Cannondale’s history is with aluminium bikes and they have a huge amount of experience and know how with this material. They’ve always focused on frame stiffness with their original ‘Power Pyramid’ downtube, and on the Moterra this thinking is very much apparent with the Torsion box down tube. This carries the battery as low and central as possible for great handling and agility. In combination with a ‘Super Boost’ 157mm rear hub spacing, the frame is incredibly stiff and with the weight of the battery and motor sitting low in the frame this really helps.

‘The Moterra is a quiet bike; agile, yet at the same time giving an incredibly stable ride’

The Bosch motor has been moved forward in the frame and works with the custom Ai (Asymmetric Integration) chainring moving the chainline outboard by 6mm. This allows for very short chainstays and aligns the pivot – Cannondale say that this means the suspension action is unaffected by motor and pedal torque. This also results in a nimble feel, plenty of tyre clearance and a lower centre of gravity – all real benefits. Yet another plus point is that it frees up space above the down tube for a bottle cage – a rare sight on an e-bike of this nature.

To protect the motor and battery from trail damage, the Moterra is fitted with a ‘BatStrap’ rubber battery cover and a burly, trials-style skid plate. An integrated chainguide keeps the chain in place and helps fend of mud and debris, a problem we keep coming across on many e-bikes with small chainrings.