Comfort, performance, low weight, low maintenance: put them in any order you like, but they remain the cornerstones of good cycle design. The Gazelle Furore achieves this difficult combination in some style, bringing the best of modern design creativity to a genre of bicycle becoming known as the city hybrid.
The heart of the Furore is the oversized 6061 aluminium frame. Alongside the top-tube version is a 'Ladies' version, which is available either with a 'standard' low step-through frame (double downtube), or with a super-low easy-access frame (single, curved, oversize tube). Rider comfort is cleverly built into many aspects of the Furore's design. Most noticeable is Gazelle's highly- adjustable Switch stem, which allows you to alter your handlebar position, pivoting from straight forward to straight up. This makes possible a variety of riding postures, and helps you choose a position which best distributes the amount of body weight you apply via your wrists and your bottom, easing soreness problems in both these sensitive areas.
Once you have your optimum position there is nothing to stop you from adjusting it again to suit the kind of ride you happen to be on. The Switch is the first stem to be steplessly adjustable without tools, and was developed by Gazelle in partnership with industrial designers Peter van der Veer and Martijn Wegman.
Riding position is one thing, points of contact are another: Gazelle have seen to this with a fine gel-filled elastomer saddle, complemented by the Gazelle Aerowing Comfort handlebar grips.
The Furore is fitted with the low-maintenance Shimano Nexus seven-speed hub gear system, with simple operation via a Revo Shifter. Braking is power ful in all weathers, thanks to a Nexus rollerbrake in the rear hub, and a Sturmey-Archer Elite hub brake in the front. The lighting makes up a quality threesome: AXA HR+ dynamo, Gazelle PowerVision headlight, and AXA Optica Omega LED rear light, which automatically turns itself on when you ride in the dark.
Even the completely sealed chaincase and mudguards exhibit a flair for thoughtfulness and style not usually associated with such humble components. In fact, no design aspect is taken for granted by the Gazelle development team, led by Jo van Benthem: right down to the unique Gazelle Axis twist-operated bell!
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