The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ is the company’s answer to the urban to trail crossover bike.
It’s been designed to act as a comfortable commuter, complete with luggage rack, but also capable of taking on some adventurous riding in the countryside and hills.
When bikes cost the amount they do, there are more and more manufacturers looking to bridge the gap – so you can hit the trails and cycle to work on one ride.
Naturally, that’s quite a challenge and there are a lot of factors at play which can send the bike in one direction or the other.
Does Cannondale manage it with the Moterra Neo EQ?
Let’s get the answer in another Cannondale e-MTB review…
Our Verdict
We’re incredibly impressed by the Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ.
The company wanted to tick the urban and trail boxes – and it manages it incredibly well.
It’s very comfortable to ride and has enough give in the suspension to take on some tricky old trails.
You have some of the best electrical components in the business and it’s incredibly well balanced for both types of riding terrain.
There are areas to improve – including the brakes and drivetrain, but the bike comes in at an affordable price and to that we raise a toast.
A huge success.
Peaks:
- Price
- Battery range
- Motor
- Display
- Suspension
- Versatile
Troughs:
- Brakes
- Drivetrain
Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ
Price: $6,865
Weight/Frame
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ has the company’s SmartForm C1 alloy frame, which is made to be very sturdy and comfortable.
It certainly feels super stable on both city streets and in the countryside, with the alloy frame soaking up bumps on the trails nicely, and it has a luggage rack fitted over the rear wheel.
However, you lose out when it comes to weight – the bike comes in at 24kg in the large frame size, which we rode on our test rides.
That sounds pretty hefty, but it isn’t unusual for a weight of a commuter style bike – with things like luggage racks, the weight ups considerably.
Handling wise, the bike isn’t going to set the world alight with aggressive geometry, but it does offer a very comfortable riding experience.
ℹ️ If you want to be dancing through the technical tree sections or flying down the maddest descents, this simply isn’t the bike for you. It’s designed to take on some moderate trails and also get you to work safely.
You can choose between 4 bike sizes – small, medium, large and extra large.
Battery
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ comes with a seriously chunky 750Wh, Bosch PowerTube, battery.
That offers you a lengthy range – with Cannondale claiming the bike can hit figures up to 175km.
We found on the city streets and flatter terrain, it can actually just about tickle those numbers, which is mightily impressive.
On hillier routes, both in a city and off-road, it struggles to get near that down to the weight – but you’re still talking well over 100km.
It’s a beauty of a battery, which releases its power very intelligently, thanks to the relationship it has with the motor.
It’s situated in the downtube and has a strong outer shell to protect it from any unwanted damage from obstacles off-road.
The battery has a decent charge time too – taking roughly 2 and a half hours to reach half charge from empty and around 6 hours when completely drained.
Motor
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ is fitted with the tremendous Bosch Performance Line CX motor – it’s a beast of a motor, which can throw out 85Nm of torque
It makes a massive difference, which helps make easy work of some very tricky inclines.
The bike isn’t made for the super technical terrain, so the amount of power at your disposal is fitting for the type of hills you’re going to be taking on.
The Bosch Performance Line CX operates silently too, which is a huge plus, and it offers a very intelligent delivery experience.
You kick seamlessly into power when you touch the pedals and it eases off just as elegantly – no sign of aggressive pull or unexpected over-shoot.
That makes us very happy indeed and it does the job nicely both on and off-road.
You can choose between varying modes of assist including – Sport, e-MTB, Tour and Tour+, along with a walk assist function.
Motor Display
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ has the excellent Bosch Kiox 300 display fitted as standard.
It’s everything you want from a display, offering absolutely bucket loads of customisable data.
You get your battery health displayed as a percentage figure, which is a big relief to us – we hate it when you get inaccurate lights to indicate how much battery life you have left.
You can also flick between varying data options, such as speed, RPM, distance travelled, time and much more.
It’s the kind of ride aid, which really elevates a day out in the saddle, rather than catching you out.
You don’t get any range anxiety as a result and you can easily flick between your modes of assist, thanks to the easy to reach controller placed on the handle bars.
All your ride data can be linked to your smartphone via Bluetooth and you can preplan routes and upload them to the display.
Ideal really.
Suspension
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ comes with 150mm of travel at the front and 130mm at the rear.
The bike isn’t designed for super sendy lines or the maddest downhill courses, so the amount of travel you have at your disposal is actually very healthy indeed.
