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

Let me list three negative points: Gazelle Eclipse First, it needs to be out of the way. First, it’s an e-bike that weighs 62 pounds, so it’s hard to move without a battery. Second, the rack is thick and not a standard size, so you might need a new bag. Third, and this is the big problem, it has a pricey MSRP of $6,000, and you might be nervous about locking it up in a place you don’t fully trust.

But aside from those issues, this e-bike is a lot of fun. When I rode the Eclipse (C380+ HMB version), I felt like Batman on holiday, or Bruce Wayne on a recon mission as a bike enthusiast. The matte grey colour, black hardware and understated yet impressive advanced technology certainly helped. But without much thought, I felt ready to handle any situation that was thrown at me. Brutal steep hills, ungroomed gravel roads, curbs, traffic lights or a friend trying to pass me on a lightweight road bike – the Eclipse was ready.

It assists up to 28 mph (Class 3) and delivers up to 85 Nm of torque. The front suspension absorbs bumps without wavering in grip confidence. Built-in lights, on-display navigation when you put your phone away, and an auto-assist change option balances mechanical and battery levels so all you have to do is pedal and watch.

What kind of bike is this? It’s a fun bike.

The Eclipse comes in two main variations: the T11+ HMB, an 11-speed chain and derailleur model, and the C380+ HMB, which is based on the infinitely variable Enviolo hub and Gates Carbon belt. Three sizes available (45, 50, 55 cm) and available in two colours: anthracite grey, thyme green for T11+ and metallic orange for C380+. Low step or high step versionThe latter has a sloping top bar. As luck would have it, most e-bikes are sold in just two sizes (usually “medium” and “large”), with a wide recommended height range. Prices for the T11+ start at $5,500, while the C380+ starts at $6,000.

The Eclipse has an “active” stance, somewhere between an upright Dutch style and a traditional road or flat bar bike. It’s perfect for this kind of riding. The front shock has a maximum travel of 75mm, which won’t impress your buddies on real trails, but it’s open to possibilities on gravel, dirt roads, wooden bridges and forest trails. Everything about the Eclipse tells you to stop worrying about whether you have the right kind of bike for your ride and start pedaling.

“But I love my exercise bike and I need loads of metrics and data during and after the ride,” I can almost hear some of you saying. That’s why the Eclipse comes equipped with the Bosch Kiox 300 – a center display that’s surprisingly easy to read, navigate and informative for an e-bike. You can see your top and average speed, distance, time spent at what assist level, power output, cadence and more. Using Bosch’s Flow app, navigation directions from Komoot or the standard map app can be pushed from your smartphone to the display. And of course, you can connect to Strava too.

Snagging a sweet spot between maximum efficiency and mindless recklessness, the Eclipse has a feature we hope will make it onto cheaper e-bikes in the future: auto-assist changing. On bikes that have both gears and motor-assist levels, you can sometimes wonder which one to change when approaching a hill or starting off from a complete stop. With the Eclipse set to auto-assist, the only thing you need to worry about is the right grip shifter; there are no gear numbers. There’s a little person on the bike, and as you shift up or down a gear, it helps to make sure the oncoming road gets steeper or flatter.