shimano convergence travel rod review

Shimano Convergence Spinning Rod Review

The Convergence is a legendary member of Shimano's elite collection. This affordable, versatile rod can be used for virtually any technique and has the durability that any high-class rod strives for. This rod would make a great option if you're new to freshwater fishing, but will also do you well in saltwater.

Summarized feedback from Bass Anglers

Reasons to buy.

• Strong high-composite blank makes this rod very durable and strong for the bigger bass
• Very sensitive tip for feeling the smallest of bites
• Extremely versatile rod with a traditional action, mean you can use this rod for various techniques
• 2 model options available - with the heaviest being a medium power. Both have a fast action, making the Convergence a suitable option for throwing lighter presentations
• The medium power option is suitable for covering virtually any technique relating to bass fishing
• A great rod for inshore saltwater fishing
• Fuji components in the guide system are always reliable
• Traditional one-piece cork handle that many will always love
• Budget-friendly option from the ever-reliable Shimano

Reasons not to buy

• Rod doesn't specialize in specific technique/style of angling
• Won't be as light as other options

Reviews from our Readers

Rate this product on the key parameters below to add your feedback to its total rating pool.

Bottom Line

The Convergence spinning rod offers reliable and versatile performance for all kinds of angling. This series from Shimano has been around for many years and continues to provide anglers with durable and solid operation.

It may not be the lightest, and doesn't specialize in specific techniques, but you're guaranteed to have a solid performance on the water no matter what you're trying. A great option if you're in the $60 price region.

About the brand

Shimano is arguably the biggest and most respected name in fishing. They are responsible for producing some of the most ground-breaking tackle ever seen, and they continue to lead the market in all forms of fishing.

Shimano has taken a key interest in bass fishing, and have developed the finest baitcasting reels on today's shelves. Many other brands constantly look to Shimano for ideas, as they seldom put a foot wrong.

You simply cannot go wrong with a piece of Shimano gear.

Professionals who work with Shimano:

• Keith Combs
• Brett Preuett
• Bernie Shultz

Other Spinning Rods you may like:

Other spinning rods from shimano:, shimano poison adrena spinning rod.

Shimano Intenza Spinning Rod

Shimano SLX Spinning Rod

Best Travel Fishing Rods for 2024

Jason sealock.

• Oct 09, 2023

Choosing a travel rod for anglers who like to pack light and carry a fishing rod in their luggage on every where they travel requires a little planning and view of the options and fish you think you might encounter on your travels. We reviewed a wide gamut of rods and came up with a lot of options to consider as well as some great recommendations for which fishing rods we would suggest for a lot of different types of fishing and travel.

Things like size of the rod when disassembled, number of pieces, rod case, roll or bag, type of rod, how you will transport it, whether a telescoping rod makes sense and more need to be considered before choosing the best travel rod for your fishing plans.  

Travel rods can come from 2 pieces up to 5 pieces not to mention the telescoping travel rod options out there. You might want to fit the rod in a suitcase, if so more pieces will break down into a smaller foot print. Or you might carry it with you which might give you more options for rods. You might want a hard case to protect the rod if you’re worried about TSA or some other party damaging your rods in transit. Or a rod wrap may suffice if it’s tucked inside of another hard case suitcase.

OUR TOP PICKS

• Best telescoping travel combo – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
• Best travel rod for bass – Buy from FishUSA
• Runner up: Daiwa ardito travel rod – Buy from Basspro
• Best all-around / saltwater travel rod – Buy from Basspro
• Best telescopic travel rod – Buy from Basspro
• Runner up: Ugly stik cx2 4-piece travel combo – Buy from Basspro
• Ark rods genesis rods – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
• Zebco 33 spincast telescopic combo – Buy from Basspro
• Shimano Convergence D Travel 4-Piece Spinning Rods – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
• St. croix triumph travel rod – Buy from Tacklewarehouse

Know Your Travel Rods

Then there are the types of rod to consider including spinning travel rods, casting travel rods, telescoping travel rods as well as travel fly rods or specialty rods like travel swimbait rods or travel trout or panfish rods. Or any combination of the aforementioned.  

If you plan to fish with light lures and light line, then a spinning travel rod might be the best option. If you plan to look for big bluegills or crappies specifically on your travels, then a long telescoping rod might make more sense or a small spinning rod like a trout rod might give you a lot of options for trout and panfish.

If you’re going for larger quarry, you will want a beefier rod that has a reel that can hold heavier line. Usually a baitcasting travel rod makes sense for bass, or big fish like walleye, pike, musky, stripers, etc.  

Specialty rods like travel swimbait rods or extra long jigging rods might be just the ticket for probing unknown waters for specific types of fishing like jigging brush for crappie or casting oversized swimbaits for trophy bass and stripers.  

Of course if you’re in to fly fishing, then a travel fly rod is hard to beat. There are some super high end and middle of the road options that are great rods that make a 9-foot fly rod fit into an over night travel bag with the travel fly rod option.

CONSIDER TELESCOPING RODS FOR TRAVEL

For some, a telescoping rod is an easy spur of the moment travel rod option to probe some nearby waters to see if they have fish available. I have buddies that keep telescoping rods in their trucks at all times and will break it out on their travels or while taking a lunch or after work on a work trip. It’s a quick and simple option.

Most of time telescoping rods are a bit lower quality. Or at least that was the case back when the only option was a low end push button spin cast combo for small panfish. There are, however, some newer options bringing this back as a real viable option for bass and panfish.

A Travel Combo Might Make More Sense

You can buy travel rods that are a rod and reel combo. This is often the case with telescoping options. But there are some better quality options in the multi-piece travel rods with a decent spinning reel. Most of the time. I want the best rod I can get and a good reel in my bag so I’m not fighting my equipment in the limited amount of time I get to fish on my travels. Especially those spur-of-the-moment unplanned fishing trips while traveling.  

But when you get to a location and wished you had a rod and reel, a decent priced telescoping rod/reel combo can get you in the fish on an unexpected hot spot quickly and easily.

You Need a Travel Rod Case, Bag or Roll

Anymore your travel rod is going to come in a hard case, a roll or a bag. Regardless you need to take care to protect the pieces of the rod or the rod while it is compartmentalized so it’s not damaged in your travels.  

A hard case might be a cloth case with a hard shell inside of it that zips closed on the end and the multiple pieces slide into little sleeves inside of it. Or it might be a hard outer shell with a soft interior that keeps your guides and blank parts protected. These are nice when you plan to carry your travel rods separate from your luggage. Or keep them in a vehicle on your travels.

A travel rod roll is just a cloth sleeve with individual pockets for each piece of the blank and then you roll it up with flap that closes on one end and tie it off with the attached ties. These can be nice for putting a rod or two into your other travel bags or a small compartment in your vehicle.

A travel bag can be just a cloth bag or a padded foam bag that houses and protects the rod simultaneously. I’m a fan of these as they keep your pieces from falling out as sometimes happens with rolls. And they keep the blank pieces with a bit of added protection. The padded bags are ideal in my opinion.  

Best Travel Rod Brands

In the freshwater space, the best travel rod makers are often synonymous with the best rod makers. Makers like Daiwa, Shimano, St. Croix, Megabass, Ark Rods, Fenwick, and others have really solid travel rod options. Others that many don’t know offer travel rods have good options like Favorite, Bass Pro, and BnM Poles.  

Here are the travel rod brands we reviewed and liked:

• Favorite Fishing
• B’n’M Poles

Having said all that, let’s take a closer look at some of our personal favorites in various travel rod categories.

Best Telescoping Travel Combo

Daiwa travel combo.

We chose the Daiwa Travel Combo as the best combo because it comes with a good reel, telescoping rod that is better than most and it’s own sling carry bag that is big enough to put several travel rods and reels in. This combo compacts down to 26 inches making it a perfect option for any trip whether it be in a car or a plane.

The rod is a 7-foot, 2-inch Medium power fast action rod. It’s a solid rod and stayed extended as we fished with it. The reel is a 2-bearing Daiwa Crossfire LT 2500. Even though it’s only 2 bearings, it performed very smoothly and effortlessly with a very smooth drag. It’s a solid spinning combo and it’s offered in EVA or Cork grips.

The combo costs $149 but if you just want a good combo without messing around with pairing rods and reels, this is a quick easy choice.

Buy at TackleWarehouse

Best Travel Rod for Bass

Shimano zodias travel rod.

The fact that Shimano took one of their best rod lines and converted it into a high-end bass travel rod got me excited. And when I got the new rod in my hand, I was very impressed. I am a big fan of the original Zodias line and was so excited to see this level of quality in a 5-piece travel rod.  

This travel rod condenses down to 19 inches when packed, meaning you can literally take it anywhere. And when full assembled you have a very high quality rod full of all the features of the high end one-piece blanks. The 5-piece construction gives the rod more uniform bend than a 2-piece model would.  

It has so much power and a steady consistent load when casting. You will forget it’s a travel rod by your second cast. It’s a high end rod that just happens to be in 5 pieces. It has a CI4+ reel seat for lightweight strength and a full carbon monocoque grip which eliminates the use of EVA giving a light rod more sensitivity.

Hi-Power X construction which makes the blanks outermost layer wrapped with carbon tape form that X appearance on the blank that gives more precise actions to the rods with more strength.  

You can really lean into fish with this rod without worry. It’s one of the nicest travel rods we’ve tested.

Buy at FishUSA.com

Buy from Omnia

Runner Up: Daiwa Ardito Travel Rod

This is another high-end rod that has been brought down to a travel rod form factor. This rod comes with a very nice hard case and it breaks down to 30 inches (32 in its case). It features a V-flex ferrule joint system. These ferrules don’t require you to jam the rod pieces all the way together and then struggle to separate them. You simply push them until they snug together and you are all set. You can break down and put the rod together in seconds and be fishing as fast as you can thread your line.  

