Review: AlterLock Bike Alarm

Envision this with me: you’re out on a long weekend ride when suddenly you have a hankering for a slice of cake, a cappuccino, and a seat indoors so you can regain some of the sensation in your fingers. But now suddenly you’re stuck leaving your pride and joy (and also the most expensive thing you own) to fend for itself out on the street, completely unsupervised. We all know why cycling around with a heavy chain lock isn’t a realistic option, however, in moments like these they are sorely missed.

So what if we could introduce you to a product that gave you peace of mind when putting your bike out of sight, even if just for a second?

AlterLock doesn’t physically keep your bike chained to a lamppost, however it does act as a nifty (and loud) deterrent, complete with a motion sensor alarm that auto-starts a GPS tracker when moved, making it more than obvious if someone attempts to run (or cycle) away with your bike. It sits neatly and discretely underneath your bike’s bottle cage, and links to your phone directly through a smartphone app.

Developers, Japanese company NEXTSCAPE Inc., provide state-of-the-art IT solutions and services and are on a mission to create next-level anti-theft solutions for bikes. AlterLock is 159mm long, 38mm wide (at the widest point), and 9mm deep and at a weight of just 50g, a near enough equivalent to a snack bar, personally, went unnoticed even on the steeper climbs.

In the unlikely event that your bike is stolen, AlterLock tracks it once a minute to determine its current location. If it is moved indoors where there is no GPS signal, the device uses WiFi signals to determine its approximate location relaying this back to the user’s smartphone.

Heading out on a training camp to a sunny location? AlterLock’s GPS tracking is available in all of the following countries: Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Are there any negatives?

While TriNation’s experience testing this product didn’t necessarily uncover any issues, three things we’d urge you to be conscious of before purchase would be:

• Purchase not only consists of an initial fee of £114.99 / €134.99 but also a continuous monthly service fee of £3.49 / €3.99 (also available annually at £34.99 / €39.99).

Price justification will vary based on individual and personal circumstances – as insuring a £7,000 bike versus a £500 bike will initiate different thought processes.

• Charging method

As the device is charged via USB, and you won’t want to remove it from the bike every time, this only presents an issue if the wife doesn’t mind the bike sitting in the hallway for a day with the wire stretched across like a booby trap to reach the plug. Just let her know that the battery life is substantial and lasts up to six weeks (so she’ll only fear for her life occasionally).

• It isn’t an anti-theft guarantee

At the end of the day, this isn’t a lock and your bike can still be taken. However, to that extent, we must also acknowledge that even bikes covered in locks and chains have been reported stolen. If someone truly wants to steal your bike, neither a lock nor the AlterLock function as a 100% guarantee.

But having a contingency plan is always better than no plan at all. So when factoring in the discreteness and convenience of AlterLock as a security option, it gains the seal of approval from the team here at TriNation.