But don’t worry, The Coston CE is the best electric bike for tall riders. Easily recharge in as little as 4 hours with a standard household outlet and the included charging cable. E-bike batteries can be removed for charging or storage. There are a lot of good ideas on this bike, but it still feels more like a bike designed by a committee that was told, “Build an electric bike so we can get some great press! ” than a group that actually understood electric bikes, or even had a real mission for this bike.
On a subsequent test climb, I experimented with the throttle while not pedaling at all. The throttle kept the bike moving, but as I neared the summit, the speed became so slow that I would have fallen over had I not started pedaling. That struck me as about right, for as I said before, I wasn’t looking for a free ride.
But I can still review it and provide some feedback on it for people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to find anything recent. Or, at least, get some good detail photos of parts otherwise not covered. Press and hold the “+” button for three seconds to switch on the headlight.
Before we get into the e-bike itself, I want to take a moment to talk about e-bike ownership and what it has meant for me. I mentioned the shunning of my trusty Trek bike in lieu of my e-bikes this summer, but the reason for that has been life-changing for me. I’ve been mongoose bmx using an electric bike and a shoulder bag for most of my shopping “can you grab me XYZ from Target” runs. What makes me excited about the bike is the possibilities that it opens up, but like a lot of aspects of this bike, it’s something of a double-edged sword.
Also, by some of it’s competition at the time, it was a tiny system. The BionX 36v system from 2007 packs over 350WH of capacity into a smaller battery case – though the BionX system actually uses the full case, instead of having a small battery tucked inside a large case. The most obvious thing about riding this bike is the riding position. Imagine you’re an 80 year old man. Get your pants hiked up to just below your sternum.
On my long rides on a hybrid bike, I averaged 15 mph but once I got going, I realized 20 mph isn’t a big deal. Similar to how you can change gears on a multi-speed bike, you can choose how much the motor assists you, too. If you’re having trouble going up a hill, just increase the assistance to maintain your speed. The motor assist on this bike is purely pedal assist, though it’s more fair to call it “pedals are moving, motor is on” – since that what it seems to be.