This free feature helps make stolen Bosch e-bikes unsellable

Stolen e-bikes built around Bosch motors will be harder to sell, maintain and ride at the end of January. That’s when Bosch is launching a new digital theft feature that allows owners to mark the bike as stolen in the Bosch Flow app – without a subscription. Bosch rolled out a similar feature for expensive Bosch batteries last year, but it stupidly required a Flow Plus subscription.

“If an e-bike or battery is marked as stolen, it can be identified as such across the entire digital ecosystem of Bosch eBike Systems,” the company says in a press release. “This makes reselling the e-bike difficult and increases the owner’s chances of getting the e-bike back.”

Bikes marked as stolen will send a warning to buyers and authorities when they try to connect to them through the Flow app. Dealers also receive the warning in Bosch’s diagnostic software when connecting to the e-bike for maintenance. Stolen e-bikes cannot connect to the Flow app, will not receive live updates, and riders cannot change riding modes.