Cannondale Compact Neo review | Urban Electric Bike of the Year contender

The Cannondale Compact Neo has been conceived as a fun, compact and lightweight ebike built for round-town riding.

With a one-size-fits-all frame, rear-hub motor and a small 250Wh hidden battery, the Compact Neo is all about urban versatility.

Its compact shape is enhanced by folding pedals and a folding stem system to reduce the bike’s footprint when storing.

That, plus its relatively low 18kg weight, makes the Compact Neo a great choice for mixed-mode commuters and those with space constraints at home.

Cannondale Compact Neo frame

The frame shape is inspired by Cannondale’s classic Delta-V mountain bikes and was last seen used as inspiration for the iconic Hooligan, which has since disappeared from Cannondale’s line-up.

It’s designed with a low stepover height of just 59cm, making it easy even for riders at the lowest end of the size range (135cm / 4ft 5in) to get on and off the bike.

At 188cm / 6ft 2in, I’m at the opposite extreme of the bike’s size spectrum, but I found I could get the saddle height to my requirements (79cm), while the adjustable handlebar height made fitting both myself and my smaller partner easy.

Its oversized aluminium front end and slender rear are finished beautifully, and it comes with all the right fittings for pannier racks and mudguards – both of which are supplied.

It even has bolt bosses for a couple of bottle cages on the top of the top tube and the down tube.

Cannondale Compact Neo specification

The build is what you might describe as ‘good, solid but inexpensive’ stuff.

The Microshift gears offer eight speeds, activated by an easy-to-use thumb-trigger shifter.

Braking is provided by Tektro’s HD-R280 full hydraulic disc brakes with large 160mm-diameter disc rotors front and rear – this provides ample power.

The bike rolls on chunky 20in wheels, as you’d find on a BMX. These are wrapped with Kenda’s 2.35in K-Rad tyres.

These have a round profile designed to be efficient on tarmac, but with a tread depth that offers grip for riding on bike paths, towpaths and gravel surfaces.

They also have a puncture-protecting liner and a reflective strip around their radius for low-light visibility.

Up front, a wide handlebar provides a commanding ride position. It’s held in place with an adjustable TransX stem.

With the flick of a lever, this enables the bar to be rotated through 90 degrees, which when combined with the folding pedals, gives the Compact Neo a very slender profile. It's great for storage at home or work.

The motor system comes from Hyena, which specialises in rear-hub electric bike motors. The MRC-250 hub is designed to be a lightweight option at 2.17kg (claimed), while still delivering up to 40Nm of torque.

It’s linked to a simple LED-display controller with a four-segment battery-level indicator, and up and down switches to access the three power modes, operate the lights and switch to the handy walk mode.

An LED shows the motor mode (white off, green low, amber medium, red ‘turbo’). Two more flank the unit – the bottom LED indicates the bike is connected via Bluetooth to the app, and the upper is a battery indicator (blue for 100 per cent, green 75 per cent, amber 50 per cent, red 25 per cent, and flashing red below 10 per cent).

The controls are within easy reach of your thumb from the very comfortable mushroom-style Cannondale grips.

The Hyena system also offers Bluetooth connectivity should you want to connect to its Ride Assistant app, which offers more accurate estimates of the battery level, plus a ride data screen (odometer, speed, ride time), mapping, ride recording and access to firmware updates.

Ideally, the Compact Neo would come with a phone mount to help display this information on the move.

Alternatively, you can connect to Cannondale’s own app via the front-wheel sensor included on the bike. This small unit, designed with Garmin, gives more accurate speed and distance data than the GPS from your phone alone.

The Cannondale app offers bike registration (for the warranty), servicing and maintenance tips, quick spares identification and ride recording.

Its £2,000 asking price compares well to its fellow Bike of the Year contender, the Tern NBD, priced at £4,000.

Ridgeback’s smart small-wheeled Errand ebike comes in at £1,799 with a similar spec, although it lacks a rear pannier rack, which will be essential for some.

