Gazelle Arroyo C7 HMB Elite Review

This review was provided for free using a temporary demo bike and accessories provided by Gazelle USA. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased with you, this video and writeup are not meant to be an endorsement of Gazelle or PON Group products. I welcome your corrections, additions, and feedback in the comments below, and the Gazelle electric bike forums.

Observations:

• This is a feature complete electric bike, meaning that it comes with fenders, integrated lights, and a rear rack for cargo. Whether you’re riding day or night, rain or shine, casually or commuting, the ebike is ready to go. Gazelle is an above average bicycle brand in my opinion, because they take extra steps to prevent rust, keep paint from fading, they sell through dealers globally, and are owned by a very large long-running company called Pon Holdings. Gazelle itself was founded in 1892 and is based in Dieren, Netherlands.
• I (Court Rye) was test riding the Medium 53cm sized frame for this review. My weight is roughly 135lbs (61kg), and I am roughly 5’9″ (175cm) tall.

Pros:

• Everything looks beautiful on this electric bike, there’s a lot of emphasis on matching (like the saddle and grips), and sleek accessories (like the streamlined suspension fork, rear rack, internally routed cables, and tight fenders). Note that all of the hardware is black including hubs, spokes, rims, crank arms, seat post and stem, handlebar, and chain cover.
• The cockpit is very clean, and feels less overwhelming to me than some competing products. I think this is due to the grip twist shifter vs. triggers, and the twist bell on the left vs. something that’s mounted on top of the bar and positioned further in. The display panel is very reachable and intuitive to use.
• The tool-free adjustable angle stem allows for a more upright body position if you have a sensitive back, neck, and shoulders like me. Or, you can angle it forward and drop the handlebar a bit for a more efficient and aerodynamic body position.
• Two premium color choices to choose from, I like the white because it will stand out more in low light riding conditions, but you still get the integrated lights and reflective tires for safety… so the matte saturn blue is good as well. It’s nice that you could get a pair of these bikes with a friend or partner and have them feel unique.
• The integrated lights are above-average in terms of quality and function. The rear light is positioned well under the rack so it won’t get scratched or cracked when you park at a crowded bike rack. The headlight is designed to keep light from shining up into the eyes of oncoming cyclists and cars, and it has side window cutouts so you’ll be visible from more angles.
• Another safety and convenience feature worth mentioning is the ebike rated tires, that come with a puncture protection layer to reduce your chances of getting a flat. I’ve learned that keeping the tires inflated between the recommended PSI 45 to 70 will further help to reduce pinch flats.
• Excellent weight distribution. The battery pack sits inside the downtube and is about as low and centered as you can get. The mid-drive motor blends seamlessly into the frame… aside from being a different color.
• The bike feels stable and is quite comfortable thanks to the suspension fork, suspension seat post, and taller wheels. The wheels have a lower attack angle that eases into bumps and spans cracks better than a smaller wheel size, and the tires offer a bit of width 1.75″ and roll efficiently and quietly due to their city/hybrid tread.
• It’s easy to miss that the spokes interface with the rims using reinforcement eyelets. This spreads out pressure and reduces the chance of cracking and scraping when they are being trued or the bike is carrying more weight.
• Excellent brakes here, hydraulic disc with adjustable reach levers to fit a range of hand sizes, and a larger 180mm front rotor to dissipate heat as weight sifts forward and provide a greater mechanical advantage over the large wheel size. Some older Gazelle ebikes used hydraulic rim brakes, which are less likely to get damaged at bike racks, but they can scratch the rims, heat the rims and damage inner tubes, and tend to be dirtier in general. One takeaway here is that you should avoid touching the disc brake rotors and be conscious of the front rotor when parking at racks, because if it’s bent you will end up with some wooshing noises as the wheel turns.
• Custom made plastic fenders keep you dry and clean, the front fender goes extra low to protect shoes and pant legs or dress ends. Even the chain cover has been upgraded to be fully enclosed for cleanliness. Plastic is lightweight and durable (won’t bend or rust), but can increase noise as it rattles a bit more.
• The Shimano Nexus 7 internally geared hub is also very clean. Since there’s no derailleur hanging down on the right side of the bike, it tends to be very durable and the chain is unlikely to fall off. I appreciate that this drivetrain allows you to shift at standstill, which can be useful when stopping unexpectedly.
• The Bosch motor controller is incredibly fast and smart, it makes riding with assist feel very natural and under control. It measures rear wheel speed, pedal cadence, and pedal torque over 1,000 times per second and can even back off when it senses shifting, which protects the chain and geared hub from stress and damage.
• The suspension fork is raked forward a bit to relax steering and keep the fender from being in the path of your feet while pedaling. Even though the suspension travel is fairly limited (40mm travel) it definitely takes the edge off of larger bumps and curb drops, and doesn’t add as much weight as a larger suspension fork would.
• In addition to the suspension fork, Gazelle has specced an adjustable stiffness suspension seat post to further cushion your ride. It’s a welcome feature for an upright city bike… especially if you have back and neck sensitivity like me.
• The rear rack is amazing! It’s positioned far enough back that the seat can be lowered all the way down without colliding with a trunk bag. The side support arms are extra strong, made from custom tubing and painted to match the frame color! You get 29kg (59lbs) of cargo capacity here, which is above average and great if you’re using it to mount a child seat. It uses standard gauge tubing to work with most clip-on panniers, has pannier blockers on the sides to keep bags from touching the tires, and even comes with a triple bungee strap for quickly securing lightweight loose items. I also appreciate that some of the support structure is hidden below the fender for a really sleek refined look.
• The silver support struts that keep the fenders in place are curved at the top and non adjustable. They are perfectly sized and won’t get bumped out of position as easily as some cheaper solutions. Both pairs of struts mount directly to the frame vs. using plastic cuffs, that tend to be weaker.
• Another cool accessory that Gazelle includes right out the gate is an AXA Defender frame lock to secure the rear wheel for quick stops. It’s keyed alike to match the battery pack, which reduces clutter and the need to carry and fiddle with multiple keys. It’s convenient and works well… but does add some weight.
• Great kickstand hardware, the length is adjustable without tools (so you can stabilize the bike on flat or angled terrain) and it’s positioned near the back to support the rack with cargo and stay clear of the left crank arm (eliminating the potential for pedal lock).
• The battery pack is removable to help reduce weight when lifting, servicing, and transporting the bike. It’s also nice that the same charging interface is used for the pack and the bike frame plug so you don’t need a dongle. I’ve read that it’s best to store Lithium-ion batteries in cool dry environments and avoid a full discharge to 0%. Optimal use is between 20% and 80% full, and store at 50% full for long periods of disuse.
• The Plus motor offers more torque and higher cadence support than the lowest level Bosch Active line. For me, it’s a worthwhile upgrade, but still delivers the benefits of efficient power use and decreased noise vs. the Performance Line products.
• In my experience, you’re getting a reliable and well supported product when buying from Gazelle and Bosch. I believe that they both offer a two year comprehensive warranty and rely on a network of shops that can provide ride tests, fitting, and post purchase support to help the bike last. Furthermore, Bosch supports their hardware for 7+ years once discontinued, so you probably won’t struggle to find a replacement battery or display the same way you might with a less expensive product. And, the display can be upgraded to one of the fancier models from Bosch if you pay the dealer to special order and install it. This would get you smartphone app compatibility and USB charging for portable electronics.

