Neo Cross and Neo City

We are in a hilly area of Wisconsin and my wife has developed issues that keep her being able to bicycle up any sort of steeper hill so...

We bought her a Neo City. We looked making up a bike from a kit, at the Prodeco bikes (mostly the Stride 500 white), the Giant, the Schwinn, the Stromer and with less interest, a few others.

The Schwinn and the Giants seemed like nice riding gentle assist bikes, but are very limited when you decide to ride aggressively topping out at maybe 12-15 mph with pedal. The Stromer is too pricey and too tall for the wife. The Prodeco Stride White 500 in 2013 has nice features (good manual disc brakes, 500 watts, decent derailluer) and plenty of power, running 20 mph with no problems and a good 38.4 12 ah battery out back.

But, the Neo line is VERY well integrated and has a fit and finish that is VERY nice. Her "City" tops out at 22 mph no pedal, offers pedal assist (which could be more subtle like the Giant if we had our choice) and throttle both in 2013 (only pedal assist in 2012). We have had her City three weeks and she is gradually pedaling more.

SO...

I bought a Neo Cross for me!

A great bike. We now go into hills we would avoid before. I ride the Cross with the assist off and use the throttle when I am losing steam up near the top of the hills. Both bikes have 9 ah batteries. Hers will last 27 miles averaging 13 mph (she is 110#) with me being aggressive on a Gary Fisher Zebrano hybrid (no electric) and her keeping up no problem. I can't say what my battery will do for distance yet as I have ridden it only last night so far. We bought a third battery to extend our range. The Cross has hydraulic discs, the City is rim (work fine though), the Cross has a high center bar that is almost too tall for me (I'm down to 5'8" and a fraction ), the Cross has an almost straight handle bar, the City is more longhorn cow shaped.

Riding the Cross without battery assist is not so different from riding my 2005 Gary Fisher hybrid. May be easier to ride than the Gary Fisher. The Cross has a front fork lock out that the Gary Fisher doesn't have. I really pogo up hills standing up on the Gary Fisher. Not so on the Cross.

AS an aside, I bought these bikes from a brand new dealer (three months open for business??) located in Madison WI. This is a retired (read wealthy) furniture store guy that has decided that electric bikes are the next big thing. His approach was great. A line of bikes outside and you take one ride it as long as you like on the local bike trail; take another one ride it as long as you like etc. He needs a competent service department yet, but I liked the chance to ponder on my own.

Kinda pricey, but so well integrated I am looking forward to riding with some of the super jocks that are not too observant and leaving them behind in the hills of western WI. Amazingly, folks do not look at the bike and see an electric bike.

Best Regards,
Tom

I'm sure I forgot to mention a lot, but I suppose the specs are available to all on the factory web site. I did want to mention that the Cross still is feeding power to the rear wheel at 22 mph on throttle while I'm pedaling. Also, a big dog came after us about 14 miles into the ride on a level section. The durn thing gained a bit for the first 100 yards (went on for 300 ?? yards) until Heather was able to kick it up a notch. I believe we were at about 28 mph. Normally, I would have been too tired to give it this kind of long burst this late in a ride.

I think we will leave the tires at 700 x38s, but maybe change to a less aggressive tread.

Tom

Two more things.

The City had the rear wheel bearings start making noise after about 30 miles. Factory gave me a new wheel. This replacement also had wheel bearing noises after about 50 miles. The dealer gave me a new wheel. I checked with Company and was advised that they had a batch of rear wheel bearings come in bad and are trying to ID the bad lot. The point here is the company and local dealer really jumped on my problem. Very impressive.

Getting the rear wheel off and back on is pretty easy. Open the V-Brake; Disconnect the motor about 6" from the hub at a quick disconnect; take a small locking bolt off the left side; loosen the two 19 mm axle nuts. That's it, although it is a bit easier with the rear derailleur set on the smallest rear sprocket.

