CUBE Kathmandu Hybrid Pro 500 or CANNONDALE TESORO NEO X2

[FoxAdriano]

Hi, I'd like to get some suggestions please. If you have experience, which do you prefer between these two e-bikes?
CUBE Kathmandu Hybrid Pro 500 or CANNONDALE TESORO NEO X2 E-BIKE?

CUBE PRODUKT ARCHIV | 2021

CUBE PRODUKT ARCHIV

www.cube.eu

* PDP

www.cannondale.com

I am 65 years old, 1.75 tall, normal weight.
CANNONDALE costs 150 euro more.
I'm mainly interested in comfort and I will use it on bumpy streets of my town with ups and downs, in the bad and bumpy country roads.
Which would you buy?
Thank you a lot for your precious news.

 

[Al Boneta]

Hi, I'd like to get some suggestions please. If you have experience, which do you prefer between these two e-bikes?
CUBE Kathmandu Hybrid Pro 500 or CANNONDALE TESORO NEO X2 E-BIKE?

CUBE PRODUKT ARCHIV | 2021

CUBE PRODUKT ARCHIV

www.cube.eu

* PDP

www.cannondale.com

I am 65 years old, 1.75 tall, normal weight.
CANNONDALE costs 150 euro more.
I'm mainly interested in comfort and I will use it on bumpy streets of my town with ups and downs, in the bad and bumpy country roads.
Which would you buy?
Thank you a lot for your precious news.

The Cube has a better motor, has an option for a larger capacity battery and is cheaper than the crackenfail

 

[FoxAdriano]

Thanks for your precious news. But I'd like to understand better.
What are the differences between two Bosch engines? I thought they are the same.
Purion display is better than Intuvia?

 

[Bellefield]

Hi FoxAdriano.

I have no experience of either ebike, but I do have experience of ebikes in general, so these are my thoughts on what you need to think of.

They look to be similar bikes, that will do the same job. Both have the same motor and battery pack, and its a great unit, so good choice there, and both will help you up the hills.

The cannondale has a slightly larger range rear cassette (11-51) v the cubes (11-46), this means that the cannondale will help you up the steeper hills easier, although they will both cope with this ok with the front chainring of 38 so its marginal gains, especially with the bosch motor.

The Cube is 25.1kg and it has air forks, which are lighter than the coil forks on the Cannondale, although its not clear how heavy the cannondale is. With regards to the forks, its a marginal issue, you won't be using them for taking jumps, just getting up and down a bumpy road and both will suffice, although I would lean towards the air forks.

With regards to the weight, if you are ever going to lift the bike (onto a bike rack for instance) then the weight will be important, if not, then don't worry about it.

If you keep the bike in a garage or a shed, then you need to think about charging it, can you do so securely (without it being stolen for example) or will you be taking the battery off to bring it indoors to charge? I think the batteries are removable in both but its worth checking how easy they are to take off.

The cube probably has the better display unit, although both will offer you all you need for getting about town.

They have similar brakes, similar shifting mechanisms, and both come with lights, mud guards, kickstands (which are very useful to have on a heavy bike) and decent tyres.

The cannondale does come with 29 inch wheels, which I find is better for the bumps in the road, but the cube has a suspension seat post which will help smooth out the bumps too (although it is something else that can go wrong).

There is not much to choose between them, and I'm sure you will be happy with either. It might just come down to which feels best for you, so try them both out if you can and then make your decision.

 

[FoxAdriano]

Thank you very much for your interesting reply.
1) I can't try the 2 e-bikes because I just have to order them.
2) I am 1.75 tall, do you think the Cannondale is too big for me?
3) Aesthetically, which one do you like best?
4) If you were me, which one would you buy?
Thanks again one.

 

[Beekeeper]

I like the air forks of the cube
But I think the canondale looks the nicer bike aesthetically.

Very similar specifications so I think you will be happy with either bike.

 

[Bellefield]

Thank you very much for your interesting reply.
1) I can't try the 2 e-bikes because I just have to order them.
2) I am 1.75 tall, do you think the Cannondale is too big for me?
3) Aesthetically, which one do you like best?
4) If you were me, which one would you buy?
Thanks again one.

Hi Adriano,

here are my thoughts:

1) avoid buying them remotely if you can, try to buy from a local bike shop, even if they do not sell these two bikes. eBikes are wonderful, but they need to be serviced and every now and then something can go wrong with them (such as the motor or the battery) and you will need a professional to fix them. If you have a local bike shop tell them what you are looking for and then see how close their recommendation matches to your preferences (or post it on here).

2) The cannondale comes in more sizing options so if anything, the cube may be a little small for you? This is a reason you should try them out first. I would not be able to tell you which bike was the best fit for you, you need to try them first.

3) I've had cannondale bikes before and I love them, also I prefer the look of the tresoro over the kathmandu, but its not really a measure of how good the bike is, or how suitable it is for my needs.

