This free feature helps make stolen Bosch e-bikes unsellable

Stolen electric bikes built around Bosch motors will be harder to sell, service, and ride at the end of January. That’s when Bosch is rolling a new digital theft feature that lets owners mark the bike as stolen in the Bosch Flow app — no subscription required. Bosch rolled out a similar feature for expensive Bosch batteries last year, but it stupidly required a subscription to Flow Plus.

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

Bikes marked as stolen will send a warning to buyers and authorities when they attempt to connect to it via the Flow app. Dealers also receive the warning in Bosch’s diagnostic software when they connect to the e-bike for servicing. The stolen e-bikes are blocked from connecting to the Flow app, won’t receive over-the-air updates, and riders can’t switch riding modes.