Project to enable Bosch + Garmin integration

Hi all,

I've just got my own eBike for the first time and was amazed that the sensor data wouldn't transmit automatically.

I've got as far as getting the Flow App on my Android phone connected to the bike, a firmware update and will try recording a ride via that.

@ddje - can you explain a bit more about how to get the 'motor / battery / assist' data connecting to Garmin? Is your phone broadcasting/bridging the BLE data?

@robbydobs - Is there an easy way to load the App for android that isn't compiling the code from GitHub, if not then no worries, I can get that sorted. It seems like your app at the moment is mainly 'reading the data live to an android app' and you are looking into then how to broadcast/bridge to a Garmin Device?

Thanks for all of the work by everyone on this thread. It seems like it is close!
 
⚡ EMTB Pro Go Pro — exclusive discounts & ad-free Peaty's 25% off & more · Ad-free browsing · Pro badge See the deals →
My only want was to have HR and Power together utilizing the Garmin.

It's clunky but I've now began combining files from my watch's HR and bike's watts. I doubt they'll ever release an integration.

Are people allowing flow to allow location on their phone as always? I had set to always but it's always tracking when off... But if I don' that app open it teleports the GPS..
 
pinoymamba said:
My only want was to have HR and Power together utilizing the Garmin.

It's clunky but I've now began combining files from my watch's HR and bike's watts. I doubt they'll ever release an integration.

Are people allowing flow to allow location on their phone as always? I had set to always but it's always tracking when off... But if I don' that app open it teleports the GPS..
Click to expand...
I paid up for Gotoes for 1 year to do the merging of the two files (Garmin Watch - location, heart rate, etc. with Bosch Flow App - Power & Cadence). Gotoes will line up the two files using the Clock/Time data and you can pick which file you want to use for what data. I pick location data from my watch so you don't actually need the location data on the Bosch Flow App - the time stamps will line it up.
 
notshy said:
I paid up for Gotoes for 1 year to do the merging of the two files (Garmin Watch - location, heart rate, etc. with Bosch Flow App - Power & Cadence). Gotoes will line up the two files using the Clock/Time data and you can pick which file you want to use for what data. I pick location data from my watch so you don't actually need the location data on the Bosch Flow App - the time stamps will line it up.
Click to expand...
What does the subscription get you? I’ve been using the free version 🥲
 
pinoymamba said:
What does the subscription get you? I’ve been using the free version 🥲
Click to expand...
I got it mainly so that after merging the data, I could put it back to both Garmin and Strava. Plus it is a great tool that works very well, so happy to support it with $10 for a year.
 
pinoymamba said:
Are people allowing flow to allow location on their phone as always? I had set to always but it's always tracking when off... But if I don' that app open it teleports the GPS..
Click to expand...
Yes I do, because otherwise you'll need to make sure that the app is open and in the foreground to get reliable location tracking.

What exactly do you mean by 'teleports the GPS'?

Is it possible that you transport your bike on a trailer, train or any other transport and forget to stop the recording before you go? If so, the Flow app will record the full distance from start to destination as a straight line and add that to your bike distance.
 
Shark58 said:
Yes I do, because otherwise you'll need to make sure that the app is open and in the foreground to get reliable location tracking.

What exactly do you mean by 'teleports the GPS'?

Is it possible that you transport your bike on a trailer, train or any other transport and forget to stop the recording before you go? If so, the Flow app will record the full distance from start to destination as a straight line and add that to your bike distance.
Click to expand...
Yes, I got the straight line a few times on a ride. I guess when I didn't have the flow app on always tracking and I would snap a photo and forget to put it back on the flow app. It was upsetting as a person who tracks the trail PRs. I'll move it back to always tracking. I've also begun tracking on my watch so I just lay over the data. The last ride had doubled the numbers though and I thought that was odd. That was uploading to Garmin express. It loaded the numbers correctly on strava.
 
Sorry for the typo last time - when you go onto Gotoes and merge the Bosch Flow file and Garmin file - you can only pick one source for each data Field, eg one source for location. I had one Bosch Flow ride where I did not have 'always on' for location and it didn't matter as I use Garmin for location and I only wanted Cadence and Power from Bosch Flow. Gotoes lines those up via the Time Stamp so it doesn't really matter if you don't have Location on the Bosch Flow app and if you are going to merge files using Gotoes anyway.
 
