New Gazelle Medeo T9 mid-drive e-bike mixes Dutch style and trail riding

Gazelle doesn’t just make Dutch-style e-bikes, they make actual Dutch e-bikes. As in, they’re built in Holland. And the company’s latest release today of the Gazelle Medeo T9 brings that Dutch heritage to North American riders with a comfort bike designed for both city commuting and recreational trail riding.

The new Gazelle Medeo T9 electric bicycle is available in both a traditional step-through frame and a standard high-step frame.

Powered by a Bosch Active Line Plus mid-drive motor, the Medeo T9 can reach a top speed of 20 mph. As a Class 1 e-bike, it lacks a throttle and is powered solely by pedal assist.

The Bosch Active Line Plus motor isn’t on the high power end of the company’s motor hierarchy, but still puts out 50 Nm of torque – certainly sufficient for recreational riding.

The high-step frame uses a downtube-style Bosch PowerPack 400Wh battery, while the step-through frame opts instead for a rear rack battery.

Both offer Shimano BL-MT200 hydraulic disc brakes, internal cable routing to present clean lines along the frame and an “Amsterdam lock” on the rear wheel to easily lock the wheel to the bike.

To encourage riders to occasionally stray from well-paved paths, the Gazelle Medeo T9 includes a front suspension fork and wide Schwalbe Big Apple tires.

The combination helps the bike ride more comfortably on trails and should also do the bike a few favors on less-than-perfect roads.

As Ewoud van Leeuwen, General Manager of Gazelle North America explained in a statement provided to Electrek:

“Gazelle is all about quality, offering riders the best possible experience. The Gazelle Medeo T9 resembles exactly what we have been doing for so long: a bike that is a true joy to ride, with premium parts and a uniquely-designed frame geometry built in our state-of-the-art factory in The Netherlands. Our team designs, builds, and markets our bikes with a passionate shared mission: get more people on bikes each and every day through outstanding designs and quality. This bike will definitely contribute to that goal.”

Despite Gazelle offering sub-$2k e-bikes, this isn’t one of them. The Medeo T9 carries an MSRP of $2,499, which still positions it as one of the more affordable Bosch mid-drive powered e-bikes.

Electrek’s Take

There’s nothing revolutionary here, but I can still appreciate a nice bike when I see one.

At $2.5k, Gazelle is positioning the Medeo T9 at a level above value brands like Rad Power Bikes, but below some of the fancier Bosch mid-drive powered e-bikes.

I’m sure some will gawk at the price, especially since we’ve covered a bunch of value e-bikes lately, including Dutch-style e-bikes for as low as $599.

But for a European-manufactured e-bike with quality mid-drive components, internally routed cables, integrated lighting, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, and other premium-level features, this is actually a pretty fair price. That European labor alone has a big impact on the price. And keep in mind that a bike like this is a measurable step up from the value brands.

That being said, the 400Wh battery is killing me. I would have loved to see a 500Wh battery, and Bosch even makes up to 625Wh batteries now. I know it’s a pedal-assist bike, so you’re still likely to get around 25-50 miles (40-80 km) of range from that pack depending on how hard you make the motor work, but 400Wh batteries on full-size e-bikes in this price range are sooooo 2016.