Bosch Cobi or Garmin 830

[Lamby55]

I have a Trek dual sport plus which is perfect for my needs.
I was thinking of buying a Garmin, then I heard of the Bosch Cobi which is compatible with the bosch motor on the bike.
The reviews of the Cobi on this forum from a couple of years ago do not fill me with confidence, has anyone got more recent experience of the Cobi?

 

[Andy-Mat]

I have a Trek dual sport plus which is perfect for my needs.
I was thinking of buying a Garmin, then I heard of the Bosch Cobi which is compatible with the bosch motor on the bike.
The reviews of the Cobi on this forum from a couple of years ago do not fill me with confidence, has anyone got more recent experience of the Cobi?

Any middle motor e-bike has the "single point of failure" problem, much discussed on Pedelec.
You either accept it or not, your own personal choice.
I do not accept it.
I also do not accept Bosch's inflated prices, their strange repair procedures (all motors must be removed and sent back to them at a price of 800 UK Pounds, for ANY repair!) and poor customer service.
Plus, Bosch is, (putting it mildly), very unhelpful to LBSs that sell their products with regard to spare parts, and blankly refuses to sell them to private owners, before or after the guarantee runs out!
I am a rear hub fan, with its "get you home" features that a mid motor e-bike cannot ever achieve....
On Pedelec, you are either a Bosch lover, or a Bosch hater.....but other mid motor e-bikes also have the same "single point of failure" problem, but maybe their service is better....
It always riles up the Bosch lovers, when these serious failures are pointed out on the pages of Pedelec!!!
Wait up!
regards
Andy

 

[Lamby55]

Any middle motor e-bike has the "single point of failure" problem, much discussed on Pedelec.
You either accept it or not, your own personal choice.
I do not accept it.
I also do not accept Bosch's inflated prices, their strange repair procedures (all motors must be removed and sent back to them at a price of 800 UK Pounds, for ANY repair!) and poor customer service.
Plus, Bosch is, (putting it mildly), very unhelpful to LBSs that sell their products with regard to spare parts, and blankly refuses to sell them to private owners, before or after the guarantee runs out!
I am a rear hub fan, with its "get you home" features that a mid motor e-bike cannot ever achieve....
On Pedelec, you are either a Bosch lover, or a Bosch hater.....but other mid motor e-bikes also have the same "single point of failure" problem, but maybe their service is better....
It always riles up the Bosch lovers, when these serious failures are pointed out on the pages of Pedelec!!!
Wait up!
regards
Andy

Looking fo to the replies

 

[tonyw]

blah blah blah

Nothing to do with which computer to buy though.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Nothing to do with which computer to buy though.

But then you must be one of the Bosch/Mid motor brigade, that offers nothing online that is helpful in preventing even more people being caught out by Bosch and Co, with their mid motor CRAP!!
Now that is real Blah, blah, blah from you!
And most unfriendly for our newcomers on Pedelec, looking for honest help and advice.....
Nothing I wrote was untrue.....What you wrote was simply rude and unhelpful to anyone on this forum.....
When I was a small child, just after WW2 ended, in the UK, anything that was total rubbish, was called something like "Thats a load of Old Bosch!" for example. As Germans, especially in the military, were called "the Bosch" and similar names by people like Churchill!
Time has not changed much, and they are STILL producing totally expensive rubbish, and catching people out BIG TIME!!!
Have a nice evening, I am having a really GREAT one!
Andy

 

[soundwave]

thats what you call a real mid motor 210hp

AM Racing AMR 250-90 Single AC Motor - Liquid Cooled, Permanent Magnet - Remy Cartridge, EV West - Electric Vehicle Parts, Components, EVSE Charging Stations, Electric Car Conversion Kits

www.evwest.com

as for cobi id just get a garmin as less likely to get damaged in a crash

 

[Amoto65]

But then you must be one of the Bosch/Mid motor brigade, that offers nothing online that is helpful in preventing even more people being caught out by Bosch and Co, with their mid motor CRAP!!
Now that is real Blah, blah, blah from you!
And most unfriendly for our newcomers on Pedelec, looking for honest help and advice.....
Nothing I wrote was untrue.....What you wrote was simply rude and unhelpful to anyone on this forum.....
When I was a small child, just after WW2 ended, in the UK, anything that was total rubbish, was called something like "Thats a load of Old Bosch!" for example. As Germans, especially in the military, were called "the Bosch" and similar names by people like Churchill!
Time has not changed much, and they are STILL producing totally expensive rubbish, and catching people out BIG TIME!!!
Have a nice evening, I am having a really GREAT one!
Andy

BORING ........