Good Morning from Germany!

I'm feeling bad about asking for Bulcan experiences in this DiY Thread, but here is the only place where I found some customers.
Spending 200 bucks plus shipping is not mentally ill for getting basic sensors (cadence, speed, power meter l/r, battery level, assistant mode, assistance level), so I have to ask:

- As far as I understand I can mount it directly under the Kiox 400 (between motor and display) and don't have to dissamble the motor housing to get access to the interface of the motor itself, correct?
- One Italian user reported that he gets no updates of the current active/changed assistance mode and it only gets synced once right after booting up the bike system. Can somebody confirm this issue?
- Another discussion I read was the 0 speed issue which breaks the auto pause functionality of Garmin and I have to use a 3rd party RPM sensor on my hub to bypass it. (Stopping for a minute -> Bulcan still reports ghost speed values). Is that true?
- Are there any other known issues?

Thanks in advance!
 
sualfred said:
Good Morning from Germany!

I'm feeling bad about asking for Bulcan experiences in this DiY Thread, but here is the only place where I found some customers.
Spending 200 bucks plus shipping is not mentally ill for getting basic sensors (cadence, speed, power meter l/r, battery level, assistant mode, assistance level), so I have to ask:

- As far as I understand I can mount it directly under the Kiox 400 (between motor and display) and don't have to dissamble the motor housing to get access to the interface of the motor itself, correct?
- One Italian user reported that he gets no updates of the current active/changed assistance mode and it only gets synced once right after booting up the bike system. Can somebody confirm this issue?
- Another discussion I read was the 0 speed issue which breaks the auto pause functionality of Garmin and I have to use a 3rd party RPM sensor on my hub to bypass it. (Stopping for a minute -> Bulcan still reports ghost speed values). Is that true?
- Are there any other known issues?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I ordered it but unfortunately I didn't get to try it. The tracking of the parcel stopped when it got to UK customs. It took far too much chasing to finally get even a basic reply. Summary of it was:

It took 3 emails and 15 days just to get an initial reply. I then got another reply to my email a few days later saying they will let me know. After that email it went silent from them for 32 days and 4 emails where I finally got my refund.

So overall not sure I'd risk that amount of money with the chance of the company ignoring you.
 
Sounds trustworthy :)

I mean, yeah, it's a customs/shipping problem. There is always a little chance that you have to deal with these kind of problems, but I already thought that these guys aren't the number one in communication and service.
Currently I'm just thinking about using a cheap external cadence/speed sensor for my 1040.

Looking forward to hear other experiences. Thanks!
 
Hi All,

Apologies if this is not the right place but this is the only place I have found some Bulcan users.

I have the non-smart standard gen 4 unit I am getting large cadence and power spikes when back pedalling on my bike or when pushing my bike backwards. This is throwing the power scales off and I assume ruining the data.

I am also running into the distance issue when stopped.
Garmin and Bosch Purion are not showing speed, but my distance is consistently overstated in garmin from the Bosch Purion.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Cheers!

Screenshot 2026-02-09 102137.png
 
Hello all, I read this thread with great interest, as I'm another disappointed Gen5 Bosch buyer... Regarding the solution of using a 2nd mobile phone as proxy to my Garmin Edge 540, is there an app that I can download anywhere? I have an old Android sitting around and I'm willing to become a beta tester.

For those that have a problem with the Bulcan speed never dropping under ~2,5 km/h, would it help to setup your auto-pause with a custom speed, 2.8km/h for example? On a long steep uphill you may be quite slow eventually, but with a bosch ebike it is unlikely to drop under 2,8 km/h , unless you really pause, or run out of battery.
 
Too complicated and the app provided wasn’t finished.

Your best bet is to run the two files and combine post ride. I combine my watch and flow app file to get HR and Power.
 
basti_emtb said:
Why do you think the nrf cannot be used to decrypt the messages directly?I have switched to a ESP32 in the meantime, because it was easier to make it pair with the Bosch Bike.
This is working now as well as acting as a sensor for the Garmin Edge.
I "just" need to check if the messages from the Bosch bike can be used correctly.
But at the moment I don't know where you see an issue.
Click to expand...
Hi, I'm going for a similar approach with an esp to integrate the data in home assistant, but didn't start programming yet. Is your code in git or can you share some insights?
Thanks!
 
