Gazelle Eclipse C380+ e-bike review: A smart, smooth ride at a halting price

142

Let me get three negative points about the Gazelle Eclipse out of the way first. First, it’s a 62-pound e-bike, so it’s tough to get moving without its battery. Second, its rack is a thick, non-standard size, so you might need new bags for it. Third—and this is the big one—with its $6,000 suggested retail price, it's expensive, and you will probably feel nervous about locking it anywhere you don’t completely trust.

Apart from those issues, though, this e-bike is great fun. When I rode the Eclipse (the C380+ HMB version of it), I felt like Batman on a day off, or maybe Bruce Wayne doing reconnaissance as a bike enthusiast. The matte gray color, the black hardware, and the understated but impressively advanced tech certainly helped. But I felt prepared to handle anything that was thrown at me without having to think about it much. Brutally steep hills, poorly maintained gravel paths, curbs, stop lights, or friends trying to outrun me on their light road bikes—the Eclipse was ready.

It assists up to 28 miles per hour (i.e., Class 3) and provides up to 85 Nm of torque, and the front suspension absorbs shocks without shaking your grip confidence. It has integrated lights, the display can show you navigation while your phone is tucked away, and the automatic assist changing option balances your mechanical and battery levels, leaving you to just pedal and look.

What kind of bike is this? A fun one.

The Eclipse comes in two main variants, the 11-speed, chain-and-derailleur model T11+ HMB and the stepless Enviolo hub and Gates Carbon belt-based C380+ HMB. Both come in three sizes (45, 50, and 55 cm), in one of two colors (Anthracite Grey, Thyme Green for the T11+, and Metallic Orange for the C380+), and with either a low-step or high-step version, the latter with a sloping top bar. Most e-bikes come in two sizes if you're lucky, typically "Medium" and "Large," and their suggested height spans are far too generous. The T11+ starts at $5,500 and the C380+ starts at $6,000.

The Eclipse’s posture is an “active” one, seemingly halfway between the upright Dutch style and a traditional road or flat-bar bike. It’s perfect for this kind of ride. The front shocks have a maximum of 75 mm of travel, which won’t impress your buddies riding real trails but will make gravel, dirt, wooden bridges, and woodland trails a potential. Everything about the Eclipse tells you to stop worrying about whether you have the right kind of bike for a ride and just start pedaling.

“But I’m really into exercise riding, and I need lots of metrics and data, during and after the ride,” I hear some of you straw people saying. That’s why the Eclipse has the Bosch Kiox 300, a center display that is, for an e-bike, remarkably readable, navigable, and informative. You can see your max and average speed, distance, which assist levels you spent time in, power output, cadence, and more. You can push navigation directions from Komoot or standard maps apps from your phone to the display, using Bosch’s Flow app. And, of course, you can connect to Strava.

Halfway between maximum efficiency and careless joyriding, the Eclipse offers a feature that I can only hope makes it down to cheaper e-bikes over time: automatic assist changing. Bikes that have both gears and motor assist levels can sometimes leave you guessing as to which one you should change when approaching a hill or starting from a dead stop. Set the Eclipse to automatic assist and you only have to worry about the right-hand grip shifter. There are no gear numbers; there is a little guy on a bike, and as you raise or lower the gearing, the road he’s approaching get steep or flat.

Not only will the Eclipse handle the power assist changes (which you can override), but the bike will pop a message on the display to suggest when you should shift up or down if it feels you’re dragging or free-spinning. Do I need a bike to monitor my two forms of propulsion and propose the best balances between them? No. But the more time you spend on the Eclipse, getting the white-glove torque experience, the more you appreciate being able to think about, and look at, other things.

The nitty-gritty tech and ride stuff

The core of the bike is the Bosch “Performance Line Speed” mid-drive motor. This was my first time riding a mid-drive motor for any length of time, and I get why people have a hard time going back to front or rear hub motors after using one. It responds to foot pressure and braking more fluidly than hubs. This motor in particular doesn’t drop out on you at high speeds or pedal cadences or “catch” when you start from a dead stop, and it almost never gives you a phantom push when you mean to slow down. There’s something to be said about the brains of your e-bike being connected directly to the human feet urging it on.

The UL-certified 750 Wh battery powers that motor, and you can unlock and remove it for charging or protection. Gazelle reckons you’ll get 100 miles out of it on the most conservative “Eco” mode or 50 on “Turbo.” It’s a big batch of cells, and I never quite ran it out, though I could see myself getting close on a couple of rides. The smooth propulsion and gearing can leave you riding longer, higher, and faster than you intended. It’s the kind of bike that makes drivers look twice at you on a hill because nobody on a bike is supposed to be rolling that fast at such an angle, nor look so unbothered by it.

The Selle seat and Ergon handlebars felt like a comfier upgrade from most e-bikes I’ve tested. I always appreciate integrated lights, as I’m forgetful about the existence of sunsets. The rear rack didn’t fit the Ortlieb or Banjo Brothers panniers I have at home, so I couldn’t really test it, except to note that it seems sturdy as heck and is rated for 55 pounds. The Shimano hydraulic disc brakes performed as instantly as you’d expect for brand-new disc brakes.

There’s a built-in wheel lock on the Eclipse, one that requires you keep the key in it when riding. As you might imagine, this lock is better than nothing and is useful mostly if you can keep the bike within a very short, visible distance. I think of it as a nice add-on to whatever serious U or chain lock you’ll absolutely swear to me you’ll bring if you lock this up, and only in safe, high-traffic areas. There’s also an alarm system, bike registration, and GPS tracking built into the bike, giving more chances to prevent disaster.

Gazelle Eclipse C380+, leaned against a rock, next to the Potomac River. — Credit: Kevin Purdy

Who should buy this?

Most people spending $6,000 on a bike have a very certain goal for it. Perhaps it's to be the lightest and most aerodynamically efficient roadie or a bouncy and resilient downhill mountain model. Or it could be meant to haul huge amounts of cargo or kids or both around. The Eclipse is a daringly non-specified bike. If you buy it, its job is to be a fun ride that goes a long distance, with the option of relieving lots of your power decisions. Maybe you don’t ride enough to justify $6,000 before taxes, or maybe you can’t dream up enough riding to do so retroactively.

That’s not the Eclipse’s fault. It’s a great e-bike, definitely the best I’ve ever ridden for the sake of riding. The attention to detail is everywhere, right down to the carrying handle on the battery, and the ride feel is unmatched. Here's hoping this kind of ride-centered premium bike style gets continued, refined, and maybe expanded to lower price points.

Listing image: Kevin Purdy

Kevin Purdy Senior Technology Reporter

Kevin is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering open-source software, PC gaming, home automation, repairability, e-bikes, and tech history. He has previously worked at Lifehacker, Wirecutter, iFixit, and Carbon Switch.

142

View Comments