Got my new Neo Cross today

John Chow

John Chow

New Member
Hey everyone,

First time member. Thought I would join the eBike movement. I ordered a new Neo Cross on Saturday and got it delivered today. I had to wait an extra day because I wanted it with the 12amp battery. Only rode it for about mile. So far, I like it a lot. Will take it on a longer ride tomorrow.

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John Chow said:
Hey everyone,

First time member. Thought I would join the eBike movement. I ordered a new Neo Cross on Saturday and got it delivered today. I had to wait an extra day because I wanted it with the 12amp battery. Only rode it for about mile. So far, I like it a lot. Will take it on a longer ride tomorrow.

View attachment 1231
Click to expand...

John,
Your name looks very familiar.
Are you this guy? I follow this blog..!! and I am pleasantly surprised to see this name here.

http://www.johnchow.com/about/
 
Well, I took my first official ride on the Neo Cross today. This is the route I generally ride everyday with my old MTB. The bike route (also used by walkers and runners) is about 22 miles longs and mostly flat as a pancake. The only elevation change is going under a road, where you dip down, go under the road, and then go back up to street level. The last time I rode this on the MTB, I did it in 1 hours 31 min, and average 14.31 mph.

10444785_10154242709760571_1510267585569678864_n.jpg

Since this is my first ride with the Cross, I cranked the power up to BOOST mode and just rode off. Riding the Cross is similar to my MTB except it feels quite a bit heavier, which of course it is. It's an effort to flick the Cross from side to side. This is a bike where it's best to just stay in the seat and just pedal.

The Boost comes on pretty quick. It feels like someone is pushing your back to move you forward. Either that or the mother of all tail winds. The bike is very quiet. I can barely hear the motor turn on, and once you get it over 18mph, you can't hear the motor over the wind noise.

Normally, when I ride my MTB, I have no problems passing other MTB riders, but the "road racers" are tough to catch and most of them end passing me. With the Neo Cross, nobody passed me and those roadies didn't even know what blew by them! LOL One of the reasons I bought the Cross was just so I could do that. :)

Anyway, riding in full boost mode, I was able to complete the route in just under 1 hour 4 minutes.

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When I got home, the battery showed two bars left. It actually went to one bar as I was pulling up to the house, but once I came to a stop, it went back to two bars. I'm not sure if this is a good range for the 12 amp battery or not. Would be interested to hear what range others are getting.

So far, I'm enjoying the bike a lot. And I'm looking forward to another ride tomorrow.
 
Hi John,

22 miles is a short range for 12ah battery. That is because when you use the highest Boost mode, the motor spins all the time whether you need the assist or not. Boost mode is an overkill for flats.

I can easily do 45miles with STD assist and I use the highest cog in the front and 3rd lowest in the back. As you begin to understand the nuances of Torque sensing, you will find that sweet spot b/w your cadence and assist and that should give you 40+ miles on a 12ah battery,
 
My bike has wider tires and more rolling resistance than the Cross and the highest I have done is 55 miles on pure Eco with me doing most of the work.
 
Ya, I don't think it will do 65 miles, but that's the claim. Actually, I don't think I can even ride 65 miles. lol I ordered some Shimano PD-M520 pedals for it. Must have cleats. Also ordered a behind the seat water bottle cage. It's the only place I can think of to put a bottle.
 
Congrats, John. Sounds like you have a great bike. I know a lot of people here love the Neo line. Good call on the 520's - it is what I use on my road and touring bikes. On my e-bike I have stuck with platforms since I am mainly using it as a car substitute and don't feel like wearing cleats to Coffee Emporium =)
 
Sorry to be off topic, but this made me smile from the above link.

"John worked at a job for a grand total of 8 months in his entire life. After that, he concluded that “Working Sucks!” and he never did it again."

Why didn't I have the sense to think like that, instead of wearing my body out over the years. Good luck to you John, and I hope that you have somehow managed to inspire others along the way. :) Within sensible reason, I believe that to a degree, that we make our own luck in life, but seeing an opportunity and acting upon it are two very different things. :)

Back on topic, Topeak make a bottle cage mount that can be attached to the handle bars, and might even just about go between the frame rails.

No bottle cage mounts is one of the few aspects that I don't like about the BH range of NEO bikes. It would hardly take any effort to mould a slide clip detachable one at the manufacturing stage of producing the battery case.

As already said, a good choice of pedals. I have the same on the Haibike, and use Shimano A530's on the BH.
 
Hi Eddie,

I already ordered the behind the seat mount wth two water bottle. Based on the photos I've seen, it actually looks pretty good!

61dfAMlqWlL.jpg

Going off topic to me working at a job for 8 months in my entire life.

I've been very fortunate that I've been able to leverage the power of the Internet in a way that it has allowed me to achieve money freedom, time freedom, and location freedom. I call it the Dot Com Lifestyle. It's interesting when you asked, "Why didn't I have the sense to think like that?" Most of the time, how we think will dictate our reality. Change your thinking, change your reality. That's what I believe anyway. :)
 
Hi John,
I also have a Neo Cross, about 5 weeks old; I love it. I personally found the saddle to hard, and replaced it with a very sweet saddle from Giant, of all suppliers, after auditioning two others. It's not too hard and not too soft and very well made.
Let me know the range of the Cross with a 12ah battery ... I have the same set up.
 
Hi Orlans,

I did 30 miles today using a mix of Standard and Sports mode. Still had two bars on the battery afterwards. They say the motor can pedal assist up to 27MPH but, damn, it took all my effort just to reach 25! And even then I was only able to maintain it for a minute.
 
John,
They are electronically limited to ~25ish.
They had a speed pedelec version but discontinued it because of laws and liability issues.
 
Hi John,

As I understand it, the Neo Cross is electronically limited to assist only up to 20 mph. It is the case with my bike; in speeds after 20 mph, it's all me.

When I was looking for e-bikes I did test an IZIP E3 Dash which pedal assists up to 28 miles per hour. It certainly went that fast, but I didn't like the bike as much as I did the Neo Cross. It did fly like the wind though ... very exhilarating.

A few BH Easy Motion bicycle owners in Australia have modified the stock bikes to bypass the limited set speed, but it seems to be quite involved. Check this thread for more info.
 
While I would love to make the Cross goes faster, I not up the skill level to a mod like that. I'm sure someone way smarter than me will figure out a way to by-pass the speed limiter and then market it as a simple to install kit. I would buy one. :)
 
There was a model called "Neo Nitro" and that thread was deleted here because it was a speed pedelec and it leads to the grey area of laws/regulations etc. Easy Motion is releasing some new bikes for 2015 and keep an eye on that.
 
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