I have had constant things breaking and failing on my bike, from electronics to the dodgy spokes that rusted in 5 months and started breaking, cracked stem and more!

The latest issue which motivated me to notify others about the quality of this product, is that the charger stopped charging the battery.

Seriously thinking about taking up the matter with ACCC and getting reimbursed for all my trouble.

The Gazelle is more than my work wheels. It is now my other vehicle and ride of choice to grab groceries, pick up take away or drop in on friends. Am also loving the excellent range of Basil panniers and handbags that settle securely and without fuss of the rear racks.

Although my legs are now less pathetic, the peloton still leaves me behind at the lights most days. However, I get to work faster than PT or driving, can park for free, am heaps fitter and sleep like a log, which is also something that had not happened for many years.

It’s the law that’s stopping the pedal assist from assisting more and it certainly could do if it weren’t restricted. I agree that it doesn’t get you there quicker, just easier. It took me a while to get my commuting legs back when I switched back to my road bike and I really did miss the Gazelle for commuting.

I’m glad you’re enjoying your bike. I’ll see you on the road.

Unfortunately for me, the motor died at 1500 km, but it was replaced (promptly) under warranty. In retrospect, the bike always seemed slightly difficult to ride without the motor, but I thought that was just the weight of the bike. Now, with a new motor, it freewheels nicely, and I suspect there was something amiss from the beginning.

I also had the CityLights and got two punctures in 1500 km – more than I used to get with a light racing bike. I now have the Marathons and hope I’ll get better performance.

One disadvantage of the bike is that the motor cuts out at 27km. In boost mode on flat ground, it cuts in and out a lot, which can be annoying. And, because there is no assistance beyond that limit, the bike doesn’t really help me get to work any quicker than my old racer – which is much quicker downhill and on flat ground.

All that said, it’s a great bike and I use it every day. One small but great feature of the bike is that you can’t forget your lock or the lights, and always have splash protection. That means I just ride it to work every day, rain hail or shine, and almost never resort to the car to visit the shops.

The built in lights are enough to see by on even dark city streets, but I wouldn’t rate them for off road or country road use where you need much more spill.

If I bought this bike, I would swap the saddle out for a Brooks. The saddle, as is, isn’t overly soft since much of the comfort comes from the suspension seat post. The seat post should take a Brooks and it has some nice easy Allen key controlled micro adjustment that’s quite easy to get to. The saddle it has is waterproof and suits a wide variety of people. It’s worth a try before swapping it.

At the speeds I was doing and the terrain I was riding over I was consistently getting 50km out of the battery. If you’re going over 25-27 kph, you won’t be using the motor, so your range will be extended. I would even suggest turning the motor off completely (or put it on eco mode) and then switching it to boost mode when you need it for hills. One charge should be enough, but even if you wanted to use the motor quite a lot more, it should do 42 km with no problems, then charge in about 3 hours for the return journey.

Cheers,
David

My other comment relates to the seat … By the looks of the saddle it is an over padded one which most cyclists know is not comfortable. Can these be easily swapped out to something more suitable such as a Brooks England?

Okay, a third comment … On the range, did you find you where consistently getting 50 km particularly on the uphill rides? My commute is 42 km each way, around 250 m of climb but the homeward journey is consistently into 40 to 50 km/h headwinds. Ideally I would like to be able to do this ride on one charge.

Thanks
Andrew

I know that the Marathons are the go to tyres for city bikes, much like the Vittoria Randonneurs. Vittoria have recently added a City model to their Randonneurs which has a different tread pattern (more slick) and less side knobbly bits, which would make it more suitable for purely sealed road riding, rather than the mixed roads you’d get while touring. Maybe the CityLites from Schwalbe are like that?

And for the record, I have both the Schwalbes and the Vittorias on my touring and commuting bikes. Both are excellent.