EMotion Neo Cross

Hi all.

I've been on the hunt for a nice ebike with the battery integrated into the frame for a couple months now. My initial requests were laughable unless I wanted to build it myself and have it be a blatant homemade ebike. So, I lowered my sights a little and decided on the Pedego V5 Phantom RS, pending test ride. Well, after the bike not making it's date with the dealer a bunch of times, the dealer gave up on Pedego. That led me to think maybe I should too. So, I started looking at other options, as my budget went to the wayside.

As a (former? Semi-former? Ouch!) cyclist myself, the reviews of the Emotion bikes kept catching my eye. Upon all reviews they were bicycles and not low speed electric motorcycles. I already have thousands of dollars into actual pedal bicycles in the stable, why would I want another? I kept ignoring the best looking bike on the list I could dream of affording (I'm trying to ignore the fact that the Stromer bikes exist. Please bear with me.) After all, I have bicycles, I want a motorcycle that plays by bicycle rules.

Then... I rode it. Not the Pedeco I convinced myself I wanted, which was really just the cheapest bike-looking scooter I found. Why did I change my mind? Did I see trouble on the horizon and use my ju-ju to avoid turmoil? No. The Pedeco place (1.75hrs from me, the next closest is something like 3 days and 2 changeover flights) quit Prodeco, I didn't want to deal with internet, so I decided to hit the closest dude. To try an Evo Cross. By "closest" I mean 1 hr each way with tolls. I never planned to buy it. Then I rode it.

I'll say it: The Easymotion Evo Cross is a lousy electric scoot. If you want to cruise without pedaling, especially uphill, look elsewhere. That's what I thought I wanted. This bike changed it. If you enjoy cycling, or ever did and are not fit enough to do what you used to, I can't recommend this bike enough.

Now, the bad...

When I first saw the bike they had hurried to unpack it for me, since we'd been on the phone and they knew I was coming and would want a test ride. The speedo/computer ended up being wonky. They pulled another off the same bike out back in a box, problem solved. Score one for a local dealer!

My entire experience with my local dealer was just like that. Trouble-free. Confidence-inspiring. I now just need to hope that continues as I have a new issue... the battery only charges to 3 of 5 bars. That's on 2 different gauges, one on the computer and one on the actual battery when it's removed. Also, based on online research of range, I'm coming up well short.

Again, Kudos to my dealer. They told me to bring the stuff in and they'll test the batter, charger, etc. and "take care of it". TBC I suppose.

As for current specs,
~20MPH unassisted. Easy to push past that but the motor won't help.
Easy to pedal on flats up to ~10MPH. Could pedal my normal road bike 20MPH with same effort. Still, it's totally rideable if the battery dies. It's also very easy to leave assist off in downtown areas and just pedal under 10MPH.

I am curious to see what happens with this battery issue. Otherwise, the Evo Cross has been awesome, and I'm thrilled. Even with this battery issue, I have put 120+ miles on this bike since I got it. I got it Saturday afternoon. It's Wednesday. Figure in eating, sleeping, work, charging, and you can figure this bike is getting some use.

So, this is my review so far. I look forward to seeing this battery issue fixed. In the mean time, I have a full charge (which, for this battery, is 3 of 5 bars). I have lights. It's 10:30PM and I don't have to be to work until 8:00AM. I see a bedtime cruise in my near future!

Any questions, ask away! I am considering an CA to monitor the battery more carefully, but will wait to see what happens with the factory/dealer support. I also would need to research the difference between all the different versions of the CA.


Thanks,
Dan

nice review - I love the BH bikes, had a Xtrem, now have a Neo Volt folding bike with a Schlumpf and on 48v. Seriously torquey, will wheelie if I am in low range on the Schlumpf and rear gears.

Dont know if they got on it.. but many of the Emotions come with the display calibrated for the smaller 8.5ah battery. if you go into the menus (hold the plus/minus buttons for a few seconds) its the third or fourth menu in... should be changed to 11.6ah for the new ones. Or whatever it says on your battery.

PRW said:

nice review - I love the BH bikes, had a Xtrem, now have a Neo Volt folding bike with a Schlumpf and on 48v. Seriously torquey, will wheelie if I am in low range on the Schlumpf and rear gears.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Good to hear other happy owners, hopefully I continue to like this one!

Voltron said:

Dont know if they got on it.. but many of the Emotions come with the display calibrated for the smaller 8.5ah battery. if you go into the menus (hold the plus/minus buttons for a few seconds) its the third or fourth menu in... should be changed to 11.6ah for the new ones. Or whatever it says on your battery.

Click to expand...

Thanks Voltron. There are indicator lights on the battery itself, when taken out for charging. They also only show 3 of 5.

I ended up bringing it back to the shop where I bought it. They took it in right away and checked everything they could think of. They tried another charger, same result. They tried a different battery with my stuff, everything was good. All signs point to the battery, or the enclosed BMS. They cracked the battery open, fuse was good and no obvious reason. So, a new battery is on the way to them. When it comes in (they said a week) the owner of the shop is going to drive it the 40 minutes or so to where I live. He would have given me one out of another bike right then, but he only had white ones left. I couldn't be happier with the customer service of the local shop, which is EZ Bikes and Scooters in Exeter, NH).

In the mean time I've put 200 miles on the bike, added lights and panniers, swapped the saddle to a Bontrager I have and like from another bike and swapped out the pedals. I'm still loving the bike. Once I have the new battery I'll post up some range #'s in different modes of use.

Awesome! I rented a Neo Cross earlier this summer and really enjoyed it. It convinced me that torque sensing is the way to go (although I still haven't tried cadence yet.) I decided to try to build something similar myself. Hopefully it turns out at least half as fun to ride. Enjoy!

Hi Dan

Interesting reading your account of the Evo, how is it holding up? Did the new battery arrive and solve the issues you were having? I agree with all you said about the Cross. Very similar to my NEO. What's the CA you refer to?

Cheers

anda

He's probably talking about a Cycle Analyst. Its a retrofit system monitor/parameter controller.

Bought this bike new in Washington, D.C. 2 months ago. Will not turn on sometimes and quite often will just turn off while riding. When power cuts you are not in a sympathetic gear so you will lose control. This has been very dangerous in Washington traffic. If I take It somewhere I can not trust I can get back. The electronic control seem very cheap and after research online I have found many comments about same problem. This bike is heavy and very hard to ride with the power out. If you are stuck miles from home you can not leave a 3000 dollar bike chained up in any part of town.