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Cowboy has announced that riders will have access to new and improved in-app Find My Bike experience, thanks to the development of another industry-first software feature to put an end to e-bike theft.
The updates include the development of a sound alarm, which will aid customers and police to locate a stolen Cowboy bike more accurately.
The alarm, which is activated through the Cowboy app and powered by the bike’s motor, will allow riders to activate an alarm from up to 30 metres away, helping to confirm the location of the bike – down to the building or apartment – to law enforcement.
Even if the Cowboy bike’s battery is drained or removed from the bike completely, a back up cell within the bike is activated so that the bike can be tracked for up to a week once battery power has died.
Other key updates include a new in-app compass view to help locate a missing bike.
Cowboy’s Find My Bike function already means riders can locate their bike at all times with GPS tracking, whilst the Theft Alert function alerts them if someone attempts to snatch their bike; whenever a bike moves unexpectedly, Cowboy sends you real-time tracking notifications via the app.
Due to Cowboy’s advanced anti-theft software, since September this year only 0.2% of its entire fleet of e-bikes globally have been stolen, and of this, over 90% have been recovered, demonstrating the effectiveness of Cowboy’s Find My Bike app.
Also new, Cowboy has created the ability for riders to generate a Theft Report Link within the app.
This automatically inputs key data to be shared with the police and insurance company, such as the bike’s latest location, serial number, colour and model.
The over the air update will be available for all Cowboy e-bikes within the Cowboy app for both iOS and Android users.
Tanguy Goretti, co-founder and CTO of Cowboy, said: “The new Cowboy Find My Bike features will further protect our bikes from theft by deterring thieves, whilst also offering more tools to the rider and law enforcement to find stolen bikes faster.
“Without GPS you have three times the chance to get your bike stolen, and our GPS tracking is already incredibly advanced in locating and retrieving Cowboy bikes, with 94% of Cowboy e-bikes being successfully recovered.
“We have also aided in retrieving dozens of other stolen bikes with no GPS tracking capabilities that have been found in the same location. The vast amount of data points we now have around theft hotspots help us not only to prevent crime but remove a significant barrier to purchase for the next generation of e-bike riders.”
In addition, Cowboy also offers its Theft Insurance in partnership with Qover, covering the bike day and night for up to five years against theft and vandalism, where the rider either receives a replacement bike or a reimbursement with the amount they originally paid.
