Product News / E-Bike: With the Bosch Smart System, the e-bike giant from Reutlingen offers a completely new ecosystem for e-MTBs. With the well-known CX motor, but also a large battery, new operating concept and lots of smart features including its own app.
It's that time again: A new drive from Bosch is in the starting blocks! In contrast to the previous launches of the Swabians, this time the engine is not the focus - but the drive or the system as a whole. Bosch E-Bike Systems Managing Director Claus Fleischer describes it like this: “Digital functions and services enrich the pedelec experience and are important pioneers for our mobile future in a networked world. With the smart system we are taking another step towards the eBike mobility of tomorrow.”
In addition to the “smart features”, there are also very tangible technical innovations. For many, the highlight is probably the new PowerTube 750 battery, with which Bosch is now catching up with the competition from Brose and Shimano in terms of capacity. There is also a new, compact LED remote, a new Kiox display and – of course – a smartphone app.
Bosch Smart System: The innovations at a glance
- Bosch PowerTube 750 battery with 750 Wh
- LED Remote as a compact control center
- Kiox 300 color display
- Bosch eBike Flow App: customization, tracking and OTA updates
The Bosch Smart System is a self-contained system, also within the Bosch portfolio. In plain language, this means that the Smart System components are only compatible with Smart System components. This applies to the motor as well as the remote, the display, the battery and even the charger. This may be confusing at first, because the "heart", the engine, is not new. At the market launch there is only the Performance CX, which still offers 85 Nm and does not differ from its "not smart" counterpart in this respect.
The reasons for this circumstance, which is certainly somewhat annoying for many, are of a technical nature. Because even if not that much has changed from a purely external point of view, Bosch has technically turned the entire drive inside out. For example, the "brain" of the entire drive has moved from the display to the new LED remote. This means that the e-bikes with the new Bosch system can also be used without a display - but not without the LED Remote. This also offers the corresponding interface to the smartphone via Bluetooth, from which updates can finally be played on the drive via app - so there is no need to go to the dealer. In the future, Bosch also wants to deliver features that were not yet available at the market launch.
Bosch Smart System: The innovations in detail
Bosch eBike Flow app
The most important, biggest and perhaps most fundamental innovation in the new Bosch drive isn't on the bike at all - it's on your smartphone. For the first time, there will be a real Bosch app here with the eBike Flow app, which should have a lot of features right from the start. In addition to the already mentioned option of updating the drive wirelessly via smartphone or the Internet, Bosch now also allows the motor characteristics to be individualized.
Different parameters can be set for all support levels in order to adapt the drive to personal preferences and needs or simply to the terrain.
Customization options eBike Flow App
- strength of support
- dynamics
- Maximum speed
- Maximum torque
Furthermore, you can get fully automatic tracking with the app in combination with the drive if desired. As soon as the drive registers that the bike is being moved, the exit is started. The stored data can either be viewed and evaluated in the eBike Flow app or transferred to others. Bosch explicitly only mentions Apple Health in the press material – whether other providers are also supported and whether, for example, the trips can also be sent to Strava and co. can be transferred, we will find out at the first test opportunity.
The Bosch eBike Flow app is scheduled to be released this fall for Android and iOS.
Bosch Power Tube 750
The Bosch Smart System will initially only be available with the new Powertube 750 battery. As the name suggests, there is a capacity of 750 Wh, which is a more than decent increase over the previous Powertube 625. However, since even a global corporation like Bosch cannot override the laws of physics, the size and weight also increase with the capacity: the Powertube 750 is almost five centimeters longer and at 4,4 kg almost a whole kilogram heavier than the Powertube 625.
The battery has a new interface to the motor and is therefore not compatible with previous Bosch e-bikes - but due to its length it would probably not fit into any current frame anyway.
Bosch LED Remote and Kiox 300
In terms of controls, Bosch had some catching up to do compared to the competition. Sure, there is the very good and overall ergonomically successful Kiox display with remote, but many sporty e-MTBs are still equipped with the Purion control panel, which is getting on in years. On the one hand, of course, for price reasons, but on the other hand, if the manufacturer's specification sheet states that the cockpit should be as "clean" as possible.
It is precisely for this purpose that Bosch now offers the new LED Remote, which is the brain of the new smart system. There is no display here, but LEDs provide information about the charge level of the battery and the selected support level. The keys are easy to reach, ergonomically placed and have a firm pressure point. The new control panel still seems a bit clumsy - we would have found it even better if it was a size smaller.
The Kiox 300 display is also available as an optional extension: Compared to the current Kiox, it looks more modern, has thinner display edges and a slightly larger screen. This is still very bright and easy to read even in direct sunlight.