Review of the Bosch Smart System

I don't have to tell you guys why a 750 watt hour battery is exciting. 

• This is a significantly bigger battery than Bosch has offered in the past with the previous high at 625 watt hours. 
• The new 750 watt hour powertube fits pretty nicely into most downtubes that I have seen and rockets Bosch to the front of the pack in terms of battery capacity. 

Of course no Bosch system would be complete without a Bosch performance motor. 

• On the Bosch smart system you get that Bosch performance CX motor. Apparently a little more aerodynamic than the Gen 4. 
• I could notice some minor differences between the Gen 4 and this Bosch Smart System CX so I definitely think there is something to that. 
• You're still getting your 85 newton meters of torque and also 250 watts.

That brand new Kiox 300 display is redesigned so that it works better in bright sunlight, provides better brightness overall as well, and it still fits in the palm of your hand. Also maybe the most crucial update to this kiox 300 display is that it is not completely necessary if you don't want it. 

• Manufacturers this year have the choice to use the display or not. 
• Lots of emtb riders and maybe some road riders as well have been asking for displayless options. Other companies have been offering them as well, and this year the Bosch Smart System is going to have the capability to be operated without a display.

Let's say you fall in love with a bike that doesn't have a display, and you're kind of bummed about not having one. Well the good news is this Kiox 300 is retrofittable onto those bikes.For those of you who are more minimalist, that ergonomic Bosch LED remote is definitely going to come in handy. 

• You've got five LED lights that are going to tell you how much battery you have left. 
• You might be thinking 20 percent increments really aren't enough but, I've got good news for you, the LEDs are going to change color every ten percent so when you see five greenish bluish lights that means you have a hundred percent battery and then when you get down to a little bit of a pinker color you have lost ten percent. 
• Of course, you probably want to know what level of assistance you are in as well. Each level is represented by a different color. 

One thing I always love about Bosch is their cute little copy, "that worked like a charm” is the prompt once you’ve connected. 

• Connection: it was super easy. Basically, you're just holding and pressing the power button and then it gives you prompts. 
• The idea of the ebike flow app is that it gives riders one place to track everything about their bike, and that is my favorite thing about it. 
• It's going to track mileage and when you need service 
• Even if you don't want to use this app it still does a lot for you 

One of the other main features that is very exciting to see is the customizable riding modes. You're going to be able to go in and change the amount of assistance you want. 

• If you want your turbo to be higher than turbo is normally set, you come in here and can turn it up so that turbo is...I guess more turbo. 
• You can customize a lot more than you have been able to in the past with previous Bosch motors. 

One thing you see on the app is that it looks like eMTB and Tour Plus are not customizable. Probably because they are already customized to the type of terrain you're riding on.

• eMTB mode I'm sure you guys know about already. 
• Tour plus is brand new for this year 

Lastly, of course, you're gonna be able to track your rides and it's gonna tell you the best routes.

No more having to go to a dealer for a software update from Bosch!. 

• In the past you might remember if you had a Bosch motor you had to come into shops to get the software updates and maybe pay a shop fee. 
• Now, you're going to be able to update your e-bike motor from, well, "over the air." I don't want to spoil anything, but it is a bluetooth connection. 

We started this ride with full bars. At 2350 feet into climbing, and I will have no shame in telling you I did that all in turbo mode, we had three blue bars and one white bar, which means we are right around 70 percent battery. 

• So, 2300 feet of climbing in turbo and we only used 30%. 
• I'm 6'2" about 190 pounds on a good day, so I consider that to be pretty awesome.
• Getting great range, great battery life. Of course getting that extra 125 watt hours out of the battery over the 625 and it's noticeable. 

For my money, I think the Bosch Smart System is well worth it. The biggest reason is the fact that you can do those bluetooth updates. That's something that Bosch has never offered in years past, and I think it resulted in a lot of people missing out on updates because they weren't willing to come into the shop for them. 

And of course riders have even more customizations to choose from because you can change your speed, your level of assistance, and how much torque you're getting within the app.  The way Bosch talks about the smart system, it does seem like they are dedicated to continuing to give power over to the rider in the flexibility within their systems, which is great to see. Bosch should be applauded for opening up an already great system and making it even better thanks to these customizable features.

Check out the bikes currently in stock featuring the Bosch Smart System:

• Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC ActionTeam 750
• Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 SLT
• Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC SL
• Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 HPC TM
• Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 HPC TM 750
• Cube Stereo Hybrid 150 HPC SL 750
• Mondraker Crafty R
• Mondraker Crafty RR
• Mondraker Level R
• Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR SL
• Riese & Muller Multicharger Mixte GT Vario