Bosch Ebike Flow App Update 1.35: More Power and Open Data Exchange with Third Parties

Things are hotting up this spring at market leader Bosch. Less than a month after the latest updates to the eBike Flow app, it is already unveiling the next stage of the app’s development. The update to version 1.35 takes the Bosch Performance Line CX to a new level, brings Bosch right up close to Garmin and, with the Flow+ subscription, gives you a more detailed overview of your rides from the past year.

1. Update 1.35 increases motor power to 120 Newton metres and 600 per cent assistance
2. Ebike data now available on GPS bike computers from Garmin & Co.
3. Will other manufacturers follow Garmin’s lead?
4. Adjustable Extended Boost
5. Chasing tenths and hundredths with Drivetrain Tensioner
6. Bosch 12A Charger gets you back on the trail faster
7. Annual statistics will provide more information in future

1. Update 1.35 increases motor power to 120 Newton metres and 600 per cent assistance

Particularly with an eye on the competition, Bosch is clearly prioritising the performance boost for selected motors in the Bosch Smart System. This is entirely justified. After all, in the manufacturer’s flagship model, the Bosch Performance Line CX, torque has increased from 100 Newton metres to 120 Newton metres, and maximum assistance from 400 per cent to 600 per cent. In relative terms, this is a significant improvement. At the same time, however, the motor still falls short of the new Avinox M2 and Avinox M2S, or the older Avinox M1. Especially as Bosch is keeping the power output for its mid-drive motor at a maximum of 750 watts.

Full details of the boost, referred to as Performance Upgrade 2.0, you can find in a separate article where it is explained in detail. To avoid going beyond the scope here, it should just be briefly mentioned that, alongside Bosch’s most prominent motor, this upgrade with its increased torque and higher assistance will also be available for two further units.

Bosch Smart System motors with 120 Nm and 600% maximum assistance:

• Bosch Performance Line CX – BDU384Y
• Bosch Performance Line CX R – BDU386Y
• Bosch Cargo Line – BDU384Y

With four other motors, you can at least increase the assistance to six times your pedalling power after updating to version 1.35 of the Bosch eBike Flow app.

Motors in the Bosch Smart System with 600% maximum assistance:

• Bosch Performance Line CX – BDU374Y
• Bosch Performance Line CX Race – BDU376Y
• Bosch Cargo Line – BDU374Y
• Bosch Performance Line PX – BDU347Y

Preparing for the update

What changes the eBike Flow App 1.35 may bring to your ebike therefore depends directly on which motor is installed. Either you know this off the bat or you can quickly check in the app. You can access the relevant section via the home screen, your ebike’s settings, components, and then the drive unit. There you will see the motor designation, including the corresponding BDU number.

If the number matches one of the compatible motors listed here, you can proceed and install the Performance Upgrade 2.0 on the motor. Provided, of course, that the required new eBike Flow app is installed. You can check this by tapping the ‘Profile’ menu in the bottom right-hand corner of the app’s home screen. Once there, simply swipe all the way down to see the current version listed. If version 1.35 is not yet named here, you will first need to download the new version of the eBike Flow app from the Google Play Store for Android devices or the Apple App Store for iOS devices.

Transferring Performance Upgrade 2.0 to the ebike

Based on the new app with the new firmware, Performance Upgrade 2.0 can be enabled, featuring a torque of 120 Newton metres and a maximum assistance level of 600 per cent. To do this, go to the ebike’s settings and select the list of components. Tap on ‘Drive unit’ there. On the next screen, you’ll see a blue information box telling you that the motor is ready for the update.

If the blue box doesn’t appear, you’ll need to be patient. Check again after 24 hours and you’ll likely have better luck. In some cases, the notification may also appear elsewhere in the app.

If nothing has happened even after so many hours, it is likely that your ebike’s manufacturer has excluded the update to 120 Newton metres, for example because not all the installed components are designed to handle this load.

However, if the information box appears, tap on it and agree to the update. The installation will then begin.

The motor now has the correct firmware. However, you won’t automatically be riding with the new maximum values. You’ll need to set these yourself in the respective assistance levels. So switch to the individual riding modes. Select the ones where you want to increase the torque or the maximum assistance, or both. The following five riding modes are potentially suitable for this:

• Auto
• Turbo
• eMTB+
• Race
• Cargo

2. Ebike data now available on GPS bike computers from Garmin & Co.

We did not see this second innovation coming and are therefore genuinely surprised. Definitely in a positive sense. 😉 Bosch is opening up the Bluetooth interface for the ebike drives of its Smart System. This enables data to be exported to third parties. As a result, other providers can integrate live ride data into their own devices or apps and display it there.

Bosch is making the following information available for exchange:

• Riding speed
• Rider’s own effort
• Cadence
• Total distance
• Standstill detection
• Time
• Light status
• Ambient brightness
• Light reserve mode
• Status of eBike Lock
• Charge level of the ebike battery
• Charger connected
• Bosch Diagnostic Tool connected

Garmin was the first to make use of this option. This means that in future you will be able to connect a compatible Garmin device to your ebike and view key ride data. In other words, you will no longer be reliant on a Bosch display or the Bosch eBike Flow app. Initially, this feature will be available on the following GSP bike computers:

• Garmin Edge 540
• Garmin Edge 550
• Garmin Edge 840
• Garmin Edge 850
• Garmin Edge 1040
• Garmin Edge 1050
• Garmin Edge MTB

Third-party products the better navigators

The Garmin example illustrates the scenarios for which this feature was designed. With this option, Bosch aims to appeal to ebike riders who, on their regular bikes, are accustomed to using bike computers from Garmin, Wahoo, Sigma, Bryton, Hammerhead and others, and who would like to use these devices on their ebikes without any functional limitations. Above all, these providers are better able to implement navigation using GPS data and package it into devices better suited to the task. Of course, Bosch has made progress in this regard recently. Nevertheless, the solutions from the specialists mentioned prove to be more suitable for this specific application. Furthermore, some ebike riders who have so far deliberately opted not to use a display might now consider getting a bike computer after all.

