First 500 miles Gazelle Medeo T10

[MeDotOrg]

I'm 69 years old. Used to do a lot of road riding, but blew out my ACL and had Deep Vein Thrombosis and blood clots. I gave up riding for nearly 20 years. Decided to get back into it with the help of an ebike. Test drove the Aventon Level and the VanMoof S10. Didn't like shifting on the VanMoof. The Aventon Level I thought was good value, but the cadence sensor felt a little removed.

So I decided to look a little further upmarket. The Bosch mid-drive torque sensing system was a revelation. It felt the closest to a bicycle with a motor that helped you become a better cyclist. Between 10 gears and 4 power settings, it was easy to find the right marriage of my pedaling with the proper amount of assist. The problem was I had set a limit of $2500, and the Gazelle T10 was $3,000. But I loved the torque drive, so I went with it.

So after 500 miles, what do I think? The short answer: I love it, but I wish I would have spent another $500 for the T10+. Not for the assist over 20 mph (although certainly a plus) but more for the net 20 nm of torque you can get with the Bosch software upgrade. I ride my bike primarily for recreation. If I were younger and concerned about keeping up with commute traffic, I would recommend the t10+.

The bike is very stable, and handles well. After spending a lifetime of sub 20 pound road bikes, this thing is distressingly heavy (around 55 pounds with gear). It is not something which I can toss over my should and climb a flight of stairs.

The most disappointing aspect is ride quality. My road bike had a lightweight foco steel frame with carbon forks front and rear. Even running at 100 psi, the ride is FAR superior to my ebike, even with its telescoping front fork. If you're a long distance rider, you will probably want to swap out the saddle, which is more like a beach cruiser style. I got a Terry Raven Gel, but I might exchange it for a thinner saddle, like the Terry Fly. At some point I might look at a suspension seat post.

But again, the best point of the bike is the Torque-sensing system. It is smooth and relatively quiet. You can decide how much work you want to do, and how much you want the motor to do.

Would I recommend it? Yes, with caveats. If you live in a hilly area, or need to go fast to keep up with traffic, spend another $500, but on the whole I'm very satisfied. Gazelle and Bosch have been around for over a hundred years, so you can look forward to reliable support. Got my bike at The New Wheel in San Francisco. They did a few nice touches, like swapping out the quick release skewer for a more secure one.

As someone who used to ride centuries, I look forward longer battery life and lighter batteries. All of that will come in the next few years. I'm just not ready to spend more right now.

 

[JoeVirginia]

Glad to hear your are excited and liking your Gazelle T10 after 500 miles, I will make sure to update my review after I have more time on my Medeo T10+. Based on your comments, I think the extra $500 I spent will help with my light offroad riding and glad I did not habe to go above the $4K level! I did extensive research and like you had set a budget of $2500 and pushed it over the $3K range with my final two choices. It was actually a $3,500 Bulls and the Vado 4.0/5.0. I almost bought the Bulls just based on reviews from an online store, but decided I had to spend some time on the bikes for this type of investment. I currently ride a Haro hardtail hybrid/mountain bike and wanted that same abilty for light trail/grass/hills with my new bike in addition to my road trips (and a little electric assist for my 50+YO body.)
In short, I am so glad I rode some bikes and listened to the suggestions of my dealer, because he also had the Gazelle and the final decision came down to between the $3,500 Gazelle Medeo T10+ HMB vs the $4,400 Vado 5.0. The Vado 4.0 was not in stock ($3,450) but was told the engine was more street tuned and had lower torque. Since light offroad with some hills are on my farm and my neighborhood streets start out with gravel, knew I needed some torque.

