E-bikers are individualists with high demands. For the environmentally conscious cyclist, an expensive invested e-cargo bike is both a statement and a practical means of transport. For the commuter, the e-city bike is a practical and stress-reducing alternative to the car. For the mountain biker, an e-MTB is an experience enhancement in the sports sector, and for the cycling vacationer, an e-trekking bike is a comfortable upgrade to classic cycling.
No wonder that e-bike IoT applications such as route tracking or theft protection are also very welcome among these end customers. After all, if IoT systems allow us to connect objects or things to a smartphone for more practical action or to control and experience something remotely, why not connect to the bike? Long a fact. E-bikers, fleet operators and manufacturers hardly can imagine tomorrow's cycling industry without the connected bike.
BikeTrax GPS tracker for smart e-bikers
PowUnity's BikeTrax tracking system is one such IoT solution designed specifically for e-bikes. The tracking system offers e-bikers having everything they want in terms of bicycle safety and practical applications: a GPS tracker is hidden in the bike and connected to the GPS software – the PowUnity app. It records every meter and notices the slightest unauthorized movement – Europe-wide and in real time. In case of theft, the e-biker is immediately notified by a motion alert and push message in the associated PowUnity app.
The connected bike solution connects the owner to his bike around the clock via the PowUnity app. But there is more. The route diary feature automatically saves every route of the e-bike. They can be managed individually in the app or exported for other apps. Also, all relevant information such as frame number, manufacturer, purchase details and photos are also stored in the integrated digital Bike Pass. If the e-bike is stolen, a theft report can be sent immediately to the police station nearby – GPS location included.
Europe-wide fleet management with BikeTrax
PowUnity also offers its own fleet platform for managing larger e-bike fleets as well as an API interface to integrate the BikeTrax IoT solution into existing systems. Their partner 'Pedal Me' for example, an e-cargo bike logistics and pedicab company from London, equipped their entire e-cargo fleet with BikeTrax. Today BikeTray is installed Europe-wide in e-bike fleets of leasing and rental companies, e-bike sharing companies and a wide variety of mobility platform providers with the BikeTrax hardware and software.
“We would not be able to manage this organizational effort without the fleet platform," explains Markus Preiss, head of service at iBike-Box, an e-bike sharing provider that rents e-bikes to hotel companies throughout Austria and on Mallorca.
Connected e-bike strategy for manufacturers
PowUnity's cooperation with e-bike manufacturers goes much deeper and includes, for example, a manufacturer-specific co-branded app, data bus communication and advanced tracking software functions. They pass on their B2C know-how on a one-to-one basis to their B2B partners so that it flows into product development of their new connected bicycles. Manufacturers like HoheAcht from Germany, for example, accelerated their connected e-bike strategy with PowUnity and install since 2020 the BikeTrax IoT system in 100 percent of their premium bikes ex works.
For the growing e-bike market, the founders Maximilian Loy, Stefan Sinnegger, and Christian Strassl developed the GPS tracking system BikeTrax as a contemporary and efficient e-bike theft protection. Starting with the desired product for the end customer, today, a grown team of sports and technology enthusiasts focuses on cooperation with e-bike manufacturers, and develops with them connected bike solutions with the tracking system BikeTrax.