Specialized's Globe Haul ST is only available in the US, but is priced at $2,800.

Cannondale Compact Neo ride impressions

The Compact Neo is an easy bike to like: its upright ride position, wide bar, plush saddle and big chunky tyres inspire confident handling and ride comfort.

The small wheels and well thought-out gearing, along with a punchy rear-hub motor, make the Compact a nippy and nimble electric bike about town.

The weighty Kenda rubber is tough, very grippy on loose surfaces and delivers good ride comfort.

That said, I’d have preferred the Neo to have something lighter for when the motor isn’t in use. A street BMX tyre such as Tioga’s Street Block, the Maxxis Grifter or even a fat urban tyre such as Schwalbe’s classic Big Ben would probably result in less rolling drag.

Engage the motor in even the lowest mode, though, and the Compact Neo makes for a zippy ride that’s absolutely in its element in the hustle and bustle of busy city streets.

The bike has nearly everything I’d want included – the full mudguards do an excellent job of keeping spray at bay, but I’d have hoped for a chain guard like that found on the similarly small-wheeled Tern NBD to keep oil from the cuffs of my trousers.

The integrated lights by H-Trace have ample power for cycling at night in the city, though I’d complement the low-set rear light with one either mounted on the seatpost, or on a backpack or helmet.

The rack has standard-diameter dimensions so will work with any panniers. However, naturally, it’s set lower than on a larger-wheeled bike, so you need to be mindful of the size of bags you can use.

I was fine with Altura’s small Heritage panniers and a compact Chrome set, but Ortlieb’s larger Back-Rollers run dangerously close to the floor, especially when cornering.

The Microshift drivetrain shifts quickly and accurately, but doesn’t deliver the premium-feeling slickness of the Specialized Turbo Vado or Merida eSpresso CC (which have SRAM and Shimano gearing, respectively).

The motor response is excellent in all modes and there’s a definite difference between the power settings. Green offers a gentle assist, amber delivers plenty of punch for small ramps and the red turbo mode is plenty for steeper slopes.

The motor’s power cuts out rather abruptly at the 15.5mph assistance limit, which means if you end up hovering around the limit on a slight gradient (as I often did) the motor pulses somewhat as it engages and cuts.

It's irritating, but it’s worth bearing in mind my test was limited to EU specifications. I imagine riding the Neo with the more generous USA-spec 20mph / 32kph limit could be a much less stop-start affair.

Overall, though, the Compact Neo is a lot of fun to ride. The short wheelbase but wide bar and confident ride position make for a bike that can be chucked around.

I was more than confident taking shortcuts onto woodland trails, dropping down short stair flights, and launching up and off kerbs. Even a mid-test ride foray into a skatepark to ride the bowls and banks proved within this ebike’s abilities.

The powerful hydraulic brakes deliver heaps of modulation, so it’s a bike that can snap up to speed, corner on rails and stop on a dime – for the challenges of navigating a busy city, it hits all the right marks.

Being able to fold the bar parallel to the bike and tuck in the pedals meant I could get it onto a crowded train without an issue, and storing it in a corridor at our workshop wasn’t a problem.

The small 250Wh battery helps keep the weight down (18kg), making it easier to carry than most of its small-wheeled ebike rivals, including the Tern NBD.

Naturally, this has an impact on range, but I managed a respectable 21.45 miles / 34.52km, covering 859.58ft / 262m of ascent on a single charge. For a daily commute and general run-around tool, this will be ample for most people.

Handily, the Compact Neo’s charger is a compact and easily stowable 145x60x30mm and the battery charges in 3hr 25mins. Recharging at the office is a reality, should you need to.

Cannondale Compact Neo bottom line

Overall, the Cannondale Compact Neo is a great urban run-around at a good price.

The motor system delivers power and performance, range is ample and the ride is fun. The cost-effective drivetrain works very well and the tyres – though not particularly fast – are forgiving and tough.

The clever bar and folding pedals bring further practicality, adding up to make the Compact Neo an impressive small-wheeled metropolitan transport solution.