Gazelle Bloom C380 HMS

[HittheroadJ]

Purchased From: McConvey Belfast
Purchase Price: GBP 2989 (previous ones were £375, £350 and £800) so it is about double the price of the three preceding ones.
Time Owned: 1 day (I may update review later)
History: 2 curriedrive machines 2009-2014, Woosh Santana CD 2014-now (but broke during covid.).
Considered another Santana but really wanted a Big Bear which is no longer supplied. After over a year without I went for the Gazelle Bloom because it is sturdy, stable. It is marketed towards young mothers, but I liked the stability, the max-load of 170 Kg and the user-reviews indicating that with 2 kids and shopping it felt really stable. I also liked the steering-locking and double-stand for stable shopping. The risk was that a city-bike would not be that good on hills. I also like that it came with all the expensive parts I like. No self-fitting of Schwalbe big Apple after punctures etc.

Local Terrain: Hilly environment but with flat paths too (Loughshore, Comber Greenway)
Flat / Moderate Hills / Very Hilly (*delete as necessary)---Varying from flat to very hilly-------------------------------------------------------------------
Strengths:
Enviolo Gears are nice. Takes a little bit of getting used to, but seemlessly gearing down when it is too steep is great. If you switch the engine off you can tell that they are less efficient, but it is not a biggie. Apparently the gears need to settle over about 500 miles.
Schwalbe Big Apples and suspension and a good saddle made for a very comfortable ride. (Maiden-trip of 40 Miles with a mix of flat and steep hills).
Good lights.
Good cargo-like bike. Long rear-luggage carrier, solid front luggage-carrier.
Feels stable and sturdy.
Double-stand and steering-locking are handy for loading shopping.

Weaknesses: Supplied with Dutch AC Plug.

 

[HittheroadJ]

My C380 has been great.
McConvey gave a UK AC-Lead for it and I also was given 2 extensions for the double stand that were originally left off.

I fitted spoke-beads so people can hear me when I go slow or push the bike through pedestrian areas. People usually step aside when they hear the strange noise and I hardly ever have to ring a bell or use my voice.

I fitted AXA pin locks that can hold the saddle and attach to a lamppost. If I need to park longer I'll carry a Sold Secure Gold or Diamond lock to lock the front-wheel & frame to a post..

I also fitted a basket with a grip to clip it on the rack and added zipties. So now I can just put big shopping bags straight into the basket. Works great. I find detachable baskets sound nice, but in practice it is more practical to just slide a bag into the basket.

My C7 Bloom arrived too (bought online). It needed a repair at the gear-cable which McConvey gracefully performed (thanks).

The C7 has only a 40nm motor, but it seems very comfortable. The efficiency of the Nexus 7 is better than on the neviolo C380 so the uphill feeling under load was very acceptable.
The ascent from the city to our home is about 70 meters over 3 miles so both perform very well on that even with full loads.
The closest by Lidl is 70 meter down a 700 meter descent. This was tough going with a big load for the relatively small engines of these city bikes. But I also tried a longer route where side roads allow an ascent in 3 stages of 20 meteres each followed by some sideways riding. This went very well even with a heavy load.

The bikes feel great recreationally cycling along-side a local river-towpath, along a lough tow-path and zthe coastal route. They also allow some side-steps into the hills. Most common use will be visiting town and / or friends and both should allow that use very satisfactorily.

Strengths:
Stable ride.
Feeling of quality/comfort.
Lovely slow & steady pace of 16-25 k/hr. It's natural pace seesm to be around 19 km/hr.
Cargo-bike like load and stability.
Quality lights, tires etc. fitted.
Good grip-shift bell.
Internal hubs are low-maintenance and the ability to shift gear while standing is great.

Less strong:
No real hill-climbers. Take your time in low-gear and you'll be fine up to 10-12%. OAPs in hilly areas should consider getting stronger engines.
No time-display on the display.

 

[HittheroadJ]

