Summary

• A cross-country style hard-tail e-mountain bike with 80 mm suspension forks, knobby trail tires, and sturdy alloy pedals, includes a trigger throttle up to 25 km/h
• Lots of adjustability with the display panel, including speed, the 12-magnet cadence sensor is very responsive, e-brake cut-offs in both of the levers, large 180 mm hydraulic disc rotors in front and rear
• Upgraded suspension fork, hydraulic brakes vs mechanical, better saddle, derailleur, cassette range, battery, and display from the regular NCM Moscow version
• The kickstand works decently well but can block the left crank arm when down, 2amp charging is slow for the high capacity battery, some wires stand out vs. being completely internal, not much room to add things on the handlebar

Video Review

 Detailed Review

Today we are checking out their Moscow Plus, the big brother to the Moscow. The Moscow Plus features a nicer suspension fork, hydraulic brakes, more comfortable saddle, and an upgraded derailleur with more gear ranges. There is also a better battery coupled with a nicer display. Because they share the same frame however, you will find a lot of parallel information in this review if you read the write up on the regular Moscow. So the Moscow Plus here is an aluminum alloy frame hard-tail ebike that comes in 2 sizes. Each size also has tire options as well, so basically there is a 19” frame and a 20.5” frame and you can choose either 27.5” tires, or 29” tires. Today we have the 19” frame with the 27.5” Schwalbe Smart Sam knobby tires. Overall the bike weighs about 56.1lbs, (about 1.4lbs lighter than the regular Moscow) and costs $1,899 USD and $2,399 in CAD. As I mentioned before, it is a bit of a hard-tail setup, so you do get this nice SR SunTour XCM30 spring suspension fork. It has 80mm of travel, larger 30mm stanchions, and includes compression adjust, lockout, and preload adjust. Pretty standard hub spacing in the front, 100mm, and there is a 9mm quick release skewer in the front, but none in the back since this is a hub-drive. I am told that it has a maximum weight capacity of 275.5lbs, which is higher than standard. This might come in handy since the bike does have bottle cage bosses, rack bosses, and even fender provisions, so you could really load it up with accessories and it should handle it very well. I like that there is an adjustable length kickstand included, but it is center mounted. That means that you could have the pedals strike the kickstand when down and reversing, an annoying occurrence sometimes referred to as ‘pedal-lock’. The seat post here is a rigid post, which is normal, but since it is 30.9mm, you could swap that out with a nice suspension seat post to get some more cushion on top of that front suspension fork. Other features include ergonomic Velo grips, Wellgo aluminum alloy platform pedals, and one of my favorites, a slap guard that will protect the bike frame and paint from getting nicked by the chain and scratching the paint.

Driving the Moscow Plus is a 500 watt nominally rated planetary geared hub motor. I love that it is fairly compact given the high power output. Power wise, it can deliver up to 80nm of torque, which is quite high, but it cannot leverage gears the way that a mid-drive could. The upside is that the motor always feels zippy, it doesn’t matter which of the gear combinations you are pedaling with. And, the motor can deliver instant power with the minimalist throttle. Hub motors are a great fit for hardtail mount bikes because there is no rear suspension to interfere with. As you shift gears, there won’t be increased mashing or forces applied to the drivetrain because the motor operates completely independently of the chain and sprockets. Moving the bike is done here with either the throttle or the cadence based pedal assist. Of course, this motor will use more power if you’re constantly starting with the throttle, but that’s a worthwhile trade for someone like myself, who has a knee injury. I love being able to override assist with the throttle at any time. I also love that the throttle is easily disabled by removing a cable in case you need to make the bike legal for other trails or local laws. Mechanically, you have 3 rings in the front (48,28, and 28), but sadly, there is no chain cover to protect your clothing. In the rear you have an upgraded 11-32 tooth setup, so a bit better range than the standard Moscow. All in all, it is a Shimano Acera system, and you also get 8 speeds, trigger shifters, and a couple of display windows that tells you what gear you are in. There is a derailleur guard here too, something I love since it protects the derailleur during shipping, or if the bike takes a spill some day. Stopping the Moscow Plus is a set of hydraulic brakes. This was one of my grips on the regular Moscow, so I am happy to see they are offered here in a set of 180mm rotors for both the front and rear. Another upgrade here on the Plus is motor inhibitors in both brake lines. The regular Moscow only had it on one lever so I am glad it is here as it helps cut power to the motor when stopping.

