stompandgo's Cannondale Tesoro Neo X Speed build

[stompandgo]

The Neo X Speed isn't like the other Tesoro X1, X2, and X3. The geometry is more like an MTB, which is very different than a gravel bike. The biggest issue is that the head tube, and the resulting steerer tube length, is too short. There's a 5cm difference between the two bikes. The Tesoro comes stock with a short steerer tube and a proprietary clamp-on stem. It slides over the steerer, and is adjusted with a 39mm nut. That stem needs a minimum length of steerer to clamp properly, and there are no height options. There is zero room for spacers underneath it, even though this system wasn't designed for spacers. It fits flush on the headset top bearing cap. I put a road stem and expander nut in place of it, along with 25mm rise bars, which helped, but it's still not right. The bottom line is that I should have bought a Large frame, even though standover would be non-existent. Could I make it fit better, yes, but I'm not going to Pee Wee Herman it. I'll be fitted on the Pinarello and I'll see if I can get the Tesoro close once I dial the new bike in.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Could I make it fit better, yes, but I'm not going to Pee Wee Herman it.

Poor Pee Wee — gets even less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. What would he have done with your stem?

 

[Chazmo]

Poor Pee Wee — gets even less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. What would he have done with your stem?

pinwheel extender.

 

[stompandgo]

Poor Pee Wee — gets even less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. What would he have done with your stem?

I don't want to know.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

View attachment 197317

pinwheel extender.

Definitely something to be said for the "don't worry, be happy, just put a pinwheel on it" approach to life. Maybe I should keep some pinwheels on hand.
;^}

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The Neo X Speed isn't like the other Tesoro X1, X2, and X3. The geometry is more like an MTB, which is very different than a gravel bike. The biggest issue is that the head tube, and the resulting steerer tube length, is too short. There's a 5cm difference between the two bikes. The Tesoro comes stock with a short steerer tube and a proprietary clamp-on stem. It slides over the steerer, and is adjusted with a 39mm nut. That stem needs a minimum length of steerer to clamp properly, and there are no height options. There is zero room for spacers underneath it, even though this system wasn't designed for spacers. It fits flush on the headset top bearing cap. I put a road stem and expander nut in place of it, along with 25mm rise bars, which helped, but it's still not right. The bottom line is that I should have bought a Large frame, even though standover would be non-existent. Could I make it fit better, yes, but I'm not going to Pee Wee Herman it. I'll be fitted on the Pinarello and I'll see if I can get the Tesoro close once I dial the new bike in.

Thank you so much! A very interesting description!

 

[stompandgo]

I took a nice ride yesterday, and after loading the bike on my cheap Hyperax rack, it fell off in the parking lot. I did not have the wheel straps on since the drive is less than a mile. Damage was minimal but the bike cannot be ridden without repair. The loaner Most saddle and the left Ergon grip got banged up, but the stopper was the left hand Magura lever clamp broke into pieces so the lever cannot be mounted. I called Magura and the part is available. It's carbon fiber, and I don't know the cost. I can buy it through shop accounts at Magura, QBP, or JBI. Any Magura clamp will fit, but I like the idea of having a breakaway part just in case.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Will your new Nytro arrive before the Tesoro's back on the road?

 

[Chazmo]

I took a nice ride yesterday, and after loading the bike on my cheap Hyperax rack, it fell off in the parking lot. I did not have the wheel straps on since the drive is less than a mile. Damage was minimal but the bike cannot be ridden without repair. The loaner Most saddle and the left Ergon grip got banged up, but the stopper was the left hand Magura lever clamp broke into pieces so the lever cannot be mounted. I called Magura and the part is available. It's carbon fiber, and I don't know the cost. I can buy it through shop accounts at Magura, QBP, or JBI. Any Magura clamp will fit, but I like the idea of having a breakaway part just in case.

Oy! Sorry to hear it!!! Hope you can get it back in short order.

 

[stompandgo]

Will your new Nytro arrive before the Tesoro's back on the road?

That's a whole 'notha debacle. Potentially. I might have to take a week off of riding.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

That's a whole 'notha debacle. Potentially. I might have to take a week off.

Hoping that'll be a new bike week off, not a fighting to get your Nytro delivered week off.

Assuming you have access to some pretty nice loaners.

 

[stompandgo]

Updated. Would I like to take a week off to strangle the Pinarello rep? Don't ask.

 

[Rixtory]

StompAndGo - I love your build - It looks sharp-Very Sporty. I picked up a Neo X-Speed this February (2025) to ride in wet weather and on miserably hot days I need a little more assistance than my Turbo Vado 5SL can provide. I want to remove my fenders and have been meaning to ask - Do you ever get a lot of slop hitting the downtube battery and motor housing - That's one thing that's holding me back and the other is re-wiring the tail-light. ( tired on my Specialized but the wire goes well into the motor housing, which, after removing,to inspect, I preferred not to monkey with. Also, any idea what that Cannondale Stem weighed. I'd like to replace mine as well. Thank you, Rick

 

[Stefan Mikes]

tried on my Specialized but the wire goes well into the motor housing, which, after removing, to inspect, I preferred not to monkey with. I'd like to replace mine as well.

