RickyBikes
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The Cannondale Adventure Neo 1 EQ is an urban step-through electric bicycle with aluminum frame from one of the most trusted companies in biking. This is a class-one electric bike, meaning pedal assist only up to 20mph (32kmph) currently retailing for $4,350 on Cannondale’s website. The Adventure Neo 1 EQ comes in emerald green and two sizes: small and large. Small caters to riders under 5’7 while large caters to riders 5’8 – 6’6.
The Bosch Performance Line Cruise motor is a high-grade mid-drive motor generating 65Nm of torque; the PowerTube 625 is a 625Wh battery, providing a range up to 85 miles. The Adventure Neo 1 EQ offers five ride settings, dual suspension, 10-speed Shimano Deore shifting, and hydraulic disc brakes with motor inhibitors.
Here's their official website www.cannondale.com and I'd love to hear your thoughts below, especially if you own the Adventure Neo EQ or plan to buy it!
While I haven't reviewed this electric bike myself, I have covered similar eBikes and I wanted to provide some insights and open things up for your feedback. I hope providing several sources, with varying perspectives, allows everyone to come to their own conclusions. Sometimes short reviews and those created by shops only cover the good aspects and can come off like a commercial, so I've tried to be neutral and objective with these insights:
Pros – things that stand out as good:
Cons – considerations or things that seem like trade-offs or negatives:
As always, I welcome feedback and additions to these pros and cons, especially from people who have tried or own the bike. If you see other great video reviews for the Cannondale Adventure Neo EQ, please share them and I may update this post ongoing so we can get the best perspectives and insights.
The Bosch Performance Line Cruise motor is a high-grade mid-drive motor generating 65Nm of torque; the PowerTube 625 is a 625Wh battery, providing a range up to 85 miles. The Adventure Neo 1 EQ offers five ride settings, dual suspension, 10-speed Shimano Deore shifting, and hydraulic disc brakes with motor inhibitors.
Here's their official website www.cannondale.com and I'd love to hear your thoughts below, especially if you own the Adventure Neo EQ or plan to buy it!
While I haven't reviewed this electric bike myself, I have covered similar eBikes and I wanted to provide some insights and open things up for your feedback. I hope providing several sources, with varying perspectives, allows everyone to come to their own conclusions. Sometimes short reviews and those created by shops only cover the good aspects and can come off like a commercial, so I've tried to be neutral and objective with these insights:
Pros – things that stand out as good:
- I’m a fan of the Bosch mid-drive system because of the low center of gravity. It delivers efficiency as you shift gears; to reduce wear, the software utilizes shift detection. The Performance Line Cruise motor provides 65Nm of torque and can provide a boost of up to 300% of your output. This makes it feel like a pretty intuitive ride. The innovative noise-optimized gearbox makes the Performance Line Cruise Drive Unit one of the quietest drives in its class. The PowerTube 625 battery has a range between 25mph (Turbo mode) – 85mph (Eco mode). The range is based off how full the battery is and the last mile of riding, so it’s tailored to you.
- The dealer support you get when purchasing with Cannondale is fantastic. With a direct-online eBike companies you're fairly limited on support options, but not with Cannondale. They're one of the largest companies in the market and dealerships will be able to help you with maintenance and customer support issues.
- The double-sided aluminum alloy chain guide means you don’t have to worry about the chain hopping off. Plus, if you’re wearing a dress or pants and using this as a commuter bike, you don’t have to worry about getting grease on your legs or snagging fabric. Along the same lines, the fenders are placed snugly next to the wheels which means you won’t kick or bump them as easily as some other fenders. The front fender extends low which helps reduce mud or water splashing your legs as your ride.
- Cannondale, as they often do, keeps their look streamlined and timeless by seamlessly routing the shifter, brakes, and electronic wires through the frame. Some eBike companies treat wires as an afterthought, but this proactive design keeps the bike safer – particularly with the way the rear LED light is wired through the carry rack.
- The rear-mounted adjustable kickstand is an excellent feature. It allows for drivetrain maintenance without getting in the way and you won’t have to deal with pedal lock when taking your bike out of your garage or away from a rack.
- The charge port is located high on the frame which makes it easy to charge (however you can always just remove the battery altogether). Although this is an add-on feature, the Garmin radar device under the taillight that detects traffic from behind is an awesome safety feature, especially considering this bike is ideal for town, city and village travel.
- The Bosch Purion display is small (compared to the Bosch Intuvia display), offers five riding modes (Off, Eco, Tour, Sport, Turbo), and a handy WALK+ mode and will give you a few MPH of assistance. So, if you’re around town and come across snow or an unexpected flat tire, you can walk your bike and it will give you some minor assistance. It’s worth noting that a lot of eBike brands do disable this feature on the Bosch Purion.
Cons – considerations or things that seem like trade-offs or negatives:
- The Neo 1 EQ is currently out of stock on Cannondale’s website. There isn’t an estimated date when these bikes will be available again. If you’re interested in purchasing, you’ll have to check your local bike shops.
- Neither the downtube nor seat tube include bottle cage bosses, though there are mounting points on the headtube. There is cargo capability if you want to carry a bag with you, but it’d be nice to have bottle cage bosses in case you just want to bring with you a folding lock, mini pump or extra water.
- Considering the price ($4,350) and higher-grade components (Shimano Deore drivetrain, Bosch Performance Line motor) locking grips would have made sense. The comfort grips are okay, but if you’re zipping through the city and need to catch a light and are bearing down on the bike, the grips could slip or rotate. The 27.5” tires provide comfort and stability, and they have a hybrid tread, but depending on where you live, a puncture resistant tire would be handy.
- The Bosch 2A charger is 1.4 pounds, so nice and lightweight, but it does take 8.8 hours to fully charge the Bosch PowerTube 625 battery. The tradeoff is you get a lot of range (up to 85 miles) but it will take some time to charge it back up.
- The Bosch Purion display has a functioning micro-USB port but it’s just for diagnostics, so you won’t be able to charge your phone or other device through it. The display’s five bar battery infographic (20% increments) is fine, but it would be better if it were measured in more precise increments.
- Despite the nice lights and optional Garmin radar, there isn’t any sidewall striping on the tires, or side reflectors on the spokes. This means low side visibility, which isn’t great considering this is an urban/commuting bike. Since the bike comes in emerald green, rather than white or another bright color, it may be difficult for drivers to see you from the side if you’re riding at night.
As always, I welcome feedback and additions to these pros and cons, especially from people who have tried or own the bike. If you see other great video reviews for the Cannondale Adventure Neo EQ, please share them and I may update this post ongoing so we can get the best perspectives and insights.
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