Should you’re wanting at bikes on-line—or something, actually, whether or not it’s headphones or displays—it’s a must to contemplate value versus payoff. Gazelle has billed its latest ebike, the Eclipse, as a long-range consolation cruiser. It’s principally the costly Dutch model of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) Rad Energy Bikes’ Radster Street (8/10, WIRED Recommends).
I brooded over that value distinction whereas I used to be using, till I spotted that I actually was way more snug, and for a extremely dumb motive. The handlebars on the Eclipse are a lot narrower than the Radster’s, in addition to the opposite DTC bikes that I’ve examined. Most bikes have smaller elements for smaller frames, however in case you’re a smaller or newer bike firm, you would possibly standardize your handlebar sizes as a consequence of restricted provide or economies of scale. That is simply not one thing you’d do in case you’re Royal Dutch Gazelle, which has existed for greater than 130 years and holds the royal warrant within the Netherlands as a distinction of top quality.
You possibly can swap out handlebars fairly simply on acoustic bikes, however doing so on an electric bike is a extra sophisticated matter. Discovering a narrower handlebar was such an surprising consolation. It is simply … a very nice bike. Even the paint job is nicer than different bikes I’ve, with 4 hand-applied coats and dimensional shading to make it look slimmer. Should you’re not making an attempt to pinch pennies, there are a number of very nice issues concerning the Eclipse.
So A lot Data
There are two completely different fashions of the Eclipse. Each have an aluminum body, however the T11+ HMB has a Shimano Deore XT derailleur gear, whereas the model I examined is the C380+ model, which has the Enviolo CVT gear hub and a low-maintenance Gates belt drive. Might I by no means have a sequence drop out whereas crossing a busy road once more!
Each are available a step-over and step-through model with three completely different body sizes, with the smallest being a 46 centimeters. I’m 5’2″ and was positively thrilled to discover a Dutch bike that is available in a dimension this small because the Dutch are tall folks and that is uncommon. In fact, the bikes all have UL certification, which implies that the bike has been licensed to adjust to Underwriters Laboratories security requirements and will not inadvertently set your storage on fireplace.
In all probability the very first thing you’ll discover is the brand new Bosch system. It has a Bosch Efficiency Line motor with 85 nm of torque and a 750-Wh ginormous battery built-in into the downtube. After about 45 miles of biking up hills and hauling gear, I solely acquired the battery all the way down to 45 p.c. It’s a class 3 ebike with a most velocity of 28 miles per hour.