The rod has a high-modulus blank, Fuji Aluminum Oxide guides, unsanded micro-pitch blank, split Eva grip and machined nut hood. It’s a high quality rod that pairs nicely with your favorite bait caster. It comes in 7-foot medium, 7-foot medium heavy and 7-foot, 6-inch medium heavy.

Buy at BassPro.com

Best All-Around / Saltwater Travel Rod

St. croix avid trek rod.

This is a finely crafted American rod with incredible blanks offering uniform performance, strength and ultra-perceptive sensitivity. The premium cork full grip, and quality blanks featuring St. Croix’s IPC mandrels, SCII high modulus carbon, slim profile ART ferrules, Sea Guide Hero hi-grade guides with zirconia rings and stainless gun smoke frames, sea guide hook keeper, and a 15-year-transferable warranty.  

This rod can literally do it all. Going to Louisiana to fish the marshes for bass and redfish, this is your rod. Strong, light, smooth, sensitive and easy to pack. The 3-piece rod is 6-foot, 6-inch MH rod with a lot of power but great castability. This rod is a joy to fish with and you can expect it to last a long time with that kind of warranty.

Best Telescopic Travel Rod

Bass pro aventur1 telescoping rod.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Aventur1 telescoping rod. It features 6 sections but 8 guides for uniform castability and a nice line path while fighting fish. The unique guide system has floating guides as well as guides permanently affixed to the rod sections. So you won’t fight with line on the blank on this travel rod.  

The 7-foot medium power rod fished really well and I was pretty taken aback at how nice this rod fished for $59. A rod that will likely always be in my travel plans. With an RT2 graphite blank, Fuji aluminum oxide guides, Fuji reel seat, with EVA split grips and X-Wrap rubber cork butt cap, this is a pretty functional telescoping rod for travel fishing.

Best Big Swimbait Travel Rod

F5 departure travel rods.

The folks at F5 Custom Rods make some of the nicest big swimbait rods available today. These are custom made rods from blanks to handles to accents. They are often very selective in how they build rods and you usually have to get lucky enough to catch a rod on a drop. However, the F5 Departure Travel Rods are often in stock and I picked up a H and XH rod a year or so back.

These are two of my favorite big swimbait rods that I use for crankdowns like the Bull Shad 4×4 and the Toxic Whippersnappers, for glides like the 86 Baits Doomrider, KGB Swimbaits Chad Shad or the Deps Slide Swimmer 250 and of course for my jointed swims like the Bull Shad 8 inch.

The rods are both 3-piece rods and are custom made with a full extra long camo EVA handle. The ones the often sell are split grips. The rod blanks are solid. Even with three pieces I had no issues heaving big baits like the Slide Swimmer which weighs 6 1/2 ounces.

They are going to run you about $289 a piece for these rods. But I am so happy to have them because I can take a pack of my favorite big baits and a very high-end swimbait rod literally everywhere I go to chase trophies all over the country and out of the country for that matter.

Buy at F5 Custom Rods

Best Travel Rod on a Budget

Favorite fishing army geo rod.

This is an impressive rod not only for the price but for how well this 4-piece rod fishes and fights fish. We caught some really quality bass on this rod this spring and it is a legit fun spinning rod to fish. I love that I threw it in my suitcase, loaded up and went to Arkansas and broke it out and caught a bunch of nice bass that were moving shallow to spawn.  

Even my brother-in-law enjoyed fishing with this travel rod. And at $39, it’s a hard rod to pass up. The 4 pieces in their hard travel tube are 26 inches. The pieces are barely 23 inches. The rod is a 7-foot, 2-inch medium-heavy spinning rod. I used it to skip Senkos around shallow cover a lot this spring. And it sets a nice hook and has a ton of backbone to land big bass. Our biggest on it was 6 pounds, 4 ounces this spring.

Buy at FavoriteUSA.com

Runner up: Ugly Stik GX2 4-piece Travel Combo

At $44 at Walmart, you can’t go wrong with this nearly indestructible travel rod. The Ugly Stik has been the staple of affordable travel rods. They can take abuse and continue to catch and land fish.  

Buy from Walmart.com

Buy at Scheels

Best Trout Travel Rod

St. croix trout series pack rod  .

For the adventurer who needs a light and packable trout rod to get to remote locations, this is the Cadillac of adventure rods. This rod says trout, but it’s a dynamite bluegill, crappie and even smallmouth rod for remote streams and creeks. It’s a beautifully built rod at only 2.9 ounces and 3 pieces, it compacts down to be no added weight in your backpack.  

I paired it with a small 1000 spinning reel and 4-pound line and really enjoyed fishing this rod a lot. It will become one of my staple creek travel rods now. It throws little baits effortlessly and had a nice backbone for such a light rod. A real joy to fish with.

Buy from FishUSA.com

Best Panfish Telescoping Rod

Bnm poles little mighty telescoping rod  .

I have to admit, I’m a little blow away by this rod. I grew up crappie and bluegill fishing with my father in Florida and Arkansas with telescoping fiberglass rods from B’n’M Poles. So I have a lot of nostalgia when it comes to these types of rod. But the new Little Mighty Rod is something special.

While it’s not technically a travel rod, it’s a telescoping rod that reaches out to 20 feet and breaks down to barely 22 inches. It looks like a bright orange track baton but it extends to a masterful reach out and touch a crappie or bluegill telescoping rod quickly.

One word of caution, be sure you extend the rod small sections first. So grab the string tab on the tip and pull it out that way. Don’t slide the sections out by dumping the open end out or you will have issues with sections getting out of order and blocking each other. Same for breaking it down. Big sections first and be sure to leave the string out when you put the cap on.  

Other than that, I enjoyed testing this rod a lot. I honestly didn’t think much of it when I got it. But after using it I can think of all sorts of places I want to take and fish with this rod. Once you get the hang of maneuvering 20 feet of rod with a fish on the end it’s a pretty fun stick to fish with.

Buy at Walmart.com

Buy from BnmPoles.com

Other Travel Rod Considerations

Ark rods genesis rods.

This was my original travel rod and I’ve put a lot of miles on it. It’s caught fish in Nebraska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. This is a two piece travel rod that comes with a nice padded bag.

Read our full Ark Genesis 2-piece travel rod review

The rod joins together nicely and fishes so well. The very narrow blanks are durable and sensitive. I’ve caught fish just about every way you can on these rods. I have the 6-foot, 8-inch MH and the 7-foot, 6-inch MH rods and have flipped, frogged, spinnerbait fished, jigged, cranked, popped a topwater popper and burned a buzz bait with these rods. A great option that gives no sacrifice in performance in a 2-piece travel rod.

SixGill Argos Travel Rods

A very nicely made travel pack rod, the Argos Travel Rod is a 4-piece rod built on a 24T Toray Carbon blank. Comes with a 25 inch travel case. It fishes like your nicest bass rod but you can tuck it under a jacket and take it with you anywhere. The rod loads nicely on the cast and has enough back bone with it’s 7-foot MH frame to fight any size bass you might tangle with. A very nice travel rod option.  

Buy from Sixgillfishing.com

Zebco 33 Spincast Telescopic Combo

This is an affordable option at $25 but it’s not made to handle big fish in my opinion. It’s a great rod for catching panfish around a campsite, or of the dock on vacation. But it’s not made for fishing for larger fish. The rod bends easily at the tip under load and the line cuts across the rod to the next guide. So just be cautious with bigger fish on this setup. But for $25, you can catch the heck out of a bunch of panfish with this setup.

Buy at Amazon

Hardy Zephrus FWS Travel Fly Rod

I haven’t had a chance to review the latest offerings from Hardy yet, but one of my all time favorite travel rods is my Hardy Zephrus FWS Travel Fly Rod. It’s a 9-foot, 5-weight rod. It is the perfect pack rod for hiking into remote streams and chasing fish on the fly. This is the Ferrari of travel rods in my opinion. Everything is first class from the aluminum case, styled bag, ferrule covers, and beautiful craftsmanship on the Sintrix 440 blank.  

Buy from Hardyrodsandreels.com

Shimano Convergence Travel Rod

This 7-foot, 4-piece rod is another great do-it all travel rod. It’s a great rod for a lot of different species and lures in that 1/4 ounce to 3/4 ounce size. It breaks down to 25 inches so it will fit in almost all your bags and it comes in a nice hard case with a shoulder strap if you want to carry it on your back while you hike. It’s very well made and fished nicely with a variety of reels.

Spinning rod

Casting rod.

Buy at Tackle Warehouse

St. Croix Triumph Travel Rod

This work-horse travel rod serves a ton of different purposes. It’s 6-foot, 6-inch size makes it a great size for tight quarters. I loved fishing some small streams near the house with this rod. A fun little rod for wading creeks or winging around on bigger waters on your travels. It’s small form factor of 24 inches makes it a great pack rod to keep in your vehicle or throw in your bag on long trips. It’s a very nice blank divided into 4 pieces. It’s strong, sensitive and light. A great travel version of their very popular Triumph line.  

Wired2fish Travel Rod Comparison Chart

We review a ton of products and while they don’t always make the best of categories there are a lot of good rods to choose from that can get the job done. We try to give you as many options as possible while identifying some that we think stand out in the array of options. The goal with our guides is to help you be as informed and aggregate as much helpful information and personal experience into helping you with your fishing gear decisions.  