However, this raises the question of whether Bosch is, in a sense, making itself redundant with this move? After all, the manufacturer enables you to ride its ebikes without using its displays or the eBike Flow app. However, there are clear limitations to this. For instance, third-party devices can only read data. Settings on the ebike cannot, however, be changed via a Garmin device. And those of you who use smart features such as eBike Lock or eBike Alarm will still have to use the app. Furthermore, some of you will, for example, definitely want to keep your custom ride screens on a display.

3. Will other manufacturers follow Garmin’s lead?

According to our information, Bosch has been asking around extensively within the industry and has explained its plans to the relevant companies. This is said to have met with great interest in many quarters. Reportedly, Garmin was only too happy to take up the proposal. We know of no other commitments. That does not mean, however, that there are none. It is quite possible that companies such as Sigma, Wahoo, Sram for the Hammerhead Karoo or others have also taken up the offer and are now aiming to implement such data import or have already done so.

Possibly, this won’t require all that much development work. After all, the companies mentioned have already successfully integrated connections to ebike drives from manufacturers such as Mahle, Giant, Shimano, TQ and Yamaha, mostly via ANT+, and incorporated certain information into their own GPS bike computers.

In theory, any of you could even read the data from the Bosch Smart System. All it takes is the necessary knowledge and equipment. As mentioned, the interface is open. The data can therefore also be integrated into other compatible devices and apps.

4. Adjustable Extended Boost

Anyone who rides an e-mountain bike fitted with a Bosch Performance Line CX or a Bosch Performance Line CX-R will be familiar with it – the Extended Boost. This brief response of the motor to an active pedal stroke allows the motor to keep running for a moment, so that you generate momentum for a few moments even though you’re not actively pedalling. This is incredibly helpful when you want to overcome obstacles but are barely able to pedal in that situation.

Bosch introduced Extended Boost back in 2020 for motors in the second development stage. The feature was later adopted for Smart System motors. It wasn’t until 2025 that the boost was extended for the ‘Race’ riding mode and as standard for the Bosch Performance Line CX-R. Currently, the coasting distance is limited to two metres. From mid-2026, you’ll be able to adjust its length in any mode via the Bosch eBike Flow app. How long it actually turns out to be in practice will then depend on how hard you’re pedalling, which riding mode you’re in, and what other settings you’ve selected in the app.

5. Chasing tenths and hundredths with Drivetrain Tensioner

The manufacturer goes even deeper into the details exclusively for the Bosch Performance Line CX and Bosch Performance Line CX-R motors. In the eMTB+ and Race riding modes, a function called Drivetrain Tensioner is designed to close the play between the motor and the rear wheel. According to Bosch, this works with the help of improved software. The result is virtually lag-free acceleration, as the motor reacts instantly to your dynamic pedalling motion. Riding situations where Drivetrain Tensioner can demonstrate its advantages include, for example, accelerating up a step or out of a tight corner. However, this feature will also only be available in a later version of the eBike Flow app, due to be released in the middle of the year.

6. Bosch 12A Charger gets you back on the trail faster

Patience is also required when looking at another preview – specifically until the end of 2026. However, the wait should be worth it. After all, the eagerly awaited fast charger is set to be released. According to our latest information, the Bosch 12A Charger will charge around three times as fast as the familiar 4A Charger, thanks to a charging power of around 500 watts. With the new charger, a Bosch PowerTube 800 would be charged to approximately 50 per cent in around 60 minutes.

Bosch uses GaN technology in this device. This is based on gallium nitride semiconductors, which conduct electricity more efficiently. It also generates less waste heat during charging. Avinox uses the same technology in its 12A charger as well.

Bosch describes its equivalent as compact. It is said to weigh less than one kilogram and be compatible with all Bosch Smart System batteries.

7. Annual statistics will provide more information in future

For anyone who subscribes to Bosch’s Flow+ app, update 1.35 includes a third new feature. This concerns the statistics that the ebike system collects over the course of a year. These can sometimes hold a surprise or two. For example, when you see how many calories you’ve burned on your ebike over the course of a year and convert the total into bars of chocolate. Or when you find out what your average cadence settles at over the year.

In any case, Bosch is expanding the list of data now displayed in the annual overview. Five new metrics have been added. The annual statistics now comprise a total of 13 categories:

• Number of rides
• Total riding time
• Total kilometres
• Total elevation gain
• Maximum speed
• Average riding speed
• Average power output
• Average cadence
• Total CO2 saved
• Total calories burned
• Power distribution between rider and motor
• Riding modes used – shown as proportions
• Elements recorded in Trick Check

As before, you can access the annual statistics via the small icon at the bottom right of the eBike Flow app’s home screen.

Pictures: Bosch eBike Systems; Elektrofahrrad24 GmbH