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Hiding a Tile Sticker Tracking device in the tire?

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Hiding a Tile Sticker Tracking device in the tire?

Old 05-21-20, 10:29 PM
  #1  
midgetbiker
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Hiding a Tile Sticker Tracking device in the tire?

I have a Tile Sticker tracking device and was thinking of attaching it to the inside of the rim under the inner tube. Is this a dumb idea before I do it?
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Old 05-21-20, 10:47 PM
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Yes, it'll be under a very significant amount of pressure and is more likely to fail. Maybe try the inside of the seat tube or something.
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Old 05-21-20, 11:32 PM
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Originally Posted by cpach
Yes, it'll be under a very significant amount of pressure and is more likely to fail. Maybe try the inside of the seat tube or something.
I wasn't worried about the tile. Those things are tough! I was more concerned if the ride would be compromised.

If you put the tile inside the seat tube the signal is lost.

Last edited by midgetbiker; 05-21-20 at 11:36 PM.
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Old 05-22-20, 05:25 AM
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It'd probably wear a hole in your rim tape and then in your tube.

Cheers
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Old 05-22-20, 06:34 AM
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How about on the under-side of your saddle? I get a lot of mailing address labels in the mail, more than I;ll ever use. I put them inside handlebars when putting on new tape, under the saddle, anywhere that might be helpful if the bike was stolen....no help in tracking though. We have those Tile key chain chip-like finders. I'm not familiar with the sticker, how thin is it?
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Old 05-22-20, 06:47 AM
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Under the handlebar tape?
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Old 05-25-20, 08:26 AM
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Under the saddle would be a decent spot if it weren't so obvious. The Tile Sticker is round and smaller than the Tile Mate. It is just too large to fit in the handlebar tube.
I thought about putting it inside a pedal, but I have not come across a pedal where I could do something like that. I also thought about sandwiching it in between two reflectors on the spokes. Ultimately, if the bike gets stolen I don't want the thief to find the tracker. I wish it would fit between the gears on the back wheel and the and the plastic shield that attaches to the spokes there.
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Old 05-25-20, 08:51 AM
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You know the range is about 150 feet, not a gps tracker?
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Old 05-25-20, 10:10 AM
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Originally Posted by grizzly59
You know the range is about 150 feet, not a gps tracker?
You are correct. BUT whenever that tile is within 150 ft of any other Tile, the location of my missing Tile will be sent to me. I have located a wallet this way. So no, it is not a GPS tracker. But for $20, and the fact that they are good for 3 years on the original battery, it is worth putting on the bike. I just wanted to put it in a spot where it could not be easily detected/removed. I ultimately found an okay spot wedged between the pedal crank and the crankset.

The next time I have to remove my tire I may experiment with an under the rim tape location.
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Old 05-25-20, 10:40 AM
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Is there room in the rim for it? If so, it should work. The tube will wrap around it. If there are any square edges there could be a fretting problem that would cause flats.
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Old 05-25-20, 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by davidad
Is there room in the rim for it? If so, it should work. The tube will wrap around it. If there are any square edges there could be a fretting problem that would cause flats.
I tried to include an image earlier but I am such a new member I have to have 10 posts before I will be allowed. The device is about the size for three or quarters stacked. The edges are rounded but I imagined I would put rim tape over it.
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Old 05-25-20, 12:16 PM
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I'm not sure which one you have, but you could possibly use their Sticker model on a modified bar end plug, so it is actually outside of the bars so it would still work. Or perhaps between the fork and the tire, at the base of the headset.

You might also be able to fit the Sticker tile in the base for the Stem Captain. They sell them separately. You could fashion a plastic top to cover it, and most likely could actually buy a plastic cap to cover it. It may fill the space completely, but I'm sure you would want to disguise it in some way. https://stemcaptain.com/product/replacement-bases/



