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The Cannondale Moterra NEO SL really does deliver on the brand’s aim to build ‘The lightest full-power mountain bike ever’.
Apparently the Cannondale Moterra NEO SL came about after an internal debate about what an eMTB should be.
Should it let you whizz up the hills without range anxiety (or ever having to utter the cursed words ‘I’ve got enough left for one more lap’)?
Should you be able to throw shapes and flick it around the trail like a mountain bike that uses leg power alone?
Does SL stand for Super Light, Slightly Lighter, or Slightly Less Good?
The folks at Cannondale thought they could have their cake and eat it, and set about making a bike that would deliver all the torque and battery capacity of a full fat ebike, but with the handling of traditional full suspension bike. The Moterra Neo SL is the result.
Cannondale Moterra NEO SL in a nutshell
150mm rear travel
160 fork travel
Mullet 29/27.5 wheels
Two carbon frame options
Moterra SL LAB7 – 19.5kg claimed weight (based on size Medium with 180ml of sealant)
Moterra SL 1 – 19.7kg claimed weight
Moterra SL 2 – 20.6kg claimend weight
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0:00
The
0:23
new Cannondale Moterra Neo SL came about after an internal debate about what an e-mountain
0:30
bike should be. Should it let you whizz up the hills without range anxiety? Or should
0:36
you be able to throw shapes and flick it around the trail like a mountain bike that uses leg
0:40
power alone? Does SL stand for super light, slightly lighter or slightly less good? The
0:47
folks at Cannondale thought that they could have their cake and eat it and set about making
0:52
a bike that would deliver all the torque and battery capacity of a full fat e-bike but
0:58
with the handling of a traditional full suspension bike. The Moterra Neo SL is the result. All
1:06
the bikes in the range are 150mm rear travel, 160mm front travel bikes and come with a mullet
1:14
wheel setup, although a flip chip allows you to run a 29er front and rear if you choose
1:21
Weighing in at around 20kg for a whole size medium bike, it's still up there near the
1:26
weight of old alloy DH sleds, but that was fun even without a motor, right? The Moterra
1:33
Neo SL comes fitted with a Shimano EP8 motor, delivering 85Nm of torque. You get a full
1:41
601Wh battery, but this is Cannondale's own design of battery, complete with dense
1:47
battery construction that packs more power into each cell and a lightweight liner to
1:52
keep the weight down. The motor has been tuned to give 4 modes instead of Shimano's usual
1:59
3. Each has been designed with a specific use in mind. You get 1, the blue indicator
2:07
light, to make you feel like your legs are riding a cross country bike on a good day
2:13
2 is green, designed for riding with friends on half fat EMTBs. 3 is also green, designed for
2:21
riding with friends on full fat EMTBs. And 4 is yellow, boost for giving it beans. You can use
2:30
the Shimano e-steps app to adjust the modes, however there's currently no way to change the
2:35
colour between the modes. On the top tube there is the power button and the LED display to indicate
2:41
battery charge and assist mode. If you really wanted an extra clean stealth look, you could
2:47
operate the bike without the extra display screen. The bike comes in two versions of the frame
2:55
The Lab 71 is the Formula 1 tricked out version with extra high quality and lightweight carbon
3:01
construction, while the other models share the same but slightly heavier carbon frame
3:07
Both versions come equipped with a flex pivot. This is a thin section of carbon which makes use
3:13
of carbon's properties to eliminate the need for a pivot bearing. By having the fibres closely
3:18
packed together, the layout allows the carbon to be both very strong but also flexible. This
3:24
technology has been used in other Cannondale bikes for some time. It is now brought to the
3:29
might of the Moterra, which is tested and warranted right up to the EEDR World Series level
3:37
Both versions of the frame are proportionately sized to give the same ride experience across
3:42
sizes, what Cannondale calls proportional response geometry. This gives a reach of 44.5
3:49
centimetres on a size medium and 47 centimetres on a large. The head angle is 62.5 degrees across
3:57
all sizes and while the actual angle varies, the effective seat tube angle is 77 degrees
4:03
Droppers of 170mm length are fitted in sizes medium to XL, although I'm told a 200mm
4:10
one-up dropper will fit. The frame has room for a bottle, just. It's a little tight to get a full
4:17
size bottle in there and the bike comes with a slightly side-loading cage. If you have a favourite
