Cannondale Contro-e Short Review

[benzy]

Also a pic of my pannier mod to allow smaller diameter clips to fit. Simple rubber insulated hose clamps mounted offeset to level the tube, and 1/2' aluminum tube from the hardware store. There are surely other ways, but this works for me.

https://imgur.com/a/Qohwb7W

 

[SColumbusSt]

Greetings,

I've had a Contro-e for about seven months and use it for my 25 mile round trip commute. The odometer just rolled over 2000 miles and I've had no real issues with the bike. Once I thought the motor had broken as all of a sudden I felt no resistance while pedaling after going over a speedbump at a good clip. I pulled over to examine the situation and initially could not figure out what could be wrong. My dim witted brain slowly realized that even if the motor was broken I should still be able to ride, the chain looked attached on the crank and on the cassette. I finally realized the chain had jumped off the teeth of the crank and somehow perfectly seated itself on the round plastic chain guard so the pedals were going round and round but not driving the chain. Moved the chain back onto the crank and off I went. I slow down for that speedbump now.

Keith

 

[Pasquale]

Well..the bike is not overbuilt if you look purely at the geometry of the frame. You must consider I had the 45km/h highspeed model. Riding in a big city with a lot of cobble stones and bad roads. At this speed the frame experiences a lot more forces on the frame and suspension fork. This model is not engineerd to handle those forces. But it was promoted to be the ultimate urban Ebike. At the end before it was stolen the front suspension blocked completely. It should be replaced for the 4th! time. Never took it off-road. 2 Cannondale dealers confirmed my experiences.
I now own a Riese/Muller Multicharger Highspeed. Now that's an overbuilt Ebike..
My 2 cents.
Cheers.

 

[DouglasB]

I had the same thing happen with my chain, it jumped the front sprocket. The plastic guard is absolutely useless. It does a lousy job of keeping your pants off the chain and it's not strong enough to prevent a chain from jumping. Worse yet, once it's mashed, there is no getting it back into shape and it can rubb the chain causing more issues. I looked on line and there is an aftermarket fix for it. https://www.merlincycles.com/bosch-e-chainguard-nut-101043.html It works and looks great.

 

[SColumbusSt]

Thanks DouglasB! My guard is still intact and unbent but I'll try the fix when and if it gets bent out of shape.

Keith

 

[DouglasB]

They are one of the few suppliers I could find and I believe are out of england. Good people to do business with.

 

[MDEZZ]

No problems to report on mine either....I have it a about a year

 

[DouglasB]

My wife has the same bike and she hasn't had the problem with the bent guide yet but I'm thinking it might be a good idea to just go ahead and replace her's as well. I don't know how long they will be avaliable and once that plastic shield is bent it's a goner. I rode mine without a guard for a while, without any issues, until my new one came

 

[Contro_Killerz]

I have had this bike for a week and thought I'd share some thoughts. It's not a very popular model in the US, so Cannondale/Trek Superstore have it discounted in certain markets for about $3K ($4500 msrp), which is a screaming deal for a Class 3 Bosch with the Powerpack 500. I anticipate Cannondale trying to move this bike at a discount. So I hope you find this helpful.

The drive system is outstanding as you would expect. I was set on a Bosch Performance "Speed" pedelec, so I have a bias. But I found it to flow a bit better to my riding style than the Yamaha powered Giant Quick-e, which was on my shortlist.

The Cannondale website states its a 45 kph **250 W** motor. This is incorrect. The motor is the Bosch Performance Speed at 350 W. It's not a modified version. There is an identifying sticker on the top tube that states "350 W 28 mph". I am guessing the motor is under spec'd on their marketing materials so it can sell in the EU where the max power is 250 W. But it is definitely a 28 mph class 3.

Short mentions of things I like:

*The frame is very well made and sturdy. The battery and motor are integrated nicely into the frame
*The unique stem is awesome. Perfect for the implementation. The Intuva controller cradles nicely inside the stem. It's adjusted up and down by removing two bolts.
*The Headshock is fantastic. These suck for off road, but are very nicely tuned for urban/road. I weigh 220 and it supports me well.
*I actually love the 26" wheels. I was concerned bc 27.5 is the standard, but there are benefits - acceleration and stiffness to name a few. The Sun rims are wide and stiff. And the bike corners very well as a result.
*The lighting system is very good. The headlamp is 250 lumen, so you may need to supplement if you need to blast a dark path. But it's nice knowing there is always a light system on the bike.
*Brakes, 180 mm rotors and Deore hydros = the bikes stops no problem.
*10 speed Deore shift system is all you'll ever need.
*Big Ben Schwalbe tires - this was a must - I didnt want relatively narrow 700-38c wheels. I wanted large volume/chunky road tires and these are perfect. They dampen the road and are tough as nails.

Things I dont like:

*The rack system. Looks great, but close to no bags fit the 5/8 (16 mm) diameter rails. They have Ortlieb Q3 system mounts, but I already had bags so ended up making a rail system from parts at the hardware store for about $12-15 which mounts to the threaded Ortlieb mounts. It looks stock and is solid. Contact me if you need assistance.
*The frame lock. Both me and the shop couldn't get it out of the frame. The fender mount blocks it. I removed the lock and will use it on another bike.
*As much as I love the Bosch system, i think the plastic quality and build on the battery frame mount could be a bit more robust.
*No water bottle cage mount. I ordered a seat post cage mount, there's plenty of room on the large size frame.
*I strongly prefer Ergon style grips for commuter bikes, so I swapped those out. The grips that come with it are very nice mtb grips.

Besides a few nitpicks the bike is fantastic and beats anything I could find in the price range. I feel like I bought a Trek Supercommuter 8s+ for 57% of the price. Nothing much is missing.

The only other bikes that compared at $3k were the Giant Quick-e (Yamaha, too aggressive frame geometry for me) and the Raleigh Redux ie (Brose, didnt test ride). There's the Trek XM700+ on sale for $3200 but I didnt want skinny tires and the bike screams "first iteration" as it's just a cheap hybrid with a Bosch speed motor. I ridden bikes from Felt and Scott, and lusted over a few well out of my price range. But I couldnt a better ebike in the $3000 price point.

View attachment 23753

Hi Great photo. May I ask as to why your rear derailleur is so taut?? Is that correct> Holy smokes. Please lengthen your chain. Thanks,

 

[MAPC]

I am trying to research this bike and can't really find a detailed review, and I find Cannondale's website lacking. If anyone can answer any of these questions, I'd love to hear from you:
1. this is a Class 3 therefore no throttle, correct?
2. what height riders fit best on an M and on an L?
3. I am looking at this, a Pedego Interceptor, and Pedego City Commuter and a Pedego Ridge Rider...have ruled out Vanmoof (really don't want Class 2 but LOVED the bike) and maybe a Trek Super Commuter+ 8S

Thanks

 

[DouglasB]

There is no throttle on the bike. I am 6'3" and the Large fits both me and my 6' wife. My brother who is 5'10" also rides the bike comfortably. I would suspect that the large would be for someone between 5'8" to 6'3". I'd only be guessing on the medium.