Bosch ConnectModule and Flow+ subscription service in review – How good is the anti-theft protection for ebikes with the Bosch Smart System?

160 million euros is the quantity German insurers paid out in compensation for bicycle theft in 2023 – a brand new unfavorable document! That will help you keep away from changing into a part of the theft statistics, Bosch provide the ConnectModule and the Stream+ subscription. We put the GPS tracker and premium service to the take a look at for you.

Though the variety of reported bicycle thefts has not risen lately, the worth of the bikes stolen has elevated. One cause for that is that bike thieves are specialising in high-value bikes. Costly ebikes are more and more changing into the item of illegal want.

Bosch now provide their very own monitoring service with the corresponding {hardware} for all ebikes with a Bosch Good System. The Bosch ConnectModule is a small monitoring system with an built-in movement sensor, GPS tracker and cell phone module (LTE & NB-IoT). Bosch cost € 139 for the retrofit package, however you will get it from on-line retailers for as little as € 100. Along with the one-off buy worth, there are ongoing prices for the Stream+ service, because the ConnectModule transmits its place through the cell phone community. Compared to Apple AirTags, for instance, because of this it really works no matter whether or not there’s an Apple consumer close by. Unsurprisingly, nonetheless, the cell operator desires to be paid for the service. After a free trial yr, the next yr prices € 39.99, or you may go for a month-to-month subscription for € 4.99 per thirty days. We examined the digital guard canine for you.

Putting in the Bosch ConnectModule

The primary hurdle when putting in the ConnectModule is choosing the proper model. There are two fashions: one for ebikes with Bosch Efficiency Line CX and Cargo Line motors, and one other one for Efficiency Line drive methods. The fashions have totally different mounting plates, every of which solely suits the corresponding motor. Usually, the ConnectModule is connected on to the motor. Nevertheless, if the bike producer haven’t included area for the module of their customised motor cowl, it is going to have to be mounted elsewhere on the body.

The compact Bosch Efficiency Line SX motor doesn’t have a mounting choice in any respect, however you may normally discover a free nook on the down tube – e.g. between the battery and the motor – the place the ConnectModule will match.

The ConnectModule has two cable connectors that may be plugged into the connection from the motor to the show or from the motor to the management unit. The retrofit package features a brief cable for this goal, which means you don’t should disconnect any cables your self.
One finish goes to the motor and the opposite to the LED/Purion 200 distant management, the system controller or the Kiox 300/500 show, relying on what’s at present put in in your ebike. You probably have a wired distant and a Kiox show in your bike, the ConnectModule goes into the cable connection from the motor to the show. The retrofit package additionally features a rubber plug that matches flush between the highest of the ConnectModule and the CX motor, guaranteeing a safe match underneath the quilt.

If there’s sufficient area underneath the motor cowl to suit the module, set up is as straightforward as connecting an electrical barbecue within the backyard to a front room socket with an extension twine. Nevertheless, in case your bike producer have excessively encased the motor with a custom-made cowl, inexperienced ebike mechanics might need to go to their Bosch seller for help.

Fortuitously, increasingly producers are beginning to equip their Bosch ebikes with a ConnectModule as commonplace, such because the Canyon Try:ON and the Moustache J.

The final step is to activate the Stream+ service within the Bosch Stream app and join it along with your ebike. You’ll then have the ability to activate the brand new operate underneath eBike Lock & Alarm.

The Bosch ConnectModule’s eBike Alarm capabilities

The eBike Lock operate comes commonplace on each Bosch Good System motor. With it, the motor is locked when it’s switched off and may solely be unlocked through the smartphone or a Kiox show. The eBike Lock is a prerequisite for the newly added eBike Alarm capabilities and should subsequently be activated.

eBike Alarm provides location monitoring in addition to alarm and notification capabilities. A brand new function is the “Parking location”. Have you ever taken a taxi house after an evening out and may’t keep in mind the place you left your ebike? Simply click on on the deal with line underneath your saved ebike within the Stream app and you can be proven its final identified location.

And don’t fear a couple of useless ebike battery after you’ve been frantically circling the roundabout on the lookout for the exit final night time – the Bosch ConnectModule has its personal 650 mAh battery for this goal.

This battery prices itself from the primary battery. Your ebike doesn’t even have to be switched on – the ConnectModule can wake it up from standby mode and carry out a so-called service cost. In accordance with Bosch, this course of takes place each 4–14 days when the ebike is switched off. You may view the cost standing of the ConnectModule battery within the eBike Stream app.

You probably have activated the eBike Alarm within the Stream app, any suspicious motion when the bike is switched off triggers a speedy beeping sound. The alarm feels like a parking assistant if you find yourself inside 5 cm of the bumper of the automotive behind you. As well as, the LEDs on the distant give a telltale gentle present and the show exhibits “eBike locked”. This will deter opportunistic thieves.

Nevertheless, if a decided thief shouldn’t be deterred by the audio-visual alerts, the ConnectModule will provoke the second stage of the alarm. A barely louder honking sound, much like a automotive alarm, is emitted for about one minute. Nonetheless, it’s nowhere close to as shrill and loud as a automotive alarm. These days, with so many individuals cruising across the metropolis park with growth containers on their handlebar, the alarm horn is unlikely to encourage passers-by to intervene.

Apparently, the ConnectModule doesn’t have a speaker of its personal, however makes use of the motor’s speaker. If the thief manages to take away the battery rapidly sufficient, the alarm is silenced instantly.

For those who doubt the deterrent impact of the alarm and don’t need to entice consideration with a false alarm – which might be triggered by a slipshod bump – you may deactivate the alarm sounds. The anti-theft safety stays lively and works as a silent alarm.

When the ebike detects motion within the protected state, it sends a notification to the smartphone. If the placement then adjustments, monitoring mode is activated. The ConnectModule sends its location to the smartphone at brief intervals and data a motion historical past in order that the thief’s route will be traced.

In accordance with Bosch, the ConnectModule is designed to supply location updates for as much as every week in monitoring mode. To preserve battery energy, location updates are solely despatched when motion is detected. If a motorcycle is moved round so much, say in an underground automotive park the place there’s no reception, the ConnectModule will attempt to make a connection till reception is restored.

For those who plan to journey along with your ebike, you may activate the transport mode. The bike continues to be protected by the eBike Lock operate, however all alarm and monitoring capabilities are quickly deactivated. Which means actions won’t set off notifications and no location updates might be despatched.

The issue is which you can solely deactivate the transport mode along with your smartphone inside Bluetooth vary, not remotely. In case your ebike is stolen from the rear baggage rack at a motorway service station or from the bike compartment on a practice when you’re in the bathroom, you received’t have the ability to discover it. It is best to subsequently all the time swap off the transport mode for those who go away your ebike unattended, even when it’s just for a short while.

Conclusion on the Bosch ConnectModule and the Stream+ subscription service

Equipping a Bosch ebike with a GPS tracker and cell phone module has by no means been simpler than with the ConnectModule. Because of its integration into the Bosch Good System, the performance is best than with comparable third-party options. Higher nonetheless, the primary bike producers are already putting in the digital anti-theft system as commonplace. It is a clear suggestion from us, though the slightly quiet alarm and the shortage of distant assist in transport mode are a bit disappointing.

Tops

• silent alarm
• comparatively straightforward to retrofit
• some producers are already utilizing the ConnectModule in collection manufacturing

Flops

• alarm sound too quiet
• monitoring can’t be activated remotely
• no devoted mounting level on the Bosch Efficiency Line SX motor

Fore extra info, go to bosch-ebike.com

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Phrases: Rudolf Fischer Photographs: Antonia Feder