Eurobike 2018 News

First look: Bosch Kiox display with Bluetooth connectivity

Before the official start of EUROBIKE in Friedrichshafen, Bosch presented its new lineup of products for the coming season. We had the opportunity to take a closer look at Bosh’s new Kiox display, and we’ll tell you what it’s capable of.

Bosch’s Intuvia display is starting to look a bit outdated, and many bike brands have been relying on the compact Purion display instead. With Kiox, Bosch is now introducing a modern alternative to the Intuvia. Thanks to the Bluetooth interface, the Kiox can be paired with your smartphone and adapted to your own preferences. Riders can choose between different views with up to four data fields; if you like, the Kiox will also link up with your heart rate monitor. Further features such as tuning the support levels won’t be available for the time being, but the system will undoubtedly be updated with new functions in the future.

Bosch’s new Kiox colour display and the graphic user interface looks a lot more modern than the Intuvia

First look at the Bosch Kiox

We’ve had a closer look at the new colour display to find out if an upgrade is worthwhile. The exposed placement of the display on the stem is the first thing you’ll notice: the Kiox display is enthroned in the middle of the cockpit, giving you no adjustment options. Both the display and the remote control are relatively large, but the buttons feel solid. Unfortunately, the separate remote leaves a messy trail of cables on the cockpit. Bike manufacturers will have the option of customising the integration of the Kiox display, which we hope will be much more elegant than the Bosch mount.

The Kiox is sat very high and exposed on the stem
The remote control feels solid, the buttons provide good haptic feedback

The graphic representation looks nice, though proving impractical while riding. Riders with any kind of visual impairment may have problems reading the small numbers and symbols. The battery’s charge level is indicated in %, basically a good thing, but unfortunately the font is too small and difficult to read while riding – almost impossible in bumpy terrain.

The 1.9″ display automatically adapts to ambient light, offering a high resolution. Unfortunately, the Gorilla glass is shiny and reflective in direct light. It’s quite susceptible to dirt and smudges too. The colour representation looks nice, but it doesn’t offer any real advantage.

The colour display looks nice, but it’s difficult to read while riding

The display is held in place with the help of magnets. As with the Intuvia though, you’ll have to be careful when snapping it into place to ensure everything is properly aligned. The Kiox features an integrated battery that provides up to 20 minutes of power and automatically displays a summary of daily activities when removed from the bike – smart! For the time being, the Kiox display will only be available on complete builds, so no aftermarket retrofitting.

Our first impression

All in all, the new display is a bit of disappointment for eMTBers. The configuration via smartphone app is useful, but further features based on the Bluetooth connection are still missing. The display is appealing, but the readability while riding couldn’t convince us – too bad.

For more information head to bosch-ebike.com


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Words: Photos: Robin Schmitt, Bosch PR