I actually wanted to like the quieter (almost silent) Vado Brose motor better, but in truth, the Medeo T10+ Gen4 Bosch (speed performance/line?) shifted smother, was audible but not loud and had plenty of hill torque. I did the same 2 mile course on each bike and tried to match gears and power-assist. Some will say not apples to apples, since the T10+ has one less gear than the Vado and the Bosch has 4 pedal assist vs the 3 for the Brose, but one telling difference was a steep grass hill that I climbed with both bikes. With power assist of 3 (sport) on the Gazelle/Bosch and gear 5 - I jumped easily from the road to the hill and peddled the 100 yards to the top and then comfortably rode around the grass for another 5 minutes in the park before descending back down onto the street. I turned back around and changed to assist 4 (turbo) and the torque was actually more than I needed on both the steep hill and around the park. On the Vado at assist 3(the max) and gear 4 - I was peddling harder up the hill and the same for around the park. Another steep street hill, I kept the Gazelle in a fairly high gear 6 and peddled with ease in the touring assist 2 level, shifted down to 5 and then 4 even though I was not struggling and shifts were smooth. I did know not to shift under full peddle power, since neither bike has a shift sensor. When I did that same hill with the Vado it was just as easy but shifting was not as smooth. I would say the engine noise was a slight whirl from the Gazelle/Bosch vs the Brose stayed wisper quiet.

The final factor came down to comfort. I liked the grips and handle bar position and reach better on the Gazelle vs the Vado. Felt a little too forward on the Vado for my comfort (5’9”, 54yo 185# body) when I was just street riding and there was also no ability to adjust the handle bar angle and height. Yes, both bikes were the same M size. I had looked at Gazelle before and knew it was a great bike and am now thrilled that I could stay below the $4k mark and buy something that I can use for light offroad use in addition to riding on the streets. Have to wait a week for the shop to prep my bike, make sure the software is up to date, etc and then should be able to post some more reviews on my first 20 mile ride and then hopefully a couple hundred mile review like the one above.

 

[MeDotOrg]

I guess the thing I would tell another buyer: Don't be tentative. In the back of my mind, I was thinking "What if I don't love it?" The thing is, if you love it, you'll find a way to afford another $500. And 85 nm of torque with the software upgrade? That's torque for a beefy motorcycle. You might wear a chain out faster, but I think it would be worth the fun.

One other thing: The pedals. I'll probably be swapping out for some slightly wider Mountain Bike pedals. If anyone has suggestions for pedals that mate well with Gazelles....

 

[JoeVirginia]

Totally agree, after riding in person, crossed off some bikes I thought I would like. Did you change out your post for any kind of a travel post? Any pictures, trying to decide on my phone holder and water bottle, may just keep that clean and place the bottle on the bike rack.

 

[MeDotOrg]

Got a phone holder from Terry for $20 - it works, nothing fancy. I think I might want something more secure on a mountain bike, but on a road bike it works fine. From Universal Cycles, I found a Cane Creek Thudbuster 3G ST Seatpost - 27.2mm x 353mm, for $116, tax and shipping included. Good deal. I got it today, I will probably install it day after tomorrow. Got a CygoLite Hotshot Pro from Amazon, still on order.

I will probably upgrade the pedals to something a little bit wider, but not a big deal right now. My biggest problem now is saddle comfort. I like to take long rides. The original saddle was too wide. The Terry Raven Gell I got is a little TOO cushy. I'm starting to think that part of the problem for me is just adjusting to not riding drop bars, which tends to keep you lighter in the saddle. I think I might go with my old Terry Fly. I still ride with a pad inside moutain bike shorts.

So while I regret not getting the T10+, I have to say that I have received a lot of pleasure out of the first 500 miles. I'm reconnected with the joy of cycling. I didn't know how much I missed it.

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This morning I installed the Thudbuster, along with my old Terry Fly saddle. I have the seating position and comfort that I was missing. A big upgrade for me.

....after a full day in the saddle, no soreness! That's one piece of advice that I think is important for ebikers: Your contact points: Seat, Bars and Pedals should work for YOU. ESPECIALLY for saddles, one size does definitely NOT fit all.

*********

The Cygolite Hotshot Pro 200 (lumens) is a great light with a HORRIBLE mount. When I first turned on the light, I was looking directly at it. Not recommended. I saw a blue afterimage for about 20 minutes. It is painfully bright up close. The mount that comes with the 200 is so poorly designed I would recommend the 150, which has a better mount.