After about a month and 300 miles I can add the following points.
1. Vendor immediately supplied a UK plug when I informed them. They also supplied the plastic ending-bits of the double stand that were missing. I have found them reliable. No problems.
2. I had my first puncture and after an initial attempt to fix the tube failed I replaced the tube. This can be done in about 10 minutes (remove the back-part of the chain-guard, unscrew the 2 bolts on the axle, lift out the wheel just enough to slide the old tube out/new tube in. ). So you do not completely have to remove the wheel and re-adjust the gear-cables to the enviolo. I now just carry a spare tube and will replace it if I ever have a rear-puncture again.
3. The bike comes with dunlop-valve tubes. In the UK Schrader and Presta are much more common. I carry Schrader tubes as replacements. For Schwalbe Big Apple there is no need for the type of pressure that can give Presta an advantage. I prefer Schrader. I once returned to my bike at a station and discovered that vandals had let the air out of tires of a whole row of bikes. With dunlop and Presta valves they had removed the loose bit for almost instant air-release, with my Schrader they had pressed down the central pin to let some air out, but not all. And I could just pump it back up, while the owners of Presta / Dunlop valves needed the missing central bits. I have one metal adapter for Presta and Dunlop to schrader, so I just bring my Schrader pump and the adaptor and will gradually rotate out the non-schrader valves.
4. I do use silicone saddle covers. Even if the saddle is good, I prefer to be able to change the seat slightly while on longer rides.
5. I did try to order the Tannus tire-guard inserts, but I am on a waiting list for them for the correct size.
6. The bike is not meant for a lot of climbing, but it suffices for my daily needs and I have taken it up some steep hills to try. Scrabo tower and Knockagh monument are attainable. I also find I can easily carry three filled tesco bags up a 70 meter climb over 800 yards of road. So if one ascends slowly and uses full assist one can take inclines well, though if one wants to easily ascend at a higher speed one should get a bike more suitable for climbing.
7. I did get the AXA-pin chain that fits into the standard axa-lock, and I really like it to lock it very quickly to bars/stands/trees/posts at shops etc. For longer parking I have an additional Sold-Secure-Gold chain. I use a cheap lock to lock the saddle to the bike. Won't stop real thieves, but will stop vandals and quick-grabs. I have found that putting the Bloom on its double stand beside an object makes it a really solid standing bike that does not easily fall to break or damage things. Really nice. With previous ebikes I occasionally returned to find them lying beside, though still locked to an object. Sometimes with minor damage. With the Bloom I have not ever returned to find it anything but solid
8. I added a front basket on the carrier that is big enough to put a filled shopping bag in. One bungee cord to keep the bag closed and stable and it is much easier to keep things dry and not have to transfer from container to container.
9. When there is no rain forecast, I carry a solar-panel for my phone. pleasantly surprised it can get phone to a 100% while using satnav and listening over bleutooth.
10. I always used fingerless gloves, but with the extreme cold I used fingerless gloves that can convert to mittens. Pleasantly surprised by how warm and comfy they are. But I can still use keys and get money out in shops etc.
11. I added spoke beads. When walking or very slowly cycling in pedestrian areas people hear the bike come and move aside. Better than ringing bells.
12. I added cheap mirrors. Works well enough and i know they occasionally get damaged anyway (I have to park against a wall at home), so I do not want expensive ones.
13. Because of the cold I started taking the batteries inside and this has proven to be so easy I kept doing it. It reduces the risk of theft too. The one time I parked at a place I trusted a bit less I removed the battery and carried it around.

What I really like:
1. The bike feels solid, stable, reliable.
2. The lights are great. (so is the bell)
3. The ability to lock the steering is really handy when loading shopping.
4. Big Apples make it comfortable.
5. Low step-thru works well. Can carry things on the rear-luggage carrier.
6. Walk-mode at 4mph works well.
7. The capacity of 175 Kg is reassuring because it means you are not constantly overtaxing parts.

What I do not really like:
1. There is no clock/time display.
2. The top-speed of 25 km/h, 15.9 mph is fairly low. I have gone well above that only for short bursts and some downhill rides.
3. I keep wondering if I should get front-suspension.
4. Although the Big Apple tires are great, they can feel a bit wobbly in turns. Can feel almost like it drifts aside. This has been the case on all my bikes. I will still keep the Big Apples for their comfort though.


Comparison to my previous ebikes:
The Ezip bikes had the strongest motor for going uphill at 24v but the lead-acid batteries were crap and all parts were cheap. They lacked a support network.
The woosh had a configurable controller that could be set to max 40Km/h. Its bafang motor was slightly stronger than the Shimano on the Gazelle. But all parts were cheaper. I had to replace a wheel that collapsed etc. They raised the price from 800 to 1250 so it is not that much of an advantage anymore.
Gazelle has several official dealers even in my region. So I should be assured of support and parts.
All previous bikes were under £1000 and included in the house-insurance.

 

[matthewslack]

Your C7 has the same motor as my 14,000km Ridgeback X2. Should last a while!

If the chain case allows, hill climbing can be improved with a larger rear sprocket, and possibly (I haven't checked if splines are the same) a 34T instead of 38T front chain ring, as used on E7000, E8000 motors.

Very useful detailed review.

 

[PaulM]

Thanks for the reviews. I was especially interested in how to change a rear wheel puncture. Did you need to turn the bike upside-down?

 

[sjpt]

You can fix a puncture without taking the rear wheel off at all; I've never actually done it.

Gaadi inner tubes mean you can completely replace the tube without taking the wheel off.
eg https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/inner-tubes/gaadi-double-ended-presta-valve-inner-tube-275-650b-x-190-210-inch-5054584/
If the old tube isn't a Gaadi you'll need to sacrifice it.

Either way, it you don't take the wheel and tyre off it can be more awkward feeling inside they tyre to see/feel what caused the puncture.

Marathon Plus are brilliant (despite some significant downsides)

 

[PaulM]

Yes I have Gaadi inner tubes but I suspect standard inner tubes perform better.

 

[PaulM]

Any further thoughts on the Bloom C380? I'm considering buying one. What tyres pressures do you use in the Big Apples?