The bike has RockShox 35 Silver R forks and RockShox Deluxe Select rear shocks – for a bike, which is half created to be a commuter, that’s a serious set-up.
It means the Moterra Neo EQ can cross over onto the lumpy trails quite comfortably.
The geometry holds the bike back from some of the really rough stuff, as does the weight, but on some moderate trails the suspension holds out really well.
That means the bike actually achieves what it sets out to do – by being a comfortable crossover ride from an urban setting to trail.
It isn’t easy to get right, but Cannondale does it well here.
ℹ️ We don’t recommend you send the bike off jumps. You’ll soon come down with a nasty bang and possibly do the bike some damage.
Wheels/Tyres
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ comes with 29 inch wheels at both the front and the rear – this is designed to bring comfort and also stability over long distances.
The rims are provided by WTB, with their ST i30 TCS rims fitted as standard, and you get Continental eRuabn tyres over the top.
These do the job nicely – offering smooth riding and a really firm planting on the trail and city streets.
Brakes
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ comes with Shimano MT420 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes.
These aren’t the world’s leading brakes, but they do the job in hand to cope with the demands this Cannondale e-MTB asks of them.
They’re responsive and offer a firm clamp down when you need them most.
Drivetrain
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ comes with a 12-speed Shimano Deore M6100 drivetrain.
It isn’t the slickest set-up we’ve ever seen and really we would like to see a higher spec drivetrain for the amount of potential the bike has.
Considering it has an enormous range, you want a drivetrain to be as smooth and responsive as possible.
The Deore M6100 is ok at best.
Price: $5,447
The Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ is a real steal at this price.
You get absolutely outstanding electrical components, a robust suspension and the bike actually manages to bridge the divide between on and off-road nicely.
It could be improved in certain areas, but you’re essentially getting two bikes for the price of one here – so at under $7,000 that’s a bargain.
Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ Facts & figures
Size Configurations
| GEOMETRY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM | MD | LG | XL | |
| WHEEL SIZE | 29″ | 29″ | 29″ | 29″ |
| SEAT TUBE LENGTH (cm) | 40,0 | 43.5 | 46.0 | 49.0 |
| TOP TUBE HORIZONTAL (cm) | 58.3 | 60.8 | 63.5 | 67.2 |
| TOP TUBE ACTUAL (cm) | 53.9 | 55.9 | 58.6 | 62.4 |
| HEAD TUBE ANGLE | 66.0° | 66.0° | 66.0° | 66.0° |
| SEAT TUBE ANGLE EFFECTIVE | 76.0° | 76.0° | 76.0° | 76.0° |
| SEAT TUBE ANGLE | 69.8° | 69.5° | 69.5° | 69.5° |
| STANDOVER (cm) | 76.3 | 75.4 | 76.3 | 77.0 |
| HEAD TUBE LENGTH (cm) | 11.6 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 13.5 |
| WHEELBASE (cm) | 119.7 | 122.1 | 125.0 | 128.9 |
| FRONT CENTER (cm) | 74.6 | 76.8 | 79.7 | 83.6 |
| CHAIN STAY LENGTH (cm) | 45.5 | 45.5 | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| BOTTOM BRACKET DROP (cm) | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| BOTTOM BRACKET HEIGHT (cm) | 35.0 | 35.0 | 35.0 | 35.0 |
| FORK RAKE (cm) | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| TRAIL (cm) | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 |
| STACK (cm) | 62.3 | 63.7 | 64.6 | 65.5 |
| REACH (cm) | 42.7 | 44.9 | 47.4 | 50.9 |
Full Specs
| DETAILS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Model Name | Model Code |
| Moterra Neo | Moterra Neo EQ | C65311U |
| FRAMESET | ||
| Frame | Fork | Headset |
| Moterra Neo, SmartForm C1 Alloy 130mm travel, Proportional Response Tuned Suspension, removable downtube battery, injected molded skid plate, 55mm chainline, internal cable routing, 148x12mm thru-axle, UDH hanger, post mount brake, tapered headtube, 18mm two-bolt kickstand mount, integrated rear rack | RockShox 35 Silver R 150mm, Coil, 15x110mm thru-axle, tapered steerer, 44mm offset, rack and fender compatible | Integrated Sealed Bearing, 1-1/8″ – 1.5 |