Just cut the tail-light wires outside the frame and insulate them. The picture shows my Vado SL with the temporary fenders; these can be taken off at any time.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Ha, I see we have similar tastes in handlebar colors.

Such a small detail, but really enjoying mine.

Blue's been taking over our lives since moving to the SoCal coast. Clothing, decor, bike and dog stuff, you name it. Nothing intentional, just happens. In Denver, it was earth tones.

Blue apparently happens to a lot of other coastal folks, too — certainly here, and maybe even you. We call it "going coastal".

Used to rent beach houses on the North Carolina shore every few years. Blue nearly always figured prominently in the decor. Ditto for most of the homes and clothing we'd see in the Coastal Living magazines owners often left behind.

Cape Cod, too?

 

[Catalyzt]

The Neo X Speed isn't like the other Tesoro X1, X2, and X3. The geometry is more like an MTB, which is very different than a gravel bike. The biggest issue is that the head tube, and the resulting steerer tube length, is too short. There's a 5cm difference between the two bikes. The Tesoro comes stock with a short steerer tube and a proprietary clamp-on stem. It slides over the steerer, and is adjusted with a 39mm nut. That stem needs a minimum length of steerer to clamp properly, and there are no height options. There is zero room for spacers underneath it, even though this system wasn't designed for spacers. It fits flush on the headset top bearing cap. I put a road stem and expander nut in place of it, along with 25mm rise bars, which helped, but it's still not right. The bottom line is that I should have bought a Large frame, even though standover would be non-existent. Could I make it fit better, yes, but I'm not going to Pee Wee Herman it. I'll be fitted on the Pinarello and I'll see if I can get the Tesoro close once I dial the new bike in.

I am now feeling your pain on this in a way I wasn't before. The Grizl Large fits me like a glove, though since my medical catastrophe, for the first time I feel like the bars are too low. (And yes, on the large Grizl, the standover is acceptable, but just barely.) The Grizl will take some spacers-- the one thing I lost somehow when I picked up the bike!

The problem is my upper body is so out of shape! After a 25-minute, 4.5 mile ride I can feel my triceps shaking ('machine gunning' is what I've heard rock climbers call it when it is their calves that tremble uncontrollably.) I'm not going to touch anything for at least 90 days, probably more like five or six months, and see how my strength comes back, but there might be spacers in my future.

Ah, and the osteoarthritis is back! Practiced guitar for an hour Sunday, rode for 25 minutes yesterday, big storm last night / high humidity...

I know this all means I'm getting BETTER, overall... but parts of this process sure don't feel like it! I'm jut gonna do two or three short rides a week for now, and some low-weight flys with the dumbbells. And call PT at my HMO, see if they got any ideas to speed things along...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I know this all means I'm getting BETTER, overall... but parts of this process sure don't feel like it! I'm jut gonna do two or three short rides a week for now, and some low-weight flys with the dumbbells. And call PT at my HMO, see if they got any ideas to speed things along...

Good idea to tap the experts. If not PT, then perhaps a sports medicine clinic.

Went to a very impressive one in Colorado for my bum knees. (Not that I was a serious athlete, just the closest ortho services to home.) They had a huge state-of-the-art gym and serious rehab programs for every sport you could imagine.

 

[stompandgo]

StompAndGo - I love your build - It looks sharp-Very Sporty. I picked up a Neo X-Speed this February (2025) to ride in wet weather and on miserably hot days I need a little more assistance than my Turbo Vado 5SL can provide. I want to remove my fenders and have been meaning to ask - Do you ever get a lot of slop hitting the downtube battery and motor housing - That's one thing that's holding me back and the other is re-wiring the tail-light. ( tired on my Specialized but the wire goes well into the motor housing, which, after removing,to inspect, I preferred not to monkey with. Also, any idea what that Cannondale Stem weighed. I'd like to replace mine as well. Thank you, Rick

I haven't ridden it in slop, so no. If I was, I would keep some kind of full fender. Rewiring the taillight was simple. I cut the original cable about a third of the way up the fender. I then soldered and shrunk in an extension cable to the taillight whip, and then ran the other end into the motor area and spliced it to the Bosch cable using K1 gel connectors like Cannondale uses.

I put the Cannondale stem back on because I couldn't get enough height above the top tube after the fit. I was way too low for this kind of bike. It's heavy, for sure. I'm building a lightweight bike instead.

 

[stompandgo]

Ha, I see we have similar tastes in handlebar colors.

View attachment 200897

Such a small detail, but really enjoying mine.

View attachment 200896

Blue's been taking over our lives since moving to the SoCal coast. Clothing, decor, bike and dog stuff, you name it. Nothing intentional, just happens. In Denver, it was earth tones.

Blue apparently happens to a lot of other coastal folks, too — certainly here, and maybe even you. We call it "going coastal".

Used to rent beach houses on the North Carolina shore every few years. Blue nearly always figured prominently in the decor. Ditto for most of the homes and clothing we'd see in the Coastal Living magazines owners often left laying around.

Cape Cod, too?

Our front door is painted blue, a shade named after the town we live in. It just seemed right.