Pedego vs Gazelle

[alfeatscats]

Hey, Forum, I'm debating between the Pedego City Commuter and the Gazelle Arroyo Elite. I'm located in the DC area and they're both around the same price but the Pedego shop experience was way better than the City Bikes experience. I was initially leaning towards the Gazelle until I test drove a bunch at each different store. TO me they seem com[parable but I am a novice. I know I like the pedego store and owner better because he was really knowledgeable and a good listener. He seems to listen to what and how I would be using the bike and made suggestions form there and let me try everything. whereas the City Bike employee just wanted to rattle off stats and make a sale though he let me try everything. He was really pushing me to a bike I didn't like but said Gazelle is pretty good too. Do I go with the bike based on the store since they seem comparable? Any Gazelle and/or pedego owners care to chime in and help new newbie out before I drop upwards of 4K this weekend, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dewey]

Yeah do you mean Pedego Alexandria? The owner Todd Ketch is a real advocate for ebike riding in the DC area and his family lovely people. I took my wife and 2 yo to their store opening and they had thoughtfully set up Yepp seats on some of their bikes ready for a test ride. I appreciate they carry Kinekt seatpost suspension and eyewear too, they offer loaner bikes when yours is in for service, and they sell their ex-rental cruisers for cheap, if I hadn’t decided to build my own DIY and if they had been around 4 years ago I would have considered buying used from them for my first ebike.

That being said I really like Gazelle ebikes, they use galvanized hardware so they don’t rust if you have to leave them out in the rain, and most importantly lots of different frame sizes of step-through across the Arroyo and EasyFlow models so you can get your perfect fit. Kyle Waller from Electricity bikes in Tenleytown is a regular contributor to Court’s EBR review videos, they sponsored the recent Arlington screening of the Motherload cargo bike documentary and brought a bunch of cargo ebikes to the screening to test ride, and I’ve heard from several contributors to the WABA and DC Family Biking forums they keep your bike well serviced and they worked with a friend to get a custom box for her R&M Packster.

Choices, choices, Have fun!

 

[opimax]

I has 1 dealing wPedego of Alex and it was very positive about my Kinetic seat post, I am not a fan of their bikes for my style of riding , business model seems to be great. If you are ok with the bike the dealer will make a big difference in your experience

 

[Dewey]

Agreed, I read about one DC commuter who chose to buy from them because the loaner ebike during service meant she could keep riding to work every day. I too like their City Commuter model because I find the handlebars and more upright geometry more comfortable than their cruisers, I’d personally consider the City Commuter mid-drive model for climbing Arlington hills.