I have had a Neo since last March but only just came across this thread. I thought I would share my experiences. I’ve been in France since May, riding every hill we can find, hence why I bought an e road bike. I’ve been up a lot of cols on my normal roady but am s. L. O. W. So to be able to ride with my bloke I bought the Neo. At first I felt I needed max power to keep up but of course that ate up my battery and some of the mountains we are climbing are very long, however I now realise that the different powers simply increase my speed, I can actually climb anything on eco, just slower. Tour gives me enough to keep up with nick and I don’t actually need anything above that. I did a climb today on eco that I had previously done on tour. I was .6 mph slower. This knowledge means I can regulate my assist for the distance of ride. I still get it wrong! Went far too fast up the Bonette and ran out a mile from the top! I love this bike. It makes me happy to ride instead of internally, and occasionally externally, crying. Obviously it isn’t female specific so I changed the saddle but it’s a super comfy ride. My only issue is charging it whilst travelling in a motorhome. It takes ALOT of solar!

Hi Helen, I'm envious of your being able to ride in France. Glad to hear that you are still pleased with your Neo. I am too...it's a little more comfortable now that I've adjusted the saddle so it's almost parallel with the ground. I'm obviously not as fit as you as I think 'Tour' is my default. Keep it up!

Hi Helen, I'm envious of your being able to ride in France. Glad to hear that you are still pleased with your Neo. I am too...it's a little more comfortable now that I've adjusted the saddle so it's almost parallel with the ground. I'm obviously not as fit as you as I think 'Tour' is my default. Keep it up!

That’s the thing I’ve found. I can go up a hill on eco, it is just slower. I’m not super fit, but I think as long as you can turn the pedal, the bike does the rest and you get up. You don’t need a stronger assist. Ok, if we are at 13, 14, 15 % maybe. But I could do that if needed. Give it a go, you may be surprised.

Anyone have an idea how to attach a light to the Neo SE. It’s supposed to be pre wired but I can’t find any info or where the light should attach. There must be a grommet somewhere covering the wire. I’m assuming the wire supplied is a spare with it being advertised as being pre wired?

I searched and searched for information about fitting lights but could find nothing other than it is pre-wired !

Meanwhile........has anyone fitted mudguards ?

I've tried fitting my race blades but the rear is asymmetrical and I can't get them to sit right.

I was going to fit some full length bluemels but there is no facility on the front fork/header tube for the top fixing ! Doh !

I can't help re the mudguards or front lights questions I am sorry to say. If I was looking to fit either I would probably email Cannondale directly to see what they advise.

Must have been having a full on 'numpty' day !

Had a go at fitting the full length bluemels mudguards.

Fitted quite easily 'cos I had forgotten the stays are adjustable .

Then I 'discovered' the front forks are drilled and tapped at the rear,:rolleyes:,

so I'll try fitting the front one tomorrow !

Lights - there is a socket hidden under the left side motor cover - it is necessary to remove the crank arm. The cover screws are Torx.

btw I found a lot of sludge in the bottom of the motor cover - it runs down the downtube and into the casing, particularly if you have no front mudguard...

 

Mudguards - I fitted Tortec silver 'guards which contrast nicely with the Black Pearl Neo 3

 

Now completed nearly 500 miles, including one 100 mile ride.

Recently had the Bosch software update - slight improvement in shift detection...

I find the rattle from the motor/crank when coasting on an uneven road quite irritating - anyone else experience this problem?

No rattling on mine ! Only problem I've had so far is downshift can be quite clunky when in small chainring on front. This is most likely me being cack-handed !

How did find out about the software update ?

https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/software-update/

Even though I bought the Neo in Aug 2019, the software was pre May 2018!

Check first on your Purion to see what you've got...

This is a thread that I'm very interested in.

I have a 60 mile commute round trip with about 2000 feet of climbing, as you can imagine I can only do this once or twice a week with my regular road bike.

 

I would be interested in a road E-bike with mid-drive motor and this Cannondale seems to fit the bill.

The bike will also have to be able to take mudguards and pannier for touring.

 

My local LBS has these for hire so I took it to the Ayrshire alps for the day.

 

The route was 60 miles with 3,843 feet of climbing:

Strava link

 

My thoughts of the bike were great on the hills you couldn't help but have a smile on your face at the power.

Hills that were normally a drag was effortless, got back with 20% battery remaining and I had it on the highest setting, very impressed.

 

My main concern was once the bike got over the 15.6 mph cut off then I felt there was a drag from the motor.

This according to Bosch should not be the case maybe it was a fault with the hire bike.

 

I know the bike is a lot heaver than what I'm used to but on the flat I felt as if at least 30 watts were being used to turn the motor alone. I would normally be going at about 20 mph but had to work at maintaining 18 mph.

 

I would be interested on anyone's thoughts on this. Did I have a faulty motor or is this a normal feel on these bikes.

 

Alan.

Edited October 10, 20196 yr by Alan72

I can't tell when the motor cuts out . Quite often I'll be barrelling along with a big smile and only realise I'm doing all the work when I glance at the speedo ! The only times I notice the weight is setting off with no power and when I (occasionally)get out of the saddle, but I used to do that sort of thing with a 7kg Carbon road bike so unfair to compare them !

Rob

Drag over the cut-off speed is nearly always an illusion. It's the difference between having 250w helping you and none.

 

Each 1 kg of added mass makes approximate!y 1% difference to your pedal effort or 1% less speed, but only when going uphill. That's any positive incline no matter how slight. You should be able to go faster downhill, but air resistance has a big effect on that, so you need streamlined clothing to see much difference at 20 mph.

I can't tell when the motor cuts out . Quite often I'll be barrelling along with a big smile and only realise I'm doing all the work when I glance at the speedo !

I agree 100% with this. I wonder if there might have been something wrong with the hire bike. Or perhaps if you are used to riding a super light racing bike, then the Neo would be harder to ride once the motor has cut off.

 

I've done over 2000 miles on mine since I bought it earlier this year and I absolutely love it. I've just bought some marathon plus tyres for it so that I have less chance of getting a puncture in the winter on it. Not put them on yet, will probably change them in the next week or two.

Out of interest, I decided to record distance v battery voltage for the Neo.

Five rides over similar terrain. At least 95% of the time on Eco setting.

Still somewhat short of the range predicted by the Bosch app...

Edited November 4, 20196 yr by westofsouth

That's pretty good - in fact nearly as good as mine. I found that if I turn down the power a bit further and pedal a bit harder to compensate, I never have to charge my battery. This must be the best electric bike ever. It's a bit harder to pedal up hills like that, but it's made me a lot fitter. I always wanted an electric bike that's just like a normal bike.

 

Next, I'm going to see if I can make my bike pay for itself even more. It already saves me £5 a week on public transport, but I figured that if I jam the clutch in the motor, I can use the motor to charge the battery, so I can ride my bike during the day, while the motor charges up the battery, then use the battery to run the lights in my house at night through a DC/DC converter, because they're all 12V. Electric bikes have definitely helped me. I wouldn't want to be without it.

Edited November 4, 20196 yr by vfr400

Remarkable...

I test rode a Synapse Neo and loved it, but due to cost purchased a Boardman with the Fazua motor instead. Big mistake! Although on paper they both have a 250 watt motor the 40 mile hilly commute I intended to use the bike for is still hard going.

 

I wish I'd bought the Neo