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Old 05-26-20, 08:49 AM
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paint it black and double stick tape to the undersaddle
or
paint it black or close to bike color and double stick tape under the bottom bracket. Make it look like part of the bike. Are bike thief looking that close?
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Old 05-26-20, 08:05 PM
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Originally Posted by marcw
paint it black and double stick tape to the undersaddle
or
paint it black or close to bike color and double stick tape under the bottom bracket. Make it look like part of the bike. Are bike thief looking that close?
The Tile Sticker is black in color already. I found a fairly hidden spot for it already; wedged between the pedal crank and the crankset. The thing with the device is, if the bike is stolen, it may take time to locate the bike as it is not a GPS unit. As the stolen bike comes in proximity of other Tile devices, I will be sent locations at those moments and ultimately have to do a little searching on my own. Although not the best way to have to reclaim a bike, it is better than nothing. But it will need to remain on the bike until I find the bike because once detected, the Tile will surely be removed. That is why I thought inside the tire would be a great spot. I have also thought about going tubeless, and the device is waterproof so I assume it is also glue-proof. But I still suspect it would not interfere with a tube and I am going to place it underneath. I need to replace the tube anyway because I patched it in two spots a month ago (although I was interested in seeing how long my patch job would last).
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Old 08-03-21, 03:40 AM
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How did this work out for you in the end? I'm consdering buying a few Tiles for exactly the purpose and wondering where would be best to stick them.
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Old 08-03-21, 08:03 AM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by midgetbiker
The Tile Sticker is black in color already. I found a fairly hidden spot for it already; wedged between the pedal crank and the crankset. The thing with the device is, if the bike is stolen, it may take time to locate the bike as it is not a GPS unit. As the stolen bike comes in proximity of other Tile devices, I will be sent locations at those moments and ultimately have to do a little searching on my own. Although not the best way to have to reclaim a bike, it is better than nothing. But it will need to remain on the bike until I find the bike because once detected, the Tile will surely be removed. That is why I thought inside the tire would be a great spot. I have also thought about going tubeless, and the device is waterproof so I assume it is also glue-proof. But I still suspect it would not interfere with a tube and I am going to place it underneath. I need to replace the tube anyway because I patched it in two spots a month ago (although I was interested in seeing how long my patch job would last).
I wouldn't bother putting one in a tire/wheel location, because those are too likely to be separated from the bike if it's stolen. I think where you have it (betw. crankarm and chainrings) or inside a frame tube makes more sense.
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Old 08-03-21, 06:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Charliekeet
I wouldn't bother putting one in a tire/wheel location, because those are too likely to be separated from the bike if it's stolen. I think where you have it (betw. crankarm and chainrings) or inside a frame tube makes more sense.
That is where it has stayed, too. Inside the frame causes signal loss.
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Old 08-03-21, 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted by LostInSweden
How did this work out for you in the end? I'm consdering buying a few Tiles for exactly the purpose and wondering where would be best to stick them.
Well it hasn't been stolen. Lol. I recently broke my front derailleur and while i was inspecting that, I was looking for the tile and couldn't find it! But it was there.. I had to pull up the tile app and hit search and it began chiming away.
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Old 08-26-21, 08:58 AM
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How about creating a fake cadence tracker.

Originally Posted by midgetbiker
Well it hasn't been stolen. Lol. I recently broke my front derailleur and while i was inspecting that, I was looking for the tile and couldn't find it! But it was there.. I had to pull up the tile app and hit search and it began chiming away.
I've had a lot of luck with Tile in the past (found lost keys and a "borrowed" jacket) but haven't tried the new stickers. Looking at the device... it's about the size of a cadence tracker. Idea (1) put the tile on the inside of the crank arm and take my extra wahoo magnet and tape it onto the chainstay to help sell it. (2) take apart my old wahoo cadence tracker and hide the tile inside it and zip tie it onto the crank arm... try to make the tile look like something valuable so that if the thief finds it they don't want to take it off.
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Old 08-26-21, 09:04 AM
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As someone else mentioned, put it under the handlebar tape, if its that small put it on the bottom near the end the bar where your hand rarely goes or underneath between where the cable housing is coming out. The tape shouldn't slow down any kind of signal and it would be hidden in tape that no one bothers removing.
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Old 08-26-21, 09:10 AM
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Just for my own knowledge I Googled a pic of a Tile Sticker. It’s the size of three quarters stacked up. Doesn’t look like it’d fit inside a road tire. Maybe a MTB/hybrid tire. But if you do…I’d put it directly opposite of the valve stem for balance purposes. Otherwise…the seat post or inside the handlebar if it’ll fit seems like your best “hidden” options. — Dan

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Old 08-26-21, 10:16 AM
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Maybe roll the brake/shifter hood back and put it somewhere in there?
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Old 08-26-21, 10:18 AM
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Prevention is always better than cure. PREVENT the theft. All bets are off once the bike is taken. I know people who have had trackers installed on their cars. WHEN their cars were stolen (self fulfilling prophecy?) they got them back. Thing is, none of them WANTED their cars back when they saw what had been done to them! Don't let your valuable bike get stolen. You have agency in this. I doubt that Tiles are that common that you can count on another Tile helping to locate a stolen bike. The trackers used in cars and motorcycles ARE full GPS trackers and if you are going to do it right for your carbon TdF replica RR then accept no substitutes. Go big, or go home.

My humble U-Lock seems to provide all the security necessary to keep this bike safe in the one of the highest bike theft capitals in the country. But if it fails, I can live with that. I have other bikes I won't let out of my sight. But for a bike that you use for transportation and errands you should be mentally prepared for its loss rather than devising strategies to prevent it's loss. In fact, I'd rather invest (but don't) in a three figure lock than pay $20 for that tile thing. Come to think of it, $20+ is about what I paid for the Master U-Lock that I have used for 3 years plus and looks to be good for a couple more.
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Old 08-26-21, 11:30 PM
  #24  
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Slight tangent: Tiles rely on other people running the tile app, whereas Air Tags can be scanned by any iPhone, which has a much larger installed base.
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