Anyone else get a Cobi

[Mpbrooklaw]

I have one for my CX bike which works ok; my Amazon review further below. What surprised me is that the store where I bought my Riese and Muller Delite was pushing the COBI over the Nyon. After hearing the horror stories above will give it a pass until someone can post with a positive experience. The main gripe on the NYON is no Strava connection.


First off no ANT+ support so all those cool speed/cadence/HR devices are useless - this is a big fail in my eyes. Yes, I am sure I could have figured that out in advance.

Then the controller pad has limited mounting options - the bracket is too small for my bike and the alternate option with cable ties is less than satisfactory.

It would be nice to use open maps or google maps - the maps utilized are of poor quality e.g. is there a bike path I could be on, how would I know?

There seems to be lots of functionality embedded but hard to tell what is there due to the non-existent instructions - there is a tutorial on how to use the control pod.

There is little integration into whichever music you are playing aside from pause / play / skip - I was somehow hoping for more.

Notifications are my iPhone notifications making this feel almost like a 300 quid iPhone mounting case.

No turn signals? Finicky lights on and off.

It sucks battery life from your phone or from the battery depending on which mode you chose.

 

[Chris Voisey]

Did anyone figure out how to get the COBI battery out? I’ve tried, but it doesn’t seem to want to budge. I suspect it isn’t charging, possibly because of the little plastic piece I see in the video.

Thanks!!

 

[wymapper]

I have a Trek xm700+ (2016 version) and was planning to buy a COBI iPhone version, but I'm concerned after reading this forum. I will be holding off buying a COBI until Bosch or Trek offers it integrated for my bike. I have received emails from COBI, BOSCH, and TREK about BOSCH's purchase of the COBI company. Bosch and Trek said they would notify me when it'savailable from BOSCH.

I installed a Neon upgrade this summer, but have yet to get their Bosch App from the British Apple Store. I like the Nyon and it worked right out of the box from Germany and cost $380 w/shipping. It linked directly through my home WiFi to Bosch, upgraded the Nyon software and downloaded 10 State maps. The maps are good, but the seem a little below the Garmin and Apple maps, but maybe it's me, as I like all the links on Apple and Garmin navigation systems. I could fit most of the World on the Nyon storage. After reading this Forum I'll stick with the Nyon for now. Could anyone help me with procedures to get the iPhone App for the NYON? I'm planning to go to Tucson for a few months this Winter as the bike ridding is excellent. I want the iPhone app to better monitor my heart, I use STRAVA and Apples Apps now, but would like the NYON app to program the Bosch power profile for steep terrain rides. I use solar and an inverter on my RV to charge the Bosch battery.

 

[Chris Voisey]

Sadly, I can not say anything great about the folks at COBI. They are horribly unresponsive and apparently don't understand how to run the company. It is such a shame because I love the product idea. They may go down as just another example of a great company that could have been, but instead got lost by their own mismanagement.
Lesson learned ... use a company that can support you!

 

[hurricane56]

Sadly, I can not say anything great about the folks at COBI. They are horribly unresponsive and apparently don't understand how to run the company. It is such a shame because I love the product idea. They may go down as just another example of a great company that could have been, but instead got lost by their own mismanagement.
Lesson learned ... use a company that can support you!

Did you have a defective hub unit or was it difficult to get them to answer product support questions?

 

[Chris Voisey]

Did you have a defective hub unit or was it difficult to get them to answer product support questions?

I have no idea yet! I can't get them to respond! I actually went to their support page and started emailing them, replying daily to what is now every support email (by Country) but no one responds. I can see it was delivered though, as one of the emails show an email relay that basically links all those countries to what seems to be a single inbox. Maybe that person is on a long winter nap or something
Anyhow, I have no idea. Contacted a bike shop and they told me they discontinued using their products for the same reason. It was too expensive to support when an issue came in.
I'm in the precarious position of having to decide to return an entire bike due to this or take my chance that COBI will one day reply.

 

[hurricane56]

Wow, which bike do you have?

I found that it took the customer support people 3-5 days to respond to a support ticket. 5 months to exchange a broken unit.

 

[wymapper]

I have a Trek xm700+ (2016 version) and was planning to buy a COBI iPhone version, but I'm concerned after reading this forum. I will be holding off buying a COBI until Bosch or Trek offers it integrated for my bike. I have received emails from COBI, BOSCH, and TREK about BOSCH's purchase of the COBI company. Bosch and Trek said they would notify me when it'savailable from BOSCH.