Here is a quick rundown of a lot of travel rod / telescoping rod options:

Currently working as Senior Advisor to Wired2fish. Former COO and Publisher, Jason Sealock came to Wired2fish shortly after inception in January of 2010. Prior to that he was the Editor-in-Chief of FLW Outdoors Magazines. He worked up from Associate Editor to Photo Editor and finally Editor in Chief of three magazines FLW Bass, FLW Walleye and FLW Saltwater. He set the content direction for Wired2fish while also working directly with programmers, consultants and industry partners. Sealock has been an avid angler for the better part of 40 years and has been writing and shooting fishing and outdoors content for more than 25 years. He is an expert with fishing electronics and technologies and an accomplished angler, photographer, writer and editor. He has taught a lot of people to find fish with their electronics and has been instrumental in teaching these technologies to the masses. He's also the industry authority on new fishing tackle and has personally reviewed more than 10,000 products in his tenure. He has a 30-year background in information technologies and was a certified engineer for a time in Microsoft, Novell, Cisco, and HP. He mostly fishes for bass and panfish around the house. He has, however, caught fish in 42 of the 50 states in the US as well as Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada and hopes to soon add Finland, Japan, Africa and Australia to his list.

Breaking News

Snakehead spotted for the fourth time in missouri, man catches 95-pound record breaking flathead catfish, peacock bass fishing legend passes at 72, two dead after fishing barge capsized on toledo bend lake, cheater caught altering fish at sealy big bass splash, both anglers ejected after boat wreck on sam rayburn, hehr and johnston win bassmaster college series event at sam rayburn reservoir, bass pro shops and mack’s prairie wings announce union founded on passion and commitment to customers and conservation, recent posts.

Best Damiki Rigging Tackle and Rod Setups

Bed Fishing Using Garmin Perspective

Best Deals From Bass Pro Shops Fathers Day Sale

Bass Pro Shops XPS Lithium-Ion Battery-Powered Fillet Knife Review

Daiwa Regal LT 2500D-XH Spinning Reel Giveaway

How to Fish a ChatterBait

How to Fish the Z-Man Gobius Swimbait

Best Striped Bass Lures

Duckett Fishing Jacob Wheeler Signed Crankin’ Rod Giveaway

Shimano Convergence Casting Rod Review

Shimano is a brand that covers a couple of different markets with extremely high-end componentry, so it makes some sense to apply this specialty to fishing rods that are basically a blank with various bits of componentry.

Because of this approach, the Shimano Convergence “Musky” Casting Rod offers some excellent features.

However, Shimano doesn’t aim to just offer excellent components, wanting to provide a complete rod– despite the lack of decades of experience like most of their competitors.

Of course, starting the race late requires some secondary benefits, and Shimano accomplishes this by offering a good value.

The question is: does the Shimano Convergence “Musky” Casting Rod provide enough value both in terms of cost to capability as well as the overall floor and ceiling?

This review breaks down the baitcasting fishing rod to identify what it does well, where it might fall a bit short, and who should use the Shimano Convergence.

Construction (craftsmanship, make quality)

Unlike some of the other models made by the brand, the Shimano Convergence “Musky” fishing pole blank is made entirely from graphite which heavily impacts its overall craftsmanship.

However, the “Musky” version of this lineup is meant for far larger fish than your average casting pole as evidenced by the line test that goes up to 100 lbs.

This means that the choice to only use graphite for the blank will heavily depend on the quality of the graphite (which is covered later) in terms of whether the rod is strong enough to handle the fight.

The good news is, handling salmon and steelheads means you should be able to avoid some of the nastier debris and vegetation– just be careful not to snagged and pull too hard on a rock.

Because the Shimano Convergence “Musky” fishes larger quarry in trickier waters, you need to be able to accurately hit a target from a distant spot.

As such, the length of this rod is a bit longer than normal which provides a bit more casting distance while the various specs help maintain solid accuracy.

This is one area where the Shimano Convergence “Musky” baitcasting rod would normally hit all of the right marks for almost any other kind of casting rod.

However, when you’re fishing salmon and steelhead like this rod is meant to do, you generally want something with a little bit more substance to it than just graphite– especially when the graphite is bare without an additional reinforcing cover or wrap.

Beyond the totally graphite blank, the Shimano Convergence “Musky” fishing pole uses solid materials across the board.

The aluminum oxide guides help prevent tangles while the cork handle may be pretty unspectacular but is still solid.

The real highlight of this group is the Carboloy tip.

The Shimano Convergence “Musky” baitcasting pole may only come in the solitary action of fast, but this is actually a benefit for this type of pole.

For starters, salmon and steelhead generally tend to congregate in specific pools which require a fair degree of accuracy when casting to hit.

However, steelhead and salmon are also notorious for being nibblers as much as biters which is another area where this action comes in handy.

The ability to not only set the hook quickly but also set deep in their thicker jaws is invaluable for fishing both of these species when they might not be the most active.

The power of the Shimano Convergence “Musky” casting fishing rod is fairly narrow, hovering around the heavier end of the spectrum with just extra-heavy and medium-heavy offerings.

However, when you consider the kind of fight you’re liable to encounter against steelheads, you’ll be thankful for every bit of strength you can get– especially out of the entirely graphite blank.

That said, the moderate modulus afforded by the IM6 graphite at least prevents the extremely long pole from bending to an unwieldy degree.

Just be sure to apply proper technique when reeling the fish in to prevent the rod’s blank from giving in if the fish is near the weight limit or is behind obstacles.

The Shimano Convergence “Musky’s” weight needs to be understood in relative terms given that it’s designed to catch larger fish.

That said, all of the different materials used for this rod are as light as they can be, so even the larger size should still equal out to about the average weight of your standard, smaller freshwater casting rod .

Sensitivity

This is definitely one of the most important considerations of any rod, but as mentioned prior, a rod’s sensitivity can be vital for fishing salmon and steelhead, in particular.

This is also almost certainly the reason that the Shimano Convergence “Musky” fishing rod only uses graphite for the blank.

This material provides far more natural sensitivity than any other commonly used blank material.

When you combine this with the fast action, the only thing that puts even the slightest damper on this rod’s sensitivity is the fact that the graphite is made with a moderate modulus instead of a high modulus.

The Shimano Convergence “Musky” baitcasting fishing rod has a well-shaped taper that bends at the appropriate point without any significant hitch.

A big part of this has to do with the use of IM6 graphite, both in terms of the flexibility of the graphite as well as the moderate modulus provided by the IM6 tempering process.

The Shimano Convergence “Musky” fishing rod shows its brand’s roots at this point with excellent componentry, though it’s still somewhat specialized.

For instance, the Fuji aluminum-oxide guides are great at preventing your line from getting tangled, but not suitable for braided lines which will eventually cut through the guides.

Even better, the Shimano Convergence “Musky” also comes with a Pac Bay Carboloy titanium carbide tip to prevent the most common break.

Handle (material, shape, etc)

The Shimano Convergence “Musky” baitcasting rod comes with your standard, classic cork construction.

While this may not be special, it’s reliable and incredibly common, and Shimano’s cork seems to be just as good as anyone else’s.

The split design and trigger grip also provide for a quick hookset.

Type of Rod

The Shimano Convergence “Musky” fishing pole is a baitcasting rod which means the guides and reel seat sits at the top.

This arrangement places all of the stress on the blank which is not ideal for this pole given its IM6 graphite composition, especially when pulling the fish out of the water.

Uses (Who is this good for)

The Shimano Convergence “Musky” baitcasting fishing pole is priced as a mid-tier casting pole which prices it a bit out of the beginner range.

Though, the casting design means that you could always still attach a spincast rod to it.

Still, this is a rod for intermediate and advanced fishermen trying to catch salmon and steelhead specifically.

That said, this rod is probably a good enough value that virtually anyone trying to catch large, strong fish in rocky waters should give it a go.

This recommendation, of course, assumes you already have your primary fishing pole and are just looking for something easy that you don’t have to fuss with too much.

Reel and Real Seat Compatibility

As a baitcasting rod, the Shimano Convergence “Musky” fishing pole has a reel seat that sits at the top of the blank.

This means you can use a simple spincast reel if you’re a beginner or a baitcast reel if you’re an expert or intermediate fisherman.

It’s worth noting that this rod uses a custom reel seat.

By and large, the Shimano brand doesn’t offer one of the better warranties with a 30-day money-back guarantee on the entire product and a 1-year warranty on the blank.

This sits at the extreme low end, and it also doesn’t help that the shipping process often results in the blank breaking.

Customer Service

The Shimano brand is decent, but it’s nothing to write home about.

You shouldn’t necessarily avoid this brand, but Shimano shouldn’t necessarily fill you with some sense of extreme security.

If the blank breaks, the company responds as you would expect, though there’s a reasonable chance you’ll have to use it.

As we can see, the choice to use graphite exclusively without further reinforcement is somewhat disappointing as it can make the biggest, toughest steelheads potentially out of reach.

Granted, excellent technique can make up for a minor lack of strength and durability, but you still need to be careful not to push the pole too far.

That said, for your average fish– even salmon and steelhead– the Shimano Convergence “Musky” is more than capable and even offers plenty of additional features.

That’s where this fishing rod definitely sets itself apart from a lot of the other mid-tier competition: excellent materials contributing to high-end componentry– much as you might expect from the brand.

However, its design means that it’s not going to be for every fisherman, especially if you are a beginner who doesn’t yet have a firm grasp on casting.

But for virtually any intermediate or expert fisherman who fishes for salmon and steelhead, this is a great value option for when you don’t want to have to struggle and just fish.

Related Posts:

By clicking the "Agree" button, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our policies. For more information on how we use our cookies, please read Privacy Policy .