Neo Cross http://www.bh-emotion.co.uk/bikes/neo/cross/



edit: correct model swapped in, Neo City http://www.bh-emotion.co.uk/bikes/neo/city/

Good Afternoon...

That is the one, thanks! I attached a picture of our City with the fenders etc removed below. The bikes brought to the USA are all 350 watts. I think the Euro bike is limited to 250??

Our 2013 Neo City looks like this. Coming soon is a Thudbuster for the seat post.

An update:

The City is getting 30 miles on a charge in hilly country with a 110# rider mostly set on eco assist with the occasional std assist. She still has 10-20% normally left on the battery at 30.

The Cross gets the 30 miles with me (175#) using the eco assist (there are four levels of assist plus a throttle option) maybe 1/2 of the time. After 30 miles, I would still have about 1/2 of the battery left to use (per the factory gauge on the handlebar). We have a third battery, but have not had to carry it along for any rides so far.

As to options, we now both have added the thudbuster seat posts. Expensive, but a very nice addition to comfort!

Lastly, the factory has sent me out new rear bearings for both bikes. As reported earlier, they have a lot of failures, but think they know what the problem is (too many spacers behind the bearing on the derailluer side causing the bearing to crush). I will install the bearings tonight and we will see. They have been VERY responsive and thankful that I was willing to do this myself rather than taking it to a dealer. The dealer is an hour plus away so this works for me.

Tom

EDIT: At about 500 miles on the City. The City is now getting more like 20-24 miles per charge with most of her riding done with the lowest level of assist, but with a few miles of second level assist. The Cross is still mostly shut off with the battery used only on steeper hills. Our average speed is around 15 mph.

We are at 800 miles now. The City has needed one replacement pedal. The Cross has not needed anything except a chain lube. For giggles, I changed the tires to Kenda Tendrils. I am not sure they roll any better than the stock tires, but are a little lighter. The City is still getting 20 to 27 miles on a charge mostly with the light assist (out of four). The Cross gets more, but the assist is not used very much as the bike is ridden as a normal bike mostly, but it is sure nice to have the boost when needed/wanted. No hill stops us where before having electric, we would avoid certain areas.

Tom

Just for a cross reference Tom, I have the Neo Jumper and I did 22 miles of flat at average 17 mph...battery was empty, but still pulling when I arrived back at my jeep, all flat cross country gravel trails...ECO Mode...I am 185 lbs...had another 10 lbs of handle bar and rear rack w/ bag on board...so probably 200 lbs total load...I locked out front forks and rear shock last 7 miles...

LTZ470;

I would have liked having the Jumper, but just couldn't afford the thing. I would expect your experience with battery life to be about what I get minus the penalty for having the more aggressive tires of the Jumper. I really appreciate the lock out forks for standing up on hills. I find that without power assist, the bike rides about the same as my old bike once it is rolling at speed and without hills. Add a hill or start from a stop and the extra weight shows up.

I would bet your Jumper is a blast to ride off road!
Tom

Yes, the Neo Jumper is awesome off road and comfortable to ride as well...I have really enjoyed it and found like you, that once up she's moving it's easy to pedal, I have carried it across the Paluxy River 4-5 times and it is easily carried as well with one arm...the 30 speed in the lower gears more than makes up for epower though...using epower the top 10 gears is all one requires for the Neo Jumper, and even at that Eco PAS Mode is too fast at times on the tighter trails, so you have to judge when to pedal and the drop of power when required, first tight trail ride at Erwin Park in Texas I cleaned the bark off a few trees that had excess bark growing on them, sometimes with the handlebars and sometimes with my forearms and elbows...lol...never noticed too much though as I was having a great time riding...

We have passed 1500 miles now. The batteries still give us 20 to 27 miles using 'eco assist. We have to charge the batteries and occasionally clean the chains; thats it. Other electric assist bicycles are starting to show up in my neighborhood. One Prodeco Phantom X and one NEO 29er. I have read comments from some folks on not being able to tell the difference in assist levels. On a steep hill, if you are pedaling hard in 'eco mode, helping the motor, you will not be able to tell the difference should you switch it up to max assist. To test your levels of assist, go to a flat area and run through the levels of assist. There is quite a difference. We are liking these well thought out electric bikes more every time we use them.

