Hub power failure

Different variants of the COBI.Bike system support different external power sources.  COBI.Bike for Standard bikes comes with the COBI.Bike battery pack while eBike compatible systems use the on-board eBike battery.  All systems also have an internal battery which supports functionality when external power is not available: for example when the external supply has been powered down or removed for charging.

COBI.Bike should always start up if you connect COBI.bike Online Manual (english index) to the hub via Bluetooth on your phone, if you enable an external power supply, or if you switch on the COBI.Bike hub using the hub button. Starting the COBI.Bike hub is like switching on the ignition on your car, while not yet starting the engine. Once the hub is started it can activate other systems such as lights, a motor or other peripherals which require additional power from the main battery.  This step is like actually starting the engine on your car - to be successful you'll need some fuel in the tank.  This guide helps disambiguate a power failure condition and help you find more detailed information which resolves the problem.

Internal battery power failure

Diagnostic Steps:

Hub Components

② COBI.Bike Front Light  (no light when hub button pressed)

③ Status LED (stays off when hub button pressed)

⑦ Hub button

⑧ Loudspeaker (no noise when hub button pressed)

③ Status Bar (Your bike is not Connected)

Recovery Steps:

COBI.Bike cannot start when the hub's internal battery is flat and there is no external power available.  To recover from this condition, you need to provide some external power to the system.

  1. If using a COBI.Bike for standard bikes, drop in a charged COBI.Bike battery pack
  2. If using a COBI.Bike for eBike, start the eBike system via the main battery

Enabling external power will start up the COBI.Bike hub even if its internal battery is flat. Once external power is provided, the hub will respond by starting to charge the internal battery.   At the same time, the status LED will light up.

However, if you see no response when you power up the hub in this way, the problem is with the external power supply.

If you are using a COBI.Bike system for standard bikes, please refer to the Troubleshooting Battery pack won't charge.  If you are using COBI.Bike on an eBike, please refer to Troubleshooting eBike startup.

External power failure

It is possible for the internal battery to be charged, allowing you to connect to COBI.Bike via your phone, or start COBI.Bike via the hub button, while external power is unavailable, thereby preventing you from riding away.

Diagnostic Steps:

If the external power supply fails, you will see this warning in the status bar of the COBI.Bike App on the home screen once you have connected.


④ Status message ("Battery Check")

① Connection bar (app stays on home screen when tapped)

If the hub is awake but external power is not available, the status LED will show the low-battery warning.  It will flash white if not connected to your phone, or flash in the dashboard colour if connected.

Hub Components

③ Status LED (flashing white if not connected, in dashboard colour if connected)

Recovery Steps:

To recover from this situation, you enable external power.

COBI.bike for Standard Bikes.

  1. Please make sure the battery is charged
  2. If you are having problems charging the battery pack, please refer to Troubleshooting Battery pack won't charge

COBI.bike for eBikes 

  1. Please make sure the bike battery is charged that it is awake/switched on (please refer to manufacturers documentation)
  2. Make sure that the correct drive system is configured in the settings menu for the hub

① Thumb Controller (the correct hardware is selected)

② COBI.Bike Front Light  (the correct engine type for your bike is selected)

Once the right Engine Type is selected, COBI.Bike can ensure that external power is provided by the eBike system.  If you are still encountering problems with maintaining external power via an eBike system, please contact support, including the words "eBike Compatibility" in the subject.