4) I'd buy whichever fit me best (see point 2) also you need to consider which is the easiest to get on to and off of. None of us are getting any younger and we need to think about what we need in the future.

To be honest, it looks like you have done a lot of research to get your choice down to these two bikes, and both are great bikes, but the best research, especially for an investment like this, is to try them out. See if you can take a demo one for an hour or so. The best thing about these bikes are the hundreds of miles you get out of them on each month, they bring a whole new lease of life to your riding, and your health, and your outlook on life as you explore areas you haven't seen before (or for a while) but they need to fit you and you need to be able to get them serviced and looked after if they go wrong, otherwise they become an expensive ornament in your shed ? that's why you should go to a bike shop and try them out, and preferably buy from them so that they can help you if they go wrong.

 

[Bellefield]

Can I ask where in Italy you live?

 

[Bellefield]

Can I ask where in Italy you live?

I had assumed it was Milan because of Adriano, so thought there would be loads of bike shops there?

 

[FoxAdriano]

ahahahah, I don't live in Milan and I don't live in Rome. ahahahah You all are wonderful people, I'm so happy to talk to you, I heartily thank you for your very of value advice.
But I have to tell you I live in a small town and there are some interesting shops but not many. In my town (50 thousand inhabitants ) there is a shop selling Cube and some other brands and at 12 Km there is another shop selling Cannondale and other brands. I don't know where you live but in Italy now it is impossible to find an e-bike ready to be sold. You have to book an order and the e-bike will arrive after a few months.
Anyway I can replace Cube and Cannondale with every other e-bike without problems, but I must also like it aesthetically. I'm not an expert, so any other suggestions of any other e-bike would please me. My budget is around 3000-3500 euros.
I'd like to ask 3 questions to clear my ideas:

1) Are Cube and Cannondale both good brands at the same way or is one better than the other? Are they good brands on the same level?
In your opinion which one is more comfortable on bad country roads or dirt roads?

2) Out of curiosity: do you think Specialized Turbo Vado 4.0 Step-Through is good like CUBE Kathmandu Hybrid Pro 500? Has Turbo Vado 4.0 an engine good like Bosch generation 4?

Turbo Vado 4.0 Step-Through

Si sa, il mondo è sempre più frenetico, ecco perché consigliamo bici più veloci per muoversi con scioltezza, come la Turbo Vado 4.0 Step Through che gra...

www.specialized.com

3) Is Turbo Vado 4.0 confortable like the Cube or Connondale? Why didn't anyone tell me that the Connondale having a much lower handlebar than the Cube Hybrid is less comfortable to drive? Do I make a mistake?

Sorry for my many questions but I'd like to understand.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions.

EDIT:
It seems that Cube KATHMANDU HYBRID PRO 500 is superior to Cannondale Tesoro Neo X 2 without a doubt, even if some people are saying the opposite.
Unlike Cube:
1) Cannondale costs 150 euros more
2) It doesn't have an air fork
3) It has the Purion display
4) It doesn't have a suspension saddle
6) It doesn't have the option to put a larger capacity battery

 

[Bellefield]

Hi Adriano,

I understand about the lack of availability of ebikes at the moment. I live on a small island in the middle of the Irish sea (its is approx 500 square kilometres, and has 85,000 inhabitants.

We do however have 5 or 6 bike shops, all of which are struggling to get ebikes for customers. This lock down has been good for bike retailers and manufacturers.

Cube and Cannondale are both established brands now, at least in the EU. Cannondale (a USA make) has been going longer (about 40 or so years) and has a history of innovation and great bikes. Cube bikes are younger (20 years or so) and used to be cheaper and more functional designs, but they have upped their game with the ebike market and have done well in it.

My personal preference is Cannondale, but that is because I have owned their bikes in the past and really like them, and also Cube bikes were a bit functional when they came out and that sticks in my mind, although they now do great bikes and they even have bikes in the tour de france now.

Specialized is another USA bike manufacturer and has been around as long as Cannondale. It also makes great bikes (although their geometry on the mountain bikes hasn't really suited me in the past, although that may have changed with the ebikes).

With regards to the Vado, I'm sure that is also a great bike, however I don't know the Specialised motors that well, and this one seems to be tuned for the town, rather than the mountains (which the Bosch Gen 4 CK motor is), so it is less powerful, and also the forks are only 50mm travel rather than 100mm of the other two bikes, but unless you are doing drops or rocky trails then as long as the forks work, then they should be fine.

With regards to which would be most comfortable for you, I will keep saying it, try them out first. Although to be honest they are probably all comfortable.

With regards to your points about cube v cannondale, yes they are all true, except for the last point as the Cannondale also does a 625 battery for that model. But those are really just components, and most bikes their real performance comes down to the frame and how it fits you (please see my endless points about trying the bikes out first ).