Well, we now are over 2700 miles for the season and can report the bikes are running well. They still run 22-28 miles on a charge depending on speed, wind and the hills of the ride. The forks on the Neo City now creak/squeak unless the seals are given a shot of oil before the ride. One flat tire on the City for the season and we struggle with keeping the front rim brakes on the City from squealing. The Cross has been trouble free. Disc brakes are the cat's meow! Both bikes have motor assist right up to as fast as you can peddle. We generally run 20-22 mph using the lightest assist (eco). The rear tires will be replaced over the winter; the fronts look to be good for another season.

If they do come out with the larger battery next season, we will be getting one for the City as the wife (even though she weighs only 110#) burns up more battery than I do. The larger battery will take the worry out of going 25-35 miles a night instead of 16-25 miles we generally bike now.

Still like the bikes and would buy them again.

Best Regards,
Tom

Thanks for documenting your experiences and I admire the miles you guys have been putting in. Regarding the brake squeal you might have to clean up the pads and rim and make sure there's no aluminum in the pads as that can cause an awful squeal. The contact point on the rim could need a light sanding too. Thankfully we will be seeing some 12ah batteries late this year or early next year which will fit previous models too. Thank you for being trendsetters and keep racking those miles 8)

-Chris

Loving my Neo Cross. Have had zero problems with it except for one flat nothing to do with the quality of the bike.
Everybody rides it wants one and really likes the way it looks, rides, and handles.
Can't wait for the bigger battery to come out will buy one as soon as it comes out. As a sidenote I have lost almost 12 pounds in six weeks because I constantly ride the bike. It is not getting old and I don't think it will for a long time.
I have some serious health issues and it really helps me get out be mobile get exercise and really enjoyed being in the outdoors.

Would buy it again if I had to and recommended to friends all the time. Thinking of upgrading the front fork and put on a Thudbuster to smooth out the ride for some of my more off-road adventures.
RC

Roger;

On the TB. They are great for on road as well. They really smooth out the ride which helps us ride further and probably faster. Just kinda expensive, but as a fraction of the bike, not so bad.

Best Regards,
Tom

It is early in the riding season here in Wisconsin due to the crappy rainy cold start, but we are back on the bikes. Both bikes have over 3000 miles now. The Neo City developed a very strange creak sound that turned out to be the frame flexing just enough to chirp against the front edge of the battery. A small dab of grease fixed the issue. The Cross, with its stronger frame doesn't have the issue. It was a very tough thing to diagnose! Sure sounded like it was coming from the forks.

We bought as an exchange the new 12 amp battery and it seems to have extended the range on the "test" bike, the City, by several miles. The Cross 9 amp battery poops out at 25 miles while the City 12 amp makes it to 33 on the same trip. Was worth the update and will do the same deal for the Cross battery.

Still great fun passing 'regular folks on regular bikes with our NEOs that are well disguised electric assist bikes. We mounted a rack and wicker basket on the back of the Cross and used an eye bolt tie down to strap our 9 pound dog in. It has been a blast taking her along! We still run mostly 20 mph ish average and carry a spare battery when planning a trip longer than 23 miles. The new battery will reduce the need for bringing along a spare.


No regrets on the bikes.

Tom

Just was looking to replace the wife's City. It has just under 12,000 miles and is running really well yet. The problem for her is that we moved to FL and ride with a fast group that the City can't keep up with. The possible replacement: The Emotion Evo City Nitro is a class 3 bike with a rear hub motor. Advertises decent range. Good battery; The Specialized Creo aluminum. Very nice but pricey; Bulls Twenty8 E45 step thru and the Bulls Urban Evo. All class 3 bikes. Some more upright. Tough decision but the City is not a 24 ish mph capable ebike