Dutch brand Gazelle has a more than 125-year history and is known primarily for urban sit up and beg bikes and e-bikes of outstanding quality; the Ultimate platform on review here is a best seller for the manufacturer.
Their solidly traditional reputation is stressed by Dutch royal endorsement; the company holds the “Royal” (Koninklijk) warrant, which is a designation awarded by the monarch, symbolising trust and recognition. Looking to take that reputation for quality, reliability and service into the realm of adventure e-bikes is the Gazelle Ultimate T11.
Whilst I associate Gazelle with city biking – and there’s no doubt that has been their core offering historically – a look at where the knobbly-tyred SUV-style Ultimate T11 sits in Gazelle’s range is interesting and shows how they have successfully begun to diversify away from that historic image.
‘Comfort’ models (Paris, Orange, Grenoble, Avignon) are all fully-equipped commuting models. The Ultimate T11 sits alongside other models in the ‘Active’ range (Medeo, Chamonix and Eclipse) but finds its own niche as clearly being the best suited to long distance off-road touring. Other categories include ‘Family’, for load and kiddie hauling, ‘City’ (super strong and low maintenance) and ‘Vital’ (a semi-recumbent).
If you are shopping in either the SUV, or step-through categories then we’ve a buyer’s guide covering each sector. Also, don’t forget we offer a test ride series in London, Bath and Leeds where you can try e-bikes like this one on a closed track.
Gazelle Ultimate T11 review: The headline details
£3,599 | View offer
Pros
Comfortable but powerful and quiet off-road ride
Wide gear range
Fully-equipped for all riding conditions
Full Bosch dealer backup in case of any diagnostic issues
Cons
Fairly heavy
Features
Bosch Performance Line PX mid-drive
Bosch Smart System software with Connectmodule GPS security features as an optional purchase / subscription upgrade
11-speed Shimano Cues gearing
Wide, off-road knobbly tyres
Step-thru and diamond frame options
Specifications
Motor: Bosch Performance Line PX
Battery: Bosch 800Wh as tested (540Wh and 600Wh options also available). Removable for charging.
Range: 40 miles from the 800Wh battery in very steep, testing conditions – much more in more benign conditions
Weight: 29.7kg on my scales including the 4.2kg battery
Brakes: Shimano MT-420 hydraulic discs
Saddle: Selle Royal Essenza Plus gel
Tyres: Schwalbe Smart Sam knobblies 54-622 (28”)
Suspension: Front SR Suntour MOBIE 34, AIR. Seatpost suspension.
Frame material: Aluminium alloy
Gearing: 11-speed Shimano Cues derailleur with trigger shifter
Gazelle Ultimate T11 review: All terrain or some terrain?
All of the Gazelle e-bikes feature high-quality mid-drives and pricing starts at a very competitive £2,199 and, excluding the more substantial cargo offerings, tops out around £5,000, putting the Ultimate T11 towards the upper end of the Gazelle’s prices. That’s not surprising given it features one of Bosch’s latest and most sophisticated mid-drives (the Performance Line PX) and is equipped to a very high standard for off-road riding with wide-range gears and front air suspension.
As you might expect, Gazelle say there are plans for more diversification of models whilst sticking to their core values of superb quality and a high level of after-sales service.
Back to the Ultimate T11. ‘Please note it’s not a mountain bike’ Gazelle noted after I enthused about putting it through its paces off road. True of course, it’s certainly not made for drop-offs or slippy vertiginous hardcore trails. With that in mind I headed for some of the UK’s most testing gradients during a test ride in Hebden Bridge where 20% gradients are not uncommon and several 30% gradients also exist. There are plenty of virtually traffic-free old cobbled roads and broad but unsealed packhorse trails here that looked ideal territory. It offered quiet countryside tracks with climbs to give the most powerful motors out there a good workout without the off-road sections getting too hardcore emtb territory.
Who is this e-bike aimed at?
Who is Gazelle aiming the Ultimate T11 at? Given that it’s a bike that is about quiet power plus riding comfort on longer rides I can see plenty of Grey Panthers (or whatever a more modern equivalent demographic group is) tackling a mountainous, off-road lite holiday tour safe in the knowledge their adventure won’t can’t too out of hand given the impressive capabilities of Gazelle’s Ultimate T11. In truth it will suit a wide range of riders and situations where heavier riders or heavier loads (or both) need to be moved about – including heavy duty commuting and leisure riding, making it an impressively versatile e-bike.
Initial impressions of the Ultimate T11 confirm Gazelle’s image for high quality. There’s integrated cabling, a great paint finish (Gazelle have their own assembly line in the Netherlands with their own paint shop) and alloy mudguards. Look a bit closer and there’s real attention to detail in the design too; the battery key lock doubles as the rear wheel lock and stays locked in the latter whilst it’s open, making it much harder to lose the key when out on a ride. The battery charging port sits under the seat giving it some protection from rain. Small practical features that all add up to making e-biking as hassle-free as possible.
The step-thru version I tested comes in five frame options (XS(46) | S(49) | M(53) | L(57) | XL(61)) whilst the crossbar version for some reason is aimed at larger riders (M(53) | L(57) | XL(61) | XXL(65)). There’s also a choice of three battery sizes; 540Wh, 600Wh and 800Wh. There’s also the option to fit Bosch’s PowerMore 250Wh range extender (extra cost around £350).
The spec sheet
In terms of spec the Ultimate T11 has just about every high quality bit of kit you’d want and high with no skimping in any area, from the latest Kiox 300 display with smartphone connectivity to a MIK HD compatible rear pannier rack that will allow you to bob all sorts of carrying attachments on and off with ease, including child seats.
