Cannondale Tesoro Neo X Speed: Overview
Cannondale has been a household name in the biking circles for decades now. And for a good reason. This company has been on the cutting edge since its inception.
For instance, Cannondale was the first company to use aluminum and carbon fibers in bike construction. That was almost 40 years ago.
Fast forward to today, and Cannondale is still one of the best bike brands around. This is because they jumped on the e-bike bandwagon early.
Today, I’ll be reviewing one of Canndodale’s premiere “hybrid” commuters - the Tesoro Neo X Speed.
As its name suggests, Neo X Speed is built for, well, speed. But this bike is far from a one-trick pony. Thanks to its cushy front suspension and large tires, it can handle just about all the road shock coming your way.
On top of that, it comes with more than enough range to last you for weeks.
With the overview done, let’s jump into the nitty-gritty details.
Tesoro Neo X Speed Frame Review
Tesoro Neo X speed features your standard touring/commuter frame design. What I mean by this is that Cannondale didn’t try to reinvent the wheel when designing this bike. They stuck to the tried and true step-over commuter geometry.
But that doesn’t mean Neo X Speed isn’t stylish. Quite the contrary. It oozes style. The double-butted C1 aluminum frame has incredibly sleek lines. It looks more like the frame was cast rather than welded together.
The entire design is dominated by the thick downtube (that also houses the battery) and that cushy front suspension.
Speaking of suspension, Neo X Speed comes with an SR Suntour Raidon 34 front suspension with 100 millimeters of travel. While this isn’t all that great for offroading, it’s more than enough for even the works of city roads.
For a commuter, this bike is pretty lightweight - weighing only 52 lbs. While this is far from lightweight since you’ll have a bad time lugging this thing around, you need to take into account that there are commuters that are 20 pounds heavier than Neo X Speed.
The only nitpick I have about this e-bike’s frame is that the rear cargo rack could be a bit longer. If you’re planning on using this bike for grocery runs, I recommend you get saddlebags for it since the stock cargo rack just can’t handle any serious cargo.
Tesoro Neo X Speed Motor
The real showrunner on Neo X Speed has to be the Bosch Performance Line mid-drive motor.
Although it can only churn out measly 250 watts, the motor is more than capable of zooming you to the top speed of 28 MPH in a matter of seconds.
You see, the mid-drive motor is much better at providing torque than rear-hub motors.
This is because the motor applies force directly to the pedals instead of the rear wheel.
Bosch Performance Line motor can produce a whopping 85 Nm of torque on a drop of a dime. What this means for you is that you’ll be able to reach that 28 MPH top speed mark in just a couple of seconds.
The only thing that’s kind of annoying about the motor is that it whines like crazy when you’re really pushing it. Although you won’t mind the whine at first, it will slowly get under your skin and start annoying you. At least that was the case with me, I don’t know about you.
When it comes to controls, they’re your standard e-bike fare. You have your control cluster on the left-hand side of the handlebars. There you can find the buttons for turning the motor on/off, choosing the level of pedal assist, as well as customizing the info on the LCD screen.
As for the LCD screen - it’s one of the highlights of this bike. It’s in full color and is really intuitive. It’ll feed you all the riding that you need, including your current speed, miles traveled, PAS level, as well as battery charge.
Tesoro Neo X Speed Battery
As is the case with almost all Cannondale e-bikes, the Tesoro Neo X Speed comes with a pretty beastly 48V 16.7 Ah Bosch Power Tube battery.
Cannondale claims this battery provides around 73 miles of range. I have to admit that they weren’t that off the mark. After a couple of weeks on this bike, the most mileage I could squeeze out was around 60 miles. That’s more than enough to last you for at least two weeks of daily riding.
Another pretty impressive thing about the battery is how quickly it takes to recharge. It takes just shy of 5 hours to fully recharge the battery. That one hour less than the average.
When it comes to charging, you can either charge the battery while it’s on the bike or you can take it out and charge it somewhere indoors. The battery is secured inside the frame with a simple lock mechanism.
To take the battery out, all you gotta do is put the key in the lock, turn it, and slide the battery out. Easy as pie!
Tesoro Neo X Speed Brakes
For a commuter e-bike, Neo X Speed sure comes with some pretty serious brakes.
To be more exact, this bike comes with Magura MT5 hydraulic disc brakes with 203-millimeter rotors.
Cannondale slapped these oversized brakes onto this bike because it’s also designed for some offroading.
But with just 100 millimeters of travel on that front suspension and thin tires, I wouldn’t recommend you try this bike on a dirt road. I mean, you can, but your butt cheeks and kidneys are going to feel it.
With that little tangent out of the way, I’m happy to report these brakes do an admirable job of getting you to a full stop in just a couple of feet. And since they’re hydraulic, they require almost no maintenance.
Tesoro Neo X Speed Wheels And Tires
Tesoro Neo X Speed comes with 28 x 2.15-inch tires from Schwalbe.
Schwalbes are your standard commuter tires. They’re pretty quiet and offer more than enough grip on the pavement.
The story is much different on off-road terrains.
They just don’t have an aggressive enough tread to offer any real grip on terrains such as gravel or even plain dirt. At least they’re big enough to go over even the gnarliest of potholes without much trouble.
Pros And Cons After Testing Cannondale Tesoro Neo X Speed E-Bike
All in all, Cannondale Tesoro Neo X Speed is more than a decent commuter e-bike.
For starters, you get a pretty torquey 250-watt motor that can churn out a whopping 85 Nm of torque. This means you’ll be zooming at a top speed of 28 MPH in no time.
Then you have that massive battery that can provide you with up to 71 miles of range. Well, more like 60 miles in real-world conditions, but that’s still pretty impressive.
Lastly, there’s that front suspension that absorbs almost all of the road shock coming your way. Sure, it might not be best suited for offroading, but then again, this bike ain’t meant for offroading.
The only thing that irks me about the bike is the motor whine and a lackluster rear cargo rack. I hope Cannondale fixes that in the future.
Advice To Consumers
If you have a reasonably high budget and are looking for a snappy, comfy commuter - I recommend you pick up a Neo X Speed. As long as you don’t ride it on off-road trails, you’re golden.
Our Rating - 85/100
Fast, comfy, and with more range than you could ever want, the Cannondale Tesoro Neo X is one of the best commuters you can get a hold of currently.