• cookiePrefAnalytics
• cookiePrefThirdPartyApplications
• cookiePrefMarketing

https://dassets2.shimano.com/content/dam/Shimanofish/Common/Productsrelated/cg2SHIFGlobalROD/cg3SHIFGlobalRODCommonRod/SNAFPlanningProducts/Product/CONVERGENCE_SPINNING_D_A.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.481.481.jpeg

https://dassets2.shimano.com/content/dam/Shimanofish/Common/Productsrelated/cg2SHIFGlobalROD/cg3SHIFGlobalRODCommonRod/SNAFPlanningProducts/Product/CONVERGENCE_SPINNING_D_E.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.481.481.jpeg

https://dassets2.shimano.com/content/dam/Shimanofish/Common/Productsrelated/cg2SHIFGlobalROD/cg3SHIFGlobalRODCommonRod/SNAFPlanningProducts/Product/CONVERGENCE_SPINNING_D_H.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.481.481.jpeg

https://dassets2.shimano.com/content/dam/Shimanofish/Common/Productsrelated/cg2SHIFGlobalROD/cg3SHIFGlobalRODCommonRod/SNAFPlanningProducts/Product/CONVERGENCE_SPINNING_D_B.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.481.481.jpeg

https://dassets2.shimano.com/content/dam/Shimanofish/Common/Productsrelated/cg2SHIFGlobalROD/cg3SHIFGlobalRODCommonRod/SNAFPlanningProducts/Product/CONVERGENCE_SPINNING_D_G.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.481.481.jpeg

https://dassets2.shimano.com/content/dam/Shimanofish/Common/Productsrelated/cg2SHIFGlobalROD/cg3SHIFGlobalRODCommonRod/SNAFPlanningProducts/Product/CONVERGENCE_SPINNING_D_C.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.481.481.jpeg

https://dassets2.shimano.com/content/dam/Shimanofish/Common/Productsrelated/cg2SHIFGlobalROD/cg3SHIFGlobalRODCommonRod/SNAFPlanningProducts/Product/CONVERGENCE_SPINNING_D_F.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.481.481.jpeg

https://dassets2.shimano.com/content/dam/Shimanofish/Common/Productsrelated/cg2SHIFGlobalROD/cg3SHIFGlobalRODCommonRod/SNAFPlanningProducts/Product/CONVERGENCE_SPINNING_D_D.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.481.481.jpeg

CONVERGENCE SPINNING

Shimano engineered the Convergence series of casting and spinning rods utilizing quality components and blanks with versatile actions to meet the needs of the multi-species anglers. A true "go anywhere, do anything" rod, the redesigned Convergence series features a lightweight carbon blank for added sensitivity and power matched with a Fuji reel seat to offer anglers all-day comfort and increased sensitivity to detect the lightest of bites. The Convergence series of rods includes technique-specific models as well as two and four-piece rods for added versatility. The four-piece travel rods come paired with a travel tube for added protection for anglers on the move and chasing their passion away from home.

• FEATURE & TECHNOLOGY
• SPECIFICATION CHART

SPECIFICATION

• Reel Warranty and Services
• Rod Warranty and Services
• Authorized Service Centers
• Subscribe to our Newsletter
• Varsity Program
• Company Information
• Corporate Responsibility
• Parts & Apparel
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions
• California Trasparency in Supply Chain Act
• Cookie Preference
• ADA Compliance
• California Consumer Privacy Notice

SHIMANO GLOBAL SITE

© SHIMANO INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

• Shop Brands
• Reels Shop All
• Casting Reels
• Spinning Reels
• Spincast Reels
• Rods Shop All
• Casting Rods
• Spinning Rods
• Combos Shop All
• Casting Combos
• Spinning Combos
• Spincast Combos
• Fishing Line
• Baits Shop All
• Spinnerbaits
• Umbrella Rigs
• Technique Specific
• Lure Making & Customization
• Hooks, Weights & Terminal Tackle Shop All
• Accessories
• Fish Finders & Chartplotters
• Boating Accessories
• TW Exclusives
• Learning Learning Center
• Video Vault Video Vault
• New New Items
• Trophy Best Sellers
• Pro Spotlight Pro Spotlight
• Support Support Center
• Account Account
• Wishlist Wishlist
• Gift Cards Gift Cards
• Mailing List Mailing List

Shimano Convergence D Travel 4-Piece Spinning Rods

Free return shipping is available for all orders shipped within the 48 contiguous United States. These orders will include a complimentary pre-paid UPS Ground return label in the box when the order is delivered. If you use the pre-paid return label provided, please allow 7-10 business days for the return package to arrive back at Tackle Warehouse.

Orders shipped to international, APO/FPO, Alaskan or Hawaiian addresses or U.S. territories are not eligible for the free return shipping offer. Drop Ship and Oversized Items are not eligible for the free return shipping offer.

Please use our Returns & Exchange form found on the back of your printed invoice. If you don't have your original invoice you can download our Tackle Warehouse Return Form .

Contact us with any questions or concerns!

Phone: 1.800.300.4916 Email: [email protected]

Tackle Warehouse wants you to be completely satisfied with your purchase. Items can be returned at any point in new condition within 365-days of the original invoice date.

Products returned in new, store-bought condition are eligible for exchange, refund, or Tackle Warehouse store credit for the full value of your purchase.

Please note that while we want you to be happy with your purchases, an excessive number of returns within a twelve-month period may limit your eligibility for refund or store credit.

Products returned beyond 365-days from the original invoice date or that are unable to be returned to stock may be eligible for store credit at the sole discretion of Tackle Warehouse.

Original shipping charges are non-refundable.

Used baits & tackle are not eligible for return.

Designed with the wandering angler in mind, the Shimano Convergence D Travel 4-Piece Spinning Rods offer incredible performance in a packable package that is perfect for chasing your passion while away from home. For a highly responsive foundation, the Convergence Travel Rods trust in premium carbon blanks that deliver incredible sensitivity without adding excess weight. In addition to their superior performance, the carbon blanks also come segmented in 4-pieces, complete with a travel case, to cater to anglers on the go.

To ensure anglers hit the water with a fully capable piece of equipment, the Shimano Convergence D Travel 4-Piece Spinning Rods come outfitted with a tournament-caliber components package that is ideal for multi-species fishing. The base of the rods are encased in premium cork grips that offer an extremely comfortable experience with the integrated Fuji reel seats. Further up the blank, anglers will undoubtedly appreciate the Seaguide Aluminum Oxide guides that ensure expert line management and quiet casts every time you launch your favorite lure. Finished up with an accommodating hook keeper on the blank, the Shimano Convergence D Travel 4-Piece Spinning Rods are ready for anything your next adventure on the water throws at you.

-Lightweight and Sensitive Carbon Blanks -SeaGuide Aluminum Oxide Guides -Premium Cork Handles -Integrated Hook Keeper -Fuji Reel Seat -4-Piece Construction -Includes Travel Tube -Limited 1-Year Warranty

Specifications

More from shimano.

Customer Reviews

Be the first to review this item.

NCM Moscow Electric Bike Review

When you purchase through links on our website, we may earn a commission. Affiliate disclosure.

NCM make high-quality, but affordable electric bikes. In this review, I will explain why I believe the NCM Moscow is one of the best budget electric mountain bikes.

About NCM Electric bikes

NCM Bikes, founded in 2014, have quickly become one of the largest electric bike brands in Europe, the parent company, Leon Cycle GmbH is a German company based in Hanover. Their e-bikes are designed in Germany and manufactured in China.

This great e-bike is now available in the US with a higher power output 500w motor and a top speed of 20mph. The NCM Moscow Plus has a high capacity 48v 16ah battery, Tektro hydraulic disc brakes and Suntour XCM forks with 100mm travel.  This model uses the more advanced C7 LCD with increased functionality and has 24-speed gears with Shimano Crankset and Acera 8-speed rear mech. There is also a throttle fitted.

I have ridden the EU spec version and that was fairly nippy, so I would imagine with double the power on tap this US version is an absolute joy to ride!

EU Specification

The centrepiece of this Electric bike is the DAS-Kit X15 geared rear hub motor: This durable 250W rear electric hub motor is known for its efficiency and high torque output. It offers a reduction ratio of 1:5 and a maximum torque of 55 Nm, which is excellent for such a small motor. This German-designed hub motor punches above its weight and it is refreshing to see such a high-quality unit on an affordable e-bike.

48v13ah Lithium battery pack with USB charging port for mobile devices:  Usually, electric bike battery packs take up a considerable amount of space in the frame, but the Moscow’s battery is integrated into the down tube of the bike, keeping the weight low and central, which helps to improve stability. The claimed maximum range of 75 miles seems a little optimistic, but possible if the pedal assist is used wisely. The total battery energy capacity is 624wh (watt hours), so if you were consuming 20wh per mile, your range would be 31 miles. My friend owns one of these bikes and gets an average range of around 40-50 miles.

This is a rugged bike built for the road less travelled:  This is an excellent bike for weekend adventures on trails and gravel tracks. The Suntour XCT front forks have 100mm of travel, which is more than adequate for light off-road riding, and the excellent Schwalbe Smart Sam all-terrain tyres provide grip where it’s needed. The gel saddle is comfortable enough, and the Velo ergonomic handlebar grips not only look great but feel great too!  Gearing is the dependable Shimano Altus 21-speed, and all the gears are indexed perfectly as expected.

Multi-function LCD : The Das-Kit LCD gives you all the information you would expect, including journey time and mileage. It also has 6 power levels of pedal assist, so you can fine-tune the power output to suit your needs.

Excellent build quality:  One thing that has always impressed me with NCM Electric bikes is the consistency of the build quality. The NCM Moscow is no exception. It looks great, but there is no compromise on functionality and safety.  The Tektro mechanical disc brakes with 160mm rotors provide predictable braking and the brake levers incorporate motor cut-off switches to ensure safe riding.

The NCM Moscow electric bike offers exceptional value for money. I have tested NCM’s other bikes and this one is no exception. They all offer a lot for the price. The specification is excellent and it is good to see a 48v battery fitted to a 250w bike. This battery is the same capacity as the Milano I reviewed previously and a realistic range of between 30-45 miles, or 31 miles using the 20wh per mile calculation, should be expected. The claimed range of 75 miles may be a little optimistic for everyday use – but it depends on how much you use the electric assist.

