Gazelle Avignon/Ultimate - Other options
- Thread starter steelbone
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gladiataar
Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- California
Hey @steelbone, welcome to EBR. I grew up in central Mass myself.
My wife and I were in the market recently for belt-driven ebikes and our short list included: Gazelle Arroyo C5, Specialized Como 4.0, Evelo Omega, and Zen Photon. All four are low step-thru models with a relatively strong mid-drive motor. The latter two have throttles. Each of them bring something to the table that their counterparts don't. The Arroyo is lighter (thinner tires, smaller battery, etc.). The Como has a ridiculously quiet Brose motor. The Omega has a throttle, but (only) comes with an automatic gearing system, which may or may not appeal to you. The Photon, also throttle equipped, comes in a variety of flavors with a little more flexibility in choice of motor, gearing and battery size.
Arroyo and Como can be test ridden at your local bike shop. Omega and Photon are pretty much considered direct-to-consumer, unless you live somewhere near their headquarters. That being said, both Evelo and Zen have a lot of very positive feedback here in the EBR forums, with most being notably happy on the customer support side of things.
I ended up with a Zen Photon and my wife with a Specialized Como 4.0. Thus far, we're both very happy with our decisions. We each had different needs/requirements, so it's not surprising that we ended up with two somewhat different ebikes.
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AvalancheRun
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I thought throttle was must-have, but now have no desire to use one on my bikes. The Bosch motor feels so good to pedal. For exercise I've probably enjoyed my Gazelle Ultimate more than my analog carbon bike. It's practically identical to pedaling a standard bike, but the weight and belt makes the pedal strokes even smoother and without needing to clip in. You never get that surging feeling unless your pedal assist is too high.
Anyhow, to summarize, while I have often complained about the proprietary nature of Bosch, they really nailed the natural feeling of pedaling a bicycle with their motors. To answer your question, they will never make a throttle motor due to European law.
Anyhow, to summarize, while I have often complained about the proprietary nature of Bosch, they really nailed the natural feeling of pedaling a bicycle with their motors. To answer your question, they will never make a throttle motor due to European law.
Just curious, how tall are you? I have a Zen Photon on order but still have concerns the 19” frame size will be big enough even though the Zen folks are confident it can be tuned to work for me. The only step-through in XL frame size I could find anywhere is the Gazelle Ultimate series, available in 57cm which would be a 22.4” equivalent.
AvalancheRun
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Better to have a smaller bike. You can adapt it to a larger rider by increasing the seat post height and using a longer stem (if needed). Limited options to reduce bike size.
I can (very) comfortably ride my wife’s size small Gazelle Ultimate at 6’1”. In fact, it’s more comfortable because the reach is better for me. Have yet to find a downside aside for very occasional toe overlap (non issue).
Interesting perspective. I found that the e-bikes I test rode in single frame “one size fits all” or the larger of 2 frame sizes seemed a little cramped, like the handlebars were too close to my chest. I get that changing the handlebar backweep, riser bars, and adjustable stems give you a lot of adjustability. I recently purchased 2 non-electric bikes in 57CM frame size and both needed some of those methods to get just right. I hope the Zen Photon fits well with some tweaking, a less back sweep bar seeming like a better option, but won’t know until I get it. The Photon was exactly what I was looking for in terms of configuration/specs, so really want to make it work. (I’m 6-3 and 35” inseam, so a little taller than you are.)
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