The popular crowd funding website Kickstarter is often a source for interesting new bike products. From bike lights shaped like guns to carbon brake rotors.

The latest one just came in and it is called BikeSpike. They are a Chicago based startup and the BikeSpike is a device that alerts your smartphone if your bike is tampered with thus making it easy to notify police. Similar the Apple's Find-My-Phone feature, the user gets a text and email alert and can track the bike's location on the web and through your phone.

Team BikeSpike details the inception and ideas behind the BikeSpike in the video below. Besides being a lo-jack for your bike, the BikeSpike also offers some interesting bike riding/racing stats as well.



Added benefits include using the BikeSpike's accelerometer which can detect a crash, pinpoint the location and alert certain people in your contact list to get help. For those helicopter parent's out there, you could be alerted when your child rides outside a preset "safety zone." It will also provide basic movement information like distance, speed and courses. For developers out there, BikeSpike comes with an open API for future app development.

The deal right now on Kickstarter is that interested parties who pledge $149 will get the device, carbon fiber water bottle cage and bundled data plan this October.

The idea is definitely a valiant one. Anybody who has ever had a bicycle stolen (I have and it truly sucks) will agree that tracking devices such as this one could help a lot. But the main question we have is, since the device isn't hidden, what stops a thief from just removing the device and tossing it away? Inserted between the bottle cage and water bottle is okay, but wouldn't it be better to make the unit smaller and slide it down the seat tube? (Although inserted deep into a steel or aluminum tube could possibly affect signal strength, I'd imagine).

We have some questions out to the makers of this device, when we hear back we'll post an update.

What do you think? Will it work? Good for road bikes and commuters, maybe not so much for mountain bikes? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.

If you would like to be on the cutting edge of technology and give the BikeSpike a chance, you can pledge here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/1054587410/the-bikespike

The current pledge stats show that the project has 300 backers who have pledged $33,568 towards the goal amount of $150,000. Right now, there are 18 days left to go.

Quirky promo video for the BikeSpike below: