Derestricting/tuning E-Bike with Bosch Cx motor

[Ringer]

For that price nowadays you can get at least 5 bikes de-restricted with the FW change. It's a no brainer choice!

What do you mean,FW change?

 

[Joecrow]

What do you mean,FW change?

Firmware configuration change over the internet. There are at least 2 other very active threads on this forum that have stacks of info on it.

 

[Paul F]

Thank you for your advise
I will guess that it might be the best solution, in regards for securing that BOSCH wouldn't shut down the motor, if I keep it at 32 KM/h Mode, when I bring it to the e-bike mechanic for service.
But I am ofcause not sure.
It could be nice to hear from people in this forum, if they have heard any motor shutdown problems on there E-Bikes after installing the US MODE or other kind of tuning metodes for that matter.

I have had for years a VOLspeed fitted to my Bosch Gen 2 and a Peartune in my Gen 4 without the Smartsytem. Never had a problem. Prefer the Peartune as it simply delimits with no set limit and no fancy features . The VOLspeed limits at 28 mph.

 

[Panama]

I am in the UK and, touch wood, I have not had any issues with the US firmware set to 32kmh since, having it done about 6 months ago. Bosch Gen4 cx-race

 

[Paul F]

Hello everyone,

I’m considering tuning / derestricting my e-bike.

My bike dealer told me that it’s not recommended, because the next time the bike goes in for service and the shop connects it to the Bosch diagnostic system, the motor could automatically be locked if the system detects that the bike has been ridden faster than the legal limit of 25 km/h.

Can anyone confirm if this is true, and whether it’s possible to avoid this happening?

I’ve also been advised elsewhere to derestrict the bike using this:
Bosch | E-Bike Tuning | Badass eBikes

Is this the best system?
I’ve been told it can’t be detected and that you don’t need to open the motor housing. Supposedly it’s quick and easy to install on the bike.

For reference, I have a:
KALKHOFF IMAGE 5 SEASON LIMITED ENVIOLO BELT DRIVE with a Bosch Performance Line CX motor.

Finally, I want to mention that I’m not interested if this could damage the bike or cause electronic errors. If that’s a risk, I won’t do it.

So, should I go ahead with it — what are your experiences?

Thanks in advance ;-)

I’ve got a Peartune on my CX Gen 4 bike (non smart system) and a VOLspeed on my Gen 2 bike. Never had a problem. I have had the Badass box when the wired connected chips were not on the market. It work well. It slides over the speed detector so you need easy access to that. Also it tells the software into reading you are riding half the speed so your display readings will be wrong.

 

[Nicolaj 50]

I am in the UK and, touch wood, I have not had any issues with the US firmware set to 32kmh since, having it done about 6 months ago. Bosch Gen4 cx-race

Thank you for the reply;-)
Have you had it to service after you have done it over to the US Mode and do you use the flow -app?
I am asking because that is the only way that Bosch can detect that you are doing something "wrong"

 

[Nicolaj 50]

I’ve got a Peartune on my CX Gen 4 bike (non smart system) and a VOLspeed on my Gen 2 bike. Never had a problem. I have had the Badass box when the wired connected chips were not on the market. It work well. It slides over the speed detector so you need easy access to that. Also it tells the software into reading you are riding half the speed so your display readings will be wrong.

That's interesting ...thanks;-)

 

[Vaau839]

For that price nowadays you can get at least 5 bikes de-restricted with the FW change. It's a no brainer choice!

At least a few reasons: You can turn it off very easily on the fly, and you can choose the speed at which you want the limit to be set. If you have any reason to believe that the cops will stop you and ask you to get tested (like they do in the Netherlands), you want the speed chip, not the software solution.

 

[Joecrow]

If you have any reason to believe that the cops will stop you and ask you to get tested (like they do in the Netherlands), you want the speed chip, not the software solution.

It is possible to do almost the same, if not better, with the software solution, using the Bosch Flow app. You can set the max, speed for each individual assist mode. For example I have ECO, Tour+ and Turbo modes set at 25kmh and only Auto at the higher speed. In places where it is nice to have more than 25kmh available I will use Auto but can instantly change the mode to any of the others with a legal assist speed. In the event of a police check I doubt they have the right to use my mobile phone to interrogate my bike and would be unlikely, I believe, to check the bikes assist speed in all modes.

 

[Paul F]

It is possible to do almost the same, if not better, with the software solution, using the Bosch Flow app. You can set the max, speed for each individual assist mode. For example I have ECO, Tour+ and Turbo modes set at 25kmh and only Auto at the higher speed. In places where it is nice to have more than 25kmh available I will use Auto but can instantly change the mode to any of the others with a legal assist speed. In the event of a police check I doubt they have the right to use my mobile phone to interrogate my bike and would be unlikely, I believe, to check the bikes assist speed in all modes.

I hardly ever encounter other bikes or people on the trails in the Cotswolds let alone the police. I can 90% ride off road for hours and hardly see a sole. So cyclising over 15mph is never an issue where it’s safe and sensible. A lot of these issues simply or not relevant to many off road riders on legal country trails. The issues arises when morons belt through urban areas.