Someone have the Bulcan NOT smart system unit? it´s working? Can i purchase one or will be a loss? Thanks (y)
 
Hi all,

I've just got my Bulcan for Smart System and I'm having 2.5kph speed bug. It's weird because I only added Power and Cadence ANT+ sensors to Garmin not ebike one.

Is there a workaround? Or I should ditch cadence and leave power as the only thing and rely on external sensors?

EDIT: Turns out you're not supposed to use Cadence ANT+ profile, which for whatever reason injects speed data into the system. Cadence is part of Power ANT+ profile. So if someone, like me, needs only power and cadence they should add single Bulcan ANT+ sensor - Power.

PS. in case someone wonders if Bulcan data accurately represent what Bosch records I've found this which makes me hopeful to use it as a replacement for a power meter. Now to wait for the snows to melt to try it. Just a little longer...
 
Last edited:
Is the Bosch data output to Garmin still needed? My new bike has the new display which make me ask about the viability of a product that will transmit the Bosch data to Garmin.

I have prototype #1 that can transmit the follow data to garmin.
Bike Speed
Lifetime bike odometer
Assist mode
Battery charge % (averaged together if two batteries - not ideal and needs improvement based on capacity of each)
Battery voltage (averaged if two, this is fine as they equalize anyway)
Battery temperature one of: cold, cold/warm, warm, warm/hot, hot

From the ANT+ Cadence device:
Pedal cadence (RPM)

From the ANT+ Bicycle Power device:
Rider power input (watts)
 
Sofa Kingfast said:
Is the Bosch data output to Garmin still needed? My new bike has the new display which make me ask about the viability of a product that will transmit the Bosch data to Garmin.
Click to expand...
Depends on what kind of data analysis you expect from your Garmin.

For all the good stuff around rider performance, like FTP calculation, the Garmin and any other bike computer requires power input. Since you have a power meter built into the Bosch motor it's nice being able to output that to Garmin. Same goes for the Bosch cadence and speed sensors.

The Bosch smart systems don't even record your heart rate when you connect a strap to the Bosch unit.
 
Sofa Kingfast said:
Is the Bosch data output to Garmin still needed? My new bike has the new display which make me ask about the viability of a product that will transmit the Bosch data to Garmin.
Click to expand...
Bosch has speed, cadence and power sensing but does not offer any metrics not tracks your training progress. Bosch Flow app does not export ride data (.fit file) in correct format.

On the other hand Garmin (and any other bike computer) does everything you might want in terms of training scores, progress tracking, automatically adjusted training plans and so on. But it needs data about rider power which is locked inside of Bosch ecosystem.

With Bosch specifically this is problematic because your only choice is to use clipless pedals with integrated power meter. No company on the market makes ISIS/octalink cranks that are compatible with power meter installation. And if for whatever reason you want or, like me, have to ride flat pedals you're out of luck.

So if you ask me anything that frees sensor data for Bosch's walled garden is appreciated especially if it does not cost multiple hundreds of euros like power meter pedals.
 
keton22 said:
Bosch has speed, cadence and power sensing but does not offer any metrics not tracks your training progress. Bosch Flow app does not export ride data (.fit file) in correct format.

On the other hand Garmin (and any other bike computer) does everything you might want in terms of training scores, progress tracking, automatically adjusted training plans and so on. But it needs data about rider power which is locked inside of Bosch ecosystem.

With Bosch specifically this is problematic because your only choice is to use clipless pedals with integrated power meter. No company on the market makes ISIS/octalink cranks that are compatible with power meter installation. And if for whatever reason you want or, like me, have to ride flat pedals you're out of luck.

So if you ask me anything that frees sensor data for Bosch's walled garden is appreciated especially if it does not cost multiple hundreds of euros like power meter pedals.
Click to expand...
The product is still in testing mode. I am able to export power, cadence and speed data from the Bosch system to Garmin connect.

IMG_1873.webp
 
I have been using Bulcan for some time now. Initially, I installed it in the lower tube next to the engine, but later moved it next to the smart controller in top tube because it was more accessible. I don't remember how it was before (winter break), but now I've noticed that Bulcan sometimes loses connection with Fenix while riding (every ride, multiple times during single ride, sometimes very long drops, sometimes short ones, it doesn't just show zero, but - - -). I don't know why this is happening (antenna orientation?, signal conflicts? temperature? It’s still around 2C), but it results in significantly lower average power and all indicators. Has anyone had a similar experience?

IMG_6679.webp

IMG_6680.webp
 
Last edited:
Hello,
While I'm not interested in much in this project, I see no value if my 1040 would show charge level, etc., I was scrolling through quickly the 7 pages, I may have something useful for you. If you already solved and it is useless for you here, please just delete my post.
For another reason (charger) I'm playing with the Bosch Smart system CAN FD bus for a while now. You can do also pretty easily. Just get a CANable 2.0 interface and connect CAN+, CAN-, GND to the bike (initially through the charge port, that is easy, later to a round connector, unfortunately I could not get yet a proper round connector directly connecting to the motor unit). Make sure you switch off the 120 Ohm termination on the CANable. FOr PC sw to sniff in, you could use cangaroo initially, but I recommend to flash candlelight firmware to the CANable 2.0 and use linux can-utils package. The config line you will need: "ip link set can0 up type can bitrate 500000 dbitrate 2000000 fd on sample-point 0.73 dsample-point 0.7 listen-only on" The sample points are result of my testing and optimization. You can also see it is 500k for arbitration and 2M at data. If you do not use can-utils and create a microcontroller program, be prepared to receive 64 byte data packages.
I do not know in which CAN frame you can find things like speed, cadence. I was only interested in state of charge, it is at frame ID 0x362 and in 12th byte in the data package (counting from 1). I would guess other data is there also, like speed, cadence, you may want to receive on CAN and send through BLE. If you use a controller, make sure it has CAN FD module, not simple CAN.
While listening is pretty simple, it is hard to tell something to the bike components. Unfortunately, there is a challenge-response algorithm what I do not know. Do not know how to calculate the response from the challenge :-( If you know, please help me.
My project is different, I want to make a 6A charger with a precise step up DCDC from 12V (in car), but for that I would need to talk with the battery BMS what I can not. Also, I can not even keep the system on, if you know what to send to avoid the shitdown at 10min inactivity, taht would be nice too.
Thanks,
JG
 
Mike6 said:
Has anyone had a similar experience?
Click to expand...
IDK if that helps but since about 2 weeks I'm finally able to ride my Bulcan equipped Bosch SX bike. 550km so far.

I use Garmin Enduro 3 watch for data recording and Edge 1050 as a mapping device/stats display. Both are connected over ANT+ only to Bulcan PWR profile which includes cadence as well. I do not use CAD and eBike profiles at all. No BLE connectgions as well. All data look reasonable and whole system seems to be working.
There's obviously a bug with speed not going to zero so I've added cheap Magene speed/cadence sensor for auto pause to work.

What I've discovered with Garmin on the other hand is that 'do not count zeroes' option works for average value displayed by Edge but not for stats in Connect web portal and Android app.
 
Hi guys, i'm here for your same problem, i have a Garmin Fenix 8 and a Orbea eBike. Please we can try to use also this method, i'm just did it. Go to this link, contanct Bosch and ask to unlock the future to connect the Bosch Smart System to the Garmin device and if is not possible request a optional device! If we are a lot maybe they listen us! Thank you so much
 
Thought I'd chime in on this thread too as I've been working on an nrf52840 bridge project as well, emulating a power sensor to send data from the Flow app to my Garmin 830. Total cost of components will be £20-30 depending on the battery size, and it'll be Android only.

I'm just about to start testing on the bike and it needs a bit more development to run fully automatically (background service on phone, ability to wake the bridge with movement). I'll put it on Github when it's ready.
 
HexagonSun said:
Thought I'd chime in on this thread too as I've been working on an nrf52840 bridge project as well, emulating a power sensor to send data from the Flow app to my Garmin 830. Total cost of components will be £20-30 depending on the battery size, and it'll be Android only.

I'm just about to start testing on the bike and it needs a bit more development to run fully automatically (background service on phone, ability to wake the bridge with movement). I'll put it on Github when it's ready.
Click to expand...
Why wait? 😄
I'm an android developer with a Bosch SX and Garmin Edge MTB
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Keep reading
    Browse all

    Similar Threads

    Community Stats

    Since 2018
    668K
    Messages
    40,741
    Members
    Join 30,000+ Riders, it's free!
    Back
    Top