If you cannot try those bikes out specifically, then the key measurements for your comfort on a bike are the reach and the stack. These are shown in the geometry for each bike. Its probably better to explain stack first.

Stack (sometimes referred to as stack height) is the vertical distance between the centre of the chain ring to the top of the headtube (there are various other ways of describing this, but as the top tubes all now slope, I prefer to think of it as the top of the headtube). As I said, this is the vertical distance, not the direct distance between the two. It effectively shows how upright your position will be on the bike (and therefor how comfortable you will be).

The reach is basically what it says, it is the horizontal distance between the middle of the chainring and the top of the headtube. This gives you an idea of how far forward you have to reach to hold the handle bars.

Obviously there are other factors that will effect all of these, such as you inside leg measurement, the angle of the stem, the sweep of the bars, the width of the bars, etc, but the stack and the reach are a good start. For you kind of riding you want to have a relatively short reach and a high stack, however you won't know what best suits you until you try it.

As these measures are fairly universal now you can try it on a normal bike (none ebike) and see which reach / stack suits you best. It is best to give it a good ride first, not just sit on it for a minute. Its not until you have ridden it for a while that you will see where the aches or pains come from.

As I have said, the other components may also effect your reach or the stack, but its best to work on the basics first as you can change the components later if you wish.

 

[FoxAdriano]

I really appreciated your reply a lot and I don't know how to thank you for your availability. But at the same time your lines frightened me because I couldn't imagine how difficult the choice of an e-bike had been. I didn't even know the words "reach and stack". ??
However, I will only buy a low barrel e-bike, like the Remixte of the Cannondale Tesoro X 2.

Even understanding the meaning of the words "reach and stack" it is hard for me to try the bike. Therefore I'd like to ask you a question, hoping you don't get angry. ??
As it is difficult to understand which are the bikes that are comfortable for me, I give you my measurements, hoping that you can give me the best advice, even if it will not be a good thing to do this way.
I am almost 66 years old, I'm 1.75 cm (5.76 feet) tall, normal build (average with a slight belly), weight 80 Kg (177lb),
I tested even my "Frame Size" on Cube page.
My leg from the feet to the groin are 84 cm (2.7559 feet). My "Frame Size" is between "S" and "M" on Cube Hybrid e-bike.

Please don't get angry, only you can advise me, even though I already know it's not right and the mistake could be big.
Thanks for your reply.

EDIT: About battery: I meant that if you have the Cube and after a few years you want to replace the 500Wh battery with a 625Wh one, you can do it. But with Cannondale you can't do it.

 

[Bellefield]

even the cube system tells you to try the bikes for size! Maybe you should start to listen to this mantra?

I see that the cube has a variable tilt stem, this can raise or lower your handle bars to help with with your comfort and reach.

So it comes down to you really, if you are can't touch your toes and have long arms, then maybe go with the size medium, as it has a longer reach. If you are very flexible and have shorter arms then maybe go with the size small?

I suspect you will say that you are about average arms and flexibility

Honestly, there is very little between the size small and the medium, the difference in stack is only 0.9cm and the difference in reach is only 0.7cm. I suspect that it will come down to whatever size they have left in stock.

 

[FoxAdriano]

Hence as Cube has a variable tilt stem and Cannondale doesn't have that, maybe it is better to buy Cube. Am I understanding well?

 

[Bellefield]

Hence as Cube has a variable tilt stem and Cannondale doesn't have that, maybe it is better to buy Cube. Am I understanding well?

to be fair you can buy these stems quite cheaply and replace the one you have on any bike, so your decision should not be based on that, but it looks like you are leaning towards the cube anyway, so this helps to tip it

 

[FoxAdriano]

No dear Bellefield, it doesn't look like I'm leaning towards the cube at all. I look for the best confortable e-bike, both on the city road and on the dirt road.

What I don't understand about you is:
why are you stubborn on the Cannondale? Maybe it's because you don't know the Cube. You know Cube has something that Cannondale doesn't have:
1) Cannondale costs 150 euros more
2) It doesn't have an air fork
3) It has the Purion display
4) It doesn't have a suspension saddle. Sincerely. I don't quite understand if it has the suspension on the saddle or not (suspension seat post ).

What is giving you more Cannondale than Cube?

EDIT: I have just found this pic.

