Cannondale Adventure Neo All Road Reviewed (EQ & S)

Cannondale Adventure Neo All Road Review: Overview (EQ and S models)

Cannondale has been a household name for decades by now. If you ask any even half-serious cyclist what are some of the best bike brands in the world, there’s a 99.9% chance Cannondale is going to be in the top three.

For a good reason too. The company has been on the cutting edge of bike tech ever since its inception.

While everyone else was still fumbling with steel, the engineers at Cannondale worked on combining aluminum and carbon - and that was in the 70s.

Fast forward to today, and Cannondale is still on top of its game. Besides producing some of the best road bikes, the company also made its foray into the e-bike world.

Just like their non-electric bikes, the Cannondale e-bike lineup is quite a sight to see. Each bike on offer comes with a ton of cool features and is built to last a lifetime (and beyond).

Today we’ll be looking at two very interesting bikes from the company’s lineup - the Adventure Neo Allroad S, EQ, and Low.

Why did I call them interesting? Because they’re currently the only two offroad bikes in Cannodale’s offer. On top of that, they’re entry-level e-bikes, so they don’t cost an arm and a leg.

Enough ramblings; let’s see how these bikes fair after two weeks of rigorous testing.

Adventure Neo All Road Frame review

The Adventure Neo Allroad line comes in quite a few configurations. All three bikes (the Low, Speed, and EQ) are available in step-over and step-through frame versions.

But wait, there’s more, as Billy Mays would say. 

Allroad S is also available with or without the front suspension. The version without suspension is slightly cheaper, but I don’t recommend you pick it up if you’re planning on riding over off-road trails.

On the other hand, if you’re going to ride on good ol’ pavement, you don’t need a front suspension. On top of that, you’ll save a couple of bucks.

When it comes to frame design, it’s your classic Cannondale minimalism. There are no unnecessary accents or details—just pure form.

All three bikes feature frame designs that are dominated by a massive battery mount on the down tube. The design is almost timeless.

But enough about aesthetics - how durable are these bikes? Well, pretty durable.

All three versions of these bikes are built out of C3 Aluminum - a pretty lightweight metal alloy. Even slightly lighter than the standard 8081 aluminum most manufacturers use.

Thanks to C3 aluminum, Adventure Neo Allroads managed to keep their weight to a minimum. For instance, the Adventure Neo Speed and Low Step-Through weigh just a sliver over 49 lbs.

The EQ is a bit heftier but still in the 50 lbs range, so you won’t have much trouble lugging this thing around if need be.

I’m personally more of a fan of the Speed version since it comes with a pretty cushy spring suspension with 100 mm of travel. This makes it perfect for tearing up your local (and not-so-local) off-road trails.

All in all, there aren’t many cosmetic differences between the EQ and Speed versions of this bike.

However, where these bikes really differ is under the hood. So, let’s see what makes these bikes tick.

Adventure Neo All Road Motor 

The Low and  EQ come with a 250-watt motor from BaFang, one of the most reputable e-bike brands in the world. While this might seem like not much power, you need to factor in that the EQ and Low are entry-level bikes.

On top of that, these are both class 2 e-bikes, which means they can only reach a breakneck speed of 20 MPH. This is why you don’t need a beefy motor.

At least the motor on the EQ is pretty torquey, boasting 45 Newton meters.

The more torque, the better since that means the bike will accelerate faster and be able to go uphill easier.

If you’re a seasoned e-biker, I don’t recommend you go for the EQ - for just a couple of hundred bucks more; you can get the Speed that offers triple the power and almost double the torque.

Allroad Speed comes with a rear-hub BaFang motor that can churn out a whopping 750 watts on a dime.

With a lot of power comes a lot of speed, right? Right! The motor on Allroad Speed will get you to the max speed of 28 MPH in a matter of seconds.

On top of that, the motor is torquey as all hell. Just as is the case with the EQ, I couldn't get the exact spec on how much torque the motor can churn out, but from what my gut tells me it has to be in around the 80 Nm mark.

With this much torque, there’s no hill or nature trail you won’t be able to tear up. And since this is a rear-hub motor, the back wheel has some extra weight allowing it to find traction on even the slickest of surfaces. With that said, I would try riding this bike over oil slicks.