| Rear Shock | ||
| RockShox Deluxe Select, DebonAir | ||
| E-SYSTEM | ||
| Drive Unit | Battery | Charger |
| Bosch Performance Line CX | Bosch PowerTube, 750Wh | Bosch 4A |
| Display | ||
| Bosch Kiox 300 w/ LED remote | ||
| DRIVETRAIN | ||
| Rear Derailleur | Shifters | Chain |
| Shimano XT | Shimano Deore M6100, 12-speed | Shimano Deore 6100, 12-speed |
| Crank | Rear Cogs | |
| FSA Bosch E-bike w/ custom Ai offset, 160mm, 34T | Shimano Deore M6100, 10-51, 12-speed | |
| BRAKES | ||
| Disc Brake | Brake Levers | |
| Shimano MT420 4-piston hydraulic disc 203/203mm RT66/64 rotors | Shimano MT400 hydraulic disc | |
| WHEELS | ||
| Rims | Spokes | Tire Size |
| WTB ST i30 TCS, 32h, tubeless ready | Stainless Steel, 14g | 2.3 |
| Wheel Size | Hubs | Tires |
| 29 | (F) Formula 15x110mm thru-axle (R) Shimano MT410, 12x148mm thru-axle | Continental eRuban, 29×2.3″ |
| COMPONENTS | ||
| Handlebar | Stem | Grips |
| Cannondale 3 Riser, Alloy, 25mm rise, 8° sweep, 5° rise, 780mm | Cannondale 2, 6061 Alloy, 35mm, 0° | Fabric FunGuy |
| Saddle | Seatpost | |
| Fabric Scoop Shallow Sport, steel rails | Cannondale DownLow Dropper Internal routing, 31.6, 150mm (Cannondale 3, 6061 Alloy, 31.6x350mm on size Small for clearance) | |
| EXTRA | ||
| Extra 1 | ||
| Cannondale E-bike lights by Lezyne – Foresite E350 headlight Hindsite E25 taillight – kickstand alloy full coverage fenders removable Moterra Rack, 15kg max. | ||
PLEASE NOTE THAT, BASED ON COMPONENT AVAILABILITY AND OTHER FACTORS, SPECIFICATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
How Does it Compare?
Let’s see how the Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ compares to another bike which is aiming to tick the box of urban commuter and trail shredder – the Trek Powerfly FS 9 Equipped Gen 2.
The Trek has a fully aluminium frame, with an overall bike weight of 27.05kg – that’s more than 3kg heavier than our Cannondale.
It means our Moterra Neo EQ performs much better on the trails and has a much lighter handling feel than the Trek, which feels very cumbersome and struggles on any sort of twisty trail.
Despite that weight, the Trek also has a smaller battery, with only a 625Wh Bosch PowerTube fitted as standard, compared to the chunky 750Wh we have on our Cannondale.
Trek have gone for the same Bosch Performance Line CX motor with 85Nm of torque, but it doesn’t perform quite as well due to the heavier overall weight.
You don’t get anywhere near as much travel on the Trek either – only 120mm at the front and 100mm at the rear, which was designed to make it fast moving, but the weight diminishes that idea.
Our suspension set-up is much more geared up for trail riding, with 150mm at the front and 130mm at the rear.
You get a mullet wheel set-up on the Trek, which seems confused given the other features of the bike, and there’s fairly comparable standard of brake and drivetrain set-up.
Despite our Cannondale clearly leading the way here, the Trek also costs more at $8,330, compared to $6,865 on our ride.
It’s a huge win for our bike in this Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ test comparison.
Final Thoughts
We often see manufacturers trying to make a bike good at two different disciplines and it’s very rare it’s pulled off successfully.
However, the Cannondale Moterra Neo EQ is a real exception – it’s a wonderful bike, which absolutely manages the crossover from daily urban commute to the lumps and bumps of the trails.
Not only does it have excellent electrical components, but you also have a suspension capable of taking on some decent levels of trails, while also a luggage rack for your daily commute at the rear.
It rides very comfortably across both disciplines, doesn’t weigh a tonne and comes in at a very affordable price.
Overall, we’re really very impressed indeed and recommend the bike highly.
We’re a fan of this one, how about you? Get out there and give her a spin.
If you enjoyed this review then make sure to check out our other Cannondale Moterra reviews.
