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Connected Cycle debuts GPS-enabled bicycle pedal, tracks your bike whether you’re on it or not

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Connected Cycle GPS enabled bicycle pedal tracks your bikes position and shows it on iPhone app

Connected Cycle has just debuted the world’s first GPS-enabled bicycle pedal, and there’s more to it than just tracking your location.

The pedal records speed, route and incline and saves that information for upload to the cloud. It even estimates calories burnt for each ride. All of that information is then available on your smartphone through their own app (which isn’t showing up in the App Store as of this post, but screenshots are below).

The device theft-resistant by design thanks to a specially coded key needed to remove it. Even better, it can help locate your bike if it goes missing. Whether you’re the one riding it or not, it’ll push its location to the app so you can catch up to your bike. Even if you just forgot where you parked it last night.

The icing on the cake? Well, that could be various colors that’ll be available, but the self-charging design that powers itself as you pedal is just a bit sweeter…

Connected Cycle GPS enabled bicycle pedal tracks your bikes position and shows it on iPhone app

The product started life as a fleet management tool for bicycle rental and share programs, but the 2015 CES show marks the launch of their consumer version. Pricing TBD, but will include one active pedal and one matching “dummy” pedal for the other side of your bike.

We’ve requested more info about how it connects to the cloud – they’re claiming it has it’s own internet connection and will work all over the world, with or without your smartphone in its vicinity during the trip (we’re thinking it stores the ride data then connects when in range of a trusted WiFi network or smartphone connection).

Connected Cycle GPS enabled bicycle pedal tracks your bikes position and shows it on iPhone app

ConnectedCycle.com

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James S
James S
9 years ago

Do any of these people actually ride bikes? That pedal is annoyingly one-sided. Every time you take your foot off the pedal it will flip upside down and you will have to kick it back over to put your foot on it. If enough people buy these things, I imagine the bike thieves will figure out how to disable the tracking function with a quick hammer strike. Still, it’s a cute idea for all you smartphone zombies out there.

Francois
Francois
9 years ago

Looks really cool.
But I don’t think it will prevent any theft. The thieves just have to wrap the pedal in something that will block the signal (like aluminum foil).

Ck
Ck
9 years ago

There is no way that pedal naturally rests platform side up.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
9 years ago

Neat idea for a around town bike. If these become common enough…the pros would know what they are and just take the pedals off but until then it would be great for strolling around town. If you’re rarely caring about speed and strolling at 10-12mph I don’t think the one sided pedal is a big problem.

As a roadie, I’d like something like this to be put into maybe a bottom bracket. I like the self charging idea and the bottom bracket thing would be something a lot of thieves would probably not think so much about. Of course, you could just have something with a battery that needs charged but I’m forgetful. I rarely have to lock my bike up and when I do, its normally in a grocery store garage with a camera on it. That doesn’t keep me from worrying about it though and if I had a GPS tracker, I’d be more willing to take more trips with a nice bike. I have a junky touring bike now so its not a big deal but for a while, I only had a high end TI road bike…tracking its location would be a nice option

That Guy
That Guy
9 years ago

Is it Strava compatible?

Chris L
Chris L
9 years ago

What ever happened to just riding a bike for the fun of it? Now every pedal stroke has to be measured and tracked. I was on a ride where someone bailed because their mobile battery went dead which meant they couldn’t use Strava. To them the idea of riding without validation is pointless. I also see non-racers or Cat 4 racers using power meters. Why?? It’s one thing if you’re pro and riding a bike is your JOB. Then these tools make perfectly good sense but that’s .0001% of cyclists. Are people really so insecure that they need this level of micro-validation??

'Merika
'Merika
9 years ago

I’m waiting for Bluetooth-connected nipples. You see, I ride hard and I like to keep track of my nipples’ condition. I would love an app that lets me log in to each nipple individually, check its status, then download how many times it’s gone in a full circle. Each nipple would then have a small LCD display so that I can login to each nipple, diagnose it, and, if necessary, replace it.

ObligatedToSay
ObligatedToSay
9 years ago

I’d seen pictures elsewhere – looked like you need an Allen key to install/remove the pedals, no flats for a pedal wrench. Like so many other things on a bike these days, an Allen key is all a thief needs… Torx will be popular, but then thieves start packing Torx too…

Ryan
Ryan
9 years ago

Is there a kickstarter for the nipple app? I’d like to get in on this.

Dave B
Dave B
9 years ago

“I’d seen pictures elsewhere – looked like you need an Allen key to install/remove the pedals, no flats for a pedal wrench…”

Shimano’s current MTB pedals already have an 8 mm hex recess and no wrench flats so this is hardly anything novel

Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith
9 years ago

Merika, are you talking about human nipples or wheel/spoke nipples? I honestly don’t know.

'Merika
'Merika
9 years ago

@Ryan

“Is there a kickstarter for the nipple app?”

Let’s start one. We’d be guaranteed a story on Bikerumor. If you look back, about 98% of the articles here are of products that, after you get excited about the headline then click past the break to find out where to get one, ends up being somebody’s Kickstarter pipedream.

“The Kickstarter just opened and they hope to ship said product by 2027, but they’ll take your money now.”

So, if they can do it, so can we!

dingbat
dingbat
9 years ago

Worst pedal design I’ve seen in a long time. Do these people even ride bikes?

Dan
Dan
9 years ago

@’Merika

If you are planning this; could you add a series of spoke mounted cameras to visually monitor each nipple as well?

Scott
Scott
9 years ago

Great a specially coded key to remove a pedal. I wonder if the inventor of this has ever tried to remove a pedal on a commuters bike after a few years. Wouldn’t it have just been easier to make this a stem or wait a bike computer.

Mike D
Mike D
9 years ago

@’Merika @Ryan Let me know when it launches guys, I have your first $100 ready to go. I don’t know how I can continue to ride my bike without this technology. My only request, please make it ANT++… that is a new standard btw. New standards are so hot right now.

Connected Cycle
9 years ago

Thanks for this great article !
If you want to know more about Connected Cycle and be the first informed when we launch our crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, subscribe our newsletter on our website http://connectedcycle.com and find us on Twitter and Facebook as well ! See you there !

Connected Cycle
Connected Cycle
9 years ago

Some answers on the questions raised here:

– about the screw : is definitely not a hex screw. Some prototypes had a temporary hex screw (Allen key), so that explains the pictures seen on the Internet, but the production version is with a coded screw

– about the upside-down flipping : we made something so the pedals do not flip

– about the Internet connection : it is a true autonomous cellular connexion, no need for a wifi network or whatever. By the way an aluminium foil doesn’t block a cellular signal.

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