Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike Review
We take a look at the Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike to see whether it can help you commute in style
The Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike is perfect for commuters and cycling enthusiasts who want a durable and versatile ride.
Where to buy: www.evanscycles.com
Part of the Pinnacle range, the Neon 1 is a hybrid bike with the ability to excel on the road and off the road to give your lots of flexibility when deciding your next journey.
The Pinnacle Neon 1 is a lightweight bike (it weighs just 11kg) so it’s easy to maneuver, store and transport.
In this review, we’re going to take a look at some of the basics of the Pinnacle Neon 1, give our verdict, see what other customers are saying and provide details on how you can get your hands on the bike.
So with the introduction over, let’s take a closer look at the Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike from all angles.
The Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike
The Pinnacle Neon 1 promises to have you arriving at work in style and swagger thanks to the efficient and effortless ride provided by this hybrid bike.
Indeed, the description on the Evans Cycles website says that it not only has style but lots of substance too. Notably, it has a heat-treated aluminium frame.
Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike (Photo: The Sport Review)
It promises smooth gear shifting thanks to the durable and reliable Shimano Sora R3000 drivetrain. And you can effortlessly shift gears thanks to the Rapidfire trigger.
The product description goes on to add that the inclusion of Clarks Cloud hydraulic disc brakes give you the control and confidence to safely descend.
One thing to note is that the Pinnacle Neon 1 doesn’t come with mudguards despite the price – but you are able to add them as an optional purchase.
Setting Up The Pinnacle Neon 1
The Pinnacle Neon 1 arrived in a cardboard box that you’re advised to keep in case you plan to transport your bike for trips away.
After you’ve got the bike out of the packaging, it’s a good idea to read through the instructions to get an idea on the steps required to set up the bike.
You’ll need to align the handlebars with the wheels before you attach the pedals and start to prepare your bike for its first outing.
Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike (Photo: The Sport Review)
Once you’ve got the handlebars and pedals ready to go, you can adjust the seat to match your preference and height. Evans Cycles provided a helpful booklet to guide you through each step in setting up your bike and their YouTube channel has some useful videos too.
Our Verdict
With a modern compact frame, the low top tube means standing at traffic lights is easy, and may even be low enough for riding in a dress or skirt. It also means that there’s plenty of seat post extended out of the frame, which, coupled with its slender 27.2mm diameter means it’ll help soak up lumps and bumps in the road. The semi-integrated cabling keeps things out of the way, protected and sleek without making servicing a pain.
Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike (Photo: The Sport Review)
The wide bars will give plenty of control, especially if on rougher roads, however they may become inconvenient when filtering through traffic. The addition of bull horns at the ends is a nice touch, and adds some extra hand positions on longer rides if you’re cruising on quiet roads or paths.
It’s a shame not to find a carbon fork at the front, as this is a great weight saving and usually makes for a smoother ride, soaking up road buzz from poor roads.
On the plus side, the bike features Thru-axles, a good modern update. Particularly with powerful hydraulic disc brakes, these provide an easy and secure hold on the wheels for peace of mind and make it extra easy to pop the wheels on and off.
Though they may not be carbon, the forks do have eyelets to fit a mudguard. Matching those at the front, there are a pair at the back. It would be nice to have seen an extra pair of eyelets at the rear to make it easy to fit both mudguards and a rack. At this price point it would have gone some way to compensate for the lack of carbon fork.
Eleven kilograms is a respectable weight, and will feel light if you’re upgrading from an old mountain bike. Thanks to the use of common component sizes, it would be fairly easy to upgrade parts later to reduce the weight further, or increase comfort.
A carbon seat post and handlebar would be a good start, as well as upgrading the wheels. For the adventurous out there, a carbon fork could make a big difference too and is actually quite easy to swap over.
It’s great to see Shimano’s Sora groupset on this bike. It’s a quality choice and the second-most expensive thing after the frame. For the retail price of the bike, this is the sort of level of components you should be expecting.
They’ll provide years of good service and spare parts are widely available and reasonably priced. It’s just a shame the crankset is a non-series part (not from a range with a name, like Sora). This is a common cost cut and means the look isn’t quite as stylish as it might have been and will add a bit of weight too.
