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Now, Bosch is leaving their existing customers for the new Smart System with Kiox 300, and they leave the users with half baked existing displays.

If you think Nyon 21 is so fantastic, use its GPS navigation for North America...

Specialized are way overpriced, use too many proprietary parts, their options with belts are very limited and I am not going back to chain and all the mess with it.

Does Specialized have any displays at all? I know they have small thing on the top tube + smartphone app. This is not the same as independent display for Bosch, more like Smartphone Hub. Actually I am using Smartphone Hub right now on C380+ and pretty happy with it - it is limited, but does what I need.

Navigation is a questionable area, but since I usually plan my routes beforehand, I just need it to guide me over the existing route for Komoot, which it does pretty well. Otherwise I just use Google Maps on the phone for ad-hoc navigation (works nice with picture-in-picture mode on Android devices). I also have Garmin 520+, but rarely use it.

As for Nyon 21 I personally think it is way too expensive and doesn't really worth the money they ask for it. If I decide to replace SmartPhoneHub, I would go with Kiox and just use phone (with Google Maps/RideWithGPS) or dedicated Garmin device for navigation. For everything else, displays are fine and for navigation dedicated/optimized solutions will always be better than what Bosch can implement itself.

Specialized use TCD-w (wired) display for Vados and Comos, and TCD (Bluetooth/ANT+) as an optional display for all other e-bikes. TCD-w and TCD displays sport five screens, and each screen can show a wealth of parameters. There is, however, a fundamental difference between Bosch and Specialized philosophy.

Bosch, as a hardware manufacturer believes in hardware; Specialized believes in connectivity and giving the user freedom of choice.
In case of Bosch, think of a dashboard of a car with integrated music, car computer, and GPS navigation: such dashboard gets obsolete in a few years and you cannot upgrade it. Now look to the choices given to the user by Specialized:

Fancy, you are a MTBer. MTBers do not use displays. A Specialized Levo owner would use a sports watch connected to his Levo or Kenevo, Levo SL or Kenevo SL.
Fancy a road cyclist: that would be either a sports watch, or a Garmin/Wahoo, or a TCD connected to their Creo SL.

Bosch is switching to the software-intensive approach in the new platform now, so those who wants this will be happy. However I am not sure what kind of upgrades you need for your display on the bike with same hardware? It just needs to work stable, that is it. What kind of upgrades Specialized does which are useful/applicable for older bikes models? I am probably missing something here?

No, I am not MTBer - I have Gazelle c380+ for commuting purposes mostly, but also for fun, shopping, etc (since I don't own a car). I selected SmartphoneHub as an aftermarket update since I am fine with it's functionality and I don't need to mount my phone in addition to the display using it (phone is a display)

A touring or city cyclist would have used either Garmin or Wahoo or TCD or a smartphone to work with their Vado, Como, Vado SL or Como SL. There's nothing to become obsolete.
Now, Specialized start delivering new e-bikes with a MasterMind TCU that gives all BT/ANT+ capabilities together with an advanced display mounted in the e-bike top tube.

Upgrades: Spesh has replaced old displays with new TCD-w under warranty to all older Vados and Comos. Now, upgrades are not necessary, as the connectivity works the same way for old and new Spesh e-bikes. I ride a 2017 Vado and enjoy the same benefits as owners of 2021 Spesh e-bikes.

I think we have miscommunication here - I am aware what Specialized puts on their bikes, also what Bosch options are. You original posting was about Specialized doing way better than Bosch and I didn't agree with it. I think in order to understand what you mean you need to specify what exactly Specialized does better or uniquely comparing to Bosch.

I ride a 2017 Vado and enjoy the same benefits as owners of 2021 Spesh e-bikes.

Click to expand...

What kind of benefits upgrade added? You had 2017 bike which worked fine, you get an upgrade and what exactly it added/fixed for your specific bike? Added more power to the motor? Unlikely. Added new fancy UI or what?

Sorry, I am new to ebikes and still trying to understand what kind of upgrades it really needs if it works fine from day 1... If it works, it will continue to work and software upgrades can't really bring me new motor or make bike faster. Why do I need them and what exactly they bring?

Spesh made a big mistake in 2017-1019 by using very bad BLOKS display for their Vado/Como. They have replaced the older displays with the new system for any owner who asked for that. Now, all Specialized e-bikes work under a unified system known as TCU/Mission Control. The missing feature had been connectivity.

As for now, all Spesh e-bikes connect with displays, smartphones, bike computers and sports watches by BT/ANT+. It means all Spesh e-bikes work on the same principle and are display independent. So they cannot become obsolete as long as ANT+ protocol is there.

Well, just noticed that after all the ads you gave here to the Specialized and their phone app (Mission Control) you don't use it yourself since it is buggy (https://electricbikereview.com/foru...longer-recording-creo-rides.45377/post-469518). That's funny!

It is not buggy. Clearing the daily trip meter by MC on a ride start is a feature (which I am not fond of). For that reason, I use alternative app called BLEvo that offers capabilities even Nyon 21 cannot provide. Starting with motor tuning options (which Mission Control also can do). Can you tune a Bosch motor with Smartphone Hub? Also, please name an app alternative to cobi.bike