I installed a Neon upgrade this summer, but have yet to get their Bosch App from the British Apple Store. I like the Nyon and it worked right out of the box from Germany and cost $380 w/shipping. It linked directly through my home WiFi to Bosch, upgraded the Nyon software and downloaded 10 State maps. The maps are good, but the seem a little below the Garmin and Apple maps, but maybe it's me, as I like all the links on Apple and Garmin navigation systems. I could fit most of the World on the Nyon storage. After reading this Forum I'll stick with the Nyon for now. Could anyone help me with procedures to get the iPhone App for the NYON? I'm planning to go to Tucson for a few months this Winter as the bike ridding is excellent. I want the iPhone app to better monitor my heart, I use STRAVA and Apples Apps now, but would like the NYON app to program the Bosch power profile for steep terrain rides. I use solar and an inverter on my RV to charge the Bosch battery.

ADDITION: I don't plan to buy a COBI until Bosch releases it, I'm sticking with the Nyon, I now trying to download the Apple iPhone Nyon Apps.

 

[Hairy Pete]

I bought my Cobi just before Christmas and found it easy to set up on by Bosch emtb.
It worked really well, in fact it was bordering on excellent until one day it asked for an update and then locked up half way through..
Support was a bit slow but when it became apparent that resseting and rebooting my phone wasn't going to fix it they just stopped answering.
Returned it to uk supplier and received another one which is working well apart from a few ocasional connection issues where it cant find the bike, so i always pack the intuvia just in case.
Strava wise its brilliant with an immediate upload after a ride and also uploads cadence and power as well as the usual maping.

 

[Chris Nolte]

I’ve had some similar challenges with the system, but I’m optimistic to see what Bosch does now that they have purchased the company. When people ask, we usually recommend waiting until the inevitable Official Bosch version.

 

[bob armani]

I’ve had some similar challenges with the system, but I’m optimistic to see what Bosch does now that they have purchased the company. When people ask, we usually recommend waiting until the inevitable Official Bosch version.

I am hoping for everyone that has COBI, that Bosch will step up and intervene and rectify all of these issues that people are having. I was close to purchasing the Urban S after a test ride, however, the only other alternative is to ride 'blindly' with no interface until the bugs are worked out. Really liked the bike though. COBI looks like a nice alternative to Nyon (when it works)!

 

[Hairy Pete]

I am hoping for everyone that has COBI, that Bosch will step up and intervene and rectify all of these issues that people are having. I was close to purchasing the Urban S after a test ride, however, the only other alternative is to ride 'blindly' with no interface until the bugs are worked out. Really liked the bike though. COBI looks like a nice alternative to Nyon (when it works)!

For the most part my Cobi works really well. This replacement unit has had one severe connection episode where I had to reset and reinstall everything and then it just started working again and has been faultless since.
If you are into gadgets then it is for you.. Even the geeky bell and indicators work well and it definitely enhances my rides. I like the way I can flip through HR, Cadence and power, as well as Maps, Music and Phone Contacts just by long and short presses on the Bosch controller buttons (Cadence and Power don't need any extra sensors).. But, do I trust it to not stop working on a ride? Not yet, so I carry the intuvia in my backpack just in case!
I have put a couple of requests for new features , and my help tickets for the first units failure and mapping anomalies are still outstanding without reply, other that the "were on it" Automated response.
If anyone gets news of intervention from Bosch.. Please post!!

 

[bob armani]

For the most part my Cobi works really well. This replacement unit has had one severe connection episode where I had to reset and reinstall everything and then it just started working again and has been faultless since.
If you are into gadgets then it is for you.. Even the geeky bell and indicators work well and it definitely enhances my rides. I like the way I can flip through HR, Cadence and power, as well as Maps, Music and Phone Contacts just by long and short presses on the Bosch controller buttons (Cadence and Power don't need any extra sensors).. But, do I trust it to not stop working on a ride? Not yet, so I carry the intuvia in my backpack just in case!
I have put a couple of requests for new features , and my help tickets for the first units failure and mapping anomalies are still outstanding without reply, other that the "were on it" Automated response.
If anyone gets news of intervention from Bosch.. Please post!!

Sounds like a great system to interact with while riding. I assume you installed the 'Bosch Intuvia Retrofit Kit' to allow the display to work when COBI is on the fritz??

