Katie Collins

On show at CES this year are many niche activity tracking products that cater to specific sports, but one that has us both charmed and impressed is Connected Cycle's smart pedal. Not only does the smart pedal relay data to your smartphone about your cycling, but it alerts you of attempted thefts, and could even help you recover your bike if it is stolen.

As you might hope, the pedals can be fitted onto any bike. The demo bike at CES was bought in a Las Vegas Walmart only the day before the show started, and the pedals -- transported from Sweden -- were attached without a hitch. There are no problems with limited battery life, as the pedals generates their own energy with a little help from your rotating legs.


The pedal is fitted with GPS and a SIM card, and so it doesn't just rely on Bluetooth to relay data to your smartphone. Data will be free for the first two years -- which seems pretty generous. It is this connectivity that enables the anti-theft feature of the pedal. The bike owner is immediately alerted if anyone attempts to move it, and can locate where the bike is at any given time.

While installation is incredibly straightforward, the pedals can only be removed with a special coded key held by the owner. This stops thieves either stealing the pedals or attempting to remove them to prevent the location of a stolen bike being identified.

Of course the pedal also automatically relays to the bike owner's smartphone the speed, route, incline, and calories burnt of every single journey.

With hundreds of thousands of bikes stolen every year in the UK, Connected Cycle's pedals will no doubt be in high demand when they go on sale later this year. Availability and price are yet to be confirmed, but we do know that the pedals will be sold in packs of two and will come in a rainbow of colours.