 

[Vaau839]

It is possible to do almost the same, if not better, with the software solution, using the Bosch Flow app. You can set the max, speed for each individual assist mode. For example I have ECO, Tour+ and Turbo modes set at 25kmh and only Auto at the higher speed. In places where it is nice to have more than 25kmh available I will use Auto but can instantly change the mode to any of the others with a legal assist speed. In the event of a police check I doubt they have the right to use my mobile phone to interrogate my bike and would be unlikely, I believe, to check the bikes assist speed in all modes.

It is a good solution, and I want to like it, but if the police has a speed tester, you will have to give your bike to the guy who is doing the testing and you don't know what he might press on the display, he could touch your mode switch on accident and get out of tour into auto and you're kind of screwed.

Also, I ride in all modes derestricted - if I want to do my cardio, I do eco, tour If I want to cruise low effort, I will do sport/eMTB or turbo. It would be annoying to have to switch speed on all modes often. On top of that, 32km/h is just too slow on bike paths, roads, you want around 38-40.

 

[Vaau839]

I hardly ever encounter other bikes or people on the trails in the Cotswolds let alone the police. I can 90% ride off road for hours and hardly see a sole. So cyclising over 15mph is never an issue where it’s safe and sensible. A lot of these issues simply or not relevant to many off road riders on legal country trails. The issues arises when morons belt through urban areas.

A very big part of ebike market is hardtails, commuter bikes which are used to get around or for weekend rides in more urban areas, obviously, a true emtb somewhere in the countryside will never have to think about police.

 

[Sander23]

It is a good solution, and I want to like it, but if the police has a speed tester, you will have to give your bike to the guy who is doing the testing and you don't know what he might press on the display, he could touch your mode switch on accident and get out of tour into auto and you're kind of screwed.

Also, I ride in all modes derestricted - if I want to do my cardio, I do eco, tour If I want to cruise low effort, I will do sport/eMTB or turbo. It would be annoying to have to switch speed on all modes often. On top of that, 32km/h is just too slow on bike paths, roads, you want around 38-40.

What deristriction device did you use on your smart system.

Im on the edge of getting a new smart bike. And I do live in belgium and ride sometimes in the Netherlands. I commute to the trails from time to time and 24kmph is just to low( sometimes 32 is to).
Im aware of the police pulling people over to check the speed so I need a device i can turn off quick.

 

[Joecrow]

You can turn it off very easily on the fly, and you can choose the speed at which you want the limit to be set.

So how do you turn it off? I also believe it is now possible to get up to 45kmh with the software solution without having to modify the wheel circumference, i.e the display speed remains correct! Most of the good reviews for the speed chip on this forum have been for older Bosch motors, i.e pre Smart System. How reliable are the hardware solutions on current Gen 5 Smart System motors???

 

[Sander23]

So how do you turn it off? I also believe it is now possible to get up to 45kmh with the software solution without having to modify the wheel circumference, i.e the display speed remains correct! Most of the good reviews for the speed chip on this forum have been for older Bosch motors, i.e pre Smart System. How reliable are the hardware solutions on current Gen 5 Smart System motors???

No, I contacted him through whatsapp because I saw some photos of that on this forum. He said to me that its not available

 

[Joecrow]

No, I contacted him through whatsapp because I saw some photos of that on this forum. He said to me that its not available

Yes there was a few posts showing 45kmh from the E-Bike Doctor but maybe it is experimental at this time. Who did you contact Rudi or the E-Bike Doctor?

 

[Sander23]

Yes there was a few posts showing 45kmh from the E-Bike Doctor but maybe it is experimental at this time. Who did you contact Rudi or the E-Bike Doctor?

Ebike dokter

 

[Sander23]

This makes me wonder.

Let's say i get the update to 32kmph ( and I can tune it down in the app) and get a tuning dongle. The difference from 25 to 45 or 32-45kmph Is smaller and most likely won't trigger as fast?

 

[a66as]

I just fitted a Volspeed v4 into my Bosch CX performance line motor, the sweet spot will be 19.8mph - 20.50 mph limit because the 250w motor is not powerful enough to comfortably to get above that anyway, i seem to be topping out at 21-22mph with very fast peddling.

 

[Joecrow]

I just fitted a Volspeed v4 into my Bosch CX performance line motor, the sweet spot will be 19.8mph - 20.50 mph limit because the 250w motor is not powerful enough to comfortably to get above that anyway, i seem to be topping out at 21-22mph with very fast peddling.

If 20 mph is the best you can get with the Volspeed v4, you could have saved a lot of money with the software alternative which would also have given you 20 mph (32 kmh)!

 

[a66as]

If 20 mph is the best you can get with the Volspeed v4, you could have saved a lot of money with the software alternative which would also have given you 20 mph (32 kmh)!

