It’s easy to become jaded. Just as I suspect that a person whose job it is to taste wine all day may become numbed to the charms of most table wines, so too I’ve grown unimpressed by average ebikes.
See, I’ve ridden a lot of ebikes over the years, and while many have quality I’d describe as fine, in the sense of OK, middling, there are few that I’d describe as fine, as in fine silk or a fine wine.
The Gazelle Medeo T10 upended my expectations. Gazelle’s been making their bikes in The Netherlands since 1892, and their ebikes are no different. All that experience and retained institutional workplace knowledge has led to this Gazelle’s extraordinary build quality.
Gazelle
Medeo T10 (opens in a new window)
Available at Gazelle
Buy Now (opens in a new window)
like a fine wine (but, you know, dutch)
The ebike industry has made huge strides since the beginning of the decade. Prices have come down, component quality has gone up, and whereas ugly protrusions of batteries hanging off old-fashioned frames was once the norm, the new norm are batteries sculpted stealthily into frames.
Until recently, I never saw that many Gazelles. It’s nothing like when I’m in Amsterdam, Haarlem, or Utrecht and see more Gazelles roaming the streets than the savannas of Africa. Only now am I starting to see them here and there in the US, but they’re still rare beasts.
The Medeo T10’s build quality, I’d describe, is exquisite. Welds were super clean, and the fit and finish of the components was superb. Ridden economically, you can get a very solid 80 miles of range out of this Dutch beauty.
At $2,49, the Medeo T10 is in the mid-range of ebikes, but it weighs less than a lot of other commuter, general-purpose ebikes at 49 pounds. On the flip side, it’s not particularly lightweight. It’s right down the middle when it comes to ebike weight.
While I can and have wrestled much heavier ebikes up staircases, the Medeo T10 is best for those who have a garage, or at least a reasonably secure yard.
Gazelle
Medeo T10 (opens in a new window)
Available at Gazelle
Buy Now (opens in a new window)
The post Go Dutch on Two Wheels With This Very Fine Ebike Built in the Netherlands appeared first on VICE.