 

[Hairy Pete]

Sounds like a great system to interact with while riding. I assume you installed the 'Bosch Intuvia Retrofit Kit' to allow the display to work when COBI is on the fritz??

Bike came with intuvia so no kit needed its just slide intuvia out and slide Cobi in, or vise versa and that's one of the things I like about it.
It has never actually let me down on a ride, the problems have occurred at home when getting ready to go, so I am now assuming the original unit was faulty.. Sent it back to Onbike in Worcester and they couldn't make it work either.
As its so easy to swap I have a choice and choose Cobi every time.
recent ride stats from Strava..
Screenshots showing info uploaded to Strava and one of the many in ride available screens..

 

[Psychopasta]

I have a COBI on a Felt EBike (uses Bosch componentry) and it works fine. The Strava data is limited compared to what the Elemnt gives though. In Hairy Pete's post he shows what the Strava output looks like, but I get much more with Elemnt: heart rate versus time, cadence versus time etc, not just the summary figures. I'd like to see more data in the Strava report as/when they update the system

 

[mysteryna]

Having waited over a month for even basic replies on the Cobi support portal, I've given up on Cobi entirely. I've returned the non-eBike unit I experimented with for a month on my iZip and will avoid Cobi in the future given the complete absence of support response. In short, Cobi was likely the best phone holder I've ever used so far. But the Cobi app itself added zero value over far better Android apps I already use for nav, music, activity tracking, and more. I really wanted to like the Cobi given the typically fast pace of smartphone evolution. Sadly, Cobi is not the one.

 

[bob armani]

Having waited over a month for even basic replies on the Cobi support portal, I've given up on Cobi entirely. I've returned the non-eBike unit I experimented with for a month on my iZip and will avoid Cobi in the future given the complete absence of support response. In short, Cobi was likely the best phone holder I've ever used so far. But the Cobi app itself added zero value over far better Android apps I already use for nav, music, activity tracking, and more. I really wanted to like the Cobi given the typically fast pace of smartphone evolution. Sadly, Cobi is not the one.

Really sorry to hear the COBI functionality and C/S is unreliable. This looked like just the right system for E-bikes from the get go, however, now after so many negative reviews, I hope that Bosch will start to address all of the user issues or even tweak it so things begin to work as intended. Looks like it was released far too early, now the consumer becomes victim to work out all the bugs at their expense. Another 'buyer beware' scenario IMHO! The best thing now is never lose hope. Time will tell...

 

[currypotter]

I bought one in March 2018 for my 2016 Haibike Performance Line. I note that you no longer can select USA on their website when ordering. Could it be they realized that the time difference was killing them or some export issue?

If you do get one, the setup is a nightmare. The unit itself has a battery. It has to be at 60% or higher before the app will allow you to update it so you can use it. So you attach it to your bike to charge. BUT, if your bike battery is at 100%, it will not charge the unit's battery. Took a while to figure that out. In the settings, there is a specific setting for your bike. Don't select that and the handlebar controller will not work. All in all, I would say 3 hrs of messing around to get it to work.

The Strava integration is flaky, I stopped using it. Sometimes it would work, sometimes not.

Things I like about it include an electronic bell that turns into a high pitch squeal when pressed multiple times. I can control my music from the BOSCH handlebar controller. Did I just spend $239 for a phone holder? It feels like it on certain days. May be if they put the battery % on the front screen..... Ok, that seems harsh. The maps it has include bike trails. Last weekend it had my wife and I go down a road that had a dead end sign. We got to the end to find a small path leading to another road, which if we had a car, we would have had to drive around.

I have not permanently affixed it to the bike, I still have the BOSCH display in my saddle bag.

 

[Hairy Pete]

As an update..
I have been using my cobi for a while now and it works really well until it stopped charging the phone.. Support answered reasonably quickly to aks me to ensure it was enabled in settings and asked again when I assurd them it was and when the obvious fixes didnt work they just stopped answering. I have a frame bag and a power bank which I am now using so it still works ok, and Strava intergration is now spot on. I have just sent yet another support request and am trying to find a way to complain directly to Bosch.
On the plus side they have just released a new firmware update (1.9.3) to include Emtb Mode in the display and a 2 stage walk assist.

 

[nublar]

I have one on my Haibike. I've only put in 4 commutes but it has uploaded to Strava automatically each time. The cadence and power readings are not accurate though.