The 50/34 gears at the front put this bike firmly into fast, flat territory; you might expect to find these gears on a road bike. It’s a shame not to have a slightly easier crankset up front, as you might find on gravel bikes, to cope more easily with steep hills or slightly rougher terrain.
If you’re fit, these won’t be a problem. Coupled with the 32 toothed gear at the back you should be covered for most riding. If you live somewhere hilly like Bath though, it might be worth getting some easier chainrings fitted, or a cassette which goes up to 34 teeth. We’re talking sustained 10 per cent gradients though, so for most this won’t be an issue.
Clearly some of the costs which have been cut have been ploughed into the brakes. Hydraulic disc brakes are the gold standard and it’s good to have a brand like Clarks supplying the parts.
Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike (Photo: The Sport Review)
Although traditional rim brakes can excel in the dry, when the heavens open there’s only one choice. Disc brakes provide consistent performance whatever the weather and keep mess to a minimum.
In particular, hydraulic brakes provide the best braking. They are typically stronger than cable brakes but, more importantly, they make it easier to brake smoothly, making it less likely to skid in the wet. Also, hydraulic brakes require very little maintenance and typically self-adjust as the pads wear down. They’re a little more complicated to service than a cable brake but usually need servicing less regularly and are more fit-and-forget.
You can expect to get hundreds of miles out of them before they need attention (but do still check for pad wear regularly). The real bonus is that they don’t wear your wheels out as your brake!
Another area where the designers have invested are the tyres. An often overlooked component, tyres can make or break how a bike handles. After the brakes, these are the most important thing for safety. Grippy rubber, particularly on wet roads, are what you want. Although not a household name, the tyres have been well selected.
Choosing a 30mm tyre is also a great choice for comfort; these will do the lion’s share of smoothing out lumpy roads and having a modern, large tyre is just the ticket. These roll quickly on a mix of surfaces and will cope with canal paths just fine. They should last many miles and allow you to roll in comfort and confidence.
Price And Where To Buy
You can buy the the Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike from the Evans Cycles website for £650 (which is reduced from original sale price of £950 at the time of publishing). You can get oversized delivery, next-day bulk delivery or store delivery at an additional cost.
If you decide to purchase the Pinnacle Neon 1 online, you can still get a full refund within 28 days provided it hasn’t been used for fitted and is returned with the original packaging and proof of purchase. That said, be sure to read up on the returns and exchanges policy on the site you’re shopping from before making a purchase.
What Customers Are Saying
At the time of writing, the Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike had an average score of 3.9 out of five stars based upon 26 reviews on the Evans Cycles website.
One London commuter gave the Pinnacle Neon 1 a glowing review, writing: “Having not had a bike for years and recently moved to London, I was looking for something easy and not too complicated. This is a brilliant piece of kit. Perfect for community to work and general cycling around town. It’s quick to ride, the gears are really smooth and it’s not that heavy.”
The responsiveness of the Pinnacle Neon 1 was something that cropped up multiple times in the reviews, with one customer saying: “This is my first hybrid bike and I am in love. The bike looks fantastic. It rides great on roads and on off road and is extremely responsive and quick. Would highly recommend. I opted for the grey one and it is awesome.”
Meanwhile, another customer recommended the bike for gravel paths along canals: “Great for the price, keeps up with busy roads and light. There’s a sense of the bike just wanting to roll faster and faster in the slightest decline thanks to the slightly wider tyres than my last bike. I added mudguards, pannier rack and dlock and it still feels like the bike is doing most the work. I highly recommend this bike to road commuters who also enjoy canal paths. It even does gravel with the 32mm width tyres. Another great Pinnacle Neon!”
Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike (Photo: The Sport Review)
Wrapping Up – Our Final Verdict
We’ve reached the end of our review of the Pinnacle Neon 1 Hybrid Bike.
Overall, for a bike which appears geared to ride fast, it’s a shame not to find some more exotic parts for the price. This racy aspect may also account for the lack of mudguards, something else which would have been nice.
That being said, this bike is built to be a well-considered and reliable companion for many years to come (and it looks like especially good value at almost half price).
