I define purpose-built as a frame that was designed specifically to integrate with an electric drive system. The cadence sensor is also tucked inside the chainring on the right side and the cables for it are tucked in very nicely. For now, however, Class 3 e-bikes hit the highest regulated speed. The whole package is aesthetically really old-timey looking — which will not please everybody, though we find it to be really quite charming. It’s surprisingly elegant, and though one friend described it as “goofy” looking, we think that its look suits the intended rider — but more on that below. For those not terribly familiar with electric bikes, the Schwinn’s battery charges up about as fast as its contemporaries on the market, and is actually much faster than many.
Schwinn advertises that it takes about four hours to charge. You can plug the battery in while it’s inside the bike, or you can use an included key to remove the battery from the bike for charging. The first thing you’ll notice about the Coston CE e-bike is that is built like a tank, which is both good and bad. It’s good because everything on the bike feels solid and borderline rugged. The downside is this bike feels about as heavy as a light-armored vehicle.
It doesn’t seem to have been a very popular bicycle. As is often the case for expensive, weird, new things that don’t have a well defined use case, within a few short years, the bikes were being closed out for under $1000. They were down to $700 in 2013, and can now be found for $350 with bad batteries on eBay. I understand that some e-bikes have torque assist operation.
If they’re steep hills (Seattle style), get another bike. For running slowly on flat terrain, the brakes are just fine. The rear brake, if a bit springy, will get you stopped, and the front chimes in quickly to bring you down in a hurry if you need to. The tail light does glow somewhat, but it’s not very bright, and it goes out as soon as you stop moving. The wheel lock is a Basta Defender, if you’re curious (apparently now, the AXA Defender). If you look closely, you can see the metal bar sticking through the wheel.
Or, at least, replace the generator with a small battery pack. This is the front light (a Lumotec Oval Halogen) and reflector. I’m not really sure what it’s point is since it’s not very useful at night, but it does have a front light. Wrapping the front wheel is a decent enough fender, though it terminates a bit higher in the rear than I’d like for the wet Seattle winters (road spray). Front and rear mechanical disc brakes deliver all-weather stopping power and speed control. You can ride with confidence through rain, dust, and more.
Class 2 e-bikes are required to stop assistance past 20 miles per hour. Level 1 throttle tops out at around 10 mph while level 5 will give you mongoose bmx the full 20 mph. As reviewed, the bike didn’t have much in the way of storage, but other models have a rear rack and even storage in the seat.
All that, plus the six-pound Toshiba battery housed behind the seat, makes the bike quite heavy, and, in some ways, a bit clunky feeling to move around when you’re not riding it. Where an average bike weighs about 35 pounds, the Tailwind, as we mentioned, weighs 58 pounds. Of course — this bike does a lot more than your average bike, and its weight is actually fairly low for electric bikes (plus, we’re huge wimps). The Schwinn GSE or “GSElectric” is an electric bike that was sold from 2007 to 2009 in a couple of different forms.
The front fork evens out the bumps on the pavement and the dirt. The mountain bike shape makes it easy to ride on rough trails as well. The balance with the the battery takes a bit to get used to but then it’s all schwinn mountain bicycles fun anywhere you go. I’d like to see an ebike have a powered tail light so I don’t have to remember to test the batteries. I’m assuming with the design it’s tough to power anything on the back without a rack.
By default, the console shows the battery left, speed, total distance and pedal assist level. Then cruising city streets the higher pedal assist and gears help you get up to the 20mph pedal assist limit. It’s easy to switch through the 7 gears with the twist or grip shift. It moves easily and quickly move through the gears. I had to adjust my derailleur a bit on the first ride out so all the gears hit just right but once it was adjusted it was smooth.