 

[FoxAdriano]

Today I took a tour of the dealers and I realized that the Cube Kathmandu Hybrid Pro 500 would arrive in December, in the meantime the other dealer is arriving, for tomorrow, the Cannondale Tesoro Neo X 2 and I think I take this e-bike, adding 150 euros.
I imagine that to go on city roads and in rough country roads and in dirt and woods, an e-bike is as good as another. However they both have the same Bosch Generation 4 motor. So at this point I looked at the aesthetics and I like the Tesoro X 2. Maybe I like Kathmandu a bit more but I couldn't wait for December. Now the game is done !!!
Tesoro Neo X 2 Remixte | E-Touring Bikes | Cannondale

EDIT: Damn !!! After a few years of not measuring my height, I realized that I'm not that tall. I measured myself tonight without shoes and I'm 1.72 cm (5,65 feet) tall. I got shorter with age. At this point I don't know if the "MD" is good for me because the site says "MD" = 1.70-1.82 while the "SM" = 1.62-1.72.
I know you know Cannondale, could you tell me if it fits wide or narrow?

OUT OF CURIOSITY:
I read a lot of inaccurate things about e-bikes. Can you tell me the maximum speed you managed to reach by pedaling on the flat and downhill? It is important for me please.
I hope you can reply me in short time.

 

[Bellefield]

Hi Adriano, it really doesn't matter to me if you buy one or the other, I'm just giving you my thoughts is all. Both bikes will be just fine.

I too am shrinking, except around the waist, I think my height has migrated to my width!

I'm not aware of how the cannondale urban / city bikes fit, but this bike is based on a mountain bike frame and you might want to look at the mountain bike charts. The best thing to do it to try out some cannondale bikes (non ebikes if they only have them) to work out the best cannondale fit for you.

Regarding maximum speed. The motor will only help you up to 25kph, after that you are on your own, and it becomes a "normal" bike, however many things will effect its maximum speed; tyre pressure, tyre tread, weight of the bike, weight of you, road surface, gradient, gearing, etc. and the wattage (power) you can put out with your legs.

Someone on here told me that the maximum speed I can get out of my mountain bike is 25mph (40kph) based on my gearing ratios, so I tried this the other day on a flat section of the old railway line, I managed to sustain a 25mph sprint for approx 100 yards before my legs burnt out as I have mountain bike tyres, it was on gravel, and I'm unfit! But it did prove that his calculations were correct.

I used my eMTB in the Medio Fondo race on Sunday (they now have a special ebike category) and on the big descent I got to 57kph, but this was quite steep, and my speed was limited by my tyres, my wind resistance (I'm a big unit) and the road surface (quite bumpy), but this was all gravity power.

For the first 20 miles of the race, it was relatively flat, with a few short climbs and rolling hills, and I really pushed it and managed to average just over 26kph, so only just getting above the battery assistance levels (I was turning the battery off in parts to try to "save" the battery for the hills, but I don't think I needed to do that), so I think this indicates that once the battery cuts out it is hard to increase your speed much on the flat due to the weight of the bike (and me!) and the tyres, etc.

On the very steep climbs I put a lot of effort in and I was averaging about 15kpm (20kph max), which doesn't sound a lot, but I went past approx 100 road bikes on those climbs, and a few e-road bikes too. I put a lot of effort in to do this, and used a lot of the battery, but I really enjoyed it.

What I'm trying to say is that the motor will not do everything for you, it will only assist, and the power you get out of it will depend on how much power you put into it, so don't expect to whizz around at 25kph everywhere, its not a motor bike, its just a normal bike that gives you a little assistance as you pedal, it feels great! But once that 25kph limit is reached, you are on your own!.

 

[FoxAdriano]

Dear Bellefield, I need to cry. My dealer told me that Cannondale Tesoro Neo X 2 would arrive today, but it was not so. I went to that dealer and instead of the Tesoro Neo X 2 there was the Tesoro Neo X 3.
Now he's researching when he can get the Treasure Neo X 2. In my country it is so hard to find an e-bike.

 

[FoxAdriano]

I ask for a kindness: could you check the engine of the Cannodale Tesoro Neo X 3 Remixte?

Tesoro Neo X 3 Remixte

Questa e-bike da strada e fuori strada è completamente equipaggiata per il trekking. Fuggi dalla vita frenetica e rifugiati nella natura.

www.cannondale.com

Maybe that X3 will arrive in a week only.
I noticed that the X2 has 85 nm of torque while the X3 only 65 nm.
It seems to me that the behavior is very different uphill, it doesn't push like the X2. I have no experience and maybe I'm wrong.

Although this X3 is sufficient for the dirt and bumpy roads I have to travel, but I'm afraid it is too weak for the climbs I have to travel, sometimes steep.
Can you explain me better please?
Thank you

 

[Bellefield]

Hi Adriano, sorry to hear about the delay in that X2. You have hit the nail on the head with your comment on torque. While the performance line cruise is fine for urban travel, it is detuned to a lower power usage to increase the range of the battery. However its gearing is not best for hills and neither is its motor. If you have a lot of hills around your area, especially steep hills then I'd hold out for the CX motor.

 

[Bellefield]

Hi Adriano, just wondering if you managed to get a bike?

 

[FoxAdriano]

Just today the Cube Kathmandu is coming to me.