Cons:

• The spring suspension fork is sleek, and offers a bit of rake near the bottom for improved stability, but it doesn’t offer much travel or strength (40mm travel, narrower 28mm stanchions). The preload clickers are difficult to reach (positioned below plastic caps on the crowns of each stanchion), and it doesn’t offer lockout so you will lose some efficiency to bobbing. Spring forks also tend to weigh a bit more.
• Weighing in at roughly 62.2lbs for the medium sized frame, this is a fairly heavy electric bike… especially given the low powered motor and average battery capacity. The weight has to do with the spring suspension, internally geared hub, fenders, integrated rack, lights, cafe lock, adjustable stem, swept back handlebar, and reinforced step-thru frame with cutaway point. The bike looks very smooth and beautiful, but extra metal was used to increase strength and stiffness while keeping this wave design, and it appears to be the same frame used for their belt driven products with that cutaway on the right chain stay… which requires more metal and structure for strength.
• The Bosch Purion display panel is effective and easy to reach, but it isn’t removable and some menus have been removed as compared to the larger Bosch Intuvia, remember to hold plus to activate or de-activate the lights and hold minus to cycle through menus. The Micro-USB port on the right side of this display is only for diagnostics and not charging portable electronics. Consider paying a local shop to help upgrade the Purion to Kiox if you want charging Bluetooth for their smartphone apps.
• I love that the battery lock core and AXA frame lock use the same key, but discovered that the key gets locked into place when the cafe lock is disengaged. This means that you basically have to lock the bike every time you stop or someone could lock it and steal the key and or battery. If you’ve got the key attached to a keychain, it will rattle as you ride, but if you do not have it on a keychain, it could get lost more easily when you take it off. I just wish they let you remove the key from the AXA Defender frame lock when unlocked as well as locked so this wouldn’t be an issue.
• In order to lock the battery into place, you have to insert the key and unlock the core before seating it down, whereas some competing designs I’ve seen from BULLS just allow you to push hard and the battery will click into place without the key. I appreciate that design because I feel it makes dropping the battery pack less likely, as you don’t have to simultaneously fumble with a key.
• The Bosch PowerTube 500 battery pack weighs more than the older PowerPack 500, is longer and sharper (making it less easy to transport additional batteries for long range use), and has a custom plastic shield mounted to match the downtube… so it’s less interchangeable here. At least the shield is generic black, so easier and cheaper to replace… but it doesn’t look as seamless on the white colored frame.
• There’s plenty of room for bottle cage bosses on the downtube (on top of the battery pack) and seat tube, but Gazelle didn’t include any. You could always get an SKS Anywhere adapter for mounting a bottle cage to the seat tube with straps, or get a trunk bag and panniers for cargo and accessories, but it’s nice to have a bottle within reach. Perhaps their decision has to do with frame strength and cost savings on the plastic battery shield vs. something more like Cannondale has done with a mounting point.
• The Bosch Active Line Plus motors have a bit of “clunk” feeling when you stop pedaling, I think this relates to the gearing inside. It may smooth out and reduce with continued use, but I didn’t notice this same behavior when testing the Bosch Performance Line motors.
• Perhaps to save money, and due to the standard battery capacity here, the Arroyo C7 HMB Elite ships with the slower Bosch Compact 2 amp charger vs. their faster standard 4 amp. It saves a tiny bit of space and weight, but not much given the 2x slower fill rate.
• As much as I enjoy internally geared hubs for being durable, reducing chain drops, and allowing shifting at standstill… they do add weight, slow shifting a bit, and this one doesn’t offer as wide of gear range as many cassettes would. You get a 244% spread vs. 291% on an 11-32 tooth cassette.

Resources:

• Gazelle electric bike dealers.
• Official Gazelle website.