Kinneto - Cannondale's STEPS E-Bike

Cannondale launched their e-bike line last year with two Bosch center drive e-bikes; the Mavaro and the Contro-E. This year, they've added two new bikes to their stable. The Moterra, a dual suspension mountain bike, is another Bosch motor bike, but the Kinneto is Cannondale's first bike using Shimano's smart-assist STEPS technology.

STEPS promises a lightweight and intuitive center drive train, and has the added feature of a walk-assist button for wheeling the bike while walking alongside it. Powered by a Shimano Lithium Ion 36v battery, the Kinneto can go up to 28 mph easily.

During my brief test ride with the Kinneto, I tried to take a picture of a "leisurely pedaling pace," something that would usually have me going about nine or ten mph. Unfortunately, the Kinneto had a little too much speed for me to do anything more than snap a blurry picture as I applied the brakes. Leisurely pedaling with max assist put me at around 19 mph on the Kinneto, and that was into a stiff head wind.

All in all, the Kinneto has a fairly lightweight and nimble frame, and paired with a suspension fork to take out some bumps and hydraulic disc brakes to control the rapid acceleration, the Kinneto looks to be a really great intro into Shimano's more affordable STEPS e-bike system.

$2799.99 stock, available in men's and women's geometry.