Smart pedals from Connected Cycle

Paris based Connected Cycle is a French start-up that aims to “develop high-tech products in order to improve regular bike riders’ experience, and democratize the use of bikes as an alternative transport mode.” Their new product, unveiled this week at CES 2015, is a “smart pedal”, which is equipped with GPS and GPRS sensors. Through the use of a built-in dynamo, those sensors are actually powered by energy generated from the motion of cycling, so you never have to worry about charging or replacing batteries. Also, the rider doesn’t need to carry a smart phone on every ride, as the pedal does not rely on Bluetooth or other type of near field communication, but uses it own internet connection to transmit data to the cloud.

The pedal provides much of the data that would expect from a Garmin or similar GPS based cyclo-computer. According to the press release:

“On a daily basis, the pedal automatically records the speed, route, incline, and calories burnt of every single bike trip. These statistics are sent to the cloud, and made available to users through the Connected Cycle application available on smartphones.”

In addition to providing ride data though, it can do something that a cyclo-computer cannot:

“This new high-tech equipment instantly notifies the bike owner if the bike is moved, and allows it to be located at any time. It is also able to locate where the bike was last parked.”

So if your bike is stolen, you will know exactly where to find it. What if the thief has removed the pedals though? Connected Cycle has thought of that, and notes that the pedal must be removed “using a special coded key that only the bike owner possesses”

Pretty interesting, and definitely something I would like to try… especially if they ever come out with a Look or SPD compatible version.

You can visit the Connected Cycle website for more information, and check out recent posts at CNET, GizMag, and Cyclelicious.

Posted

January 8, 2015

Commuter, Concept, Shows & Events

James

Tags:

app, GPS, pedal, ride data, smart bike, smartphone

Comments

6 responses to “Smart pedals from Connected Cycle”

Impossibly Stupid

January 8, 2015

I see a lot of hype, but nothing to buy or app to download. I do like the basic idea, though, so let’s hope it’s not a scam. And that it costs less than the bike you want to use it with!

Reply
1. Impossibly Stupid
  
  January 8, 2015
  
  Nevermind; the Cycleicious article says “Purchase will be through a Kickstarter campaign later this year”, so it really is nothing but empty hype at this point. Based on how other Kickstarter campaigns like this get delayed, maybe there’ll be something to followup on in 2017?
  
  Reply
  1. James Thomas
    
    January 9, 2015
    
    This will probably go forward, but (as has been discussed on the Bicycle Design G+ page lately) the marketing focus may be more on bike share/fleet management than sales to individual consumers. Richard from Cyclelicious talked to them, and that was his impression.
    
    Reply
    1. Impossibly Stupid
      
      January 9, 2015
      
      I don’t doubt they’ll push to make it happen, but that doesn’t mean the people involved actually have any real understanding of what it means to bring something like this to market. As a design concept, I like the idea, but nobody should describe it as a “new product” when it is unlikely any consumer will be able to purchase it by the time the next CES rolls around.
      
      Reply
Lawrence

January 12, 2015

I don’t even have the time to grease my chains, how am I suppose to find the time to charge this thing ?

My phone only last 2 hours tops with GPS and GPRS on…. Just saying.

Reply
1. Impossibly Stupid
  
  January 12, 2015
  
  The article plainly states:
  
  “Through the use of a built-in dynamo, those sensors are actually powered by energy generated from the motion of cycling, so you never have to worry about charging or replacing batteries.”
  
  I, too, have my doubts they can jam that into a pedal form factor along with all the other electronics involved, but that’s the claim they’re making.
  
  Reply