I'd rather have the volspeed 4 for the accurate speed readings, iv'e also read that if you limit the speed cap to between 20-22 mph it reduces the chance of getting an error 504 code. I havn't really tried going for it but I can quite easily achieve 22mph in turbo mode

I guess it would also depend on your fitness levels with the motor being at 250w, will try it over the coming days i don't care too much about going above 22 mph i just want to be able to cruise around 18-20 on Tour mode or even eco mode

I also found that Turbo mode 22mph with the volspeed makes me work harder than 15.5 mph cap with no volspeed, the true benefit in my opinion is no more 15.5 mph wall and been able to achieve 18 - 20 on eco/tour

 

[Joecrow]

I'd rather have the volspeed 4 for the accurate speed readings, iv'e also read that if you limit the speed cap to between 20-22 mph it reduces the chance of getting an error 504 code. I havn't really tried going for it but I can quite easily achieve 22mph in turbo mode

I guess it would also depend on your fitness levels with the motor being at 250w, will try it over the coming days i don't care too much about going above 22 mph i just want to be able to cruise around 18-20 on Tour mode or even eco mode

I also found that Turbo mode 22mph with the volspeed makes me work harder than 15.5 mph cap with no volspeed, the true benefit in my opinion is no more 15.5 mph wall and been able to achieve 18 - 20 on eco/tour

You could have done all that without any risk of 504 error codes and an accurate speed display at a fraction of the cost of he volspeed 4 with the software solution.

 

[a66as]

You could have done all that without any risk of 504 error codes and an accurate speed display at a fraction of the cost of he volspeed 4 with the software solution.

Couldn't really find anyone offering a software solution, the one from the other thread said they can only assist with the smart system not mine which is non smart gen 4

 

[Joecrow]

Couldn't really find anyone offering a software solution, the one from the other thread said they can only assist with the smart system not mine which is non smart gen 4

Sorry, I did not know your bike was not Smart System.

 

[a66as]

No probs, i did actually set it to max limit and managed to get 27mph on a slight incline but i dont think am going to go that fast all the time

Going to set it to 22.3mph max and probably cruise around 18 mph on tour mode in most cases

 

[Sander23]

No probs, i did actually set it to max limit and managed to get 27mph on a slight incline but i dont think am going to go that fast all the time

Going to set it to 22.3mph max and probably cruise around 18 mph on tour mode in most cases

My non smart gen 4 have ridden 11500km deristricted and not 1 time a fault code. I rode it many km at 50km/h for longer periode without issues

 

[Vaau839]

So how do you turn it off? How reliable are the hardware solutions on current Gen 5 Smart System motors???

You can choose yourself on new ones or default ++--, +-+- combo. On older ones, you can hold - for 3 seconds. I have not seen a single complaint with volspeed or peartune.

What deristriction device did you use on your smart system.

Non smart (1st year performance motor when they introduced limp mode), but I had 0 issues with volSpeed, takes about 3 seconds to turn off with a ( - ) button. There are better ones right now for smart like Peartune (choose what turns off the system), but Volspeed still works it seems. You can sometimes find them on ebay with a good discount.

I also found that Turbo mode 22mph with the volspeed makes me work harder than 15.5 mph cap with no volspeed, the true benefit in my opinion is no more 15.5 mph wall and been able to achieve 18 - 20 on eco/tour

Your settings might be weird, in turbo under 90kg and 250w motor you should be flying past 22mph (35kph) in like 5-7 seconds, the motor is more than powerful enough. I've seen a guy on youtube cruising at 32mph (50+kph) on an old performance line.

 

[Joecrow]

Non smart (1st year performance motor when they introduced limp mode), but I had 0 issues with volSpeed, takes about 3 seconds to turn off with a ( - ) button.

OK, do you need a personal password to turn it back on again?

 

[a66as]

You can choose yourself on new ones or default ++--, +-+- combo. On older ones, you can hold - for 3 seconds. I have not seen a single complaint with volspeed or peartune.

Non smart (1st year performance motor when they introduced limp mode), but I had 0 issues with volSpeed, takes about 3 seconds to turn off with a ( - ) button. There are better ones right now for smart like Peartune (choose what turns off the system), but Volspeed still works it seems. You can sometimes find them on ebay with a good discount.

Your settings might be weird, in turbo under 90kg and 250w motor you should be flying past 22mph (35kph) in like 5-7 seconds, the motor is more than powerful enough. I've seen a guy on youtube cruising at 32mph (50+kph) on an old performance line.

Nah its not that easy for me, my bike is big and heavy though (whyte e 505 size xl) and i myself weigh around 112kg and the bike is probably a bit too big for me so not sure if that makes a difference

I have seen that video that your talking about I think with the name philip? its not hard getting 25+ on a straight road like that, I can easily reach 25-27 on a straight line or slight incline, i live in yorkshire though so its hills everywhere.

 

[Vaau839]

OK, do you need a personal password to turn it back on again?

No, it's just disabled by default on startup on volspeed, - works as on or off. On peartube it can be either.

Nah its not that easy for me, my bike is big and heavy though (whyte e 505 size xl) and i myself weigh around 112kg and the bike is probably a bit too big for me so not sure if that makes a difference

I have seen that video that your talking about I think with the name philip? its not hard getting 25+ on a straight road like that, I can easily reach 25-27 on a straight line or slight incline, i live in yorkshire though so its hills everywhere.

You can't really benchmark speed on hills or dirt roads, you won't be going as fast unless you're on an avinox. Steeper inclines you will feel that it's 250w.