The Tektro Mechanical disc brakes provide adequate and predictable stopping power, while the Schwalbe Smart Sam tyres will provide sure-footed grip on a variety of surfaces, as well as a reasonable amount of puncture protection.

It is good to see an integrated battery pack on an e-bike of this price, it does finish the bike off nicely.

As far as electric mountain bikes go, the NCM Moscow is excellent. Not only is it well-made, but it has a decent battery and an excellent motor.

I serviced one of these for a customer last Summer and had to take it for a short test ride.  I was impressed with the way the small motor effortlessly handled the steep Cornish hills. The beefy 29er tyres handled the potholes and bumps of the back lanes with ease.

I had previously ridden the Milano model and there are a lot of obvious similarities. The Milano is made with the daily commuter in mind, whereas the Moscow is geared more toward the recreational rider, who will be venturing off-road more often. If I had to choose between the two, I would go for the Moscow, simply because it has that ‘go anywhere’ feel, and if you decided to use it as an everyday commuter bike, there are provisions to fit mudguards and a rack.

As with all the other NCM bikes I have reviewed, I rate this bike. It has to be the best-value electric mountain bike on the market at the moment.

The great thing about this bike is that the build quality is excellent. It feels very rugged and durable, although I would err on the side of caution when taking it off the beaten track. It is not a high-end mountain bike and isn’t designed to take the rigours of extreme downhill riding. The suspension forks are fine for rough surfaces and a few small potholes, but nothing too harsh like rocks and logs.

If you are in the market for an affordable off-road e-bike, then this ticks all the right boxes.

If you are looking for a more commuter-orientated bike check out my review of the Milano . If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to the NMC Moscow, It would be worth looking at the NCM Prague Electric Mountain Bik e .

Meet Tony, a passionate e-bike advocate and enthusiast who discovered the life-changing benefits of electric bikes back in 2016. Tony’s technical experience within the e-bike field was gained while running a successful electric bike conversion business for 5 years in his home county of Cornwall, UK.

Similar Posts

8 of the Best Electric Bikes for Kids

When you purchase through links on our website, we may earn a commission. Affiliate disclosure. It can be very difficult to motivate your kids to get out on their bikes,…

Cube Reaction Hybrid EX 625 Electric Mountain Bike Review

When you purchase through links on our website, we may earn a commission. Affiliate disclosure. The 2020 range of Cube electric bikes offers something for everyone, and pretty well every…

Ancheer Electric Bike Review

When you purchase through links on our website, we may earn a commission. Affiliate disclosure. First impressions I have to admit, I had some rather negative preconceptions about this bike….

Carrera Crossfire E Review: Great Budget Hybrid E-Bike?

When you purchase through links on our website, we may earn a commission. Affiliate disclosure. The Carrera Crossfire E electric hybrid bike has been one of Halford’s best-selling e-bikes in…

Vitus E Substance Review: Great Value Gravel E-Bike

When you purchase through links on our website, we may earn a commission. Affiliate disclosure. Gravel bikes are incredibly popular at the moment and it was only a matter of…

Cyrusher XF660 Electric Bike Review

When you purchase through links on our website, we may earn a commission. Affiliate disclosure. The Cyrusher XF660 Electric Fat Bike first appeared on our shores a couple of years…

39 Comments

Vrai 1er test aujourd’hui du NCM Moscow 48v 13 Ah 26″ 1ere génération : Ballade prévue avec un copain : 55 km et 1000 de dénivelé, jusqu’au col de l’oeillon (massif du pilat – Loire) sur petites routes et chemin. Déjà fait avec VAE à 1000 eur et sa batterie de 500 W pour comparer. La batterie m’avait ramené alors pile à la maison, mais tout juste vidée (donc 55 km et 1000 m). Malheureusement, aujourd’hui, la batterie de mon tout beau tout neuf NCM moscow 1ere génération m’a laché au bout de 32 km, 500 m avant le col. J’ai fait le retour au molet (heureusemnt 90% de descente au retour). Donc 6 barres de batterie au départ, 5 au bout de 12 km, 4 à 20 km, 3, puis 2 barres en qq km seulement. Les 2 barres restantes ont tenus les 5 derniers km. Pour moi, pas normal du tout. Je pèse 65 kgs et j’ai sollicité modérément l’assistance : essentiellement vitesse 2 et 3 dans les cotes. J’ai sollicité le sav Decathlon aujourd’hui et j’attends sa réponse. Donc difficile de noter ce vélo en l’état des choses, car par ailleurs, il possède qq atouts : solidité apparente, confort (j’ai qd meme mis une selle confort), prix, look, poignée confort, béquille et sonnette rigolote (mais ça, c’est pas cher à rajouter), mais aussi qq défauts : poids lourds 27 kgs, dérailleurs avt et arrière déréglés (pas si grave), disque avt très légèrement voilé (frotement), grincement du frein avant (sur 10 kms de descente, ça saoule), pneu ultra fin. J’ai eu le bonheur de créver à l’arrière (pas de pot qd même !), réparation sans pb, mais j’ai alors constaté la finesse de l’épaisseur du caoutchouc des pneus. Une simple epine l’avait traversé. Mais bon, il semblerait que c’est de la bonne marque. Il manque réellement sur le web de vrai test sur la durée, en particulier sur l’autonomie réelle d’un VAE. Pour moi, sauf si le sav me confirme qu’il y a problème et remplace ma batterie, je ne recommande pas ce VAE pour de la rando de 50 Km, au risque de rentrer avec les mollets, sauf si plat.

Merci de partager vos expériences avec le NCM de Moscou, très apprécié.

Hello, Je rentre de ma 1ere vraie sortie avec le NCM Moscow 1ere génération (blanc 26″, 48V 13 Ah). 55 km – 1000 m de dénivelé – Mon poids plume : 65 Kgs – Niveau d’assistance utilisé : modéré. Points – : – Niveau de batterie peu fiable. 1 barre en moins au bout de 15 km – 2eme barre à 20 km – 3 et 4 eme barre entre 25 et 30 km (!) – Les 2 dernières barres sont tombés ensemble à 32 km, en haut du sommet. J’ai fait le retour sans batterie, et c’est dur. J’ai signalé à Decathlon, qui j’espère fera le nécessaire auprès de Leon Cycles. – Tous les réglages sont à reprendre : freins, dérailleurs. Mais bon, ça, c’est rien. – 1ère sortie, 1 ére crevaison, à l’arrière. J’ai pu réparer sans problème sans démonter la roue. Juste sortir la chambre à air roue montée et repérer le trou. Mais ça m’a donné l’occasion de constater que les pneus sont ultra fins (pourtant vtt). Une simple petite épine à traverser le pneu. On va dire pas de chance.

Points + : le confort est là. je mets pour le moment 3/10 pour la fiabilité. Si une nouvelle batterie règle le problème, j’aurai tendance à noter 7/10. A voir dans le temps.

Hello, I have just purchased the NCM Moscow 26″ 1st generation. I am desperately looking for a rack that fits. Do you have a reference? Thank you in advance for your help.

Bonjour, je viens d’acheter le NCM Moscow 26″ 1erer génération. Je cherche désespérément un porte bagage qui s’adapte. avez vous une référence ? Merci à l’avance pour votre aide.

I’ve seen the Topeak MTX Beam rack fitted to the Moscow. It clamps on to the seat post and is a good quality rack.

Regards, Tony

Je réponds à moi meme pour ceux que ça interesserait : j’ai pu adapter mon porte bagage, en rajoutant des entretoises de 15 mm au niveau des vis coté moyeu arrière.

BOnjour, Je pense sauter le pas et acheter le moscow, bien qu’il ne reste plus en ce moment que le 26″. Souhaitant investir dans une tige de selle telescopique, pouvez vous me donner le diametre de la tige de selle svp ? merci d’avance

Le NCM Moscou a une tige de selle de 30,9 mm. La meilleure tige de selle à suspension est la Suntour SP-12 NCX .

Salutations, Tony

I got my Moscow Plus last September and yesterday took it out for my 20th weekly ride from San Francisco across the bridge into the Marin Headlands, usually just over a 33 mile ride. I’m 71 and it is a work out but I don’t ride to work out. I ride to get out into nature. The seat crumbed under me within two months of getting it but some duct take fixed it perfectly. The fixture that has the key slot to use to fit in the battery came loose when I had a flat tire fixed but aside from being loose when the battery is not in it, still works perfectly. The tires handle the sharp rocks on some of the trails. The gas throttle, the bike’s gas pump, is dangerous at first. I learned to turn off the power before taking the bike down stair ramps and before wheeling it into my basement. The bike jumps out of your hands if you touch that throttle while your standing on the ground. Had a bad accident last November on a steep incline when I grabbed the handlebar to stop the bike sliding away under me and it shot off when I accidentally touched the throttle. Me, the bike and my iPad all fell and shattered in different directions. The rear derailleur was jammed into the back wheel so the wheels wouldn’t turn and I didn’t have a tool on me miles away from civilization. But 10 minutes later another cyclist with a mini tool saved the day. So carry that sack of tools they send to assemble the bike when you ride it. You never know when you’ll need them. Sharp turns are almost impossible for me on this bike but wow I love it!!! I can cycle up and down trails till the cows come home. Trails I never could cycle up before. Love that! A super great buy and I’m so glad I got it. And they had super great customer service to help me learn how to use the charger. Did I mention I’d never used an ebike before?