 

[nigelbb]

Any middle motor e-bike has the "single point of failure" problem, much discussed on Pedelec.

OP. The "single point of failure" problem of mid-motor eBikes especially those with Bosch motors is only much discussed on Pedelec by @Andy-Mat who has a bee in his bonnet about this. There are many happy mid-motor & Bosch owners. I have no dog in this fight as all 4 of our eBikes have hub motors but like most other contributors find his obsession & constant criticism of Bosch really tedious.

It's bloody ridiculous anyway as there are plenty of other"single points of failure" on all bikes both with & without motors eg front wheel, back wheel, chain etc etc

 

[Warwick]

Can I suggest that you refer your query here: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=63.0 There may be little knowledge of the Bosch, but the Garmin will be well covered.

It'll probably be balanced and won't be occupied by single-issue nutters either...

 

[Lamby55]

thanks, very useful thread. A few people a happy using smartphones and I don't really want to buy another computer so I will get the Cobi.

 

[Darren Hayward]

I'm one of the people Andy would write off as a Bosch lover but I must say that Bosch's business model suits mechanical devices better than electronic ones. I looked seriously at a Nyon display but I couldn't justify the price for something that would be scrap if it broke outside the warranty period.
OTOH The Garmin products are very well supported plus meet a very common standard.
In the end I bought an Oukitel smart phone just to use as a sat nav and bike computer. It was only 69.99 and there are loads of cycling apps I can put on it that will bluetooth to practically everything else.
After trying a few different things I only use maps.me now. I don't really need to know my heart rate or how fast someone else rode the same route to enjoy a ride.


Darren

 

[Warwick]

The sad fact is not that the Bosch systems' weak points are pointed out, I have no problem with that at all - within reason and in the appropriate place.

However, the word 'Bosch' seems to trigger an irrational desire in someone. This leads to very long tirades that most people have read before - many times - and often, as in this case, go off on a tangent that fail to answer the simple question asked by the OP.

I'm sorry your thread has degenerated into this 'debate'. It probably won't be the last one.

 

[nigelbb]

After trying a few different things I only use maps.me now. I don't really need to know my heart rate or how fast someone else rode the same route to enjoy a ride.

Me neither. I don't care about my cadence or heart rate. I'm using an iPhone 6s Plus with Maps, Google Maps, Bikemap etc The only issue is battery life while using GPS as it's only 2.5-3 hours which is OK as we never go for rides longer than a couple of hours & I keep a £10 10000mAh USB power bank in the panniers to recharge if necessary

 

[Lamby55]

In reply to Nigelbb, I had a couple of strokes earlier this year so am now monitoring my body more closely. Blood pressure and heart rate information is important. Regarding the battery depletion, the Cobi/phone is powered by the bike battery, so not a problem . Once It’s installed and I’ve done a couple of hundred miles I’ll report back.

 

[Lamby55]

It’s been installed for three weeks now and it’s still not set up, it did not work with my Huawei P 30 pro so I bought an iPhone 11 and it does not work with that either. I reported this problem to Bosch as soon as I became aware that there was a problem, I’ve had phone calls and emails from them asking for lots of details regarding my hardware and software but no solutions or even the courtesy of a progress report. I’ve been told that it’s not an uncommon problem, it’s a back end issue with the Bosch ID software and they’re working on a solution. Apparently my complaint has been escalated to the next level but that hasn’t changed anything.
I would have liked to be able to report that the COBI system is wonderful and that he would do everything a Garman would do but better. Unfortunately that is not the case, at the moment I could not recommend the COBI to anyone. If Bosch do manage to overcome their problems I will report back.

 

[Lamby55]

It’s been installed for three weeks now and it’s still not set up, it did not work with my Huawei P 30 pro so I bought an iPhone 11 and it does not work with that either. I reported this problem to Bosch as soon as I became aware that there was a problem, I’ve had phone calls and emails from them asking for lots of details regarding my hardware and software but no solutions or even the courtesy of a progress report. I’ve been told that it’s not an uncommon problem, it’s a back end issue with the Bosch ID software and they’re working on a solution. Apparently my complaint has been escalated to the next level but that hasn’t changed anything.
I would have liked to be able to report that the COBI system is wonderful and that he would do everything a Garman would do but better. Unfortunately that is not the case, at the moment I could not recommend the COBI to anyone. If Bosch do manage to overcome their problems I will report back.

It’s been up and working for a month and I love it. I’ve done 500 miles with it, I use Komoot for route planning and Strava for post ride analysis, both work perfectly with the COBI.Bike. The ability to charge my phone from the bike battery is very convenient as the cobi does drain the phone battery especially as I usually listen to the radio or music via my Lovell helmet.