 

[JoeVirginia]

I am glad you mentioned the seat post size, could not find it anywhere! Now that I got the bike, looks like it has the smaller post and then a sizing sheath. Unless it is recommended I use the sheath, may just get the larger post and eliminate using the shim. I’m almost 200# right now and may need that larger post, haha. BTW, totally agree with you on your 10T decision, I only need the extra torque on my 10+ when I go off-road on my pastures and trails around my farm. In most cases, I can just leave in tour setting even on my steep grass covered fill and just put it in sport or turbo for fun.

So, had my first ride on the Medeo 10T+ and could not be happier. Did 15mi of gravel and standard paved road, which has some hills. My app says about 250’ elevation change, so fairly gradual. My wife was with me on her standard hybrid, so only used setting 1 most of the time and nice smooth ride and shifting. I did tell her I was going to take off on a 1 mile slight incline straight-away. Shifted in high gear and was up to 21mph in about 10 seconds from the 15 cruise we were at. Did not feel any pedassit disengagemen, changed to tour and got up to 25 with the same pedal force and then went for sport and was at 29 before I decided to slow down. Never even tried to the turbo mode since I was now about half a mile ahead of her. Rode back in the tour setting and then just stayed with her with peddle-assist turned off and we averaged 11 mph up and down the inclines. I must say I was impressed with how little drag their was and even on the inclines, I was able to peddle with ease in mid to high gears and she was shifting down. Love this bike! I now need to get the handle bar angle and seat position adjusted. Had my hands going a little numb in the palms and think I may need to shift the seat back a little and angle the bars up some.

 

[MeDotOrg]

I am glad you mentioned the seat post size, could not find it anywhere! Now that I got the bike, looks like it has the smaller post and then a sizing sheath. Unless it is recommended I use the sheath, may just get the larger post and eliminate using the shim. I’m almost 200# right now and may need that larger post, haha. BTW, totally agree with you on your 10T decision, I only need the extra torque on my 10+ when I go off-road on my pastures and trails around my farm. In most cases, I can just leave in tour setting even on my steep grass covered fill and just put it in sport or turbo for fun.

So, had my first ride on the Medeo 10T+ and could not be happier. Did 15mi of gravel and standard paved road, which has some hills. My app says about 250’ elevation change, so fairly gradual. My wife was with me on her standard hybrid, so only used setting 1 most of the time and nice smooth ride and shifting. I did tell her I was going to take off on a 1 mile slight incline straight-away. Shifted in high gear and was up to 21mph in about 10 seconds from the 15 cruise we were at. Did not feel any pedassit disengagemen, changed to tour and got up to 25 with the same pedal force and then went for sport and was at 29 before I decided to slow down. Never even tried to the turbo mode since I was now about half a mile ahead of her. Rode back in the tour setting and then just stayed with her with peddle-assist turned off and we averaged 11 mph up and down the inclines. I must say I was impressed with how little drag their was and even on the inclines, I was able to peddle with ease in mid to high gears and she was shifting down. Love this bike! I now need to get the handle bar angle and seat position adjusted. Had my hands going a little numb in the palms and think I may need to shift the seat back a little and angle the bars up some.

The seat tube is 27.2". The post and collar are a little tricky. I went back to the shop where I bought the bike and they actually measured the post to make sure they had the right collar.

I'm beginning to treat the assist level sort of like a front ring, albeit a 'quadruple front crank. . As I get more in shape, I try to take the hill with one less level of assist. There are a lot more variables to integrate into your thinking.

 

[JoeVirginia]

The seat tube is 27.2". The post and collar are a little tricky. I went back to the shop where I bought the bike and they actually measured the post to make sure they had the right collar.

I'm beginning to treat the assist level sort of like a front ring, albeit a 'quadruple front crank. . As I get more in shape, I try to take the hill with one less level of assist. There are a lot more variables to integrate into your thinking.

After taking the seat tune out and looking at the collar, I would have to agree and will probably just get a 27.2 diameter and leave the sleave. I have two older seats also with the same diameter, one has the built in spring shock, prob about the equivalent to the cheap 30$ ones seen on amazon. Going to put it on and try it out on my next ride to see how much that smooths bumps when I am off-road.