]

It really needs to be an option. But one that's installed maybe in the battery or head to maybe the e-wheel. And you should have the ability to share it with the offices bar and giving them your phone.

[@Edvinn]

Great video, felt like a video from someone with atleast 100k+ subs! Was shocked when you showed the subscibe count hehe.. Keep hustlin!

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks so much Edvin. Congrats on the 2500+ yourself! Getting anywhere has been harder than I predicted 😬

[@808airgunsbackyardaz6]

Great info. Just want the Bike back no charges. Thats above Nice, test went fairly well, but that part of town was crazy. Glad all in all you and you buddy arr Safe, with Bike returned.

[@jeffanderson8384]

Thanks for the video. I have Airtags on each of my ebikes.

[@diggler2002]

If you remove the wheel skewers, the thief will get a nasty surprise when they ride away.

[@batterybikes]

Agreed!

[@oerj8232]

Great job. I was expecting a thousand subscribers given the production quality. Taking part in the giveaway !

[@batterybikes]

Hey thanks Louis. I have found KZbin is quite hard! I appreciate it and goodluck

[@lahadihyndman]

This guy is super patient LOL... You didn't press charges?! I would have pressed charges and there's no way this man would have been allowed to ride pass me on my bike lol I was yelling at the phone!

[@JohnnysCafe_]

My goodness, so many thieves in one area, that's frightening, I have had my ebike 2 years now and no one has ever tampered with the lock, it is always as I left it . I live in Brisbane Australia and now I am starting to appreciate how safe it is.

[@batterybikes]

Interesting - maybe just an Australian thing? We've definitely got a lot of bike theft here in SF/US but I feel like most Europeans with nice cargo bikes are equally scared. Not sure exactly what the numbers look like though. Thanks for watching J

[@statosphereonline2008]

@@batterybikes UK here. Theives in London are relentless but outside of British cities as long as you use a U lock you'll generally be okay. What bike theives there are target cheap cable locks. Whatever is easiest to steal.

[@JohnnysCafe_]

@@statosphereonline2008 Its sad when there are so many thieves around, they cause heartbreak to the victims and they spread mistrust and suspicion in the community. they are societies cockroaches.

[@yardy88]

Legend of a cop. Such a broken city though

[@albondar]

Legendary actual simulation with all the actual hassles. Amazingly it showed updates.

[@DiamondEyeball]

Found your video on R/NewKZbinrs, absolutely phenomenal content. This video honestly felt like a Mark Robber video if Mark's videos were more personalized and realistic feeling, and less sensationalized and overly produced. Thumbnail could use some work, but other than that, this has been one of my favorite videos in a while. : )

[@batterybikes]

Dude - let's talk more. Your videos are also great, in particular your writing and voice overs, but also maybe needing some Thumbnail juice. Can you DM me on Discord? MaybeAndrewFord#3707 or discord.gg/6zSNxCc7

[@greenpeacefulagehr6699]

In general, I wish you good luck and success, and you should beware of thieves and thieves who steal bikes. I hear many people steal cars and bikes, but I wanted to think about buying one of this electronic circuit so that I could put it on my beautiful bike.

[@bobit8742]

lmao people just ignore a guy with a angle grinder just grind away the lock to steal the bike 😂

[@soldesforges9918]

yout future videos are definitely track worthy :) awesome production quality!

[@batterybikes]

Thanks Aspen - good luck

[@elginblumpkin3817]

Still kind of blown away (giveaway??) that the bike was recovered. I’m glad it worked out for you! (And now I’m a bit more hopeful re: gps tracking devices + their utility in bike security)

[@batterybikes]

Same! I thought it was basically 50/50 but was thrilled to actually get it back. Thanks for watching!

[@mongo2044]

Very useful!😀 Do you think AirTags could have done it on their own or, did you need the GPS for sure?

[@batterybikes]

I think airtags could work but they’re definitely not a theft first device. They don’t have any device history, they can notify the thief of themselves, and you have to pray there is an iPhone nearby. They’re super worth the price but if you can fit and charge the GPS it’s a better experience.

[@Everything-Futball]

There’s always something interesting happening in this video. Very entertaining 👌

[@batterybikes]

Hey thank you Crushed. I had 100+ hours of footage and then cut it to the most entertaining 9 minutes.

[@pauljefferies9087]

Great story guy! Very well done.

[@batterybikes]

Thanks much for watching Paul!

[@MatthewMorgan25]

You Agreed To NOT Press Charges!? You are a cause to this freaking problem! Christ...

[@Unknown_Ooh]

I'd suggest being careful of trying to find your bike in the rough part of towns especially on foot and at night with no practical method of escape. When I was a state police cadet and riding with an active trooper we went to a call where a guy tried to recover his own stolen car (hadn't even reported it stolen yet) and got jumped by the car thieves (one thief ratted his co defendant out to us on scene) and was jumped badly enough to be flown to a level 1 trauma center in Baltimore. A well known scooter rental company used to call in stolen scooters in areas we would only go two units at minimum into and they would be put to the bottom of the priority list. Private property would get faster response times.

[@eponymousIme]

Wow. Stolen property recovered in SF?! That was NOT the ending I was expecting. I'll bet the cops were pretty happy that they were actually able to be successful in one of these cases.

[@kevinhiggenbottom8339]

I wish they would put GPS tracking inside the frame somewhere where they cannot find it at all when you try to track down your bike that would be very awesome

[@carriebartkowiak]

The frame is metal. It would block the signal.

[@ericlsanchez]

Me at the end: “There he is! Knock that f**ker off the bike! Oh… that’s the cop 😂”

[@mattp.7318]

Only in California will the police offer to help if you promise not to press charges. Unbelievable.