Should You Use Your Electric Bike’s App?

Written by: Chris Van Leuven | August 21, 2026 | Time to read: 8 min

For basic riding, usually not. Many e-Bikes have physical controls for changing assistance and a display showing speed, battery level, and ride mode. If that describes your bike, you may go months without opening its companion app (I used mine at first, but hardly ever now).

Still, I’d set it up at least once. Some connected e-Bikes put motor settings, firmware updates, ride history, battery information, security, and diagnostics in the app. You may not care about half of those things until something changes or stops working. On a new-to-you e-Bike, I’d pair the app once and see what’s available. After that, use as much or as little of it as you want.

Apps vary by bike and drive system. Some are little more than another display. Others give you meaningful control over the bike.

These are the features I’d pay attention to:

You don’t need to use every feature simply because it’s there. I’d figure out which ones make your bike more useful. Motor tuning may change how the bike rides. A range estimate could keep you from running out of battery. Error information can help when something goes wrong. Knowing you climbed 1,437 feet on your morning ride may or may not interest you.

On some e-Bikes, yes, and this is one feature I’d experiment with. Factory assistance settings have to work for a wide range of riders. You may want something different. Shimano’s E-TUBE PROJECT Cyclist app, for example, allows riders with compatible systems to customize assistance characteristics. Trek Central also provides motor tuning on compatible bikes.

That can be useful if an e-MTB delivers more assistance than you want on technical terrain, or if you want to use less power and stretch the battery on a long ride. Make small changes rather than adjusting everything at once. Ride the bike and see whether you actually prefer it. You might discover that the factory settings were pretty good in the first place.

Firmware can be another reason to keep the app around. Some systems, including Shimano E-TUBE PROJECT Cyclist and Bosch eBike Flow, support updates through a phone, while other systems require a dealer. Upway’s guide to updating e-Bike firmware covers that process in more detail.

Seeing 47% battery on the display is useful. Having an estimate of how far that 47% might take you is better. Some connected systems estimate remaining range using battery charge, assistance level, and other riding information. That can help when you’re pushing the battery to its limits.

If your commute is ten miles and the bike easily handles the round trip, you probably don’t need to study the app every morning. Thirty miles into an unfamiliar ride is different. A range estimate can help you decide whether to keep using a high assistance level or back it down. Treat the number as an estimate, though. Hills, rider weight, wind, temperature, tire pressure, terrain, and assistance level all affect e-Bike range.

This may be the best reason to set up the app. Connected security varies between bikes. Compatible systems may offer functions such as electronic locking, alarms, location services, or tracking. Specialized, Bosch, and Aventon are among the brands and drive systems offering connected security features on compatible e-Bikes. Aventon’s newer connected models, for example, can offer GPS tracking, motion alerts, geofencing, and remote motor shutdown through the Aventon app.

I’d still use a good physical bike lock. Electronic security offers another layer of protection, but it doesn’t physically secure the bike to anything. You may not care about ride statistics or motor tuning. Knowing the bike has a useful theft-deterrence or location feature is different.

Your e-Bike’s companion app and a general cycling app aren’t the same thing. Companion apps from Bosch, Shimano, Specialized, Trek, and other e-Bike brands and drive-system manufacturers can interact with compatible bike systems. Strava, Komoot, Ride with GPS, Google Maps, and Trailforks are primarily useful for navigation, route planning, fitness, and ride tracking.

I wouldn’t load my phone with a bunch of cycling apps (I use a Coros watch) that all do roughly the same thing. Pick the one that solves the problem you actually have. Navigation is useful when I’m somewhere unfamiliar. Ride tracking is more personal. Some riders want every mile, climb, and heart-rate reading saved. Others would rather finish the ride without thinking about any of it.

Upway already has a guide to the best e-Bike apps for navigation, fitness, and maintenance if you’re looking for cycling apps beyond the one that came with your bike.

One of the things I like about riding a bike is that it doesn’t have to become another screen. Once the motor is set the way I want it, the battery has enough range, and I know where I’m going, I don’t need my phone displaying another dashboard. The bike’s controls already give me what I need.

There are practical reasons not to become too dependent on an app, either. Bluetooth connections drop. Phones run out of battery. Apps change. Older bikes may eventually run into app, operating-system, or software compatibility issues. Privacy is worth considering, too. If an app wants access to your location or other information, check the permissions and decide whether the feature is worth it.

I prefer an e-Bike that remains useful without a phone. But if the app helps me modify the motor, update the system, figure out a problem, manage range, or protect the bike, I’ll use it when I need it.