2015 Gazelle Impulse - to buy or not to buy?

[Tabitha]

Aloha.

I am new to electric bikes, but I have seen and test-ridden a second-hand Gazelle Impulse, bought in 2015. It has a torque of 70Nm, 7 gears, midi-motor which is not Bosch, and a seat battery that doesn't seem to be manufactured any more - or at least it looks like it is at the end of its time for being produced. I see only one seller for the battery, on e-bay, and when I asked them if the battery would still be available to buy in a year or so, they told me they could not tell me as they didn't know. However, I also see that it might be the type of battery that can be re-celled. I think the asking price for the bike is high for an 8-year old bike that has a battery like this (£925, lowest he says he will go is £800). I am considering asking to pay £500, but I am hesitant to pay even this if the bike requires a new battery at some point, and either they're no longer available/no longer repaired (either way the cost is around £333), but since I am pretty clueless about the whole affair I thought I would come here and ask your opinion. Should I bother with this bike, or give it a wide berth? What would you do?

Thank you.

 

[Dewey]

Avoid. Impulse mid-drive motors are unreliable.

 

[Tabitha]

Avoid. Impulse mid-drive motors are unreliable.

Thank you so much for responding. Do you own a Gazelle yourself, Dewey?

 

[steve mercier]

STRONGLY DISAGREE with Duey but the battery on that bike is very old. I would NOT buy that particular Gazelle. Instead I would look for a newer used offering with a Bosch motor. Good luck. If you buy a new Bosch powered bike you would get the peace of mind of a 2 year warranty.

 

[Dewey]

Thank you so much for responding. Do you own a Gazelle yourself, Dewey?

No, but I admire their Bosch and Shimano Steps powered ebikes.

 

[Dewey]

STRONGLY DISAGREE with Duey

Perhaps I should clarify, I don‘t recommend buying an ebike from any brand with an Impulse motor of 2014-16 vintage. The documented problems on the British and German Pedelec forums I posted in the link above should make anyone think twice.

 

[Tabitha]

STRONGLY DISAGREE with Duey but the battery on that bike is very old. I would NOT buy that particular Gazelle. Instead I would look for a newer used offering with a Bosch motor. Good luck. If you buy a new Bosch powered bike you would get the peace of mind of a 2 year warranty.

Thank you, Steve, for your opinion. Bosch it is then.

 

[Tabitha]

Perhaps I should clarify, I don‘t recommend buying an ebike from any brand with an Impulse motor of 2014-16 vintage. The documented problems in the link I posted above should make anyone think twice.

Yes, I just had a quick look via the link you included. The current owner of the bike says the bike hasn't had much use, and he seemed to think that was a plus, but I think it's not a plus because he (the bike is his wife's), would then perhaps not be aware of issues with the motor. I wasn't encouraged either that he told me I could pedal while changing the gears, but a mechanic in a Gazelle bike shop I went to the next day told me the opposite.

 

[Dewey]

Yes, I just had a quick look via the link you included. The current owner of the bike says the bike hasn't had much use, and he seemed to think that was a plus, but I think it's not a plus because he (the bike is his wife's), would then perhaps not be aware of issues with the motor. I wasn't encouraged either that he told me I could pedal while changing the gears, but a mechanic in a Gazelle bike shop I went to the next day told me the opposite.

The Gazelle mechanic is correct, assuming the bike has an internal geared hub like a Shimano Nexus 7 or 8, the rider should pause pedaling, shift gear, then resume pedaling. Even with shift detection or a motor cut-out gear sensor, power is an issue, I have broken two Nexus 8 IGH with my BBS01 mid-drive, and have switched to Enviolo Cargo CVT which performs great.

 

[Tabitha]

I am really glad I found this forum. Thank you for your help.

 

[Tabitha]

Thanks for your time, Dewey. I didn't say above, but the reason I am looking at Gazelle is because I have had a number of mechanical bikes over the years and I have found them all a tad uncomfortable in terms of fit. I am determined to find something that is as comfy as possible (as I age!) - and I think that would be a riding position that is upright, with no weight on my arms or wrists. This Impulse 2015 is actually the only Gazelle I have tried, and it was comfortable and felt more natural and easy on my body. It's a shame the bike itself was not decent enough. The new bikes I have test-ridden so far have all been a bit uncomfortable regarding body positioning, but at least now I know I would need a high torque as I live in a hilly city (where I will have to do hill-starts at lights etc.), and I prefer centred batteries and mid-motors for a more natural and solid feel. However, these bikes tend to be more expensive. Hence me looking for second-hand, although second-hand Gazelle's are not abundant. I have an appointment at the end of next week with a place that sells nearly new and refurbished Gazelle's that come with a year's warranty. I do have the cash to pay for an expensive bike, but my car cost £2K and I don't yet know how much I will use an ebike - this was one of the attractions regarding second-hand as well.

 

[Dewey]

Then good luck with your used ebike hunting, interested to read what you think of the used bikes you test ride at the Gazelle shop. I understand about the riding position, I bought some Dutch bike parts from an online seller to raise the stem so I am upright