This Smart Pedal Tracks Your Bike... and Your Fitness

A French startup called Connected Cycle has crammed a ton of smart technology into a bicycle pedal. That's right: a bicycle pedal. With GPS and a cellular chip to broadcast its location, as well as built-in sensors for recording speed, route, elevation, and calories burned, this pedal turns your entire bike into a smart, connected device.

We recently had a chance to check out this colorful contraption at CES in Las Vegas. The pedal comes in several bright colors that really stand out—a potential thief who knew about the pedal’s capabilities would be able to spot it pretty quickly. Of course, like a broken surveillance camera, its presence alone should be enough to deter any in-the-know thief.

The pedal’s array of sensors can detect if someone is moving your bike and immediately send you a text notification. If a thief makes off with your bike, the route tracker and GPS will help you (or the police) find it.

Thieves will likely have trouble removing the pedal because it’s installed and locked into place with a key. Destroying the pedal is also a poor option; the aluminum casing will take some time to cut through and a bike with a destroyed pedal is almost impossible to ride.

Aside from being a theft deterrent, the smart pedal also tracks and records speed, route, elevation, and calories burned. Some representatives from Connected Cycle showed us the paired app, which showed a history of the bike’s various routes through Vegas.

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So when will we be able to get our hands on these smart pedals? Connected Cycle offered us a mid-2015 release date, but price and distribution details are still unavailable. Ideally, they will appear in bicycle shops and electronics stores, but negotiations with vendors are ongoing.