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for sharing your experiences, glad you’re out there enjoying your bike👍

All the best, Tony

Bought my new Moscow bike from Amazon but not long before I had problems with coffee grinder noise and serious vibration, found the cable from the controller to the back wheel had been routed too close to the drive sprocket and had chafed through causing broken wires and short circuits. Leon cycles Germany took the wheel back, but no better, a new controller followed, no better, they then told me I needed a new back wheel and motor, or a rebuilt motor, but due to Brexit they could not help any more. I now have a bike which will run perfectly when running but can take 20+ attempts to get started without grating and vibrating. Can anybody help?

I know this is an old review but I thought I’d ask my question anyway. If it get a reply, good; if not, that’s OK too. I bought a Moscow Plus late in 2020. It’s worked out very well for me. Now that I’ve owned it for a while and gotten the feel of it I’ve worked my riding stamina up to where I’m ready to ride farther and farther out. I love to fish so at some point I hope to make the trek to my nearest trout fishing stream which is approximately 30 or so miles one way. The terrain to get there is generally flat ground with one long stretch of about a mile and a half being a good downhill grade.

For an earth-bound bike rider that’s as close to flying as I’m ever going to get but, I temper that with the knowledge that on the way back I’ll have to hump it a bit to get back up that hill.

All of that to ask; Has anyone that you know of ever ridden their Moscow Plus starting with a full charge, on battery power alone to see exactly how far it would take them on generally flat terrain?

I plan on purchasing a spare OEM battery latter on this year so I won’t be able to do this battery endurance test until I have that spare battery to get me back home. In the mean time I just though I’d ask if anyone has already done this type of test. I could save me the trouble of doing it myself.

Thanks. Tim M.

Buying a new battery, if you can find one is £500.00 plus a bit, so if I were you I would stay close to home and do circuits for for a couple of hours at a time until the battery runs out of power, then walk back home using the walk mode ( there should be enough left in the battery to do that).

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

NCM 2022 Moscow M3 Electric Mountain Bike Adults e-Bike 500W Powerful... › Customer reviews

Customer reviews.

NCM 2022 Moscow M3 Electric Mountain Bike Adults e-Bike 500W Powerful Motor (750W Peak), 614Wh Removable Large Battery 70 Miles, 21 Speed, Disc Brakes, Suspension Fork, Front&Rear Light, 20MPH

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the united states.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Questions get fast answers from reviewers.

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

NCM Moscow Plus Review

•   Home
•   Reviews
•   Brands
•   NCM Reviews
•   NCM Moscow Plus Review

• NCM Reviews
• Class 3 Electric Bike Reviews
• Electric Mountain Bike Reviews
• Hardtail Electric Mountain Bike Reviews
• Hub Motor Electric Bike Reviews
• A cross country style hard-tail e-mountain bike with 80mm suspension fork, knobby trail tires, and sturdy alloy pedals, includes a trigger throttle up to 20 MPH
• Lots of adjustability with the display panel, including speed, the 12-magnet cadence sensor is very responsive, motor inhibitors in both of the levers, large 180mm 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 Moscow version
• The kickstand works decently well but can block the left crank arm when down, 2amp charing 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

Introduction

Body position:, suggested use:, electric bike class:, learn more about ebike classes, availability:, model year:, bicycle details, total weight:, battery weight:, motor weight:, frame material:, frame sizes:, geometry measurements:, frame types:, frame colors:, frame fork details:, frame rear details:, attachment points:, gearing details:, shifter details:, brake details:, seat post length:, seat post diameter:, tire brand:, wheel sizes:, tire details:, tube details:, accessories:, electronic details, motor brand:, motor type:, learn more about ebike motors, motor nominal output:, motor torque:, battery brand:, battery voltage:, battery amp hours:, battery watt hours:, battery chemistry:, charge time:, estimated min range:, estimated max range:, display type:, display accessories:, drive mode:, written review.

To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This review was sponsored by NCM. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased, this video and written review are not meant to be an endorsement of NCM products.

NCM is a new company to me, but they are using reliable and proven systems in their ebikes, so in someway, there is a nice familiarity to it. 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 center 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 pedaling with clothing like pants or a dress. The charger is just 2amps, 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 $1,899 in the US, will appeal to many customers. I want to thank NCM for the chance to check out the Moscow, and I look forward to reviewing more bikes from this new company.

As always, I welcome questions and feedback in the comment section below. Whether you own a previous version of the bike, have taken a test ride, or are brand new to the space, my goal is to provide an objective and honest resource. You can also join the Other Brands ebike forums and share your own photos, videos, and review updates to help others! Have fun out there, and ride safe :)

• The Moscow blends off-road geometry, suspension, and tires with urban utility because you can add fenders and a rear rack, there are also bottle cage bosses on the top as well
• There are 24 gear combinations to explore here, and that empowers you to climb easier or hit and maintain the top assisted speed, I really appreciate the slap guard on the right chain stay and the steel derailleur guard at the rear which also protects the motor power cable (especially when the bike is being shipped)
• The 500 watt Das-Kit motor is powerful and zippy but completely independent from the the pedal drivetrain, it’s a good choice for a bike with so many gears vs. a mid-motor, it also allows for instant throttle power regardless of which gear you’re in
• One of the advantages of having a front derailleur is that it keeps the chain from bouncing off track, it does usually add more weight and maintenance to the bike however, and if you’re using either of the two smaller chainrings the larger 48 tooth one can snag your pant leg because there is no bash guard plate
• Good weight distribution, the battery is positioned low and center on the frame, it seems well protected and blends in pretty well with the black accents on the fork, handlebar, seat, and chainrings
• Great tires for cross country and street riding, the 27.5″ x 2.25″ size is lightweight and efficient, they steer quickly and Schwalbe products tend to be higher quality, there is also a 29” option as well
• At $1,899 USD and $2,399 in CAD, it is competitively priced and will serve many customers well since it has a throttle, high capacity battery, and suspension
• I’m glad that they chose a trigger throttle vs. twist because it makes the grips more secure and reduces accidental activation, the 12-magnet cadence sensor is also more responsive than 8 or 5 on many other products
• The suspension fork offers compression lockout and preload adjust, this allows it to firm up for smooth riding conditions like city streets, reducing bob and energy loss as you pedal
• You get a flick bell, locking ergonomic grips, and a pair of large sturdy platform pedals that should work well in all sorts of conditions and weather, sometimes these parts are cheaper on value priced ebikes
• I love the high capacity 14v 16ah battery, it even has a USB port on the side to take advantage of it and use it as a power bank, perfect for traveling
• Between the knobby tires and 80mm suspension fork, this bike feels pretty comfortable, but I might recommend a suspension seat post to make things even more cushy for your ride
• The 180mm rotor hydraulic disc brakes are a great upgrade here, they are complimented well by a nicer derailleur, better gearing range, and more gearing options here on the Plus vs the regular Moscow
• The Plus is actually lighter by 1.4lbs despite its larger battery, better fork, upgraded gel saddle, and nicer display
• Minor gripe here, but I actually prefer the integrated finger bell on the regular Moscow as opposed to this more generic bell on the Moscow Plus, this was likely chosen to save space on the handle bar since it is using a larger display
• Some of the wires on this ebike are a bit more exposed along the base of the top tube, it looks a bit cleaner and reduces snags when they are completely internal
• This e-bike weighs more than your average trail bike at 56.1lbs because it has a higher capacity battery and a more basic spring suspension fork vs. air, I’d definitely take the battery off when lifting and transporting it
• No chain cover or guard means you need to be careful with your pants or dress, you don’t want it getting snagged and torn up in the chain ring system
• Even though this is technically a mountain bike, it’s nice to see a kickstand for those urban rides, I do wish that the stand was positioned a bit further back however, to avoid pedal lock with the left crank arm
• Another minor grips, but more and more people are commuting with hard tail mountain bikes, I like that this has provisions to add commuting options and already comes with a kickstand, but it should be noted it does not come with any lights in the front or rear
• With a standard 2amp battery charger, it could take a while to completely fill the high-capacity battery (6 or 7 hours), there are other ebikes with 3 or even 4amp chargers but they tend to weigh more
• The display panel isn’t removable and doesn’t swivel easily, as a result, it could get scratched more easily at racks and will take sun and rain wear over time
• Official Site: https://ncmbikes.de/

Review Updated On

More ncm reviews.

NCM Aspen Review

• MSRP: $1,699
• MODEL YEAR: 2019
• Fat Electric Bike Reviews

A minimalist yet capable value priced hard-tail fat-tire ebike with a proficient drive train both electrically and mechanically, lower price point allows for more financial freedom to customize and add things to the bike. Pretty lightweight at under 60lbs total, has a responsive and aggressive ride feel, comes with…...

• MSRP: $1,499
• Affordable Electric Bike Reviews

A cross country style hard-tail e-mountain bike with 80mm suspension fork, knobby trail tires, and sturdy alloy pedals, includes a trigger throttle up to 20mph. Lots of adjustability with the display panel, including speed, the 12-magnet cadence sensor is very…...

Comments (49) YouTube Comments

First off, let me say that I really enjoy your thorough reviews. The Moscow Plus is the third e-bike in our family, along with a Specialized Turbo Como 4.0 and Aventon Pace 500 . I purchased this from Amego; great value when purchasing from the US due to no tax and free shipping! I am able to use the code to get to the settings, but cannot figure out how to adjust the top speed from 20 mph to 25. All that I can access is wheel size and battery voltage. Can you assist please?

Hi Mark, I called Amego EV today asking for tips on how to update the speed. It sounds like you can only adjust the speed with the larger center-mount plus display. In that case, you’d hold the + and – key to get into settings and use the code 8018 which would allow you to adjust the speed. Perhaps someone in the ebike forums will be able to help further but this is what I go. Sounds like you’ve got a fun fleet of ebikes there and I hope you do find a solution :)

This might be a bit late, however you adjust the wheel size down and the bike will then up the speed based on that. I.E. adjust a 27.5inch down to 20.00inch and you add 30% speed as the computer reads a smaller tyre… make sense? The only down side is this throws off the odometre reading so you’ll need to factor in the 30% for closer accuracy.

hey Mark, how is the Moscow plus treating you thus far ? Is it a better purchase compared to the Aventon 500?

