The Neo Street is one of Easy Motion’s most complete, fully featured, electric bikes. It includes nearly everything you could want in a city style electric bike except for mounts to add a water bottle cage. Literally, this bike has it all and more importantly, it rides great and looks amazing. Since it’s manufactured by BH, a bicycle company from Spain that has been around since 1909, it also benefits from being a great standalone bike with solid components.
All electric bikes face the same challenge; how do you mount a motor, controller and battery pack to a bicycle frame without making it unstable. The key is to keep the center of gravity low and spread weight out from front to rear. The Easy Motion Neo Street (and all Easy Motion bikes) accomplish this through the use of a custom battery pack that mounts to the downtube. This long, thin pack is purpose-built which makes it more expensive but because BH uses the same pack on all of their bikes, they are able to sell it for less and even offer replacements for $500 which is amazing!
Just looking at the pictures, it’s clear that this bike has it all and I can attest that they weren’t just checking the box when they added lights, fenders, the rack and the swept back handlebars with ergonomic grips. These are all made with high quality parts and function well. I’ve ridden bikes that have jittery front lights mounted to fenders and others that have noisy rattly fenders or weak racks that don’t work with normal sized panniers. That’s not the case with the Neo Street, it’s all good stuff and the lights even runs off of a dynamo which keeps them lasting longer and saves money on individual batteries.
The motor on this bike offers 350 watts of power which is middle of the line. There are lots of other bikes out there with 500w motors but they suffer from weight distribution issues (or overall weight of the bike!) that cause the motor to work harder and the bike to be less stable. If you’re a very large rider this bike may not offer the power desired but for many people it will work just fine.
The best way to ride this bike to maximize distance is by pedaling with the torque sensing pedal assist feature. The battery pack provides 9 amp hours which is again, middle of the line, but the stiff frame, smooth rolling tires and overall light weight help it coast quite far. The battery pack does have to be removed for charging but it’s easy to do and once it’s on the bike, it gets locked on and the keys don’t have to be left in as with many other ebikes. Both the motor and the LCD computer are removable so theft becomes less of a concern and that protects both items from the elements.
Overall this bike is fun to ride, smooth and comfortable because of the front shock, soft seat and swept back handlebars and it works very well. BH is a trusted brand that has a lot of experience with bikes and they really nailed it with the Neo Street. The price is also quite good and the two year battery warranty is hard to beat.
Pros:
- Wonderful feature set is also high quality: fenders, lights, rear rack with bungee, ergonomic grips, tool-less adjustable neck
- Chain guard keeps pants clean and snag-free when riding with pants
- Solid, stiff frame does not bend or sway as some larger, heavier bikes do
- Overall light weight considering all of the features
- Excellent torque-sensing pedal assist mode is very efficient
- Motor is very quiet
- LCD computer is easy to use (only three buttons) and weather resistant
Cons:
- No water bottle mounting points
- V-brakes instead of disc brakes
- Battery has to be removed when charging
- Twist throttle mode works well but doesn’t offer the most torque or acceleration
- Medium sized 350 watt motor and 36 volt battery might feel weak to larger sized riders
Resources:
- Official Site: http://www.emotionbikesusa.com/ebikes/EN313
- More Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/wEnkPyzhLhsMjqi98
Wt says
I have had mine for 2 weeks now and have put 115 miles on it. Love it. I test rode about 7 others in the local shop and this was the best by far.
wt says
OMG, I can’t believe i wrote that nearly 3 years ago. I still have the bike and still love it to death. When I had 1490 miles on the bike the battery went down hill fast which was no where near where the store said I would get. True to their word they gave me a replacement. After I had put just over 2000 miles I was standing in my kitchen with the small odometer/speedometer in my hand and accidentally dropped it and even though the bike was still fully functional I’m not able to tell you how many miles I have on the bike now.
I was told by the store that a new battery would be around $600 so the bike has been sitting idle for over a year. Instead I bought a 4 stroke gas kit with Honda motor off the net for about what i would have paid for a new electric battery. Both bikes have their pluses and minuses but at least with the gas bike there is no range anxiety (gas stations all over the place). The electric bike is quiet and most don’t know it’s electric unless I tell them. I can ride the electric bike on the local trails but the motor bike is forbidden.
Court Rye says
Cool, it’s nice that the shop honored the warranty and I enjoyed hearing about your gas vs. electric experience. Both definitely have their place. I might know of a shop that sells the Neo battery packs if yours is going bad, they might have it at a lower price since they are getting older now and replaced with a new design. It could help keep your ebike on the road vs. languishing :) It’s true though that one of the most expensive parts of electric bikes is their battery packs and $600 is the general cost for higher quality precision designs like those made for Easy Motion electric bicycles.
Sk says
I’ve done over 1,500 kms on mine and think its been the best thing I’ve ever bought
Penelope Donado says
Please tell me the cost of a replacement battery for my Easy Motion Street 2013 model; FB-012-36V-8.8AH mod code:EN314 Date2014/05/23—another sticker say Lithium Battery Pack Model: BH1004L Rating: 36Vdc, 8.8Ah; charge rating :42Vdc,2A
Court Rye says
Hi Penelope! I don’t sell any electric bikes or accessories but my guess is that this battery costs $500. You might be able to find it at a store that carries Easy Motion, what part of the country or world do you live in?