Powering the NCM Moscow Plus is a high capacity Lithium-ion battery pack, offering 48v 16ah hours of capacity! I would say that’s a nice upgrade from the 48v 13ah of the regular Moscow…that means you can go further or ride at higher speeds. I love that they use a sealed external controller, this allows a lower cost for replacement batteries, and keeps the controller protected from harsh elements. Where as some companies are $800-$1000 range for a new battery, this keeps the NCM battery cost to around $500. Note that whenever you’re operating around or above 20 mph, air resistance is going to cause exponential energy draw and range will be decreased. This pack delivers electricity to the motor, but also the backlit display panel (hold the + icon to turn on backlighting), and even a full sized USB charging port on the top right side. You could use this port to maintain phones, GPS, or music devices as you ride or when parked at home or a camp site. My friends recently took a bikepacking trip using another electric bike, and this sort of charging-on-the-go feature would be really handy. If you’re excited to charge while riding, I recommend using a right-angle USB adapter like this, just to keep the wires tucked in and out of the way while you pedal. The battery pack weighs more than average at 9.2lbs, but the alloy casing is sturdy and most of the weight is kept low and center on the bike frame. I took the pack off when moving the bike to our review location, to reduce load on my car rack. If you live up stairs, removing the battery is a great idea, and for those who need to leave the bike in a cold, hot, or wet locations… being able to protect and charge the battery inside is a great thing. It’s best to maintain the pack above 20% and avoid extreme temperatures. It’s going to take a bit longer to fill this battery because of the higher capacity, and the charger is more basic, offering 2amp output vs. 3amp or 4amp. So expect 6 to 7 hours for a fill recharge if you go all the way down to zero. One quick warning about charging the battery while mounted to the bike, be careful with the left crank arm because it passes directly in front of the plug port on the left and could bend or snag the charging plug and cable.

The display on the Moscow Plus is upgraded, nice and large and easy to read. To begin, just hold the power button on the little control pad near the left grip. It activates the display and you get several readouts including assist level, current speed, and battery capacity. Pressing power one time will activate backlighting on the LCD display and holding the down arrow constantly will activate walk mode (which can be handy if you need to to ascend a ramp, make your way through a walk-only space, or even climb stairs). The display can show different menus if you press the set button, a nice feature to dive in a little more. I like the size and position of the display, you can even angle it forward and back to reduce reflection glare, but it is not removable. For those who plan on commuting, it might be worth strapping your helmet over the display to keep people from noticing or scratching it, and also protecting it from the sun, while parked at racks. Overall, I would still call this display panel and accompanying button pad above average, I love that it can be angled to reduce glare and feel that it looks beautiful and is well sealed against water… but to clean the bike it is recommended to use a damp cloth vs. spraying it. Don’t ever submerge the bike components or spray them hard. Also, consider storing the battery pack away from extreme heat and cold to protect the cells. The only other thing I would mention is that the display is large and center mounted, taking up a lot of valuable surface area on an already crowded handlebar, so it may be difficult to add accessories.

In conclusion, the Moscow Plus was a lot of fun, and as mentioned earlier, is using a lot of nice proven technology that has kept many happy. This is a value priced ebike, so there will be some tradeoffs to consider, so I should make mention of those now… For one, the kickstand is centre mounted, so if the kickstand is down and you are reversing the bike, you will encounter pedal lock. I noticed that there is no chain ring cover or guard, so be careful when peddling with clothing like pants or a dress. The charger is just 2 amps, this means charging happens slowly, so matched with that high capacity battery, it could take quite some time. Tradeoffs aside, it is a very well put together bike with a lot of what we have come to know and love about ebikes, and at a price of just $2,499 in Australia, will appeal to many customers.

Pros & Cons

FAQ

The following reviews have been sourced from reputable sources of verified customers that have purchased this specific model of e-bike.