Gazelle Avignon C8 HMB review: e-bike in the premier class

Gazelle beforehand managed to shock us with the Final C380 HMB; a motorcycle that’s barely dearer than the Avignon that we examined this time, but in addition much more highly effective. Take, for instance, the engine energy, which with the Final is 85Nm (250 watts), whereas the Avignon C8 will get caught at 50Nm (additionally 250 watts).

The query then is: do you proceed to avoid wasting for the Final, or is the Avignon in the end the higher selection for a lot of? After about 275 kilometers and lots of sultry summer season evenings on the bike, we will lastly reply that query.

Gazelle as common

Invariably, once we take a Gazelle out of the packaging, it exudes high quality. The identical applies to this Avignon C8. You’ll be able to simply see the craftsmanship that went into the ending of body elements, such because the welds and the factors the place the cables enter and exit the body. The supplies used, comparable to a sturdy and trendy saddle, and the high-quality MIK HD baggage provider with built-in rear mild, additionally contribute to that have.

What additionally instantly evokes high quality is the paint job that the Avignon C8 acquired. After two weeks of normal use, there have been only some (minimal) scratches on it; scratches that even the hardest coat of paint can not deal with. We do be aware as soon as once more that Gazelle makes use of a plastic battery cowl for the Bosch battery. A protecting cowl that’s simply broken by a padlock, for instance. A metallic plate might clear up that in our view. Maybe an thought for the subsequent technology.

Present your driving expertise

Such a high quality end additionally comes with a pleasant weight. Gazelle’s Avignon C8 weighs 28.1kg. Additionally, you will discover this if you exit by bike: it’s a pretty unwieldy e-bike. Calling this bike ‘sporty’ doesn’t happen to us. Nonetheless, it’s the excellent bike for cruising round comfortably and effortlessly. In any case, that is what you get with such a weight: the body clings to the highway floor. The bike is extraordinarily secure in each corners and straight forward. You’ll be able to actually put it the place you need it to go.

Clean suspension

It additionally makes for a beautiful piece of steering within the nook. Within the meantime, I might additionally dare to blast by the bend with the Avignon at 30 km/h: I do know that it doesn’t resist an inch from the road that’s despatched in. What helps is that the suspension is ready fairly stiff – however in a cushty manner. Because of this, you do not flinch forwards and backwards if you begin to decide up velocity. Bumps and holes within the highway floor are on the similar time easily absorbed by the suspension.

The best factor about this suspension is that it’s shielded from the surface world. So no dust will get on the spring rod, as occurs with common suspension forks. Because of this, the suspension requires much less upkeep, claims Gazelle. In two weeks time I’ve after all not been capable of check/expertise that.

Bosch driving expertise

Mid-motors on e-bikes often present greater than 80Nm of torque. The Avignon C8 HMB is an exception to this – in any case, the Energetic Line Plus motor from Bosch gives ‘solely’ 50Nm of torque. Though that will appear daunting at first, we wish to put this in perspective. Gazelle markets the Avignon as a bicycle for leisure use. The e-bike is due to this fact not going that can assist you conquer the steepest hills or mountains. Pace ​​information then? This e-bike isn’t aimed toward that both.

This isn’t solely mirrored within the energy: the sitting place additionally speaks volumes. The electrical bicycle means that you can sit upright, which doesn’t precisely profit the air resistance. No, the Avignon is admittedly for recreationists. Cyclists who need to cycle effortlessly, however don’t instantly need the best speeds. With that mindset, the Energetic Line Plus engine is highly effective sufficient. When accelerating, we instantly discover that you simply get a pleasant push within the again. At cruising velocity, the engine helps maintain you on top of things.

If we evaluate the C8 with the Final from Gazelle or Qwic’ Premium i +Auto (80Nm), you’ll discover that you’re actually much less supported. On the similar time, we might additionally drive effortlessly easily with this engine, usually simply round 25 km / h. Solely at hills do you discover that the engine actually has much less energy to supply. On hills we needed to downshift extra usually and push ourselves to get to the highest.

Why a sequence?

What we observed whereas driving (and upset) was the presence of a sequence. We more and more discover toothed belt drives on e-bikes. Such a timing belt fabricated from rubber and carbon reduces the friction with the gears and thus additionally the power loss throughout biking. Nonetheless, Gazelle opted for a sequence on the Avignon C8. In 2023, that’s truly a missed alternative. We observed whereas biking that this feels much less easy than belts. Should you suppose: belts should be very expensive? That is not even actually the case.

In any case, we even discover such carbon belts on e-bikes of lower than 2,000 euros. Over time, we had been capable of put the sensation out of our minds. Nonetheless, the query lingered with me personally: what if Gazelle had opted for belt drive? The model says it has made this selection to offer a low-maintenance biking expertise. For this it even in-built a separate chain tensioner that repeatedly adjusts the stress. In apply, nevertheless, it’s exactly chains that put on out sooner and require extra upkeep.

Intuitive Intuvia

What has not been mentioned but is the show on the Avignon C8, the Intuvia 100. This display doesn’t provide many capabilities: it exhibits your present velocity, the variety of kilometers you could have already traveled and the help stage. In my view, it feels a bit sparse for this value level. These kinds of screens are normal on bicycles of round 3,000 euros – a value level that Gazelle amply exceeds with the Avignon.

Trek used the dearer, linked Kiox 300 show for its Allant+ 6. With that display you not solely get to see your velocity, but in addition statistics per journey and even navigation if you happen to set this up with Bosch’s eFlow app. You aren’t getting that on the -comparably priced- Avignon C8. Because of this, you not solely miss a better display, but in addition the likelihood to ‘taste’ the e-bike by adjusting the pedal help of the assorted modes extra to your liking.

What’s optimistic is that Bosch permits you to take the display off the steering wheel. This fashion, this display can’t be broken if you park the bicycle. Moreover, an e-bike is ‘nothing’ with out such a display: through the Intuvia 100 you additionally change the bike ‘on’.

The brand new vary king

Okay, time for much less vital speech: on to autonomy. That’s the place Gazelle actually took successful with this e-bike, and gained. We’d safely declare the Avignon C8 the brand new vary king. By no means earlier than have we been capable of cowl so many kilometers with out recharging. Gazelle experiences that you could obtain a variety of as much as 150 km with one battery cost (500 Wh).

We had been capable of obtain that with ease; even within the highest help place it was doable for us to strategy the vary talked about. At one level we had been even proven a theoretical vary (calculation primarily based on present use) of 170 kilometers on the display. You’ll be able to make sure that ‘range-anxiety’ will disappear like snow within the solar with this e-bike.

Ultimate verdict

Gazelle costs a hefty value for the Avignon C8: 3,799 euros. As talked about, you may as well purchase e-bikes such because the Trek Allant+ 6 in Canyon Pathlite:ON 4 which are priced the identical, or barely cheaper, and provide extra highly effective {hardware}. What these bikes generally lack is the flexibleness and look of the Gazelle. These bicycles are additionally considerably extra aimed toward sporty cyclists.

We might tie the knot. Whether or not you settle for much less for a similar value is a matter that you need to work out your self.