CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2

It’s got more suspension tunes than a Hitchcock movie, but will this Moterra thrill us or chill us?

- Paul Burwell

Cannondale claims that the Moterra Neo Carbon 2 is “agile, quick, stable and composed.” And there might be a kernel of truth in this boast, because the bike is Proportional Response Tuned. Put simply, PRT means the suspension on the Moterra Neo Carbon 2 has been tuned for each of the four frame sizes, so everyone gets to ride a bike that is tailored more closely to their height and body weight, as opposed to adopting a one- size-fits-all approach.

As such, Cannondale engineers have tuned the kinematics on the larger frames to be more progressive to deal with the increase in rider weight, and they have more anti-squat too, while taking the opposite approach on the small sizes. Other size-specific tweaks include 27.5in wheels on the size Small, while the M, L and XL bikes are full 29ers, and there are different-length dropper posts throughout. The obvious next step would be to have size-specific chainstay lengths but Cannondale has stopped short of that, even if, at 460mm, the chainstay length on the Moterra is anything but short.

The Neo Carbon frame isn’t full carbon – only the front triangle is a composite construction, the rear end is aluminium. At over 25kg for a 150mm travel bike, it’s not that light either. Take a closer look at the stays and you’ll see kickstand, rack and mudguard mounts which are not necessary on an e-mtb. This is because Cannondale offers a Mottera New EQ model that uses the same frame and makes full use of the superfluous fittings and fixtures. Having those attachment points doesn’t affect performance in any way, but I reckon some riders are going to be put off because they don’t look very neat.