Gazelle Ride Report
Gazelle report:
Today I rode the Gazelle on my commute, its first "serious" ride. I'd previously ridden it for a simple 45min ride around the neighborhood, with one moderate climb. My commute is more aggressive, the usual route about 16 miles with about 700ft of climbing each way, and I'm usually hammering reasonably hard. So today's ride was a true test.
On the return I tried a shortcut to avoid one particular stretch of road but I'd misunderremembered a map and ended up taking a long cut instead. It added 3 marvelous miles and another 310ft of climbing. Not a bad day!
My first impression is that the Gazelle is a screamer. It is happy running fast, and to judge by what gears and cadence I was running it was faster than I'm usually going. It likes to accelerate too, possibly due to the light wheels and tires.
The handling seems pretty neutral with quick steering. My Masi seems to have a psychic connection to my brain because it knows exactly what I want without me telling it. The Motobecane seemingly will over-cook any turn if I don't pay attention, but doesn't take offense at being corrected. The Gazelle seems to fall between them, not quite as psychic as the Masi but naturally cooperative.
It currently wears Veloflex Master tires, 23mm which I ran at 140psi. They feel almost like tubulars. It has quite a bit of road feel, maybe a bit harsher than most of my other bikes but not uncomfortable. On smooth new pavement it glides smoothly at speed. I used high gear a few times today too, 52/14, which I rarely do my other bikes.
The gearing took some getting used to. The 52-38 chainrings and a wide range 6-spd 14-34 FW give it a reasonable 1-1/2 step crossover. My Masi has the same FW but only 1/2 step crossover with 47-42 rings. My other bikes with 1-1/2 steps have compact doubles and smaller FW steps. The Cyclone GT handles the FW okay but the lever requires a subtle touch! The low gear is a click lower than my other bikes so it would be the choice for a steep hill.
Bottom line - Its a bike to ride fast and far!
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Real cyclists use toe clips.
With great bikes comes great responsibility.
jimmuller
Last edited by jimmuller; 04-24-15 at 07:08 PM.