It’s good to see Shimano Cues gearing used here too, as it has clearly endured its high-profile launch in late 2024 when it was touted as not only being a replacement for a variety of different non-12-speed drivetrains, including Alivio, Acera, Altus, and some Deore but also as being an e-bike specific. Hi-torque mid-drive motors like the Bosch PX unit used here put a lot of force through the gears so Cues was specifically designed to handle the higher torque of e-bikes, partly by using what Shimano describe as ‘durable LINKGLIDE technology’. I was keen to see how the 50-tooth bottom gear coped on the notoriously steep gradients around Hebden Bridge.
The Bosch Performance Line PX motor featured on the bike fills a specific niche between the existing Performance Line and the flagship ultra high performance CX motor. It provides 90Nm of peak torque and a maximum short-term assist of 700W with 400% support for the rider.
Why didn’t Gazelle just spec the slightly more powerful CX motor? The PX is developed specifically for trekking and adventure touring, offering strong, high-torque assistance for bikes that carry heavy luggage and emphasises smooth and quiet power for those who want karma inducing peaceful riding in the back of beyond. More on these aspects in the ride test section below.
Comfort is stressed too in the form of the SR Suntour MOBIE 34, AIR fork, a mid-travel trekking specific fork and you also get a suspension seatpost, though I would have preferred a dropper post; this is usually possible one way or the other as a retrofit option on the majority of e-bikes but you would need to consult a Gazelle dealer to confirm if it could be done. I was delighted to see 29” x 2.1” Schwalbe Smart Sam tyres specced – an off-road tyre with a reputation of offering a good blend of grip, speed and durability.
Gazelle Ultimate T11 review: The ride performance
I headed to the centre of the beautiful little Yorkshire market town of Hebden Bridge with the Ultimate T11 to see how it coped with the fearsome Buttress challenge – alleged to be around 30% gradient at the bottom with large stone cobbles canted over at angles to give the original users of the road – packhorses – more grip underfoot.
As the T11 featured Bosch’s Smart System I was able to customise the power to the max in Turbo mode. Incredibly, the bike flew up with minimal effort, and better yet, it coped well with the difficult surface; for comparison’s sake, another rider was on an e-gravel bike with a small rear hub motor and drop bars but a very low bottom gear. That bike failed to overcome the lowest, steepest part of the slope though it made it up the upper part where gradients drop to around 20%…
This is a bike that’s about much more than just power as it’s meant to provide the ultimate trekking experience and I think it has succeeded very well. The gradients and route conditions of our ride around Colden Clough and beyond were probably typical of many adventure tours this bike would be taken on; steep gradients on older roads built in the days before the petrol engine was invented and it coped brilliantly.
As promised the PX proved a very quiet motor too. There was slightly more noise in turbo than in other power levels but most of the time the rumble of the knobbly tyres on the road or trail was more noticeable than the slight hum from the mid-drive motor. It’s certainly quieter than other Bosch mid-drives I’ve tried, though excess motor noise is rarely something I notice much on any modern motor.
The modern crop of Bosch motors of which the PX is one are certainly state-of-the-art in smooth and seamless performance as their sensors are designed to detect starts and inclines and respond appropriately; this is especially so in Auto mode which provides subtle changes in support depending on the gradient or wind resistance. I’d describe this mode as semi-automatic as up very steep hills you may still find yourself reaching for Turbo mode and on the flat you may want to turn the power down to Eco. With the power off the Ultimate T11 felt pretty easy to pedal – another characteristic of the best modern motors.
I was glad Gazelle generously equipped the test bike with the biggest battery capacity option at 800Wh as, if you are tackling ultra steep gradients as I was, then these newly elevated power levels are bound to eat up the Watt hours quite quickly. I reckoned a worst case scenario on range would be around 35-40 miles over this kind of terrain but perhaps double that in much more forgiving conditions. Charging is via 4amp charger giving a charge time from empty of around five hours
The Bosch Kiox 300 2” display was crisp and sharp and very easy to read and it was easy to scroll through the various screens using the LED Remote button. It integrates very smoothly with the eBike Flow app when it comes to providing a plethora of bike and route performance metrics but note it doesn’t offer audible navigation cues as the larger Kiox 500 does. Also note you have to pay on a subscription basis to unlock all the features of the Smart System, most notably its advanced security features which also require the purchase of extra optional Bosch hardware in the form of the Connect Module GPS tracking unit.
My time with the Gazelle Ultimate T11 convinced me that in terms of motor and gearing performance it’s hard to see where any improvement could come from if you just want a bike that will get you up any gradient where it’s possible to stay in the saddle. Bosch are currently advocating for 750W peak power as the legal limit. It’s hard to argue that a lot more is needed, at least for trekking bikes like this. If you are looking at ultra heavy cargo or family usage then there is a separate debate about more motor power for heavier bikes which may even require a new and legal separate e-bike standard in the same way that one exists for speed pedelecs. But this is getting away from the main point; the Gazelle Ultimate T11 is one of those rare e-bikes where it’s hard to find any substantive way it could be improved upon.
How about the competition?
Probably the nearest comparable models that Cycling Electric have tested are the Moustache Samedi Xroad4 and the Megamo Reach Low Equipped (we actually tested a higher spec diamond frame version). For a full rundown of the competition, see our SUV buyer’s guide.
Finished our Gazelle Ultimate T11 review? Here’s some other similar options for you to compare and contrast.
Giant Explore E+ 0 – £4,999
Read our Giant Explore E+ 0 review.
Megamo Reach HT 10 Equipped – £3,799
Richard Peace
Read our Megamo Reach HT 10 review.
Moustache Xroad 2 – £2,499
Read our Moustache Xroad 2 review.
