Blog

Let me first get three negative points out of the way about the Gazelle Eclipse. First, it’s a 62-pound e-bike, so it’s hard to get around without its battery. Second, its trunk is thick, non-standard size, so you may need new bags for it. Third—and this is the big one—at $6,000 MSRP, it’s expensive, and you’ll probably feel nervous locking it up anywhere you don’t fully trust.

Other than those issues though, this e-bike is great fun. When I rode the Eclipse (its C380+ HMB version), I felt like Batman on a day off, or maybe Bruce Wayne doing some scouting as a bike enthusiast. The matte gray color, black hardware and modest but impressively advanced technology certainly helped. But I felt ready to handle whatever was thrown at me without having to think about it too much. Brutally steep hills, poorly maintained gravel paths, curbs, hitchhikers or friends trying to pass me on their lightweight road bikes – the Eclipse was ready.

It assists up to 28mph (i.e. Class 3) and delivers up to 85Nm of torque, and the front suspension absorbs bumps without shaking your grip confidence. There are built-in lights, the display can show you navigation while your phone is tucked away, and the auto-assist option balances your mechanical and battery levels, leaving you to just pedal and watch.

What kind of bike is this? A funny one.

The Eclipse is available in two main variants, an 11-speed T11+ HMB model with chain and derailleur and an Enviolo stepless hub and a Gates Carbon C380+ HMB belt. Both are available in three sizes (45, 50 and 55cm), in one of two colors (Anthracite Grey, Thyme Green for the T11+ and Metallic Orange for the C380+) and in either a low or high version, the latter with a sloping top bar. Most e-bikes come in two sizes if you’re lucky, usually ‘medium’ and ‘large’, and their suggested height clearances are too generous. The T11+ starts at $5500 and the C380+ starts at $6000.

The Eclipse’s stance is “active,” seemingly halfway between an upright Dutch style and a traditional road or flat bike. It is perfect for this type of riding. The front shocks have a maximum of 75mm of travel, which won’t impress your true trail riding friends, but it will do on gravel, dirt, wooden bridges and forest trails. Everything about the Eclipse tells you to stop worrying about whether you have the right type of bike to ride and just start pedaling.

“But I really like training riding and I need a lot of metrics and data, during and after the ride,” I hear some of you straw men say. That’s why the Eclipse has the Bosch Kiox 300, a central display that for an e-bike is remarkably readable, navigable and informative. You can see your top and average speed, distance, which assist levels you’ve spent time on, power output, cadence, and more. You can send navigation directions from Komoot or standard map 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 carefree riding, the Eclipse offers a feature that I can only hope will lead to cheaper electric bikes over time: automatic assist shifting. Bikes that have both gear levels and motor assist levels can sometimes make you guess which one to shift when approaching a hill or starting from a dead stop. Set the Eclipse to auto assist and you’ll only have to worry about the right grip lever. There are no gear numbers; there is a little boy on a bicycle and as you up or down the gear the road he is approaching becomes steep or flat.