Cannondale shakes up its e-mountainbike line by completely redesigning the Moterra and launching the new Habit Neo.
Text: Matteo Mezzari
Photo: Ale Di Lullo and Falk Wenzel
Alpbach (Austria). Cannondale, brand of the giant Dorel Industries, presented Moterra and Habit Neo, the new pedal assisted mtb.
The new Moterra has been completely redesigned with 160mm front and rear travel and 29-inch wheels (except for the small size equipped with the 27.5 format) combined with components suitable for the heaviest use.
The Habit Neo is a trail bike with 29 ”wheels, 130mm rear suspension and 140mm fork, designed to ensure the same ease of riding as its“ muscular ”counterpart, the Habit.
Moterra and Habit Neo have the new Bosch drive units and batteries. The new Performance CX motor, significantly lighter and more compact than its predecessor, increases the support range by up to 340% and is joined by PowerTube 500Wh or 625Wh batteries depending on the model.
Another novelty compared to the first Cannodale e-bikes concerns the main triangle of the frame which, in both models, is in BallisTec carbon including the integrated engine fixing system (SI).
Moterra and Habit Neo introduce a new suspension technology, Proportional Response. This innovative design technology is the only system currently on the market that modifies the suspension kinematics according to the frame size to ensure the same driving feeling and the best possible response for riders of all sizes.
The geometries are updated for an increase in length, both for the wagon and for the front center, with steering angles of 65,5 ° for the Moterra and 66,5 ° for the Habit Neo.
The positioning of the motor forward downwards has also allowed the positioning of the battery to go down on the oblique, keeping the center of gravity as low as possible to optimize dynamic performance.
A gem in the braking systems of both new e-bikes are the larger diameter discs, 220mm at the front and 200mm at the rear, to increase power and modulation and improve heat dissipation.
Powerful Supernova lights on flagship models keep you going riding even after sunset.
The Moterra will be available in three versions in addition to the SE model with Rock Shox Boxxer fork with 180mm travel. Public prices will start from € 4.999 for the Moterra 3 up to € 7.999 for the Moterra 1, passing through the € 6.999 for the SE version.
There will be a total of four models also for the Habit Neo, with prices starting from € 4.499 for the set-up 4 up to € 7.999 for the Habit Neo 1.
The highlights of the project, interview with Luis Arraiz
On the occasion of the European launch held in Austria we had the opportunity to ride on the new Moterra together with the design engineer, Luis Arraiz, responsible for the design of the suspensions, the kinematics and the geometries… we took the opportunity to ask him a few questions.
Moterra and Habit Neo are very similar… apart from the excursion, what are the substantial differences?
They are two bikes with different personalities. The Habit Neo is a trail bike, shorter and with a slightly tighter head angle than the Moterra which is basically an enduro bike with a hunger for more speed. Both share the same ease of driving sought in the design phase through the geometries and weight distribution.
The Moterra certainly has a wider cornering distance due to the greater wheelbase but still remains super manageable, even with 29-inch wheels.
Even if the project is completely new, we notice a certain line of continuity with the previous model… did you also work on the “old” Moterra in aluminum with 27.5 wheels?
No, starting with the old model we looked at what we liked and what we could improve. We also used the lessons from the current Muscle Habit platform which was a big step forward for the Cannondale range.
We started with the analysis of the center of gravity, which for an e-bike is lower due to the motor and battery. We studied the rider's influence on the center of gravity based on the different positions he takes when pedaling and when braking. Finally, we have modified the two different centers of gravity of braking and pedaling on each size of the Habit Neo and Moterra, which require different stature and different weights of the riders who use them.
About Proportional Response. If memory serves, you are the first to adopt such radical changes in the frame for every size of the same bike.
To my knowledge, I believe that to date no other manufacturer has different shock absorber pivot points and connecting rods for a different rear suspension lever ratio specifically tailored to each size. As the size increases, the progressivity of the kinematics is also increased to compensate for the extra masses of the larger riders. This allowed us, among other things, to reach sag at lower pressures and decrease the forces involved in the stroke end as the size increases. This is not to say that we have designed the best or fastest bikes ever but we have focused more on the needs of the riders and on the primary goal for us of cycling fun. We want the bike to “disappear” under the rider. If you don't have the need to think about what the bike does, it becomes a part of you and you know exactly what is happening… for us this is the biggest victory we could have achieved with the new models.
Driving impressions
Lately we have tried numerous mtb with extremely long reach and front center, so much so that, in the presence of less exasperated geometric dimensions, we now feel the need for an extra size. In the case of the Moterra, the dimensions of size M were instead perfect for our anthropometric measurements (height 175mm).
After the ritual adjustments, the position on the saddle and on the pedals immediately turned out to be natural. Pipe and handlebar bend make the upper torso and arms feel comfortable. As had already happened with the previous models, on the Moterra we feel at home. But this new Moterra is something more and you can feel it right from the first rides. Despite the adoption of the twentyniner wheels, the wagon is 7 mm shorter than the previous model but this does not affect the excellent balance uphill. The front wheel always rests well on the ground and the Moterra climbs really steep climbs with great ease. It seems impossible how it never loses traction and always remains balanced even in the sections where you would almost bet you have to put your foot down. Engine, geometry and suspension work like elements of an orchestra to achieve a single pleasant harmony.
The new Bosch Performance CX has that 40% more support that is clearly felt in the e-mtb and Turbo modes. The delivery is powerful but very fluid even in Tour mode while the Eco mode simply compensates for the greater weight of the bike and lets you do all the effort that a trained biker expects to be able to do.
It's amazing how a bike so long, heavy, with bulky “wheels” and such an open head angle can be so easy and intuitive to maneuver downhill. The balance is superlative in every situation, in the steep technical and in the flows with banks and jumps. Like all e-mtb bikes it requires good physical shape to be pushed to the limit but inspires confidence and allows you to easily overcome the most technical passages, leaving ample room for improvement to less technical bikers.
As the designer Luis Arraiz says, the Moterra does exactly what you expect by becoming a part of you… the worry about what goes on under the wheels is less and it gains the pure fun.
We conclude with a general consideration. When we tried the first full suspended e-MTBs six years ago, pedal assist basically consisted of hanging up an engine and placing a battery on a normal bicycle. Today we are witnessing a sort of role reversal. The sector in which manufacturing companies invest most in research and development is precisely that of assisted pedaling. We ourselves, who every day try mountain bikes of all kinds for work, are amazed by the technical level reached by the new e-mtb and by what they allow you to do by transmitting pure pleasure of mountain biking. In this sense, we are not afraid to say that Cannondale, with the new Moterra and Habit Neo, has developed real masterpieces.