John - Sydney, Aus

Just bought one of these awesome machines! I haven’t been able to take it on a serious ride yet, but on a quick test ride one thing that surprised me was how easy it was to foul the front wheel with toes when turning – is that a regular thing?

Hey John! Yeah, I’ve experienced “toe strikes” when riding bikes like this, especially with larger shoes. They’ve gone with the “one size fits all” here but are using fairly large 27.5″ wheels with trail tires, so the clearance between the pedals and the front tire isn’t as much as it might be on a larger frame. This being a cross country frame style, with less rake on the fork, the wheel is fairly close to the frame and it can lead to the situation you’re describing. Yes, it is a regular thing with certain frame sizes and wheel/tire combinations. You might be able to reduce it by pedaling with the pad of your foot vs. the middle or heel.

John Liversage

Hi again, I’ve been riding the bike a couple of months now and enjoying great battery life and plenty of power (and thankfully the toe strike thing is no real problem). However, there’s is a significant defect in the power system – if you are stationery and adjust the pedals by turning them back even a small amount, occasionally (say 1 in 10 times) the power comes on, possibly at full power. As you can imagine, that’s extremely dangerous – it has once shot my bike onto the road while waiting at lights to cross a busy road, and once into the side of my car while parking the bike in my garage. I’ve reported the issue to the bike shop I bought the bike from (Leon Cycles here in Melbourne, Australia), and although initially they were responsive (even confirming it is a known fault), they have stopped responding, despite my best efforts. I did send a video I’d taken that graphically shows the issue. Even apart from that fault, the power is also very slow to come on when going from downhill (above the speed where power is provided – here in Australia that’s 25KPH) to a steep uphill, taking upwards of 5 seconds to respond (I tested a different e-bike and response was almost instantaneous). On your review ride it was largely flat, so I’m thinking you would not have picked that up. Is that a common issue with other ebikes? Any suggestions?

A few rectifications:

• The bike uses a 8 speed 11-32 freewheel, not a cassette. It’s hard (if impossible) to find in the north american market. Here’s a link I found on aliexpress for spare parts: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33056759327.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3e774c4df5Shfp
• The display will let you go from pedal assist 6 up to 0, but not from 0 down to 6, if that makes sense. Doesn’t go around in both directions, maybe that’s something they changed. (I bought 2 moscow pluses and they’re both this way.)
• You can’t change the maximum speed, but what you can do is input a smaller wheel diameter. They speedometer won’t show the correct speed anymore, and the bike will assist you up to 32km/h + about 30%. THIS WON’T MAKE IT A SPEED PEDELEC unless you pedal EXTRA HARD on the top gear ratio (48×11). I find myself going barely over 32 on flat ground, maybe up to 35-36 helping with my legs.

Hope this will be helpful. This bike is amazing btw, and if you’re commuting, going faster than that would absolutely drain your battery anyway. For exemple, a bike going 50km/h will need to draw 1500W of power and you run continuously for only 40 minutes with a 1000Wh battery. This has been my experience with the Rize Rx, which I decided to resell because of that.

Hi Mat, thanks for the updates! Great point about the freewheel. I didn’t think there were any 11 tooth freewheels and only recently learned more about the distinction between a cassette and freewheel. I really appreciate you sourcing that part! Your second point about not being able to “around” makes sense. Perhaps they did change something from 2018/2019 when I covered the bike. The wheel size hack is something I’ve heard about before, so thanks for explaining that more thoroughly and posting your results for top achievable speed. I’m hoping to cover more RIZE ebikes in the future, so glad to get your insight about why you switched to NCM here. Great comment! Thanks again :)

Mathis Bourcier-Laurin

Concerning the link I put in my comment, these appear to be cassettes after all… I might have got this wrong. I’m sending an email to NCM to know more. There doesn’t seam to be any 11-32 freewheels accessible on the market.

Hi! Nice review! I am considering the NCM Moscow Plus or Eahora AM100. Can you please make review Eahora AM100 or/and compere Moscow Plus with Eahora AM100! Will be very appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Hi Steve! I’m more familiar with NCM, but I will keep an eye out for the Eahora products and possibly do another review this year. That said, it could be many weeks or months from now. I recommend asking for feedback in the EBR forums in the NCM section here . I hope this helps you compare the two… and the list of specs here on the Moscow Plus review, you can compare them with the specs for the Eahora AM100 based on their website :)

Hi, in your video review the topic came up about using the NCM Moscow in snow conditions with regards to how it would hold up in salted roads and in wet conditions.

How do these bikes do in rain and puddles? I can see where you might want to avoid those but sometimes you get caught out on a ride where you have to ride through some conditions like that.

Hi John, my experience riding in rain has been that most ebike products, even the cheaper ones, are highly water resistant… they should hold up alright in rain, just don’t submerge. One time, I had ridden in a heavy rainstorm in Austin, TX (big heavy drops) and then parked my bike outside in the sun. The LCD fogged up inside because the water somehow got inside due to humidity or splashes or something. That fog stayed for a long time and was annoying. I’ve considered wrapping displays with plastic during extra rainy days. I also never flip an ebike upside-down to wash them (with a hose gently) because the cables and holes and electronics are all designed to drain downwards and if you flip them, water can pile up inside instead of draining. I learned that washing with a hose, some car soap, a rag and chamois is alright, even using car wax on bicycle paint seems to work well and protect any steel parts from rusting as quickly. I usually go for synthetic spray wax that works on metal and plastic, and I just coat everything. Final tip, I also use biodegradable spray cleaner for bicycles more often than car cleaner products before the wax, and I regularly lube my chain but dry it off after vs. leaving it greasy. This reduces the chance of dust and debris sticking to the chain and wearing down your sprockets. Sorry that these tips aren’t formatted perfectly, I’m in a hurry ;)

Thank you for your reply in answer to my questions. That helps me a lot.

Question for you on the Moscow plus mountain bike. The specs for that bike from Lyon cycle says it has 55 NM and I was reading your review and in it you say it has a NM. Can you tell me the difference between the measurements?

Hi Kipper, I hope I’m understanding your question correctly. It sounds like you want to know what NM stands for? This is an abbreviation for Newton Meters of torque. It’s a measure of how strong a motor can be, how much force it can create (which is good for starting and climbing). I hope this helps! Many of the stats that I provide here for motor power (watts and newton meters) are provided by companies. There are different ways to measure these things and I suspect that some companies are exaggerating the power of their products. That’s why I try to leave comments open and also show how the bike rides on camera, so people can make their own judgements :)

What I think Kipper was saying is that you list the torque at 80nm… All other specs I’ve seen list it at 55nm

Had the bike for about 6 weeks now and have 600k on the odometer. Overall a solid bike with great range and speed. Have encountered the following problems. The battery gets loose after a while and starts to knock. This can be remedied with some strips of duct tape to act as spacers. I broke a spoke on the rear wheel. When I tried my local bike shop, they said it was an unusual size and ended up having to order one online from Germany. The screws holding the rear brake disc fell out. The seller has promised to send me a new set at no-charge but it’s odd that they all fell out without much warning. No big issues so far, and I am still pleased with the purchase.

Hey, thanks for chiming in with these notes about the Moscow Plus. I’m glad that overall, you’re still happy with it. It’s also reassuring to hear that NCM has provided some support and your local bike shop went to such great lengths to help you get a new spoke! Good on them, and thank you for taking the time to share :)

Hi there, I really enjoyed your review. I have a NCM Moscow 27.5″ Plus here in the UK. Leon cycles tell me they no longer provide thumb throttles for the Eurorean market so I guess my questions are can you tell me the details of the throttle so I can source one which is compatible and will I be able to fit it on to my model? Does the cable from the throttle go into the back of the display (there are no spare holes) or does it go directly into the control box somehow. Hope these questions aren’t too technical and that you can help in a small way.

I suppose the alternative would be to buy a bike from North America, but suppliers there seem reluctant to ship to the UK – unless you know of one who does!!?? :) Thanks for your time. John H.

Hi John! Unfortunately, I do not know where to source the part, and am not 100% sure that I’d know the latest display/throttle interface. Perhaps you could post the same question in the NCM Ebike Forums to see if any recent buyers could help. This throttle is fairly unique and highly sought after by some other companies I’ve spoken with, because it’s narrow – allowing the shifter and brakes to not get pushed too far in towards the stem. I think some other companies use it too, like Magnum on their Mi6 model . I hope this helps point you in the right direction!

Hi, sorry, but I didn’t catch your name in the video review, but found it to be one of the best reviews information wise. How tall are you so I can gauge how the 29 will fit? You appeared to be in a comfortable upright position. Did you have enough straddle room at a stop? What’s your inseam if you don’t mind saying?

I prefer a larger bike so I don’t have to lean over so much. I’m 5’9″ and currently ride a large Trek Verve+ with 29 inch wheels which works well.

Thanks, Gary

Hi Gary! Sorry for the delayed reply here. I’m 5’9″ as well, and my inseam is about 32 inches. The bike felt good to me and I did have room to straddle the top tube when stopping. I tend to raise the seat way up to get full leg extension, and this bike had enough space for me to achieve that and have comfortable reach. We are lucky because many bikes fit people 5’5″ to 6’1″ or so and we’re right in the middle there :D

Hi, I just got my Moscow Plus 29″.

