Neo horizons

When health gets in the way of passion, bikes like Cannondale’s Supersix Evo Neo help level the playing field

Ali Mclean is the founder of Fatcreations, a custom paint shop of international renown based in Chichester. The quality and popularity of his work would suggest it was the result of a lifelong passion, but Mclean’s first love was cycling. His promising career had to be cut short however, due to the development of a serious heart condition, Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy, in 2014.

‘Long story short it now means that if my heart goes above 120 beats per minute, I am at serious risk of my heart going into ventricular tachycardia, which means irregular electrical impulses make it beat exceptionally fast,’ he says. ‘This could lead to fatal cardiac arrest if an ICD I have implanted doesn’t succeed at getting my heart to go back into rhythm.’

While cycling’s loss was custom painting’s gain, Mclean sorely missed participating in the sport he loved so much. This is where Cannondale’s Supersix Evo Neo e-road bike comes in. Just by looking at it you can tell this isn’t your typical e-bike. It takes many cues from Cannondale’s regular Supersix

Evo race bike, using a similar ‘Ballistec’ carbon fibre frame construction, many similar Kammtail tube profiles and the same ‘SAVE’ compliance-boosting componentry. Consequently the Supersix Evo Neo is as light as e-bikes get at 11.3kg, as stiff and comfortable as the regular Supersix Evo and aerodynamically efficient to boot.

‘Drag reduction has a huge effect on performance in road cycling, and this holds true for e-road bikes too,’ says Nathan Barry, Cannondale’s design engineer. ‘Making the Supersix Evo Neo aerodynamically efficient means it is easier to go faster, especially once riders go above the assistance threshold.’

So the bike ticks the high performance road riding experience box before you even get to the motor.

The Supersix Evo Neo uses ebikemotion’s X35 drive system. The X35 rear hub-based motor uses a power meter and magnets in the cassette lockring to support - but not overwhelm - the output of the rider up to 25kmh. It delivers up to 250 extra watts over a range as far as 100km in some cases. The whole system weighs just 3.7kg and uses a battery small enough to be housed in the down tube, so the rear hub and subtle ‘iwoc’ control button on the top tube are the only clues the Neo is more than a conventional road bike.

What happens now?

‘Even after just one ride on it, it became apparent immediately that this would change everything for me,’ says Mclean. ‘I could actually go out on a ride with my partner and instead of her having to take it easy, she could hit the climbs in a proper training zone. I could keep pace with her and she could get in a proper workout even though I was having to keep my heart rate relatively low. I never ever thought that would happen again on a road bike.’

Mclean says the feat is all the more impressive because when he initially looked at the Supersix Evo Neo he had no idea it was an e-bike.

‘So many of my friends have been round and seen this bike and assumed it was a normal Supersix Evo. Instead of being just a classic e-bike, to me it feels more like the Neo is a modern, aero road bike that just happens to have that motor in the rear hub. It does everything you need it to do. It picks up the slack when you are not feeling good, or if you aren’t capable. That makes all the difference in the world.’

Mclean even thinks the paint finish isn’t half bad. Coming from a custom painter of his standard, that is high praise indeed.

Find out more at cannondale.com