Cannondale Moterra SL | Their Lightest, Full-Power eMTB | First Look

Calling all bike fans, Cannondale has a rad new electric mountain bike with a bold claim – the lightest full-power mountain bike ever*! With a claim like that, Cannondale’s new Moterra SL is sure to get some attention… it certainly has mine! Let’s get straight to it, Cannondale weighs in their new beast at 43lbs without sacrificing power.

The Moterra SL delivers a punchy 85Nm of torque, 600+ watts of peak output via 601Wh of battery power – all that under 45 lbs?! And the tricks don’t stop there…

Moterra SL is equipped with 160mm of travel up front, and 150mm of travel out back – truly ready to take on anything you can throw it at. It is also designed using Cannondale’s very own ‘Proportional Response’ which ensures ride feel is customized for each frame size to deliver ride quality consistency for every rider, and has a mullet setup – 29 inch wheel up front and 27.5 inch wheel out back – that can be fully converted to 29er only if desired.

Now that it has your attention, too, check out this edit for the new Moterra SL.

For those that want it, here’s more of the technical details:

– Moterra SL defines its own class, packing up to 85Nm of torque, 600+ watts of peak output, and 601Wh of battery power, yet weighing as little as 19.5kg/43lbs.

– The lightweight, 150mm-travel frame is made possible by pioneering carbon expertise and FlexPivot technology, resulting in incredible traction, responsive braking, and a playful feel.

– The custom-tuned version of Shimano’s EP801 drive unit provides 85Nm of torque and 600+ watts of max output, offering a big-time boost to the lightweight party. There’s “ECO” (minimal assist, maximum range for all-day exploits), two “TRAIL” modes (the first TRAIL mode provides mid-power, great for riding with friends on lightweight e-bikes, the second TRAIL mode ramps up the assist for ripping with full-power e-bikes), and of course, “BOOST” (full power, all the time).

– The unique internal battery uses a custom cell configuration that stores more power per kilo than ever before, creating an incredibly compact battery that packs a full 601 watt-hours into just 3.1 kg, including the wiring.

Cannondale also offered the following perspective on Moterra SL’s geometry:

Digging into the geometry details reveals Moterra SL to be just as unique and progressive as the rest of the headline features. It’s got a 62.5-degree head angle that’s as slack as a DH bike, with headset cups that offer 1.2 degrees of adjustment, plus the long reach and steep seat angle of a modern trail bike, and front-center and rear-center lengths that are customized by size. On paper, it might seem bizarre, but in practice you realize how much it all makes sense given the speed this bike carries and how responsive it remains on every part of every trail. It is truly ‘progressive geometry’ in action.