I’m 6’2″ 245lbs with 32″ inseam and when I stand straight I’m just touching the cross bar, which I find uncomfortable, and zero chance over ever installing water bottle. I wish I had read more reviews before purchasing, as on site said that the 29″ good for 5’9″ to 6’4″ and 27.5 was 5’5″ to 6’1″. I have read now found a few reviews that say the 29″ is too big even for someone my height

I would suggest that 33″ inseam or less go for the 27.5″ Thanks

Saiveer Aushatty

Hello I recently brought the Moscow plus e-bike but I am not satisfied with the battery because it is getting discharged quickly and when I take the bike from store the bms was 53. Something when it is fully charged. but now when I am charging in the home it is showing 51. Something and also charging of the battery is also discharging quickly can I know what is the reason??

Hi Saiveer, perhaps it is colder weather? That could explain why the battery isn’t getting the same range but might not explain the voltage drop. Over time, it is my understanding that any lithium-ion battery will begin to lose capacity (especially if the battery is heating up a lot). Maybe NCM is using cheaper cells or your pack was older? I cannot say for sure, but maybe you could buy a replacement battery someday if it continues to drop in capacity.

Hi, I love the review and currently considering a NCM. Can you comment on the difference between a Moscow and Moscow Plus? Why would you consider the upgrade?

Hi Leanne! It has been too long since performing this particular review to know what the current differences are. Usually, it has to do with upgraded brakes, maybe a nicer derailleur, or a higher capacity battery pack. Perhaps you could ask for some input on the NCM ebike forums to see if anyone there has some insights :)

Hi! I’m considering the Moscow Plus. I watched the review, it was awesome! Thanks. It made me want to by it right away, but over in Montreal is not really good timing with the snow, especially if ebikes don’t like salt (quoting yours truly :) )You mentioned the 29 inch is more comfortable than the 27; according to my height 5,6’’ I should get the 27″. Do you think I should get the 29 and I will be able to adjust it to my body dimensions? Also, how fast does the battery recharge?

Thank you! Céline

Hi Céline! Yeah, this is a good ebike. It’s made to be affordable, but still pretty capable, and it’s nice that they offer two wheel sizes. Yes, I agree that the 27″ wheel is a better fit for you at 5’6″ tall. The larger 29″ wheel diameter helps to smooth out bumps, but raises the frame, adds weight, and just isn’t a great fit unless you’re a taller person. I believe that the 27″ will still be very comfortable for you. As for charging, I’d estimate that a full charge could take 5.5 hours. Note that the first half fill goes much faster than the second half, because the charger slows down in order to help the battery balance (which is easier on the cells, helping them to last longer and be in good condition). I hope this helps!!

Thank you for your reply it helps me and reaffirms my choice for this ebike! Can’t wait to order and try it out!

I just got a Moscow and its terrible in so many aspects! The controller is awful and the wires running all over the frame is a pain! you cannot easily carry the damn thing and finding a rear rack for it is another nightmare! The common racks that attach to seat post and rear part of the frame wouldn’t work and the compatible ones are unavailable and quite pricy! the bike come with absolute no adjustment and the L and H on the derailleur was so off that you couldn’t shift it to Gear 1 or 7 and the rest was entirely unindexed! The whole things is a mess and Leon Cycle did not even post my review! This is why they have so few reviews for each product!

Hi Hamed, that really sucks. This is why I created EBR and the associated forums, to let people speak more freely (as long as they are constructive and honest). It sounds like you’re frustrated with the bike and it came damaged or just way out of tune. I’m sorry man, yes, the wires on this ebike are also more exposed vs. internally routed. I hope you got a good deal on it, I think with so many brands being sold out recently, people are left with fewer options and the direct online bikes can be risky and get damaged in shipping. NCM has been around longer, and I feel like the founder is a hard working person (who supplied Magnum and Amego) but I haven’t been in touch or reviewed their products for a while now. Hope you can get it running right and enjoy some rides this summer… or sell it and get another ebike.

Hi Court, I really appreciate both the website and youtube videos! They are really helpful! I fixed almost everything but it took me > 3 hours and was a total pain! I got it for < 1500 CAD so it wasn't horrible but anyway I wish I would have been waitng till June/July to get either a Radpower or Rize which both are looking pretty good but are in the back order! Deciding to bike again after twenty something years you'de assume how unfamiliar everything looks like and that is why I want other folks like me know what to expect! Cheers

dennis morgan

I purchased a Moscow Plus one month ago and it has not run with any assistance at consistantlly motor keeps cutting and no speedo reading have checked all connections and they are tight we have at least 8 ebikes in our group now . and many different brands this only one doing this. other experienced riders have ridden my bike and the same thing has happened to them no speedo reading no power motor turn on handle bar switch it runs with assistance for about 30 seconds and cuts out again i am now wishing i did not purchase this bike. you can ring them for help and it takes so long for them to get back to you has any one else had this problem with a moscow plus bike

Hi Dennis, that sounds frustrating. Thanks for sharing with us, I hope you are able to find some solutions or maybe sell the Moscow Plus and try another ebike?

Got a Moscow Plus and I’m pretty happy with it. The previous owners stating their issues I believe they may have a dud, Mine works well, shifts very smoothly (for the drivetrain in this price range), the pedal assist works well Talking bang for the buck I believe there is nothing that comes close. 16mA batt 500W motor 80Nm torque, hydraulic brakes, decent tires I mean this bike checks all the boxes for a rear hub low cost bikes. Will see down the road for longevity and issues but as it is I would totally recommend this for someone’s first ebike without shelling out big $$ for a mid drive fancier big name bike. As the review already stated the kickstand position is awkward to say the least and the charger could be better, but these are pretty much my only complaints after owning it for approx 1 month,

Thanks for the update, Adrian! Glad to hear that you’re satisfied with the product :)

I bought my Moscow Plus a week ago from a local bike shop in lower mainland of BC. Fully charged the battery (53.7 V reading) and took it out for a total of three rides. Got a total of 135 kms before the last battery gauge bar started to flash. was using PAS 1-2 mainly. The only problem encountered so far is when the front derailleur is in the small sprocket and the rear is also in the small sprocket, the chain would tend to skip. Otherwise a good bike.

Hi Rob! Very fair assessment, thanks for sharing what has worked and what issues you’ve noticed. I covered this model a long time ago, so perhaps things are outdated a bit. Does your bike mostly fit the description and review I made here? It sounds like you’re pretty happy with it overall, I think they are priced well.

Hi, love the reviews and because yours are far most the best, I purchased the NCM Power Plus and am happy with the bike. Only problems I have had since my purchase I found that the fat tires were rather slippery during the winter riding on city roads and I started to get constant rear flat tires, I had about 3 flats all within 2 months after purchase, I took it into the shop and the bike mechanic could not find anything wrong, so I made the decision to change tires from the original Schwalbe 57-662 to 55-662 and 1,766 km later still no flat tires and mystery was never solved.

The other issue I have that the Leon website key features state – reach up to 150 km (depending on terrain conditions & power level settings) OK well I thought that this seems a little of an over statement, so was hoping for at least 100km range on a full battery but I don’t even get close so I would love to know how this 150km range is achieved – I am 5’11” and weigh 91kg. I usually bike on good flat city roads and the occasional flat fine gravel cycle path using PAS #3 and 18th gear traveling about 23-25 km/h (21 m/hr) and I am lucky to get 65km (40 miles) range before the flashing cell appears on the screen, so if anyone or yourself can tell me what I am doing wrong and how I can achieve more km range without have to weigh in at 60kg I would be very grateful, as at this stage I feel that the 150km statement made by Leon Cycles is a little misleading. Other changers I have made on my bike are just some short plastic guards and a more comfortable seat.

Cheers Glenn

Hi Glenn! I’m glad to hear that your new tires are working better. Regarding the range estimates from NCM, most companies I speak with use a 72kg (160lb) rider on flat pavement with no wind using both the low assist and high assist to estimate a range. Since you are riding with PAS #3 I would expect your actual range to fall somewhere between their estimate. The higher the assist, the lower the tire pressure, the less smooth the terrain, and the more throttle is used will all reduce your range. Another way range is sometimes calculated is to divide the watt hours of the battery pack by 20 so that would be 768 / 20 = 38.4 minimum range. It sounds like you are getting close to that number (you said 40 miles). Over time, battery cells may not provide the same high capacity as they are power cycled, and the parts of the bike could become dirty and less smooth. A tuneup could help increase range. This ebike also uses a cadence sensor, which doesn’t require much pedal input from the rider, so the motor usually works harder than a torque sensor. These are all of my thoughts, I hope they help you :)

bikes crap…. my throttle has already broken the display screen has frozen and won’t let me change pedal assistance settings….. complete angler Gosnells is where i brought it from they scammed me and put 1.95 inch tubes when its supposed to have 3 inch wide tubes…. disappointing

Post a Comment

Cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

NCM Moscow Plus Ebike Review

• Post last modified: October 22, 2022
• Post category: Affordable Electric Bike Reviews / Electric Mountain Bikes
• 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

Electrical Specifications

Mechanical specifications,  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

• Powerful Motor
• Affordable Price
• Value for Money
• Long range between charges
• Trusted Brand
• Comfortable Ride
• Battery susceptible to damage if exposed to water
• Brakes may make slight noise if not kept clean
• Limited to 25km/h speed
• Some may come with no throttle.

Can this ebike be unrestricted to go faster than 25km/h?

For Australian use on public roads, regulation limits the speed to 25km/h. There is an option to purchase and “off road kit” which allows the speed to be unrestricted if using the ebike on private property. The maximum unrestricted speed depends on the motor size. The 250Watt motor will you give a maximum of around 32km/hr but there is option to upgrade to a 500W motor that will give you around 45km/h max speed

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

Brilliant bike sooooo much fun, strong, versatile, powerful and not to heavy - I love it!!!!

Excellent value for money.

I have only had a few rides yet, but the bike is doing everything I was hoping for, and with more experience, I expect to have great times riding in company with my wife, on her Milano Plus

Absolutely fantastic fun grest service and priduct

You Might Also Like