Cannondale Cargowagen Neo

The Cargowagen Neo has been a bike we’ve eagerly wanted to test here on the channel since it was announced a while back. Truth be told the Wonderwagon Neo has equally has our interest but sadly those have yet to make their US debut.

Coming in at $4300 the Cargowagen Neo is a Class 3 Bosch Powered electric cargo bike with dual battery compatibility for maximum range and a rack that can hold two kids carriers.

At a glance we see the 20” wheels, a nice sage green with a pop of red, a very nice low step frame design with a center console and a dropper post. What more could you want? Overall, it’s a very tight, clean, modern look that seems thuroughly thought out.

Well-shielded and discreetly located in the center of the frame is the Class 3 Bosch Performance Speed 250w drive unit with 85Nm of torque. This does use the LED remote and comes with the Kiox display. Something that’s neat with the display and the app is being able to set your route and have turn-by-turn navigation on the display, allowing you to keep your phone tucked away. Additionally, with the Bosch system and the Flow app you get the new Auto PAS mode (variable power assist), over the air updates and theft protection.

Currently, we have a single Bosch Powerpack 545Wh battery which is estimated to offer about 25-50 miles a charge. We’ll touch on our experience with range and power shortly.

Braking power is smooth and abundant thanks to Shimano 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors. Although online they do list Tektro brakes, but as with many bikes these last few years, component spec can change due to availability.

The Cargowagen Neo uses a Shimano Deore 10-speed drivetrain that is smooth consistent and capable of taking the abuse. This is a mtb drivetrain and it’s gonna handle all the weather and additional load that a cargo bike can throw at it with confidence.

As mentioned it sits on 20” wheels with a mixed tire size. A 2.6” Schwalbe PickUp eCargo rated tire up front and a 2.15” in the rear.

At first I was skeptical of the “skinnier” tires, but there hasn’t been one second while riding that I eagerly wanted a larger volume tire.

Helping to make the ride of the Cargowagen Neo smooth and stable is a SR Suntour Mobie 34 80mm fork. It has a preload adjust on either side helping to easily firm things up when you need it. And a TranzX suspension seatpost with a plush saddle.

Like many cargo bikes and well urban bikes, the Cargowagen Neo comes with lights and fenders, but they are not your ordinary off the shelf spec. The front light is a high visibility LED headlight that is large and bright, and out back is a Lezyne Super Bright rear light. The front fender is a bit ordinary, but comes with the matching mudflap that we see out back. This is so nice for keeping the muck off on nasty wet rides. The rear fender however is more of a full concealed shield. Not only keeps the muck contained it prevents little tiny feet from making their way into the wheel on accident.

Additionally, the Cargowagen Neo comes with an ABUS ring lock mounted to the front fork. We like these locks a lot on cargo bikes, a) they’re always mounted and always there b) they’re tough.

They include the running boards knowing truly how this bike is intended to be used.

The overall length is about 79”. That’s from the front of the tire to the end of the rack, making it one of the longer, if not the longest, longtails on test. The rear rack sits about 23.5” from the ground, making it the lowest rear rack height of the cargo bikes on test.

If you have kids and have picked them up to put them in a carrier, you know that lower is better, especially if you pick them up over the rear hoop that mounts on those rack. 

Overall load capacity is ~440 lbs and the rear rack can fit 2 kids carriers and a max load of 176 lbs. Our front rack is rated for about 33 lbs.

The step-over height is just shy of 20” and the Cargowagen Neo can accommodate riders from 5’1” to 6’2”. Now to touch on the fitment, we’ve had testers at 5’4” and 6’, all of us hands down have felt comfortable with very minimal adjustment, really just seat height for different riders and being a dropper post sometimes it’s just a matter of dropping it down and not having to actually change the seat post height. Reach has been comfortable for us all, not too far, not too tight. And a little wiggle room in bar angle and stem height helps to dial things in. 

Handling 

Unloaded the Cargowagen Neo is smooth and nimble. It does not ride like the longest bike on test. I think that’s in part to the narrower tires. It feels nimble and well rides nimbly as well. Whether that be fast and straight or taking corners at speed, it handles well. And overall being a low center of gravity bike with good weight distribution, it is easy to ride at super slow speeds and feel stable. Loaded up, not much changes at all. As with any bike having a bit of weight up front will affect the feel and confidence turning aggressively, but again the lowness of everything keeps things smooth. Weight in the back is pretty negligible for handling. I don’t know how else to really say that low is good and very helpful for handling and stability. From the repeatable test loop all the bikes were on to casual rides around the neighborhood with my partner on the back, the Cargowagen Neo showed little impact on maneuverability with the added weight. 

Jumping into performance

Unloaded the Cargowagen is lean and zippy, it doesn’t feel the bulk of a cargo bike, and it holds a strong sense of balance with a comfortable weight distribution. The Bosch gets you cruising quickly and really provides a lot of support. On our 12 mile test loop, I saw a happy average speed of 19.8 mph unloaded in turbo. Conversely, while loaded a very minor decrease to 18.5 mph, with a very minor change in average rider input. The one segment of the loop that i put each bike into eco mode for a hill climb is where the eco power output of the bikes varied significantly. The cargowagen was one of the most comfortable ones having to push hard with minimal PAS up a steep grade, but it still pedalled smoothly without a major toll on me physically. Granted it’s an ebike and even if you opt for standard riding in eco for the majority of your ride, that leaves three more modes of greater PAS left to tackle the steep stuff. 

Range Expectations

As we all know range is a finicky number. There are plenty of variables that impact how much you may have and I won’t bore you with our lecture on the variables. That being said, on the test loops I was sure to keep an eye on the range in my simulation. After having gone 12 miles in full turbo I had 40% battery left with a range of 7 miles remaining. Leaving me with about that 19 miles mark for a full turbo pedal. This is the greatest power output consistently going for a full ride which I think is a poor representation of the overall range this bike is capable of on a single battery, but needless to say I think it’s a valuable image to get across for those that exclusively want to ride full turbo and I’d definitely suggest getting that second battery. 

We’ve covered the components, range, and power, even the included accessories. As it comes it’s ready to go and start transforming daily riding. It’s truly the first ebike I’ve seen with a legitimate center console to hold your phone, wallet, water bottle, keys, you name it. But that’s not where it stops.

Cannondale does have a line of additional accessories, of which we’ve fitted many to our test unit. Up front, you have a choice of two different racks that mount to the head tube and relocate the headlight, On the rack we have the passenger pads which velcro in place for quick removal, and also the surround rail to have a safe spot to hang on.

Now I know it’s a cargo bike and it’s safe to assume most with kids would be considering using one or two Yepp maxi seats, but the Cargowagen Neo has trailer mounting points as well. I’m sure plenty of cargo bikes are capable of towing a trailer, but to know that they did intentionally ensure that it is ready to accept and up to the task is important in our eyes.

All in all, the Cannondale Cargowagen Neo is a flat out killer cargo bike that we’re looking forward to continuing to explore it’s capacities and get plenty of more miles on it. At $4300 it is by no means the cheapest electric cargo bike on the market but it is hands down one of the most thought out and smoothest cargo bikes we’ve ridden to date.

Stay tuned for the roundup video to see how the Cargowagen Neo stacks up to the rest. For now leave any q’s or com’s below. Thank you so much for watching, don’t forget to subscribe it’s a great way to support the channel so we can do awesome projects like this. Thanks for watching, see you in the next one!

Price: $4300
Colors: Sage
Weight: Undeclared
Load Capacity: 440 lbs
Website: cannondale.com