When it comes to controls, they’re dead simple. Even if you’ve never seen, let alone touched, an electric bike, it will take you less than an hour to learn how to operate both the EQ and the Speed.

Both versions of the Allorad have their control cluster located on the right-hand side of the handlebars. There you can find the buttons for increasing/decreasing the level of pedal assist, turning on/off the bike as well as turning on the integrated light.

The biggest difference between these two bikes is in the LCD display. Speed comes with an LCD display, and the EQ doesn’t. Instead, EQ has a pretty basic battery and pass readout on the control cluster.

On the other hand, Speed comes with a relatively large LCD screen that’s smack dab in the middle of the handlebars. It provides you with all the riding info you could want, such as your current speed, miles passed, battery level, as well as the level of PAS you’re on. My only complaint about the screen is that it’s not very readable under direct sunlight. But in most cases, you won’t even notice that.

All three bikes come with a thumb throttle which is pretty useful if you get tired of pedaling. It’s interesting that the throttle is located on the left-hand side of the handlebars. This is something you don’t normally see. In most cases, manufacturers imitate motorbikes by placing the throttle on the right-hand side of the handlebars.

Other than that little oddity, the throttle on the bike does its job admirably. The second you press on it, you’ll feel the motor taking over.

The best thing about rear-hub motors is that they’ll work on just the throttle if you chain brakes. This is great news if you’re planning on putting one of these bikes through the paces.

Adventure Neo All Road Battery 

To be more exact, both the Adventure Neo Allroad Low and EQ come with a 36V 12Ah battery that delivers around 47 miles of range. This is more than enough to last you for a week’s worth of riding and then some more.

With that said, your mileage can vary. If you’re going to run the EQ on the max level of PAS over dirt roads, you can easily cut this range in half. Even that’s pretty decent for an entry-level bike.

When it comes to Speed, it comes with a slightly beefier 48V 15 Ah battery. This battery provides quite a lot of range even though it’s powering a 750-watt motor.

On a full charge, you can squeeze out around 71 miles of range. That’s nearly a third more range than on the EQ. The range increase is almost on par with the price since the S is just as much more expensive than the EQ.

Both the EQ and Speed batteries are completely removable. There’s a lock on the side you can use to secure the battery. You can also charge the battery while it’s on the bike. But you can also remove it and charge it somewhere more convenient. 

When it comes to recharge time, it’s pretty standard. It will take anywhere between 4 and 6 hours for both batteries to fully charge. If you don’t want to have any downtime, you can always pick up a spare one and use it while the other one is charging. This is especially useful if you’re planning on a touring adventure with any of these bikes.

Adventure Neo All Road Brakes 

After all, the Low version is the cheapest option of the three.

With that said, all three bikes have pretty decent stopping power. I didn’t have much trouble coming to a full stop in just a couple of feet on all types of terrains. 

Adventure Neo All Road Wheels And Tires

But then again, there are quite a few other bikes that will do that job much better.,

Allroads bikes are more designed for leisurely rides than anything else.

Pros And Cons After Testing Adventure Neo All Road EQ and S Models

The Adventure Neo Allroad lineup is Cannodale’s first foray into semi-mountain electric bikes.

The best thing about them is that they come in versions for just about anyone’s budget.

If you’re strapped for cash, you can pick up an EQ or a Low. Otherwise, I would recommend you go for Speed.

The EQ and Low are pretty decent entry-level e-bikes. They feature a pretty decent and high-quality motor, more range than you could need, and are quite the lookers.

On the other hand, if you want more speed, you have the Speed. That bike comes with a beastly motor and just as beastly of a battery. On top of that, you also get a pretty cushy front suspension.

My only complaint about the entire lineup is that the EQ and Low don’t come with a suspension. I don’t know why the guys and gals at Cannondale went for that design decision when even low-budget bikes these days come with some kind of suspension.

I guess they have high standards and didn’t want to jam the first suspension they could find.

Advice To Consumers

The Adventure Neo Allroad e-bike lineup is an excellent choice for any fledgling e-biker. They are reasonably comfortable, fast, and come with more than enough battery juice to last you for a week (if not more).