I was getting ready to pull the trigger on either a Cannondale Synapse Neo SE or a Kona Dew-E DL. I discovered from a LBS today that no Dew-E DLs will likely be available before December at the earliest. The Synapse Neo SE is available, but one wonders if anything will be upgraded on that model for 2021. I've been told that Covid has gummed up the supply chain and lots of upgraded machines won't hit the stores until the holidays or later. Of course, Autumn is arguably the best time to ride a bike. So: Do I buy the Synapse now or wait until sometime this winter to compare it with a Kona Dew-E DL?
Buy Now or Wait Until 2021?
- Thread starter timacn
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Dallant
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- Region
- USA
Just did. For my wife, that is. I thought it was pretty painless actually. It’s due here in a month. I’m curious how we should expect great deals at this particular time when even finding ebikes is so tough.
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Taylor57
Well-Known Member
Fair deal?
Dallant
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Paid retail but my LBS is including an adjustable handlebar stem and a guarantee my wife will like it or we can reject it.
Dallant
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Huh? Not sure how that works. The 2021 models of most ebikes are out now. And yeah it’s not an issue for me.
Congratulations, did you go with the Allant+ 7 lowstep?
Dallant
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- Region
- USA
Yup. I would have preferred a +7 Stagger but Trek, for some odd reason, doesn’t make one! Just the +7s.
137 miles for that motor and battery combo does seem a bit high. REI lists it as 93 miles which makes more sense compared to the Topstone Neo Carbon 2 I have (listed as 75-80 miles). Unfortunately, according to the 2020 Electric Bikes Manual I got with my Topstone, Synapse Neo SE doesn't seem to have a range extender option.
bikeman242
Active Member
I saw a Ghost hardtail touring bike at REI today with a bosch active line plus motor and a 500W battery for just $2300USD.
Some think there isn't much difference between the stagger and the regular frame. It is true you still have to step up quite a bit on the stagger frame. Perhaps in the end the low step will be better . With the exception of being able to attach the second battery, however since you are purchasing a complete unit to swap this may not be an issue for you at all.
antboy
Well-Known Member
Some bikes do come with the option to have a second external battery. For example, some Trek bikes with Bosch motors support a second battery.
Range Boost | Trek Bikes (CA)
Range Boost adds an additional long-distance Bosch battery to your Trek electric bike so you can go up to twice as far without stopping to recharge.
I don't know if the Synapse Neo SE supports this (there's nothing on the site regarding it, and the images don't seem to show it), but that range seems ridiculously high for a single 500Wh battery. Most advertise 80-90 miles with that setup, which is in line with Bosch's range calculator.
eBike range calculator for Bosch drive systems
How many kilometres do the different Bosch eBike batteries last? The Bosch Range Assistant displays how many kilometres your pedelec can travel on a single battery charge.
www.bosch-ebike.com
The only other one I can think of is Cannondale mentions "Bosch Active Line Plus drive system w/ Cannondale road-specific software", but I haven't read anything about Cannondale's software, and not sure how they would tune it to get said range.