4:23
cage you usually like to swap between bikes, don't expect it to necessarily fit here
4:29
At the press camp I was riding the SL1 in European spec. This comes with SRAM Eagle XO
4:37
AXS T-type drivetrain, Magura MT7 4-piston brakes and Cannondale down-low dropper. It's a mix of
4:47
mechanical and electronic that I'm happy with. I found the Magura levers fitted, you can get a few
4:53
options for Magura brakes, quite flat and chunky and had to adjust the reach in more than usual
4:58
to get them to feel comfortable. This is a very personal preference though and once adjusted the
5:04
brakes do have a nice decisive feel to them, giving plenty of confidence that they'll stop you
5:09
There's no sensation of flex or marshmallow squish that you can sometimes get with e-bikes
5:14
versus brakes. However, the USA and UK spec of the SL1 comes with SRAM Code Silver Stealth brakes
5:23
The Maguras are only for the Euro market. The Mocera Neo SL1 comes with a carbon fibre bar and a fairly chunky set of Cannondale grips
5:36
Between these and the brake levers, on a longer test I'd want to spend a little time trying out
5:41
different bar and grips as I found my hands aching pretty rapidly. The fatigue was definitely
5:47
more in my hands than in my arms or shoulders, making me think that a bar or grip swap would be
5:52
likely to address it. The Fox 36 factory fork and Fox Float X factory shock offered plenty of support
6:00
and were it a longer test with some time to spend in the workshop, I'd experiment with removing tokens
6:06
and trying a slightly softer fork setting. As it was, I had no trouble with brake dive or fork flex
6:12
The Fox 36 feels an appropriate choice for an e-bike. Coupled with that slack head angle, I had
6:19
the choice of rolling or dropping steep boulders and steps without any fear of getting caught up
6:24
or being spat out. I did catch the underside of the motor on a couple of occasions
6:30
but there's a big bash plate there for that very situation. I do think that a shorter crank than
6:37
the 165mm one that comes fitted would be an advantage on this bike. We were riding rocky
6:43
terrain which had plenty of opportunities to catch pedals on climbs and descents but I did feel I had
6:49
rather a lot of pedal strikes. 165mm cranks are perhaps the only component that feels a little
6:55
out of steps with the times. Many e-bikes these days come with shorter cranks. The tyres are a
7:02
pleasingly sensible Minion and Dissector combination with XO Plus puncture protection. No need to budget
7:09
for swapping to something else here. Perhaps anticipating some journo spec bike ragging, the
7:15
Press Camp Mechanics had fitted a rear tyre insert on our test bikes. Whether it was this or the tyres
7:21
that did the trick I couldn't say but despite our best efforts on boulder fields and rocky descents
7:27
there wasn't a single puncture on our test ride. Pretty impressive. How does that five kilogram
7:34
weight saving translate onto the trail? It's certainly noticeable and gives something approaching
7:39
a natural feel. Leaning the bike feels comfortable and hauling on the brakes or tackling some low
7:44
speed tech is absent of that oil tanker sensation you get with a heavier e-beast. I found myself
7:51
being able to pick lines through rock gardens rather than having to steam roller through and
7:55
hope for the best. Much more like the sort of ride I'd be hoping for from an enduro bike. You'd not be
8:02
in a hurry to lift it over a fence or stile but it could be done with a bit of sweat or a helping hand
8:08
It's light enough that boost does seem largely redundant. On a road climb it's easy enough to
8:13
whiz uphill in chilled fashion in trail mode 3. On our test ride we did 19 miles and 3900 feet of
8:22
climbing and I finished with two bars still left to use. I did wonder if reducing the battery size
8:29
might make sense but the weight saving would be negligible for the loss of range so it probably
8:34
isn't worth it. The bike comes with the same Shimano whine or mosquito buzz that you get elsewhere
8:44
But otherwise the bike was pleasingly quiet and free of annoying rattles or clunks
8:51
I think until I can comfortably lift a full fat e-bike over a fence it's not going to open up the
8:57
same cheeky world as a standard bike. At 20 kilos or 19.3 kilos for the tippy top Lab 71 version
9:06
it's still a little beyond what my weedy arms can lift that high. However for now the Cannondale
9:13
Moterra Neo SL does deliver on Cannondale's aim to build the lightest full power mountain bike ever
9:22
We've got one heading our way for a longer test on home trails
9:26
so watch this space for a more in-depth review
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